Journal of Discourses Volume 12

BY PRESIDENT BRIGHAM YOUNG, 

HIS TWO COUNSELLORS, 
AND THE TWELVE APOSTLES,

REPORTED BY G. D. WATT, 
E. L. SLOAN, AND D. W. EVANS,

AND HUMBLY DEDICATED TO THE LATTER-DAY 
SAINTS IN ALL THE WORLD.

VOL. XII

LIVERPOOL: 

PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY ALBERT 
CARRINGTON, 42, ISLINGTON. 

LONDON: 

LATTER-DAY SAINTS' BOOK DEPOT, 20, BISHOP'S 
GROVE, ISLINGTON.

1869.[p.iii] 

Preface

Vol. 12,  p.iii
EACH discourse in this the XIIth volume of the "Journal" commends
itself to thoughtful perusal, being plain, practical, and of much
worth to all who desire to keep pace with the progress of truth.

Vol. 12,  p.iii
While Zion is so rapidly and prosperously lengthening her cords and
strengthening her stakes, it behooves all to be acquainted with the
teachings pertaining to her advancement and the perfecting of the
Saints; and inasmuch as the affords such
excellent facilities for an acquaintance with those teachings, it is
both desired and expected that the lovers of truth and of their own
best interests will at all times sustain its publication and profit by
its perusal so far as may be in their power.

THE PUBLISHER[p.1] 

Daniel H. Wells, April 8, 1867

Schools And School Teachers—Tithing, Etc.

REMARKS by President Daniel H. Wells, delivered in the 
Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, April 8th, 1867.

[Reported By David W. Evans]

Vol. 12,  p.1
This is one of the greatest days that Israel has ever seen in this
dispensation, and one of the largest congregations that ever assembled
in the capacity of a Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints. The cause which we have espoused possesses,
probably, to-day, a greater degree of prosperity than it has ever done
from its commencement. Thus may it ever be from this time henceforth
and for ever! From the commencement of this work until the present
time we have continually increased in power and numbers, and in
blessings from the Lord our God; and I believe that, today, a greater
degree of unity dwells in the hearts of the people called Latter-day
Saints than ever before.

Vol. 12,  p.1
When we look back on the past history of this people, and see the
difficulties they have had to encounter and have overcome, our hearts
should swell with joy and gratitude to the benign Providence which has
brought us to the position that we now enjoy. As we have been blessed
and preserved in the past, so it will ever be with us, if we will only
be true to ourselves and walk in the ways of truth and righteousness.
Has not our experience been sufficient in the past to give us
confidence in the future? Has not our faith been increased by the
multiplicity of blessings and favors which we have received at the
hands of our heavenly Father? Inasmuch as we have asked in faith for
blessings, and have had our prayers answered upon our heads, have we
not faith and confidence to approach our heavenly Father again and
again to supplicate for blessings? Most assuredly this is the
experience of every faithful Saint. Then let us continue to improve,
and endeavour to weed from our hearts every evil influence and strive
to overcome every besetting sin. Let this be among our labors in the
future, beginning with ourselves and then with oar families.

Vol. 12,  p.1
Upon this latter point, especially, let me say a word. Let us provide
schools, competent teachers, and good books for our children, and let
us pay our teachers. I would have no objection to seeing the standard
works of the Church introduced into our schools, that our children may
be taught more pertaining to the principles of the gospel in the
future than they are at present. And let one test of fitness on the
part of those who teach be a thorough acquaintance with and love for
the principles of the gospel which we have received, that our children
may be taught the principles of truth and righteousness, and be
trained from their youth in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.
Let this course be taken in our schools, and let us pay our teachers.
We have those among us who are well qualified for teachers if we will
[p.2] only pay them; but the great cry now is—"We cannot afford to
teach school, for the wages is too low, and low as it is we cannot get
it when it is earned." This is the great difficulty among us in this
matter, and it has always been a crying evil. It has no need to be so;
we should pay our school bills among the first things we pay.

Vol. 12,  p.2
If we wish to have teachers for our children let us sustain them. And
we should sustain our own publications, which inculcate the principles
of truth and righteousness, in preference to any others which may be
brought into our midst. There are other works that are good, against
which I do not wish to say anything; but let us first sustain our own
works, which are exclusively devoted to the spread of the principles
of truth. The Lord has undertaken to raise the standard of truth in
the earth through the instrumentality of His servants, and it is the
duty of the Saints to sustain those works which have the dissemination
of truth for their only object. We send forth Elders to the nations of
the earth, as messengers of salvation to the people; and while we
sustain those who go to proclaim the gospel, let us also sustain the
printed word.

Vol. 12,  p.2
Enough has been said on this subject, and I do not wish to
recapitulate, Let us pay our tithing, and do all we can to sustain the
servants of God. And in paying our tithing we should not forget our
money tithing. We hear considerable about hard times, so far as money
is concerned; they who are endeavouring to sustain the work of God
feel the pressure as much as anybody else. Let us contribute our mites
to assist; if we have not much let us give a portion for that
purpose—be free and liberal. What have we to do but to accomplish our
minion in building up the Kingdom of God? I know of nothing else that
is worth the attention of the Latter-day Saints. Then let us do this
with all our faith, might, and means, and be united as the heart of
one man in sustaining whatever is brought before us by those who are
placed over us to lead, guide, and direct our labors.

Vol. 12,  p.2
Has not the Lord the right to dictate the earth and its inhabitants?
Most a suredly, He has; and it would be a great blessing for the
people if they would allow Him to do so. We who have come here have
said we are willing to be dictated by the Lord. through His servants;
then let us make it our business to be no as long as we dwell in the
flesh, the more especially as we expect to reap the rewards and
benefits that will result from such a course. If we expect the
blessings of heaven we should take a course that will draw them down
upon us, ten they will most assuredly be ours as fast an we can make
good use of them. It we are only true to ourselves, and are faithful
to the end, our reward will be such that we will have no need to
complain of it. And even while we pass along through life, the course
of the Latter-day Saint is more conducive to happiness and peace than
that of any other individual on the face of the earth.

Vol. 12,  p.2
Let us not be disheartened nor discouraged, but press onward in the
good work which we have espoused. Our minds have been lit up with the
principles of life and salvation and the truths of heaven; then let us
cleave to those principles with tall purpose of heart, keeping God's
commands, and walking blamelessly before him in all things every day
of our lives. We shall thus accomplish our mission in the Kingdom of
God, and eventually be welcomed into the presence of our Redeemer,
which, I hope, will be the lot of every Latter-day [p.3] Saint, and of
every honest soul in the world.

Vol. 12,  p.3
These are some of my feelings. I hope and pray that we will all attend
to the teachings which we receive from time to time, for it is God in
His mercy who deals them out to us, and it is for us to treasure them
up in good and honest hearts, to carry them out in our lives, and to
shun all things that are offensive in His sight. This is the mission
of the Saints. Every man can be useful in his day and generation in
promoting these principles; and if we will be united in so doing,
truth will triumph in the hearts of the Saints, and a power for good,
such as we have never yet seen, will soon be developed, and will
increase until finally the earth will be redeemed from the thraldom of
sin, and the power of the wicked be for ever broken.

Vol. 12,  p.3
That our labors may speedily bring about this desirable consummation
is my prayer, in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Charles C. Rich, April 8, 1867

Labor To Build Up The Kingdom

REMARKS by Elder C. C. Rich, delivered in the 
Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, April 8th, 1867.

[Reported By David W. Evans] 

Vol. 12,  p.3
I am glad to enjoy the opportunity of meeting with the brethren and
sisters at this Conference. I am also glad that we have beard the
instructions which have been imparted to us. The principle of the
Saints being united is one that we have labored to establish from the
commencement up to the present time. Every Saint who has any knowledge
of the gospel as it has been revealed to us in these last days, knows
that this principle has been impressed on their minds from the time
they first heard the gospel. Still, with all our labors and exertions
in the past, we have not yet reached this point, and we must continue
our labors for the accomplishment of this object.

Vol. 12,  p.3
When we am united in all things, the Lord will be able to use us in
very deed for the building up of His Kingdom; until then, He can use
us only as we are willing to be used. We say we are the people of God,
and that we are laboring to build up His Kingdom, but when we come to
think of it, we only do that which we can persuade ourselves to do.

Vol. 12,  p.3
We should be willing to do everything that the Lord requires us to do,
and even if we are, there is still great need for us to improve and
progress. This has been incumbent upon us from the time we embraced
the gospel, but more especially at this Conference, and when we make
up our minds individually and collectively to do all things that the
Lord requires of us, it will be a comparatively easy matter for us to
do so. We do not expect to learn everything [p.4] at this Conference,
but we can make ourselves willing to learn righteous principles, and
we can, if we choose adopt them as fast as we learn them.

Vol. 12,  p.4
We are placed under circumstances where we can apply our labors for
the accomplishment of the designs of the Almighty here on the earth,
and we ought to esteem this as a very great privilege.

Vol. 12,  p.4
There are a great many notions and opinions with regard to the work of
God and the building up of His Kingdom on the earth. We have received
the everlasting gospel from the heavens. It found us in the various
nations of the earth, and it has gathered us to this place for the
purpose of establishing the principles of righteousness and of
building up the Kingdom of God on the earth. As we have heard this
afternoon, and on many other occasions, the gospel we have obeyed
embraces all truth on earth and in heaven. We have not to emigrate to
some other world to find truth. We find it where we are; it is taught
to us faster than we are willing to receive and practice it; and I can
bear testimony that it has ever been so. We have never had to wait to
know what was the right course for us to pursue. "Labor for the
building of the Kingdom of God," has been the counsel given to us
continually, and when we have been called upon to perform any labor,
no matter in what direction, it has been with that object in view.

Vol. 12,  p.4
I have been reflecting a little in relation to the state of society
which would soon be in existence if the counsel given from this stand
this Conference were to be observed. We Would soon find a great deal
more peace, love, and oneness among the Saints than have existed in
times past; and, if we ever expect to be one, we, as a people, must
adopt in our lives those principles that have been and are continually
taught us by the servants of the Lord. If we ever expect to have
heaven, we must adopt those principles that will make hearten for us.
We have had the gospel revealed to us from the heavens, for the
purpose of bringing about that state of things here that exists in
heaven. And it will most assuredly result in this if we will
faithfully observe its principles. A faithful adherence to the
principles of the gospel will cure all the evils we now endure. Where
difficulties exist with individuals or communities, we would find, if
they were traced to their Source, that they exist simply because the
principles of the gospel have not been adopted and applied.

Vol. 12,  p.4
It is this labor that lies before us to learn the principles of the
gospel of salvation, and to apply them in our lives. This will remove
the evils we have to encounter, and will bring about union and
happiness; and, no matter where our lot may be cast, will make for us
a heaven upon earth. This is a joyous labor, and one in which all
should unite with an unwavering determination. By so doing we will
sustain those who preside over us, and our efforts will most
effectually tend to build up the Kingdom of God on the earth.

Vol. 12,  p.4
How can this Kingdom be built up unless God dictates? and how can we
labor to serve Him unless He dictates us? and how will He do this? He
will do it, as He ever has done, by and through His servants whom He
has placed at our head. In this way we can be united in building up
God's Kingdom and in moving forward His work on the earth. This is a
very great privilege, the possession of which confers upon us great
honor and blessings. When the whole people are united in, and live
continually according to, the principles of the gospel in all things,
evils [p.5] and difficulties will vanish from their midst like snow
before the rays of the sun, and soon the knowledge of God will cover
the earth as the waters cover the deep.

Vol. 12,  p.5
We have yet much to learn, but I often think that we can do more for
the spread of truth and the work we are engaged in than we imagine. We
can read of individuals among the ancients who performed wonders on
the principle of faith. They subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness,
obtained promises, stopped the months of lions, and performed many
wonderful works. Can we not do something on the principle of faith?
Can we not have power with God as well as the ancients, if we labor
continually to carry out His designs? I am satisfied that if we all go
home and carry out the principles which have been taught to us during
this Conference we shall soon see happy results flowing therefrom.
There is a responsibility resting upon us all to do so, and we should
discharge that responsibility honorably before God and each other. By
following the counsel given us during this Conference, our union,
peace, and best interests will be greatly advanced and forwarded.

Vol. 12,  p.5
Severe indisposition prevented me from being present at last fall
Conference, but I am thankful that I am present now. I always rejoice
to be at Conference, or at any meeting with the Saints. I love to see
and talk to them, and I love to hear others talk, and I love to use my
influence to move forward and build up the cause of Zion, and to
establish righteousness on the earth. We all ought to cultivate this
kind of feeling and principle. We never need be afraid if we are doing
right, but fear only to do wrong. Individuals are apt to think
sometimes that if they do a wrong no person in the world knows it but
themselves, but it is known also to God, and if a wrong is known to
God and to the one who commits it, his influence with God is
destroyed, and it lowers him in his own estimation. Suppose, for
instance, that a person wants a favor of President Young, but he has
done some wrong that is known to the President, he cannot ask that
favor with any confidence, but his head is cast down, and he feels
condemned because of the wrong he has done. How much more is this the
case when seeking blessings from the Lord. We should think of this in
our course through life. We should also remember that the Lord has
said, that "inasmuch as ye do it to one of the least of these my
servants, ye do it unto me."

Vol. 12,  p.5
When we apply this principle to our conduct, strictly and properly, we
shall Feel that we do not want to injure anybody or do anything wrong,
and injuries and wrongs will fast disappear and will be soon blotted
out of existence. This is what we are laboring for, and this course of
conduce will move forward the cause of Zion, and enable us to do all
things the Lord requires of us.

Vol. 12,  p.5
That we may labor to accomplish this work faithfully is my prayer, in
the name of Jesus. Amen.[p.6] 

George A. Smith, May 19, 1867

Prosperity of Southern Utah 

REMARKS by Elder Geo. A. Smith, delivered in the 
Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, May 19th, 1867.

[Reported By David W. Evans] 

Vol. 12,  p.6
Unpropitious as the morning has been we are assembled here for the
purpose of receiving instruction. It is a pleasure to me to meet with
the Saints. I feel the spirit that prompts them in the discharge of
their duties, and the response which comes from the congregation to
the speaker, inspired by the Spirit of the Lord, is mutually
calculated to instruct and encourage us in the discharge of our
several duties.

Vol. 12,  p.6
Since Conference I have visited the settlements south to some extent,
accompanying President Young on his journey. I have been much
gratified that the Saints are progressing, and that the teachings
given at Conference are being generally carried out, although the
settlements were then but thinly represented, in consequence of the
almost impassable state of the roads. The word, however, has gone
forth, and the feeling is implanted in the breasts of the Saints to
make new efforts and endeavors to fulfil the duties of their calling,
and to cultivate that spirit of oneness which is necessary to enable
us to overcome and to attain that position in the earth which God
designs His Kingdom to occupy in the last days.

Vol. 12,  p.6
I must say that in travelling through the country, and looking at
things as they naturally exist, I could but wonder that anybody on the
earth could envy us the privilege of living in these mountain deserts.
Our brethren in the cotton country have had to struggle against
natural difficulties to a great extent, and have overcome them only by
main strength, and a continued exercise of that strength is necessary
to keep what they gain. It is true that, some of the settlements or
towns are located in positions where they can obtain their water for
irrigation from springs; this, however, is in limited quantity. The
city of St. George receives its water from a number of springs which
seem to be increasing in quantity, but if the city should be enlarged,
as anticipated, the water will have to be brought from a distance at a
very great expense. The city lots in Washington and Tokerville are
watered by means of springs, but the farming lands in Washington and
St. George are watered from the Rio Virgen and Santa Clara rivers.
These streams are subject to floods. The soil on their banks is so
friable and uncertain that whenever a flood comes the dams that are
placed in these streams, to aid in taking out the water, are easily
washed away, and the cotton and grain fields can be irrigated only at
a vast annual expense.

Vol. 12,  p.6
It seems a difficult task to contend with the elements, and to
accomplish that which is required of us; and I am very well satisfied
that no other people would attempt to improve [p.7] these locations
for a long time to come were we not occupying them. The settlements
already made are like oases in the desert—they are made productive by
irrigation and the industry of the Saints, and are kept flourishing by
the constant application of labor. This rule applies with almost equal
force to every settlement in the Territory, as well as those in the
cotton country. All the irrigation that is carried on, whether it be
from large or medium sized streams, is done at considerable expense,
and when the floods come, through the melting of the snow, sudden
rains, or waterspouts, the canals are filled up and the works torn
away, which imposes constant and continued labor on the hands of the
Saints; the result is that, whatever agricultural improvement is made
is held by main strength.

Vol. 12,  p.7
Now, I regard this as peculiarly favourable to the Latter-day Saints,
because they are possessing what nobody else in the world would have.
You know when we lived on the rich fat lands of the Mississippi and
Missouri valleys, our fields and improvements were coveted. Our
enemies gathered around us and attempted to drive us away, and
ultimately succeeded, and they robbed Us Of our inheritances, which
were worth millions of dollars. When we located here we located on a
spot that was not likely to be desirable to anybody else, any further
than our labor made it so.

Vol. 12,  p.7
The country in the southern part of this Territory is singularly
constructed, and embraces a variety of climates within a very few
miles. For instance, when we reached Parowan it was cold, the season
was backward, the bloom on the peach trees was scarcely visible; we
went on to Cedar, eighteen miles farther, and there was a very slight
change. We then went on to Kanarra, a settlement thirteen miles
farther, there was a very slight change, but the season was not near
so forward as at Salt Lake City. Between Kanarra and Toquerville, a
distance of twenty-three miles, we pass over a series of low ridges,
generally denominated the Black Ridges. About twelve miles of this
road have been worked through rocks at a very great expense, and it is
still very rough. The winds and rains together have so blown and
washed the soil from among the rocks that it is a hard road to travel.
There is nothing on it, however, but a few patches of sand to hinder a
team from hauling considerable of a load. When we had crossed this
road and reached Toquerville, it was astonishing to see change in
vegetation. The town was perfectly green; the apricots were from
one-third to one-half grown, the peaches were as large as bullets, end
the grapes all set and the stems formed, and it looked like
mid-summer. This was in the short distance of some twenty-three miles.
The little belt of land upon which the settlements along the southern
border of the Territory blessed with this climate are located, was so
narrow and small that it was really believed by those who first
explored it that it was scarcely capable of supporting any population
at all. Every year, however, develops more and more its capabilities,
and the people are becoming more healthy and contented as prosperity
smiles upon them and attends their labors.

Vol. 12,  p.7
I have passed through the region to the south of our settlements a
great many times, and I have been thankful for the desert that I had
to go over. As many of you know, it is many miles from one spring, or
from one place where it is possible to obtain water, to another. There
are [p.8] water stations formed by springs or little mountain streams;
but they sometimes go dry, and it is generally fifteen miles, and
sometimes twenty or thirty between each. Nothing grows there except
sage and a little grass, and when we get to the southern border of the
Territory we find thorns and thistles, and the cactus, which grows to
a tree seven or eight feet high, and so thorny that no one, seemingly,
can get near it. I was struck with the good condition of the cattle as
I passed through the country. I could not see what they got to eat;
they would stand and watch the cactus, it looked so nice and green,
but woe to the animals that touched it. The earth in this region is
fortified with thistles sufficiently to justify the prediction to
Adam, when, cast from the garden—"Thorns and thistles shall it bring
forth."

Vol. 12,  p.8
A great portion of the soil cultivated by the brethren is sand;
cultivation, however, seems to change its nature considerably. In
Washington and St. George they have been greatly inconvenienced in
consequence of mineral being in the soil. Much of this mineral land is
being reclaimed, and the prospects for abundance of fruit are very
good. Grape vines planted three or four years ago now bear
plentifully, and the extent and breadth of soil for the planting of
vineyards, and for raising abundance of other fruit to which that
climate is more particularly adapted than this upper region of the
basin, are being greatly increased. To look at these little spots one
would think that all the land susceptible of cultivation was now
occupied, and that there was no room for more; but, by continued labor
and expense, additional land may be reclaimed. The dam constructed
four years ago for the irrigation of the farms near Washington,
situated four miles above the town, has been washed out by the floods;
the result will be to some extent disastrous to the cotton crop, and
but little, probably, will be planted. The fact is, however, that as
soon as the people are able to do it, they can dig canals on each side
of the Narrows where this dam has been located, and thus procure a
permanent supply of water.

Vol. 12,  p.8
The proposed canals will bring under range of irrigation several
thousand more acres of land, which, by being carefully and properly
cultivated, will make room for many more settlers. Notwithstanding the
many difficulties with which the people have to contend, we found them
progressing and feeling warm and warm-hearted. Most of them were sent
there as missionaries, and sacrificed good homes and competence in
this part of the country to go and assist in building up that mission,
and we feel, in relation to them, that they are really the choice
children of Israel. The town of St. George is being built up
magnificently, many of the houses are of first-class character, their
improvements are permanent, and their gardens and vineyards are being
cultivated in a very tasteful manner, and its present appearance seems
to indicate that at no distant day it will be one of the most
delightful spots in creation.

Vol. 12,  p.8
The people who were sent on that mission, and who have remained in the
country, are those who are willing to do what is required of them, and
determined to fulfil the laws and commandments of God. There are many
who thought the country could not be reclaimed, and abandoned it, who
are scattered along the road between here and there, and some are now
going back to make a beginning. The building of the cotton factory by
President Young at Washington has also encouraged the Saints; [p.9] it
is a good building, has excellent machinery, is capable of making
considerable yarn, and is calculated to promote the growth of cotton
and to render the settlements permanent. We did not visit Kane County,
but understood that the settlers there had suffered considerably from
floods in the Rio Virgen destroying the dams and washing away fields
and orchards. Many of the Saints from Kane County attended Conference
at St. George, and rejoiced in the instructions that were given.

Vol. 12,  p.9
I will say that, so far as I am concerned, I was not annoyed during
the whole journey by being compelled, or even required by gallantry or
common courtesy, to take tea or coffee. The brethren of the party
observed the Word of Wisdom in this respect, and wherever we went we
found the feeling to do the saute general among the people. Some of
the brethren who had long been in the habit of chewing tobacco found
it unpleasant, but as a general thing they were reflecting on the
subject, and were disposed in good faith and with determination to do
right. President Young and his brethren were received at every place
with demonstrations of joy, gratitude, and pleasure. The meetings were
crowded, and every building and bowery we assembled in seemed to be
too small. It was astonishing where so many people came from. We
realized that our settlements were increasing, and that our
institutions were favourable to the increase of population. Still
there is room for more, for all were busy and had more than they could
do, and there are yet many ways in which labor can be advantageously
employed in building towns, cities, school houses, and in making other
improvements.

Vol. 12,  p.9
With this view of the subject I can but express my thanks to God for
all the drawbacks peculiar to our location here—the mountains,
perpetual snows, the deserts, the barren sage plains, the sand hills,
the noxious mineral in the soil, and the uncertainty of the climate,
for they help to isolate and shelter us from our enemies; for, for
some cause, from the time we commenced to preach the principles of the
gospel of Christ it has been the fixed determination of our enemies to
destroy us, and they have sought every occasion against us. Wherever
we have lived we have been law-abiding, still we have been subjected
to the power of mobocracy. Mobocrats have robbed us of our
inheritances, and have driven us from place to place, but here, while
we have to contend with the sand, rebuild our dams, and to irrigate
every particle of vegetation that we raise for our sustenance, we are
no longer subject to their molestation. Like the fabled fox in the
brambles, I rejoice at these difficulties. The fox had been chased by
the dogs, and he escaped to the brambles; he found himself in a rather
thorny position, but consoled himself with the reflection that though
the thorns tore his skin a little they kept off the dogs. So it is
with us. These mountains and deserts, with their changeable climate
and the great difficulty and immense labor necessary for us to endure
and perform in order to sustain ourselves, keep off those who would
rob and deprive us of the comforts of life; and every man of
reflection who passes through this country is apt to say—"This country
is just fit for the Mormons; nobody else wants to live in it."

Vol. 12,  p.9
To be sure men might come into your garden and partake of your
strawberries and other fruits, and seeing what a nice little spot you
had [p.10] made with twenty years of labor, they might say, "had we
not better rob them of this," or "cannot we lay some plan to rob them
of this?" There was a person of this kind over in Nevada, who
presented a bill to Congress to rob the Latter-day Saints of their
inheritances unless they took certain oaths, which no Latter-day Saint
could take conscientiously. What does this spirit of robbery amount
to? It simply shows the corruption and wickedness of men, and makes us
thankful that God has given us this country for an inheritance, that
the Saints may attain strength, cultivate virtue, uprighteousness,
honesty, and integrity, and maintain themselves as the servants of the
Most High.

Vol. 12,  p.10
I have enjoyed myself very much on this tour; we have had very
agreeable meetings. During twenty-three days the President preached
about nine hours. We had altogether thirty-five meetings It was a very
industrious trip. It was pleasant, but the pleasure was hard earned.
So far as we learned, the natives were disposed to be friendly, all of
them we saw were so, and those who were reported to us were in the
same condition. We have hopes that the action of our brethren in
gathering to stronger positions and living more compactly is
calculated to promote peace. Carelessness on the part of the brethren
in scattering beyond their settlements with their families and cattle,
and thus tempting the wild men of the mountains to come out and rob,
plunder, and murder, has been the chief cause of Indian difficulties
heretofore. The observance of the counsel and instruction given will
put a better face on these matters, and more peaceable times may be
anticipated. So far as the hearts of the Saints are concerned, they
seemed one. We found no divisions, jarrings, or contentions, but all
were struggling to do a great and good work. They rejoiced to see the
President and to hear his instructions, and were ready to carry them
out.

Vol. 12,  p.10
The brethren and sisters are struggling with all their might to build
up the Kingdom of God, enjoy its blessings, and partake of its glory.
This is the feeling we found in travelling; we rejoiced in it, and we
rejoice in the privilege of returning; and we pray the Father that His
peace may be on the Saints, that they may eternally enjoy a fulness of
the everlasting gospel, with all its glory, in the celestial kingdom,
through Jesus our Redeemer, Amen.[p.11] 

Wilford Woodruff, May 19, 1867

The Pleasure and Trials of Missionary Labors—Improvement
in the South—Every Gospel Principle Righteous and Essential

REMARKS by Elder Wilford Woodruff, delivered in the 
Tabenacle, Great Salt Lake City, May 19th, 1867.

[Reported By David W. Evans]

Vol. 12,  p.11
I also am a missionary, and I always considered it a great honor to be
one. I received a mission when I embraced this work; it has never been
taken from me yet. In company with a number of the brethren I have
just returned, as br. Taylor has said, from visiting our brethren in
the south. We have had an excellent time. We have been over a great
many rough roads, traveled hard, and have preached from once to three
times every day. We have been taught, instructed, and edified; at
least I have a great deal. We have had a good time in visiting the
Saints, and as President B. Young remarked in some of his discourses,
we have been able to draw the contrast between preaching to the Saints
and preaching to the world. My own experience enabled me to bring that
subject home very readily, and I presume it is so with most of the
Elders who have been on missions preaching the gospel. I have
travelled a great many thousands of miles to preach the gospel without
purse or scrip, with my knapsack on my back, and begging my broad from
door to door. I have done many things that all the gold in California
would not have hired me to do except for the gospel. My natural
feelings would forbid me travelling through the world asking fur my
bread from door to door; I would much sooner labor for it.

Vol. 12,  p.11
We have been called to preach the gospel; the Lord Almighty has
required it at our hands; we would have been under condemnation as
Elders if we had not done it. We have done it, and our garments, in a
great measure, are clear of the blood of this generation. For over
thirty years we have labored to preach the gospel; and we have
gathered together a people to these valleys of the mountains, with
whom I rejoice to meet. I once asked the Lord to let me go and preach
the gospel. I had a desire to preach the gospel in its beauty,
plainness, and glory, and to show the worth of the principles it
contained. I felt that they were of as much value to my fellow men as
to me. The Lord gave me, the privilege I asked for, and I believe that
I have preached to the nations of the earth as much as I desire; if
duty should not require it, I never wish to go and preach to the world
again. I have had my day and time at it; still, if called to go, I
presume I should go as I have always done. But I do enjoy the society
of the Saints, I love home, and I love to travel through these
settlements, and to see the boys, the girls, the men, and the women
parading the streets to welcome the President and his brethren; and,
on our return here, to meet with greetings from ten thousand Saints
brought peculiar meditations to my mind. It brought [p.12] home very
forcibly the contrast between preaching to the Saints and preaching to
the world.

Vol. 12,  p.12
In my early missions, when preaching in the Southern States—Arkansas,
Tennessee, an Kentucky—I have waded swamps and rivers and have walked
seventy miles or more without eating. In those days we counted it a
blessing to go into a place where there was a Latter-day Saint. I went
once 150 miles to see one; and when I got there he had apostatized,
and tried to kill me. Then, after travelling seventy-two miles without
food, I sat down to eat my meal with a Missouri mobocrat, and he
damning and cursing me all the time. That is the nature of the
Southern people—they would invite you to eat with them if they were
going to cut your throat. In those days we might travel hundreds and
hundreds of miles and you could not find a Latter-day Saint, but now,
thank God, we have the privilege of traveling hundreds and hundreds of
miles where we can find but little else. I regard this as a great
blessing.

Vol. 12,  p.12
Our missionaries are going abroad under different circumstances from
what we went. We had no Zion, no Utah, no body of Saints to give us
any assistance. We were commanded to go without prose or scrip, and we
had to do it. We trusted in the Lord, and he fed us. We found friends,
built up churches, and gathered out the honest and meek of the earth.
Tinges have changed since then. These brethren are going to the
nations of the earth where starvation stares many of the people in the
face, and where it is hard for millions to obtain the necessaries of
life. The people here are wealthy, and it is no more than right that
we should impart of our substance to help those who are going on
missions. I hope the brethren and sisters will help liberally, and
will impart sufficient to send the brethren to their several fields of
labor.

Vol. 12,  p.12
I rejoice in the gospel of Christ; I rejoice in the principles that
have been revealed for our salvation, exaltation, and glory. I rejoice
in the establishment of the work in these mountains, and in our
southern settlements. As has been already said, the Lord has blessed
our brethren there. It is a miracle to see those settlements when we
consider what the country was such a short time since. The city of St.
George is second to none in the Territory unless it be Great Salt
City; and I doubt the latter being equal to St. George, when we take
into consideration the population of the two places. They have better
buildings and improvements there, according to numbers, than we have
here. At Toquerville, too, they are laying fine foundations for stone
and brick buildings, and they are improving all through the southern
settlements. The soil there is so sandy that it looks as if it would
require two men to hold it together long enough for a hill of corn to
grow. Like the waves of the sea, it is ever on the move. It contains,
too, a good deal of mineral which destroys the vegetation and
everything with which it comes in contact. Some of the brethren have
spent as much as two thousand dollars to render an acre of land
productive; now they have fine gardens and vineyards growing, and,
strange to say, though the country naturally looks like a desolate,
barren, sandy, unfruitful desert, still the cattle are fat, all kinds
of stock look well, and everything was green and flourishing in the
settlements as we passed through them. The whole of that mission at
its commencement presented a most forbidding aspect, and really had so
many discouraging features that men [p.13] were compelled to work by
faith and not by sight. Now, however, the soil is blessed, the climate
is delightful, and plenty and prosperity attend the labors of the
people. To show you the difference of the climate in the country, and
of the district of country a few miles this side of it, I need only
mention that the morning we left Beaver there was ice along the
creeks, but when we got to Toquerville, two days' travel further
south, we found the apricots half grown, the peaches as large as peas,
the cottonwood trees green and in full leaf, altogether looking like
another country. It is a different climate altogether from what it is
in these higher places.

Vol. 12,  p.13
The hand of God is in all the operations we are trying to carry out.
We have to build up Zion independent of the wicked; we have got to
become self-sustaining, and the Lord is inspiring His prophets to
preach to us to lay the foundation for the accomplishment of this
work. The day is not far distant when we shall have to take care of
ourselves. Great Babylon is going to fall, judgment is coming on the
wicked, the Lord is about to pour upon the nations of the earth the
great calamities which He has spoken of by the mouths of His prophets;
and no power can stay these things. It is wisdom that we should lay
the foundation to provide for ourselves.

Vol. 12,  p.13
With regard to the Word of Wisdom, I must say I was agreeably
surprised to see how generally the people are taking hold of it. We
did not see much coffee or tea, and I do not think that one in the
company drank a drop of it. I rejoice in this; it is going to make the
people more wealthy, it will save us a great deal of means, besides
preventing our being poisoned to death, for these things are poisoned,
and the Lord understood that when He gave the Word of Wisdom many
years ago. The people are improving in a great many tilings. There is
a very good spirit and feeling among them, and the feeling to carry
out the purposes of God is general.

Vol. 12,  p.13
I rejoice in this work because it is true, because it is the plan of
salvation, the eternal law of God that has been revealed to us, and
the building up of Zion is what we are called to perform. I think we
have done very well considering our traditions and all the
difficulties which we have had to encounter; and I look forward, by
faith, if I live a few years, to the time when this people will
accomplish that which the Lord expects them to do. If we do not, our
children will. Zion has got to be built up, the Kingdom of God has got
to be established, and the principles revealed to us have to be
enjoyed by the Latter-day Saints. There is no principle that God has
revealed but what has salvation in it, and we, in order to be saved,
must observe His laws and ordinances. Where is there a man or woman
who does not wish to be saved? All wish to be saved; all desire
salvation, and to enjoy those blessings which they were created to
enjoy. The gospel has been offered to this generation for the purpose
of saving them in the Kingdom of God if they will receive it. I
rejoice in all the principles revealed to us, and the more I see,
hear, and learn, the more I am satisfied of the importance of the
revelations that God has given to us. As President Young remarked in
one of his sermons south, "Whatever the Lord reveals to this or any
other people does not ignore anything revealed before." No part of the
gospel is superfluous. It is the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever,
and all the inhabitants of this world and all others have got to be
saved by it, [p.14] if saved at all. It is necessary, therefore, that
we receive and obey all of its principles. When the first principles
of the gospel were revealed to us we rejoiced in them. After them we
had other principles revealed, the principle of baptism for the dead,
for instance. We did not know anything of that until about the year
1840, on our return from England. I rejoice in that principle. It is a
great blessing that there can be saviors on Mount Zion. It is a
glorious principle that we can go forth and erect temples and attend
to ordinances for the living and the dead; that we can redeem our
forefathers and progenitors from among the spirits in prison. They
will be preached to in prison by those spirits on the other side of
the vail who hold the keys of the Kingdom of God, and we will have the
privilege of attending to ordinances in the flesh for them. Then,
again, the blessing that God has revealed to us in the patriarchial
order of marriage—being sealed for time and eternity—is not prized by
us as it should be. When that principle was revealed, the prophet told
the brethren that this kingdom could not advance any farther without
it; "and," said he, "if you do not receive it you will be damned saith
the Lord." You may may think this very strange, but the Lord never
reveals anything that He does not require to be honored.

Vol. 12,  p.14
What would have been our position if this had not been revealed? This
principle is plain, clear, and interesting; without it not a man in
this Church could have either wife or child sealed to him for
eternity, for all our marriage covenants before were only for time,
and we, as a Church, had arrived at that point when, in order to
insure a full salvation, it was necessary to reveal this principle. It
is a great blessing to us. We love our wives and children, and wish to
enjoy their society, but the thought of separation would mar all the
happiness that the Saints might otherwise attain. The Saint who
aspires to salvation and glory wants a continuation of family ties and
assocations after death. Without this principle we were like the rest
of the world—without any such hope. From the day the apostles were
slain until the Lord revealed this principle in the last days, not a
man ever dwelt in the flesh who had wife or child sealed to him for
eternity, so that he could enjoy their society in the resurrection.
That was just our position before this ordinance was revealed, but
now, whether we have one wife, two, three, or as many as the Lord sees
fit to bestow upon us, when we come forth from the grave our families
remain with us in the eternal world. So it is with every principle the
Lord reveals—it is good for His people in time and eternity.

Vol. 12,  p.14
Brethren and sisters, let us be faithful, and look at the promises of
God as they are contained in the gospel of Christ, and never treat
lightly any principle, no matter what it is, whether it be faith,
repentance, baptism for the remission of sins, the resurrection of the
dead, eternal judgments, the marriage covenant, baptism for the dead,
or any other ordinance that the Lord has revealed; they all belong to
the kingdom, are necessary to salvation, and the responsibility of
carrying them out rests upon this people. We know that the world looks
with contempt upon us and upon the institutions of the Kingdom of God.
They do not object to institutions that are corrupt and ungodly. The
world is flooded to-day with evil and wickedness, and the earth groans
under it. But because we as a people follow [p.15] the example of
Abraham, in taking more wives than one, we are universally decried and
despised. The Christian world profess to believe in Abraham, and he,
through obedience to the command of God in this respect, was called
the "Father of the faithful," and the twelve gates of the New
Jerusalem will each be named after one of the twelve patriarchs, his
descendants, and the sons of a polygamist, and fathers of all Israel.
Even the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who came to lay down his
life to redeem the world, was through the same lineage. He was of
Judah; He was the King of the Jews and the Savior of the world.

Vol. 12,  p.15
These principles are as righteous to-day as in any other age of the
world when governed and controlled by the commandments of God. Let us
prize all the principles, revelations, and blessings that God has
revealed to us; let us treasure them up, do our duty to God, to one
another, and our fellow men. No man has any time to sin, to steal,
swear, or break any of the laws of God if he wishes to secure a full
and complete salvation; but we must all do the best we can, laboring
with all our might to overcome every evil, for it will take a whole
life of faithfulness and integrity for any Saint of God to receive a
full salvation in the presence of God.

Vol. 12,  p.15
May God bless us, and give us His spirit, and wisdom to guide and
direct us into all truth, for Jesus' sake. Amen.

George Q. Cannon, April 7, 1867

Necessity Of Union And Obedience To Counsel

REMARKS by Elder Geo. Q. Cannon, delivered in the 
Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, April 7th, 1867.

[Reported By David W. Evans]

Vol. 12,  p.15
There have been a great many excellent remarks made to us since we
assembled ourselves together to celebrate the anniversary of the
organization of the Church, remarks which, if treasured up in our
hearts and practiced in our lives, cannot fail to make us a much
better people than we are to-day. It should be clear to the mind of
every Latter-day Saint that there is an extreme necessity for us to be
united. it is to our union alone, imperfect though it may have been,
that we may attribute oar success in the past, under the blessing of
God. If we have any name or prestige in the earth, if there is
anything attached to the name of Latter-day Saint or "Mormonism" that
conveys the idea of power to the minds of the people, it has its
origin in our union, obedience, concentration of effort, and our
oneness of action, and the more this oneness increases the more marked
and distinct we will be among the nations of the earth. What is it
that has made us the people we are to-day? It is [p.16] obedience to
the counsels which God has revealed through His servants. If there is
anything on the earth that will continue to add distinction and power
to us, and elevate us and make us strong and mighty, it is an increase
of this obedience which has already given us this distinction.

Vol. 12,  p.16
I have thought considerably since we have been together of the
counsels which have been given to us, and of the action of the people
in the past. There was a time when every Latter-day Saint who bad the
spirit of his religion felt as though he wished to devote himself and
all that he bad to the upbuilding of the Kingdom of God. This feeling
doubtless predominates to-day, but it has been partially buried up and
covered by other feelings—the love of gain, the desire to acquire
property, and feelings akin to these. There was a law revealed to
us—the law of consecration—through obedience to which every man
expected to hold all that he possessed subject to the dictation of the
servants of God. It is right that we should recollect this law, and
continually seek to carry it out. We should feel that we are placed as
stewards over the property God has placed in our hands, and that all
we bare is subject primarily to the counsels of God's servant, and
that before we take any step el importance it is our duty to seek
counsel from him who has the right to counsel. Imagine the power there
would be in this Territory, and it would be felt throughout the
nations of the earth, if this entire people, from Bear Lake Valley in
the north to the settlements on the Muddy in the south, were thus
united, holding themselves and all the wealth that God has so
bountifully bestowed upon them, subject to the counsel that God has
placed in His Church. What would be the effect of this? If you will
allow your minds to expand you may be able to contemplate to some
small extent the great results that would follow such a concentration
of action on the part of this people. Is it the will of God that it
should be so? It is.

Vol. 12,  p.16
The Lord has placed a man at our head upon whom He has bestowed great
wisdom· There has never been a time when he has lacked the wisdom
necessary to guide all the affairs of the Kingdom of God. Joseph of
old had wisdom given to him by which he was enabled to save Egypt. God
has given to us a leader who has wisdom equal to any emergency, and if
we will be obedient to his counsels we shall realize as great
salvation as was wrought out by Joseph for those with whom he was
associated. Herein we possess advantages not possessed by other
people; we have revelation to guide us, we have the word of the Lord
in our midst; we are not dependent upon man's wisdom, nor upon human
plans, but we have the wisdom of eternity manifested through the
servants of God to guide us. We have the opportunity of building up
the Kingdom of God and of carrying out the designs of heaven according
to His plan; and if we will do so we shall fulfil the word of the Lord
given anciently, when speaking of and comparing his people with the
people of the world. Said he, "My servants shall eat, and you shall be
hungry; my servants shall drink, but ye shall be thirsty; my servants
shall rejoice, but you shall be ashamed; my servants shall sing with
gladness of heart, but you shall sorrow with sadness of heart and howl
with vexation of spirit. And ye shall leave your name as a curse to my
chosen: for the Lord God shall slay thee, and call His servants by
another name."

Vol. 12,  p.17
It seems as though the day had [p.17] come when God will slay the
wicked, and when He will call His people by another name. How will
these words of the ancient prophets be fulfilled? By our listening to
the counsel of him whom he has placed to preside over us, and being
guided in wisdom in all flyings. When we do this we will be a mighty
and a powerful people, and President Young will be what he ought to be
to-day, the head of this people, the mouth-piece of God in our midst;
and when his counsel is given it will be listened to by all Israel; no
one will disobey from one end of the land to the other. How much good
could be accomplished if this were the case! What mighty labors could
be achieved if this people were in this condition to-day. What hinders
it being so? Nothing but the disposition within us to be careless and
indifferent to the principles taught us.

Vol. 12,  p.17
This condition of things will be brought about, and it might be more
rapidly than it is if the people would be obedient and diligent in
carrying out the counsels given to them. All within the sound of my
voice, probably, have heard that Israel, in the days of Moses, were
commanded to sprinkle their door-posts with the blood of a lamb, that
they might escape destruction; now if we had been told that Israel
were destroyed because they paid no regard to this instruction, who
among us would not have said, How foolish Israel must have been to
have suffered destruction rather than do such a simple filing as this!
Yet what has God said to us in these days with regard to the Word of
Wisdom? He has said that "all Saints who remember to keep and do these
sayings, and walk in obedience to My commandments, shall receive
health to their naval and marrow to their bones, and they shall find
great treasures, even hidden treasures of wisdom; and they shall run
and not be weary, and walk and not faint; and I, the Lord, give them a
promise that the destroyer shall pass them by, as he did the children
of Israel, and not slay them." Here is a promise that the Lord has
given to us on condition that, we obey this requirement, or rather
this counsel. It is wise counsel; we have proved its wisdom. What has
disobedience to this counsel done for this people? It has made us in
many respects, to a certain extent, subject to our enemies. How many
called Latter-day Saints, through disobedience to the Word of Wisdom,
have been led away to California and other places where they could
obtain these things which they thought so necessary to their comfort,
but which God had counselled them to forsake? A great man have been
led away through this; and every time we disobey this counsel we bring
ourselves more completely under bondage to our own appetites and to
the enemies of the Kingdom of God.

Vol. 12,  p.17
As a people we should arise, and with one effort say we will follow
the example, in this respect, of him who leads us. Does President
Young drink tea, or coffee, or liquor, or chew tobacco? No; his life
is exemplary, and we should copy after it. There is no man among us
more exemplary in these things than he is; and it is a shame to us, as
a people, if we do not follow his wise example. The Lord is bearing
testimony to us through His Spirit, that we should carry these things
into effect; and I trust that the people from one end of the Territory
to the other, will manifest by their future course that they will
observe the counsel that has been given at this Conference, and thus
seek to be one with the President. There is no need to disguise elm
fact that he is anxious to have us subject [p.18] to him in these
matters. He is anxious that his power should be felt through the
length and breadth of this Territory sufficiently to control and
govern the people for good. Why? Because he knows that God has
revealed principles by which they can be led back into His presence if
they will only he obedient to His counsel.

Vol. 12,  p.18
Short sermons are the order, and I will not lengthen out my remarks.
My prayer is, my brethren and sisters, that God will enable every one
of us to see these things aright, and to understand the obligations
resting upon us; and that union may pervade the bosoms of the Saints
from the lowest to the highest, from the least in the land to the
Presidency of the Church, which may God grant for Christ's sake. Amen.

Brigham Young, April 7, 1867

Every Saint on a Mission

REMARKS by President Brigham Young, delivered in the 
Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, April 7th, 1867.

[Reported By David W. Evans]

Vol. 12,  p.18
I confess before the Latter-day Saints that like others who live in
the religious and political world, or the world of history, or any
other world you have a mind to name, I really want power and
influence. I confess to the Latter-day Saints and to the world that I
want power to prevail on all the inhabitants of the earth to embrace
the gospel of the Son of God that they may he saved in the Kingdom of
Heaven. I want influence in the midst of the Latter-day Saints,
sufficient to get all men and women to sanctify themselves before the
Lord and to sanctify the Lord God in their hearts, and that they may
be of one heart and one mind in all things, that they may be the
disciples of the Lord Jesus. This comprehends a great deal.

Vol. 12,  p.18
I will now take the liberty of telling you what I do not want. I do
not want influence or power over any nation, people, family, or
individual on the face of the earth to do them an injury or lead them
astray, to promote strife or corruption in their hearts, or direct
them in the way that leads to death. But I would like to have power
with the people to induce them to accept those principles which would
put them in possession of life, liberty, peace, joy, and all the
blessings that can be enjoyed by the children of men, and that are
promised in the gospel of life and salvation. I wish you ever to
remember this when you think of yourselves, your brethren, or of any
man that wants influence in the world. Always learn what an individual
wants influence for. If he wants it for good, to promote peace and
righteousness, never hinder his efforts, but promote them if you can.
But when men try to gain influence for evil, to lead their fellow
creatures in the way to death, [p.19] exercise all the power you
possess to abridge such influence; destroy it if you can. I calculate
to take this course myself.

Vol. 12,  p.19
There are a few of the Latter-day Saints here to-day; only just a few,
scarcely any from the country. You know we are estimated variously,
some say 80,000, some 100,000, some 150,000; but, to tell you the
secret, I do not want anybody to know our number. I do not want to
number Israel yet. I am very frequently asked the question by
political men, "How many do the Latter-day Saints number in the
mountains?" My invariable reply is that we have enough to make a
Territory. I wish the Latter-day Saints to increase and multiply. It
has been said to me—"Why do you not call men to go on missions to
preach the gospel in order to swell the ranks of the Saints?" I will
tell you what my feelings are with regard to the Latter-day Saints
increasing. One of these young men or girls around me here to-day,
born and brought up in the Church, is worth, as a general thing, far
more than those who come into the Church with all their traditions
when we go preaching. I recollect the stand I took when I was in
England or whenever I was out preaching. Whenever a man would
transgress we would talk with and persuade him to forsake evil, and he
would confess and say, "I will do so no more," but by and by we would
have occasion to call him up again, and I felt and said that "I would
rather convert two men or women who never heard the gospel than
attempt to make righteous men or women of those who know the way but
will not walk in it."

Vol. 12,  p.19
We wish the brethren to understand the facts just as they are; that
is, there is neither man or woman in this Church who is not on a
mission. That mission will last as long as they live, and it is to do
good, to promote righteousness, to teach the principles of truth, and
to prevail upon themselves and everybody around them to live those
principles that they may obtain eternal life. This is the mission of
every Latter-day Saint. I talked to the sisters yesterdy; I can talk
to the brethren to-day on the same principle—there is not a man in
this Church but what is capable of doing good if he has a mind to do
so. Here are Elders who say, "I want a mission; I want to go and
preach; I want to be oradained a Seventy, or a High Priest," or
something or other. I will tell you what you really need. You need
eyes to see things as they are and to know your standing before God
and the people. This is what the elders need. To go and preach, or to
be ordained into the quorums of the Seventies, does not make good men
of them, if they are not so before. The ordination of a man to the
High Priest's quorum does not make him a good man. Let every elder,
priest, teacher, and deacon set that example before his family, his
brethren, and the world, that the nations of the earth will hear of
the good works of the Latter-day Saints, that the honest in heart may
be constrained to say—"We are going up to Zion to join this people, of
whom we hear nothing but that they are honest, upright, industrious,
frugal, and intelligent. Let us go up and join this people against
whom so much has heretofore been said."

Vol. 12,  p.19
Will you do this, priests, teachers, and deacons? Will you do this,
Elders of Israel, Seventies, High Priests, and Apostles? Will you live
so that the report may go out from this time from Utah Territory that
the Latter-day Saints are perfect examples for the nations of the
earth?[p.20] This will be the loudest preaching we can do. We have a
good deal to say yet to this Conference, if we have the time, and the
people attend. We will bring our meeting to a close now.

John Taylor, April 14, 1867

Instructions to Missionaries

REMARKS by Elder John Taylor, delivered 
in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, April 14th, 1867.

[Reported By David W. Evans] 

Vol. 12,  p.20
I feel very much interested, as indeed all must do, in hearing the
remarks of our young brethren who are going out into the world to
proclaim the gospel. There is a very great difference between our mode
of promulgating the gospel and that pursued by the world. Many of
these men who have been expressing themselves before you would be very
unlikely instruments for preaching the gospel according to popular
notions; but the grand difference between us and them is that we go
forth in the name of Israel's God, sustained by His power, wisdom, and
intelligence, to proclaim the principles of eternal truth communicated
to us by Him, while they go forth to proclaim what they have learned
in colleges.

Vol. 12,  p.20
Our Elders go forth in weakness, while others, generally, are largest
When they are first born. Having learned what they call the Science of
Divinity, they consider themselves qualified to teach it anywhere and
under all circumstances; they have nothing more to learn and nothing
more to teach. When our elders go forth they have no preparation
beyond the common rudiments of education that all are supposed to
learn; but it is not words they go to teach, it is principles. And
although before an audience learned in the laws of God, they may feel
a good deal of tremor and bashfulness in trying to express themselves,
yet, when they go forth and stand before congregations in the world,
the Spirit of the Lord God will go with them, the Lord will sustain
them, and will give unto them wisdom, "that all their adversaries will
not be able to gainsay nor resist." That is the promise made to the
servants of the Lord who go forth trusting in Him.

Vol. 12,  p.20
I have a great deal more confidence in men who rise here feeling their
weakness and inability than I have in those who feel that they are
well informed and capable of teaching anything and everything. Why?
Because when men trust to themselves they trust in a broken reed, and
when they trust in the Lord they will never fail. I have been out when
I was as young as many of these, before my head was gray, and I had to
learn to trust in God. When we forth into the world we do not go among
friends, for sometimes they do not treat us very friendly.[p.21]  I
would say to these brethren, they will meet with enemies on every hand
who will oppose and persecute them, malign their characters, and say
all manner of evil about them, and who will try to overturn the
principles they advocate, unless there is a very great change in the
world since the time that I used to preach among them. At the same
time they will find many very good people, who will bless them, feed
and clothe them, and take care of them. And the Lord is over all, He
watches over His people, and if these brethren will continue to trust
in God, as they now evince a desire to do, His Spirit will rest upon
them, enlighten their minds, enlarge their capacities, and give to
them wisdom and intelligence in time of need. They need not be under
any apprehension with regard to the wisdom of the world, for there is
no wisdom in the world equal to that which the Lord gives to His
Saints; and as long as these brethren keep from evil, live their
religion, and cleave to the Lord by keeping His commandments, there is
no fear as to the results; and this will apply to all the Saints as
well as to these brethren,

Vol. 12,  p.21
I would say, however, to those going on missions, that they should
study the Bible, Book of Mormon, Book of Doctrine and Covenants, and
all our works, that they may become acquainted with the principles of
our faith. I would also say to other young men who are not now going
on missions, but who will probably have to go at some time in the
future, that these things are of more importance to them than they
realize at the present time. We ought to be built up and fortified by
the truth, we ought to become acquainted with the principles,
doctrines, and ordinances pertaining to the Church and Kingdom of God.
We are told, in the Book of Doctrine and Covenants, to search after
wisdom as we would for hidden treasures, both by study and by faith,
to become acquainted with the history and laws of the nation we live
in, and of the nations of the earth. I know that when young men are
working around here, going to the cañon, working on the farm, going to
the theatre, and so on, their minds are not much occupied with these
things, but when they are called upon to take a part in the drama
themselves many of them will wish they had paid more attention to the
instructions they have received, and had made themselves more familiar
with the Bible, Book of Mormon, and the Book of Doctrine and
Covenants.

Vol. 12,  p.21
These missionaries are now going to school to teach others, and in
teaching others they themselves will be instructed, and when they rise
to speak in the name of Israel's God, if they live in purity and
holiness and before Him, He will give them words and ideas of which
they never dreamed before. I have travelled hundreds and thousands of
miles to preach this gospel among all grades and conditions of men,
and there is one thing that always gave me satisfaction—I never yet
found a man in any part of the world who could overturn one principle
that has been communicated to us; they will attempt it, but error is a
very singular weapon with which to combat truth; it never can vanquish
it. When men go forth in the name of Israel's God there is no power on
earth that can overturn the truths they advocate. Men may misreprent
and calumniate them, they may circulate false reports, for as a
general thing men love lies better than truth, but when men go forth
possessing the truths of the everlasting gospel which God has
revealed, they have a treasure within them that the world knows
nothing about; they [p.22] have the light of revelation, the fire of
the Holy Ghost, and the power of the priesthood within them—a power
that they know very little about even themselves, which, like a
well-spring of life, is rising, bursting, bubbling, and spreading its
exhilerating streams around. Why, says the Lord, with you I will
confound the nations of the earth, with you I will overturn their
kingdoms.

Vol. 12,  p.22
Who are these young men, these very weak instruments? They are men who
hold the holy Priesthood of the Son of God after the order of
Melchisedec. From whom did they receive it? They received it through
the medium of the Holy Priesthood, which has been revealed to Joseph
Smith and others in these last days. They say they are weak. Let us
ask who is strong? Who can boast of anything? Who among you, ye Elders
of Israel, can boast of any knowledge or intelligence? Why we know
nothing about the principles of truth, only what God has revealed. How
do I know anything about baptism for the remission of sins even, and
the laying on of hands for the reception of the Holy Ghost? Why, the
Lord revealed it; if He had not I should have known nothing about it,
neither would Joseph Smith, President Young, br. Kimball, nor anybody
else—all our knowledge comes from God. If we know anything about who
we are and where we came from, or about our relationship to our
Heavenly Father, how do we know it? It would be no use arguing on the
point, for all would be obliged to come to the conclusion that He had
revealed it. If He had not we should still have been in ignorance. Who
knows anything about endowments, anointings, blessings, or promises
pertaining to the future, unless revealed from God? The schools of the
world know nothing about these things, and for all we know we are
indebted to God, and if He had not revealed them to us we should have
been as ignorant as they are.

Vol. 12,  p.22
These young men are just like the rest of us—they have received the
spirit of life, light, and intelligence—the gift of the Holy Ghost—and
they are the messengers of the Great Jehovah, whom He has selected,
set apart, and ordained to go and proclaim His will to the nations of
the earth. They go not in their own name or strength, but in the name,
strength, and power of Israel's God. That is their position, and if
they cleave to God and magnify their callings, adhere to the
principles of truth, and shun temptation and corruption of every kind,
the power of God will be with them, and God shall open their mouths,
and enable them to confound the wisdom of the wise, and they will say
things that will astonish themselves and those who listen to them.

Vol. 12,  p.22
I would say to these brethren—let it be your study to fulfil your
mission. Never mind the world, never mind the dollars and cents, the
pounds, shillings, and pence. You cleave to God, live your religion,
magnify your callings, humble yourselves before God, call upon Him in
secret, and He will open your path before you, and you shall have food
and clothing, and your every want will be supplied, and you will be
able to accomplish a good work and return to Zion in peace and safety.
These are my feelings.

Vol. 12,  p.22
We talk sometimes about going without purse and scrip. I have
travelled hundreds and thousands of miles that way, and if I were
going on a mission I would rather go trusting in God than in the
President of the United States, the Queen of England, the Emperor of
France, [p.23] Austria, or Russia, or any king or potentate on earth.
If they were to say to me, "You may go and preach your gospel in our
dominions, and we will see you provided for," I would rather trust in
God than in any of them. These are my feelings and that is my
experience. Why? Because I might be in situations where their
munificence could not reach me, but I could not be in a place where
the Lord God could not see me, for His eyes are over all the earth,
and His angels will guard and His Spirit will comfort and sustain His
servant. That is why I say cleave to Him and magnify your callings.
When you do not the Spirit will be withdrawn from you, and you will be
weak indeed. In all my travels I never wanted anything, and this is
the experience of my brethren all around, who have been engaged in the
same work. The Lord has always provided for us while we were engaged
in his work and doing His will. And if the whole people will cleave to
Him, and be humble, faithful, and united in keeping His commandments,
the Spirit and power of God will rest upon them, and their blessings
will be a thousand fold greater than they are to-day.

Vol. 12,  p.23
Our strength is in God, and not in our ourselves. Our wisdom and power
come from Him; they are not of ourselves. We are the servants of God,
and to Him we have to look for guidance, direction, and sustenance in
all things, and if we will only do that which lie requires of us as a
people, there is no promise that has been made, not a blessing over
pronounced, not a privilege ever conferred upon, any people under the
face of the whole heavens in our age of the world but will be
conferred upon us.

Vol. 12,  p.23
We are living in the dispensation of the fulness of times, when God
has commenced to gather together all things in one. He has revealed to
us His law, and He is continuing to do so. It is for us to learn to
subject ourselves to that law, to obey His commands, submit to His
authority, and pursue that course that we can always have the
approbation of the Most High. Let us eschew evil, cleave to that which
is good, honor our God and our religion, and the blessings of heaven
will rest upon and abide with us from this time henceforth and for
ever. Zion will arise and shine, the power of God will be made
manifest in our midst, and no hand, nor any power that shall rise
against us, shall be able to injure or destroy us.

Vol. 12,  p.23
In relation, again, to these elders, I will tell you the first thing I
used to do when I went preaching, particularly when I went to a fresh
place—and that was to go aside to some place, anywhere I could get,
into a field, a barn, into the woods, or my closet, and ask God to
bless me and give me wisdom to meet all the circumstances with which I
might have to contend; and the Lord gave me the wisdom I needed and
sustained me. If you pursue a course of this kind He will bless you
also. Do not trust in yourselves, but study the best books—the Bible
and Book of Mormon—and get all the information you can, and then
cleave to God and keep yourselves free from corruption and pollution
of every kind, and the blessings of the Most High will be with you;
and if you go forth trembling and in weakness, bearing precious seed,
you shall return rejoicing and bringing your sheaves with you.

Vol. 12,  p.24
May God bless you, and all Israel, in the name of Jesus. Amen.[p.24] 

George A. Smith, June 2, 1867

Kindness The True Spirit of Instruction And Government

REMARKS by Elder Geo. A. Smith, delivered in the 
Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, June 2nd, 1867.

[Reported By David W. Evans]

Vol. 12,  p.24
It is certainly good to receive instructions from fathers in Israel,
and the kind of instruction which is most desirable is that pertaining
to our every-day life, for a great share of the unhappiness and misery
of the world is the result of ignorance. Many people do not know how
to enjoy the blessings they receive. When they have comforts around
them they make themselves miserable longing for something in the
distance and beyond their reach; something imaginary, and often not
really necessary. It is the duty of every person to cultivate the
spirit of contentment, and, no matter what our condition in life may
be, we should be sure to do right, be contented, and trust in God to
improve it. When we are placed in uncomfortable circumstances—for
instance, when we lack the necessaries and comforts of life, we are
apt to give way to a spirit of discontentment, when, peradventure, if
we understood the providences of the Almighty we should find that they
are to give us an experience we could not otherwise attain to, and
which is necessary to prepare us for the performance of greater duties
which may be required of us.

Vol. 12,  p.24
President Kimball's remarks in relation to going with his boys, and
teaching them how to work, were excellent; and one of the greatest
blessings that a man has bestowed upon him on earth is that of being
with his family. A great many do not appreciate it, but the privilege
of being with one's family, and teaching them the principles of truth
and how to become useful in life, cannot be too highly prized. The
Presidency and numbers of the elders have so many responsibilities of
a public nature resting upon them, that they are deprived, to a great
extent, of that association with their families which is necessary to
enable them to instruct them personally, consequently they have to
leave it to others. President Kimball told us that if he hired a man
to work for him he had to show him which was the top end of a straw.
My family, once during my absence, employed a man to work in the
garden. They gave him a lot of cabbages, turnips, onions, and carrots
to set out for the raising of seed. He set every one of them into the
ground with the roots up. When the ladies came to see what was done,
they gave him a lecture on the subject that he remembered, and he
learned to do such work properly. A great many of our people have been
gathered from the various nations of Europe, and while there the
majority of them were operatives in factories, or engaged in different
mechanical pursuits, and never planted an onion, carrot, turnip, or
parsnip in their lives, and have no idea of the process, consequently,
when they gather [p.25] here, where almost every man is under the
necessity of raising his own food, they have to learn the method of
doing so.

Vol. 12,  p.25
President Kimball has been urging us strongly to store our bins with
wheat and flour. This may sound like strange counsel to those who,
during most of their lives, have been in the habit of receiving their
wages every Saturday, and, then, without further care, laying in their
week's provisions. But in this country, where we are liable to seasons
of scarcity, it is requisite to prepare for such emergencies; hence
the counsel to store up food is frequently given, and is absolutely
necessary. Yet, as a people, we are apt to neglect it, for the sun
rises and sets, the seasons come and go with unfailing regularity, and
we expect that every year will bring plenty; yet we have had years of
scarcity, and may have again, and we are not safe unless we provide
against them, and be prepared for a day of hunger. Hence, in this
respect and in many others, the Latter-day Saints have many things to
learn.

Vol. 12,  p.25
Many men do not know how to be comfortable in their families; they are
cross and crabbed with their wives, and think it is necessary to scold
and find fault with almost everything they do. Now, you can do a good
deal more with a person without finding fault than with; the man that
is pleasant with, and never says a cross word to his family, governs
them the best, as a general thing. Women, too, who talk pleasant and
comforting words to their husbands, and never find fault, always have
the most influence with them. And yet we find men and women who, in
their family relations, seem to think that the rod and a disposition
to be cross and crabbed, to scold, and find fault, and threaten, is
the best policy, whereas the right policy is directly opposite. We
should overcome with love and affection, guide with kindness, and
teach and instruct by good example and self government, for the man
who can govern his own temper, rule his own passions, and regulate his
own conduct, will have more influence over others ten thousand times
than he will who is feared and dreaded, and consequently hated. The
question arises in the world—"How is it that Brigham Young can control
so easily so many Latter-day Saints?" And "How was it that Joseph
Smith could send his brethren all over the world, and bring so many
people together, without ever seeing them?" It is by the power of that
magic which wins hearts; by the power of those external principles of
salvation which exist in God and in his faithful servants. Every man
knows that in Brigham Young he has a friend and a father, and that
when he counsels, instructs, corrects, or reproves, it is with the
spirit of a father to his children—he corrects them for their own
good; hence every person fears to do wrong and desires to do right,
and, so far as this principle extends, Israel is governed by love and
charity, by that strong bond of eternal truth which will make peace
throughout the earth.

Vol. 12,  p.25
How are the nations of the earth governed? Generally through fear or
self-interest. What is it that props the French Empire? A million of
bayonets. What holds the autocrats of Europe on their thrones? The
fear of death, for if any attempt be made to overthrow them death
would be the inevitable doom of the conspirators. Is that the
principle by which governments can stand? No; the only principles by
which they can be permanently sustained is the love of truth, honor,
and integrity, and these virtues should be honored and observed by the
sovereign more [p.26] than by anybody else, and that superior love of
truth would enable him to control every person in his empire, for
virtue reigning triumphant would frown down vice, and would thus lay
the foundation for an empire that would be lasting.

Vol. 12,  p.26
When one sovereign gets more bayonets than the others blood and
slaughter result, and downfall follows. How will it be in the Kingdom
of God? It will be governed by peace, truth, and order, and truth will
eventually govern the world. Men will be taught correct principles,
and they will then govern themselves. That is the secret of
"Mormonism." President Young teaches the Saints correct principles,
and the Saints govern themselves.

Vol. 12,  p.26
I bear my testimony to the truth of the Counsel and instruction that
we have received this morning, and I trust they will be treasured up
in good and honest hearts, and that men and women will consider these
things and realize that we have one great interest, which is to build
up Zion, sustain the principles of salvation, walk humbly before the
Lord, remember our prayers, and deal honestly and justly with each
other. If a man owes another let him discharge his obligations
honorably; if circumstances beyond his control prevent him doing
according to agreement, let him go to his creditor and show to him the
real circumstances of the case, and that it is absolutely out of his
power, and not become a man's enemy because he is your creditor. It
frequently happens, I notice, that in the dealings of brethren one
with another, when pay day comes men are not so pleasant and agreeable
as when they are trying to obtain the credit. This is wrong. In all
cases our word should be our bond, certain and sure, and nothing short
of that which is beyond the ordinary course of events should prevent
us fulfilling it.

Vol. 12,  p.26
By pursuing this course of events we shall increase confidence in our
midst, build each other up, and build up Zion. Let us not build on
borrowed capital, but learn to live within our means, and teach our
children the beauties of industry, prudence, and frugality, that we
may all be prepared and qualified to magnify our callings. Thus the
rising generation will be prepared to bear the burden and carry off
the kingdom; the work will increase, and truth will spread until it
covers the whole earth.

Vol. 12,  p.26
I feel thankful for the privilege of bearing my testimony. I pray that
the blessings of heaven may rest upon you, and that the peace of God
may be upon all Israel. I heartily unite with br. Kimball in praying
for the recovery of his son, and for prosperity and blessings upon all
Israel; which may God grant, for Jesus sake. Amen.[p.27] 

Brigham Young, April 7, 1867

The Word of Wisdom

REMARKS by President Brigham Young, delivered in the 
Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, April 7th, 1867.

[Reported By David W. Evans] 

Vol. 12,  p.27
I will take the liberty of suggesting to my brethren who address the
congregation that our sermons should be short, and if they are not
filled with life and spirit let them be shorter, for we have not time
at this Conference to let all the Elders who speak preach a long
sermon, but we have time to say a few words in bearing testimony, to
give a few words of counsel to encourage the Saints, to strengthen the
weak, to endeavor to confirm those who are wavering, and so forward
the Kingdom of God. I have a few words to say to the Bishops and
others who are leading men in the House of Israel, including your
humble servant now addressing you. There are certain rights and
privileges belonging to the Eiders in Israel, and there are certain
things that it is not their privilege to indulge in. You go through
the wards in the city, and then through the wards in the country, and
ask the Bishops—"Do you keep the Word of Wisdom?" The reply will be
"Yes; no, not exactly." "Do you drink tea?" "No." "Coffee?" "No." "Do
you drink whisky?" "No." "Well, then, why do you not observe the Word
of Wisdom?" "Well, this tobacco, I cannot give it up." And in this he
sets an example to every man, and to every boy over ten years of age,
in his ward, to nibble at and chew tobacco. You go to another ward,
and perhaps the Bishop does not chew tobacco, nor drink tea nor
coffee, but once in a while he takes a little spirits, and keeps
whisky in his house, in which he will occasionally indulge. Go to
another ward, and perhaps the Bishop does not drink whisky nor chew
tobacco, but he "cannot give up his tea and coffee." And so it goes
through the whole church. Not that every Bishop indulges in one or
more of these habits, but most of them do. I recollect being at a
trial not long since where quite a number of Bishops had been called
in as witnesses, but I could not learn that there was one who did not
drink whisky, and I think that most of them drank tea and coffee. I
think that we have some Bishops in this city who do not chew tobacco,
nor drink liquor nor tea nor coffee to excess.

Vol. 12,  p.27
The Word of Wisdom is one thing, and ignorance, superstition, or
bigotry is another. I wish people to come to an understanding with
regard to the Word of Wisdom. For illustration, I will refer to a
certain brother who was in the church once, and President of the
Elder's Quorum in Nauvoo. While living at that place there was a great
deal of sickness among the people, and he was sometimes called in to
lay hands on the sick, but if he had the least doubt about their
drinking tea, if he even saw a tea-pot, he would refuse.[p.28] I
recollect he went into a house where a woman was sick, who wanted him
to lay hands on her; he saw a teapot in the corner containing catnip
tea, but without stopping to enquire he left the house, exclaiming
against her and her practices.

Vol. 12,  p.28
Now, there is no harm in a teapot, even if it contains tea, if it is
let alone; and I say of a truth that where a person is diseased, say,
for instance, with canker, there is no better medicine than green tea,
and where it is thus used it should be drank sparingly. Instead of
drinking thirteen or fourteen cups every morning, noon, and night,
there should not be any used. You may think I am speaking
extravagantly, but I remember a tea-drinking match once in which
fourteen cops a-piece were drank, so you see it can be done. But to
drink half a dozen or even three or four cops of strong tea is
hurtful. It injures and impairs the system, benumbs the faculties of
the stomach, and affects the blood, and is deleterious in its nature.
If a person is weary, worn out, cast down, fainting, or dying, a
brandy sling, a little wine, or a cup of tea is good to revive them.
Do not throw these things away, and say they must never be used; they
are good to be used with judgment, prudence, and discretion. Ask our
Bishops if they drink tea every day, and in most cases they will tell
you they do if they can get it. They take it when they do not need it
and when it injures them. I want to say to the Elders in Israel, this
is not our privilege. We have a great many privileges, but to indulge
in liquor or other things to our own injury is not one of them. We
have the right, to live, labor, build our houses, make our farms,
raise our cattle and horses, buy our carriages, marry our wives, raise
and school our children, and then we have the right to set before them
an example worthy of imitation, but we have not the right to throw sin
in their path or to lead them to destruction.

Vol. 12,  p.28
I recollect telling the people here, not long ago, something in regard
to the rights of the Elders. Our rights are numerous. If we are so
disposed, we have the right to dictate the House of Israel in their
daily avocations. We have the right to counsel them to go to the gold
mines if it is wisdom and God requires it, and we have the right to
counsel them away from the gold mines when it is not wisdom to go
there. We have the right to ask them to go and buy goods, and to sell
those goods without fraud or deception. I am sorry to say we cannot
say this of many of our merchants. We have merchants that say they are
of us and with us, and that they wish to be Saints, but they are not
honest in their dealings; they will trade fradulently, and they will
take all the advantage they possibly can. I said here a year or two
ago that unless such merchants repent they will go down to hell; I say
so to-day. They never can enter the celestial kingdom of our God
unless they refrain from their dishonest course and become Saints
indeed.

Vol. 12,  p.28
To the Bishops and the Elders in Israel I wish to say that we have the
right to do right, but not to sin. The right to obtain large families,
although obnoxious to the refined Christians, all classes of whom
preach against it—the priest in the pulpit, the judge on the bench,
the senators and representatives in Congress, as well as the
bar-keeper and the drunkard wallowing in his filth—they are all
against it except God and the Saints; yet this is a right that the
Saints have, and which no others legally possess. Others will
presumptuously arrogate to themselves certain rights and privileges,
but the [p.29] result will be their overthrow, their condemnation, and
their damnation.

Vol. 12,  p.29
We urge the people continually to be one in their temporal affairs. We
do not offer prayers to dead Saints—to Peter, Paul, Mary, and
others—but we frequently pray the living Saints, in Christ's stead, to
be reconciled to God. If we urge the people to this until we get them
to be really of one heart and one mind, what will be the result? We
shall then possess Zion, it will then be developed in our midst, and
we will be as independent as ever the children of Zion can be in our
capacity. Will wrath, anger, strife, and selfishness then reign within
us? No, they will not. It is our right and privilege to live so that
we may attain to this, so that we may sanctify our hearts before the
Lord, and sanctify the Lord God in our hearts, but it is not my
privilege to drink liquor, neither is it my privilege to eat tobacco.
Well, bro. Brigham, have you not done it? Yes, for many years, but I
ceased its habitual practice. I used it for toothache; now I am free
from that pain, and my mouth is never stained with tobacco. It is not
my privilege to drink liquor nor strong tea and coffee although I am
naturally a great lover of tea. Brethren and sisters, it is not our
privilege to indulge in these things, but it is our right and
privilege to set an example worthy of imitation.

Vol. 12,  p.29
When we come to home-made cloth, I must say it would make clothes good
enough for me to wear. "Then why do you not wear it, bro. Brigham?"
Shall I tell you? I have hardly worn a suit of clothes for years that
has not been presented to me. If I knew that doing this would be a
hindrance to the work of God, I would say to the next friend who
wished to present me with a suit of clothes—"I thank you, but I will
not wear them; you will please take them back to the store, or take
them home and put them in the trunk." I know the thoughts of many are
"I wish they would serve me so." I wish they would; and if they will I
will never say wear home-made again as long as friends will give you
that which is imported, and you can lay by the money you save to send
the Elders abroad to preach the gospel, to gather the poor, to help to
build the temple of the Lord, or to finish the canal that we may get
the rock here for the temple.

Vol. 12,  p.29
You men owning saw mills bring on the lumber to finish the tabernacle,
and you carpenters and joiners come and help to use it up. We are
going to plaster the main body of this building here immediately; take
down the scaffold at the west end from the body of the building while
the east end is being put up. And we are going to lay a platform for
the organ, and then make a plan for the seats. And we calculate by
next October, when the brethren and sisters come together, to have
room for all; and if there is not room under the roof, the doors are
placed in such a way that the people can stand in the openings and
hear just as well as inside. I expect, however, that by the time our
building is finished we shall find that we shall want a little more
room.   "Mormonism" is growing, spreading abroad, swelling and
increasing, and I expect it is likely that our building will not be
quite large enough, but we have it so arranged, standing on piers,
that we can open all the doors and preach to people outside.

Vol. 12,  p.29
Now I want you should recollect—Bishops, Elders of Israel, High
Priests, Seventies, the Twelve Apostles, the First Presidency, and all
the House of Israel, hearken ye, O, my people! keep the word of the
Lord, observe the Word of Wisdom, sustain [p.30] one another, sustain
the household of faith, and let our enemies alone. As for those in our
midst who love and work iniquity, the Lord will gather them from among
us in His own due time. They will grow fewer and fewer until we will
be free from them. the Lord chasteneth His people for their good, but
see the sufferings of the wicked! God has always favored the righteous
more than the wicked. Still, we have those among us who are afraid.
"Well, this time we are going to see trouble," or "we are going to be
afflicted," or "I think the Mormons will have to leave," is their cry.
I want to tell you we are not going to leave these mountains unless
the Lord says so. The devil may say so until his throat splits, but we
shall not do it; and woe to the men or people who drive us into the
mountains, and compel us to hide ourselves in the dens and caves of
the earth! Woe to the people who do this; they will find something
they never learned yet; but they will never do it. I am looking for
something entirely different. The wicked will waste away and destroy
each other.

Vol. 12,  p.30
We are blamed for praying that sin and wickedness may cease on the
earth, but the only way to effect that is for the perpetration of
crime to cease. Will the people turn from evil, refrain from sin and
iniquity, and serve the Lord? I would to God they would, but they will
not do it. Sin must cease on the earth before iniquity and the workers
thereof are unknown, there is no other way. We should not be blamed
for praying that righteousness may reign, and that peace may come to
the people. Is there war in our religion? No; neither war nor
bloodshed. Yet our enemies cry out "bloodshed," and "oh, what dreadful
men these Mormons are, and those Danites! how they slay and kill!"
Such is all nonsense and folly in the extreme. The wicked slay the
wicked, and they will lay it on the Saints. But I say again that if
the people called Latter-day Saints will live their religion they will
never be driven from their homes in the mountains, but if they do sin
to that extent that the Lord God of heaven will let them be driven,
woe to them that come after us, for they will find greater desolation
than we found when we came. If we will do right we are safe in the
hands of God. We wish evil to no man or woman on this earth, but we
wish to do good to all. Our Elders have circumscribed this little
globe again and again without purse and scrip, offering the gospel to
the nations of the earth. Will they have it? No; they prefer death,
carnage, and destruction, and in the end they will receive the reward
of the unjust. Let us take a course in which we shall be justified. We
wish all people to do right, and if the Latter-day Saints will do so,
and will sustain themselves and live within their own means, and never
let their wants swell beyond them, all is right, we shall reign, and
triumph over sin and iniquity. It is no more than reasonable, right,
just, and equitable for us to ask those who wish to supplant us here
to go to other places and build cities, plant orchards, raise grain,
and make themselves comfortable, as we have done. They are perfectly
welcome to eat, live, rule, and reign over one another, but let us
alone to serve our God, build up His Kingdom on the earth, and live
righteously and godly as we should.

Vol. 12,  p.30
Now, Elders of Israel, if you have the right to chew tobacco, you have
a privilege I have not; if you have a right to drink whisky, you have
a right that I have not; if you have a [p.31] right to transgress the
Word of Wisdom, you have a right that I have not. If you have the
right to buy and sell and get gain, to go here and there, to do this
and that, to build up the wicked and the ungodly, or their cities, you
have rights that I have not got. I have the right to build up Zion,
but I have no right to build up a city in wickedness. It is the to
close our morning's meeting.

Brigham Young, April 8, 1867

Education—Employment of Females

REMARKS by President Brigham Young, delivered in the 
Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, April 8th, 1867.

[Reported By David W. Evans]

Vol. 12,  p.31
A few words to the Latter-day Saints, and especially to our young men.
We have a great deal of time to spare over and above going to the
kanyon, and working in the fields and in our shops. It is true this is
not exactly the time of year to establish evening schools and lyceums,
but we wish our young men to make preparation this summer, and send
east to procure the necessary articles for the formation of societies
in this and other cities throughout the Territory for the purpose of
studying the arts and sciences. Now, if a man in the North, say
sixty-eight or a hundred miles away, should have a limb broken, he has
to send to this city for a surgeon. It is all folly; there is no more
real necessity for it, if men would devote their time to the study of
such things, than there is to send for a man to put a rafter or joint
on his house, or a panel into his door.

Vol. 12,  p.31
As the subject of education is open, and has been from time to time
during this Conference, I will now urge it upon the people—the young
men and the middle-aged—to get up schools and study. If they are
disposed to study physic or surgery, all right; they will know then
what to do if a person is sickly, or has his elbow, wrist, or shoulder
put out of joint, or his arm or any other bone broken. It is just as
easy to learn such things as it is to learn to plant potatoes. I would
like to urge these matters upon our young men, and I am convinced this
meets the feelings of all the brethren. I do hope, and pray you, my
brethren and sisters, to be careful to observe what br. Wells has said
in regard to introducing into our schools the Bible, Book of Mormon,
Doctrine and Covenants, and the Standard works of the Church, and all
the works pertaining to our faith, that our children may become
acquainted with its principles, and that our young men, when they go
out to preach, may not be so ignorant as they have been hitherto. I
would like very much to urge upon our young people, the sisters as
well as the brethren, to pay more attention to arithmetic and other
things that are useful, instead of acquiring a little [p.32] French
and German and other fanciful studies that are not of so much
practical importance. I do not know how long it will be before we call
upon the brethren and sisters to enter upon business in an entirely
different way from what they have done. I have been an advocate for
our printing to be done by females, and as for men being in stores,
you might as well set them to knitting stockings as to sell tape. Such
business ought to be done by the sisters. It would enable them to
sustain themselves, and would be far better than for them to spend
their time in the parlor or in walking the streets. Hardy men have no
business behind the counter; they who are not able to hoe potatoes, go
to the kanyon, cut down the trees, saw the lumber, &c., can attend to
that business. Our young men in the stores ought to be tuned out and
the sisters take their place; and they should steady arithmetic and
bookkeeping necessary to qualify them for such positions. I would also
like our school teachers to introduce phonography into every school;
it is an excellent thing to learn. By its means we can commit our
thoughts and reflections to paper with ease and rapidity, and thus
preserve that which will be of benefit to ourselves and others, and
which would otherwise be for ever lost. This is a delightful study! In
these and all other branches of science and education we should know
as much as any people in the world. We have them within our reach, for
we have as good teachers as can be found on the face of the earth, if
our Bishops would only employ and pay them, but they will not. Let a
miserable little, smooth-faced, beardless, good-for-nothing Gentile
come along, without regard for either truth or honesty, and they will
pay him when they will not pay a Latter-day Saint. Think of these
things. Introduce every kind of useful studies into our schools. I
have been urging upon our young men for years to get up classes for
the study of law. The laws of this Territory, of the United States, of
the different States, of England, and foreign lands. Do this instead
of riding over the prairies hunting and wasting your time, which is
property that belongs to the Lord our God, and if we do not make good
use of it we shall be held accountable.

Vol. 12,  p.32
Now, my brethren and sisters, I feel to bless you in the name of the
Lord Jesus Christ, and I pray my Father in heaven to continue His
mercies to us, and I pray you, in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to
God in all things. We will now bring our conference to a close.[p.33] 

Brigham Young, April 14, 1867

General Instructions to Missionaries Going Abroad

DISCOURSE by President Brigham Young, delivered in the 
Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, April 14th, 1867.

[Reported By David W. Evans]

Vol. 12,  p.33
Inasmuch as I am a missionary, and have been called of God to proclaim
the gospel, I rise here to bear my testimony in connection with my
brethren whom you have heard speak this day. We hear the testimony of
brethren brought up in the Church, as well as the testimony of those
who receive the gospel in other lands and gather with the Church. They
all agree that this is the truth—the gospel of life and salvation.
These brethren are going to preach, because they have got the truth
and the world are destitute of it. One of the brethren said he was
going after truth. I would correct him, and say he has got truth, and
is going to carry to others who have if, not. You are not going to
England, Scotland, or to the Continent for truth, but to carry truth
to people who sit in darkness and in the regions of the shadow of
death. I am a missionary called to preach the gospel, and I am going
on a mission; not that I have been lately converted, but I feel to go
and strengthen my brethren, and I am going on a preaching tour for
that purpose. There is no place on this earth where greater good can
be done than here, preaching the gospel to this people and getting
them to be Saints indeed. I would say to my young friends and to the
middle-aged brethren, though I believe all who are going may be called
young men, that if you go on a mission to preach the gospel with
lightness and frivolity in your hearts, looking for this and that, and
to learn what is in the world, and not having your minds riveted—yes,
I may say riveted—on the cross of Christ, you will go and return in
vain. Go forth weeping, bearing precious seed, full of the power of
God, and full of faith to heal the sick even by the touch of your
hand, rebuking and casting out foul spirits, and causing the poor
among men to rejoice, and you will return bringing your sheaves with
you. If you do not go in this way your mission will not be very
profitable to yourselves nor to the people. I wish you to bear this in
mind. We do not send these elders forth for political purposes; we
have nothing to do with the political world. Neither do we wish them
to go for two or three years to learn what is transpiring in the
scientific world. If they wish to study the sciences, they can do that
at home. We have an abundance of scientific men among us. If you wish
to know what is going on in theatres, do not go to theatres to learn,
but wait until you come back to our own. I am simply giving you a word
of counsel. This is as good a time to do it as when you assemble
together to receive your parting blessing. We do not send you for any
of these purposes, but to preach the gospel. Let your minds be
centered on your missions,[p.34] and labor earnestly to bring souls to
Christ.

Vol. 12,  p.34
I would like to impress upon the minds of the brethren, that he who
goes forth in the name of the Lord, trusting in Him with all his heart
will never want for wisdom to answer any question that is asked him,
or to give any counsel that may be required to lead the people in the
way of life and salvation, and he will never be confounded worlds
without end; while he who trusts in the wisdom of man, or leans on the
arm of flesh, is weak and blind, and destitute of the principles that
will lead the Elders of Israel to victory and glory. Go in the name of
the Lord, trust in the name of the Lord, lean upon the Lord, and call
upon the Lord fervently and without ceasing, and pay no attention to
the world. You will see plenty of the world—it will be before you all
the time—but if you live so as to possess the Holy Ghost you will be
able to understand more in relation to it in one day than you could in
a dozen days without it, and you will at once see the difference
between the wisdom of men and the wisdom of God, and you can weigh
things in the balance and estimate them at their true worth. I can say
also to the brethren and sisters, no matter what you are doing—working
in the garden, plowing, sowing, going to the kanyon, building houses,
laying rock or adobies, attending to your household affairs in the
kitchen, the washroom, in the parlor, or in your bedchambers, live
continually so that you may have the Spirit of the Lord with you and
the counsel of God within you, that you may be able to give a word of
counsel, instruction, and comfort to the disconsolate, to strengthen
the weak, and to confirm the wavering, and spend every day of your
lives in doing good. Unless we take this course it is useless to talk
about being Latter-day Saints, the redemption of Zion, or the
establishment of the Kingdom of God, for nothing short of the wisdom
and power of God and the Holy Ghost will ever enable any people on the
face of the earth to redeem Zion, and to establish the kingdom of God
in these latter days.

Vol. 12,  p.34
A great many things were said while we were assembled in a Conference
capacity. We are composed of such material, and our organization and
education are of such a nature, that a great many things have to be
said to us continually. Like children, there is no day but we need
instruction, and if we do not live so that we may have the Holy Ghost
within us continually we need to be taught by our friends around us
how to build up the Kingdom of God, to sanctify ourselves, to prepare
for the coming of the Son of man, and for the accomplishment of the
great work of the latter days. The work in which we are engaged should
be interesting to every soul that has named the name of Christ; it
should be first and foremost, morning, noon, and night, with us every
day of our lives. Our religion should be first with us all the time.
Coming to this tabernacle to worship and do the will of God for one
day in the week, and following our own inclinations and doing our own
will at all other times, is a folly; it is useless, and a perfect
burlesque on the service of God. We should do the will of God, and
spend all our time for the accomplishment of His purposes, whether we
are in this tabernacle or elsewhere. We are often told that, so far as
the principles of our religion are concerned, we are one. Our brethren
here are going on missions to Scandinavia, Germany, and perhaps to
places where the gospel has never been preached before, and some,
perhaps, [p.35] to the antipodes of others, yet in the proclamation of
the principles of the gospel I do not expect there will be any
variation. They will go north, south, east, and west, and they will
all take up the scriptures of truth contained in the Bible, Book of
Mormon, and Book of Doctrine and Covenants, and each one will
corroborate the testimony of the other in establishing the truth of
the gospel of the Son of God, and all will exactly agree. Yet, when we
are gathered together, there are as many minds as there are persons in
regard to the affairs of every-day life and the managing of financial
affairs. Now, the people of God are being gathered together expressly
to become one with regard to the things of this world.

Vol. 12,  p.35
I would like to be understood, if I could explain myself. We never
shall become one to that extent that we shall look alike or possess
precisely the same mental power and ability; this is not the design of
Heaven. But we expect to become one in all our operations to bring
forth the fullness of the Kingdom of God on the earth that Jesus may
come and reign King of nations as He does King of Saints. Shall we
call this a union for political purposes? I say it is good policy for
people to be of one heart and mind in all their operations. I have
frequently looked at the inhabitants of the earth and seen how their
feelings, dispositions, and pursuits differ; no two, scarcely, can
agree. If two men enter into partnership, say in the banking business,
or in mercantile business or manufacturing, it is very seldom that
they agree a great while. Their minds will run in different channels
with regard to business matters, and one will not be trammeled with
the ideas of the other, so each resolves to take his own course. If
you wish for a perfect example of this, I can tell you where to find
it: just as quick as warm weather comes you see these little red and
black ants on the hills. You will see them running in every direction,
but it is seldom that two of them take the same course; they will run
against each other, tumble over each other, and, finally, rob each
other. This is a perfect example of the course pursued by the
inhabitants of the earth.

Vol. 12,  p.35
I would say that it is good policy if we can be agreed in all matters.
To illustrate, suppose we want to go and quarry rock out of the
granite mountain here; we are building a huge fabric and we want some
columns, say sixty feet high, five, six, seven, or eight feet through
at the base, and perhaps four or five feet through at the top. Let one
man undertake such a work, and how long would it take him? But let us
he united in the undertaking, and we can soon have our columns
quarried, hauled, and erected. Suppose there was a union of effort in
every political and financial matter undertaken for the benefit of the
whole people, who cannot see the good that would result? We have tried
this to some extent in relation to our markets here; but suppose we
were fully agreed on the point, we could demand a fair price for our
products, and we need not be imposed upon by traders and traffickers.
If we were agreed, we could supply ourselves from distant markets, say
with our clothing, at a far less cost than now. Suppose, as was said
at Conference, that we dispense with the luxuries of tobacco, tea,
coffee, and whisky, how much could we save? If we had the money on
hand that we have spent on these needless articles during the the year
that is past, we should have abundance to donate to the missionaries
to land them in their fields of labor.[p.36] 

Vol. 12,  p.36
The people, perhaps, will turn round and say—"We pay our tithing, and
that is all we feel to do." If you do, you do more than the people did
some years ago. At that time we found that in the staple article of
wheat, of which there is more paid on tithing than anything else in
the Territory, that we did not receive one bushel in a hundred of that
which was raised, to say nothing one in ten. The people are not
compelled to pay their tithing, they do as they please about it, it is
urged upon them only as a matter of duty between them and their God.
This little moiety that is now paid on tithing is used to bring the
poor here, to find them houses to live in, bread to eat, and wood to
burn, when we can get the brethren to bring it in on tithing, but that
is an article pretty hard to get. Now, suppose we had a little more of
this surplus on hand, could we not help the brethren on their way to
preach the gospel to the nations? Yes, we could. Some of them will
leave families that will, probably be destitute, and if we had means
on hand we could donate to help them, and to prevent them from running
continually to the Bishops. The Bishops have nothing in their hands,
the tithing is used up, it has gone to sustain the poor, the
Priesthood, and the Public Works. Yet when they go to a Bishop he has
to look round to procure them a house, some wood, or some wheat or
flour on tithing. But suppose we had the money on hand that we have
spent on these useless articles which have been referred to the case
would be different. When I begin to talk about these things I see so
much that I can tell but very little. To see the slackness,
slothfulness, and neglect of duty in taking care of the things which
God gives to us. We may say we have abundance—more than we need—but
will we give it to those who need it? No, but it is wasted in buying
articles for which there is no real need. The people here seem to be
perfectly lost, and cannot imagine what they do want. They are not
clogged with every luxury, to be sure; they are not over surfeited
with riches, for they are not rich; but they are comfortable, and they
spend their substance for naught, for that which neither enriches the
soul nor builds up the Kingdom of God.

Vol. 12,  p.36
How is it with you, my brethren and sisters? Can you call to mind any
circumstances that have transpired in the midst of this people that
could have been avoided, and that should put you on your guard? Yes,
plenty of them, if you will only reflect. I asked one man, for
instance, how he lived. "Oh," said he, "I hardly know how; I can
hardly sustain my family." "How many have you in family?" "Eight of
us." "And what do you have a day?" "Three dollars." Perhaps here is
another man who gets five dollar a day, and he is poor; and another
one who has a hundred cattle running on the prairie, and he is living
on a dirt floor; he is not able to buy a few boards to make a floor.
Go through the country and you will see numbers living, year after
year, on dirt floors, and unable to procure a little sand and lime to
plaster the walls of their dwellings, and at the same time, perhaps,
they have hundreds and hundreds of animals running on the prairie.
What economy!

Vol. 12,  p.36
You recollect that I asked a few questions at Conference as to the
amount paid out last year for those needless articles—tea coffee, &c.
Will one hundred thousand dollars pay for the tobacco that the Elders
of Israel chewed and spit out? It will not and the tea that was drunk
will perhaps cost a hundred thousand more, [p.37] and the coffee will
amount to pretty near the same sum. As for the sugar, I should say,
continue to purchase that, and let the children have it, not to live
on it alone, but in connection with other nutriment, for you should
understand that our food is composed of three staple articles—sugar,
starch, and glue, consequently sugar is good. But to train your
children to drink tea and coffee at two, three, or four years old is
very pernicious and injurious. You mothers and daughters in Israel who
are taking this course, how do you expect to live to accomplish the
work the Lord has assigned you? Why you will not live half your days;
you will come short of it, as much as the wicked. Is this true? It is
verily true. You get up in the morning and have your cup of tea, your
fried ham, your cold beef and mince pies, and everything you can
possibly cram into the stomach, until you surfeit the system and lay
the foundation for disease and early death. Says the mother—"Do eat,
my little daughter, you are sick; take a piece of pie, toast, or meat,
or drink a little tea or coffee; you must take something or other."
Mothers in Israel, such a course engenders disease, and you are laying
a foundation that will cut off one-half or two-thirds of the lives of
your children; and yet a more healthy country than ours cannot be
found upon the face of the earth, if the people would learn to live
prudently.

Vol. 12,  p.37
In foreign lands you may find districts where many of the people do
not have, probably, more than two-thirds of what they need to eat—and
they live thus from year to year—yet you will find them reach more
healthy than they who gorge themselves continually. Take the
Americans, say in the old Granite State where I have travelled, and to
look at their surroundings out of doors you would not think they had
more than one bean to a pint of water, but go into their houses and
you will find beef, pork, apple pie, custard pie, pumpkin pie, mince
pie, and every luxury, and they live so as to shorten their days and
the days of their children. You may think that these things are not of
much importance; no more they are, unless they are observed, but let
the people observe them and they lay the foundation for longevity, and
they will begin to live out their days, not only a hundred years, but,
by and bye, hundreds of years on the earth. Do you think they will
stuff themselves then with tea and coffee, and perhaps with a little
brandy sling before breakfast and a little before going to bed, and
then beef, pork, mutton, sweetmeats, and pastry, morning, noon, and
night? No; you will find they will live as our first parents did, on
fruits and on a little simple food, and they will never overload the
stomach.

Vol. 12,  p.37
Let the people be temperate in their food, then go to work and clothe
themselves. Ladies, why can you not make your own bonnets as well as
buy them? Will you go to work and do it? I know not. You can do as you
please. Will you dispense with your frills, ruffles, bows, and
nonsense? To correspond with the ladies the gentlemen ought to have
one half el their hals covered with feathers and the other half with a
cockade, and frills up and down the sleeves of their coats and the
legs of their pantaloons. Still, we see some who wear home-made. I
noticed one young man, who is going on a mission, and who spoke here
to-day, with a suit of home-made cloth on. We can make our own cloth
and then wear it. We can learn how to raise and improve our stock, how
to raise our grain, fruit, and vegetables, we [p.38] can raise our our
own wool and flax and make it into cloth, and in fact we can learn to
raise and make all that we need, and this is one of the great objects
to be attained to in the gathering of the Saints together. As for your
surplus means, you can lay it away, and when a call is made you can
donate to assist the elders who are sent on missions to the nations of
the earth, and help to sustain their families while they are away.

Vol. 12,  p.38
To the elders who are going to preach I will give another word of
counsel—try and maintain yourselves as much as you can. You are going
where thousands of the people die annually of starvation. Do not go
and beg of them, but rather give to them. I have told every one of my
boys not to depend on the people, but when they get a dinner from the
poor, instead of taking the last crumb or morsel they have, leave
something with them to enable them to supply their wants. I have known
many sisters, and perhaps there are some of them here to-day, who,
when times were far better than they are now, would pinch themselves
for a whole week in order to provide a comfortable dinner or supper
for an elder who would visit them, at the same time they, probably,
did not have more than one-half, or at most two-thirds, of what was
necessary to sustain themselves. The Elders of Israel should go forth
calculating to help the people both temporally and spiritually, but
some of them have done nothing but beg from the time they left here
until their return. For brethren to leave a country like this, where
labor is plentiful and means so easily acquired, and go and ask alms
of the poor in other countries is a shame and disgrace. I want the
missionaries to remember this and lay it to heart, if they will. Go
and preach the gospel, and help the honest-in-heart to gather, that
they may aid in building up Zion, for that was the design of the Lord
when He said, through the Revelator John, "Come out of her my people
that ye be not partakers of her sins and that ye receive not of her
plagues."

Vol. 12,  p.38
Take the people in the east, west, north, and south who have obeyed
the gospel, and, so far as the spiritual gifts are concerned, they are
all of one heart and one mind, but not one soul knows how to build up
Zion. Not a man in all the realms and kingdoms that exist knows how to
commence the foundation of the Zion of God in the latter days without
revelation. If the people in the world could sanctify themselves and
prepare themselves to build up Zion they might remain scattered, but
they cannot, they must be gathered together to be taught, that they
may sanctify themselves before the Lord and become of one heart and of
one mind. By and by the Jews will be gathered to the land of their
fathers, and the ten tribes, who wandered into the north, will be
gathered home, and the blood of Ephraim, the second son of Joseph, who
was sold into Egypt, which is to be found in every kingdom and nation
under heaven, will be gathered from among the Gentiles, and the
Gentiles who will receive and adhere to the principles of the gospel
will be adopted and initiated into the family of Father Abraham, and
Jesus will reign over His own and Satan will reign over his own. This
will be the result.

Vol. 12,  p.38
Now, Latter-day Saints, only think how far short we come of being what
we ought to be. Some will indulge in a little falsehood here and
there, evil, folly, nonsense, wickedness, lies, deception, arrogating
to themselves that which does not belong to them. We are gathered
together expressly to expose the wickedness that is in [p.39] our
hearts. How often, in looking over the congregations of the Saints, I
can pick out a man here and a woman there guilty of these things.
Here, probably, is a brother who has been a deacon in the Baptist or
Presbyterian church for thirty or forty years, and was just as good a
man as there was in the world, but gather him home with the Saints,
and though his whole judgment is convinced that the gospel is true,
and he believes it with all his heart, yet he will deceive and lie a
little and take that which is not his own. "Did you ever know those
who have been deacons in the sectarian churches guilty of such
things?" Yes, many of them, who have been considered flaming lights
there, yet, when they gathered with the Saints, according to the words
of the prophets, they have spued out the iniquity that was in them,
and revealed the secrets of their hearts to their neighbors. If John
should drop his axe in the kanyon, and Benjamin should come along,
although he had been a preacher, he would pick up that axe and keep
it. I have seen many such things. Such practices, if not repented of
and forsaken, will canker the very souls of those who are guilty, and
will deprive them of the glory that will be enjoyed by honest and
virtuous men and women.

Vol. 12,  p.39
When Jesus was preaching on these principles, and showing how strict
and pure in their lives they must be who are counted worthy to be
brought into the presence of the Father and the Son, be crowned with
crowns of glory, immortality, and eternal life, and become Gods, even
the Sons of God, I do not wonder that His disciples cried out, "Who,
then, can be saved?" Said Jesus, "Strait is the gate and narrow is the
way that leads to the lives to come and few there be that find it."
This is the rendering in the new translation. As Jesus said to the
disciples so I say to the Latter-day Saints—"Strait is the gate and
narrow is the way that leads to the lives to come and few there be
that find it." I know you might turn round and say: "Brother Brigham,
do you expect to find it?" I expect to try; and when I get through I
expect the Lord to do what He pleases with me. I have not asked where
He is going to place me, nor what He will do with me, nor anything
about my crown or mansion. I only ask God, my Father, in the name of
Jesus, to help me to live my religion, and to give me ability to save
my fellow-beings from the corruptions of the world, to fill them with
the peace of God, and to prepare them for a better kingdom than this.
That is all I have inquired about. What the Lord will do with me, or
where He will place me, I do not know, neither do I care. I serve, and
have irnplicit confidence in Him, and I am perfectly satisfied that we
will all receive all we are worthy of. May the Lord help us to live so
that we may be worthy of a place in His presence. Amen.[p.40] 

George Q. Cannon, April 21, 1867

Remarks on Revelation, Missionary Fund, Word of Wisdom, Etc.

REMARKS by Elder George Q. Cannon, delivered in the 
Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, April 21st, 1867.

[Reported By David W. Evans]

Vol. 12,  p.40
It is always exceedingly interesting to listen to missionaries
expressing their feelings either before going on missions or after
their return, especially when they return possessing the Spirit of
God, having fulfilled their missions honorably. I, for one, can
testify, and I presume that all can who have listened to the brethren
to-day and last Sunday, that if they go forth possessing the spirit
they have manifested in their remarks here, and are influenced and
guided by it in their addresses to and associations with the people
during their absence, the result will be great glory to themselves and
salvation to the honest in heart with whom they come in contact.

Vol. 12,  p.40
There is an influence and power attending the testimony of an honest
man inspired by the Spirit of God, that carries conviction to the
souls of those who are unprejudiced, and who listen dispassionately to
what he has to say, and when the inhabitants of the earth hear these
testimonies borne in meekness and simplicity, and, through prejudice,
reject them, condemnation falls upon them. If all who have heard the
and gospel, have received testimonies of its truth, had embraced it,
the Church of Jesus Christ, to-day, would have numbered millions.
There is a testimony accompanying the words of truth spoken in
soberness that carries conviction to the heart of every honest person
who bears it, and there is no man or woman to whom it is declared but
what has a secret, conviction that there is something more in it than
they are willing to allow.

Vol. 12,  p.40
It has been truly said that it makes but little difference in what
direction our labors are applied. We have learned by experience,
individually and as a people, that God our Heavenly Father knows what
is best for us. He knows our wants and circumstances, and how our
labors can be best applied, and in directing us He is always guided by
infinite wisdom. it makes but little difference what will be the
results of the labors of these brethren. If they do not bring many to
a knowledge of the truth, they, at least, can return with a
consciousness of having done what was required at their hands, and
their garments will be clear of the blood of the people. The Lord has
said that after the testimonies of His servants He would send other
testimonies, which should bear witness of the truth of that which they
had spoken. These testimonies have been, and are being, sent among the
people, and they are being increased; and, no doubt, thousands of the
honest-in-heart through the nations of the earth, whose minds have
been darkened by the precepts and traditions of men, will be aroused
to reflection, and will have their feelings of prejudice removed by
the circumstances [p.41] through which they are called to pass, and
they will see truth as they never saw it before. Hence, there is a
constant necessity for the elders to go forth and proclaim the gospel
among the nations of the earth.

Vol. 12,  p.41
We are living in a very eventful period; the events now transpiring in
the nations have been predicted to us years and years ago. We were
almost as familiar with them before they came to pass as we are now.
Scarcely an event has befallen our nation but what we had an
intimation of long before it transpired. I recollect very well that in
the fall of 1860, while going to England, we were invited at Omaha to
preach the gospel to the people of that city. A good many of the
leading citizens procured the Court-house for us, and br. Pratt
preached. By request, I read the revelation given through Joseph
Smith, on the 25th of December, 1832, respecting the secession of the
Southern States. It created a great sensation, the election of Abraham
Lincoln having just been consummated, and it being well known that
there was a great deal of feeling in the South in relation to it. A
great many persons came forward and examined the book from which the
revelation was read to see the date, to satisfy themselves that it was
not a thing of recent manufacture. The revelation was in the Pearl of
Great Price, which was published 1851. And when the people saw this
they were struck with surprise, and were more especially impressed
when, in the course of a few hours afterwards, the news reached Omaha
that South Carolina had passed the Ordinance of Secession. There was a
direct confirmation of the words of the Prophet Joseph spoken
twenty-eight years previously. But who in that congregation were
prepared to receive that prediction as one that had emanated from
Heaven? We understood and were prepared for it. It made no difference
to us whether South Carolina had then seceded, or whether secession
had been deferred for years, we knew that the words of God must be
fulfilled, and that the words which He had spoken by the mouth of His
servant would come to pass.

Vol. 12,  p.41
There are a great many who have been stirred up to reflection by
recent events, which have been mapped out, as it were, before the
Saints of God through the spirit of inspiration and prophecy, which
our Heavenly Father has poured out upon His servants and people; and
if we continue to be diligent, humble, and faithful, there never will
be a time from this time forward, so long as the earth endures, that
we will be destitute of the knowledge necessary to guide us. There
never has been a time since we came to these valleys that we have been
ignorant of the course that we should take. It is true that many
invidious remarks are made by those not of us upon the men who preside
over us. They do not know how it is that President Young has been able
to lead us through every difficulty as he has done. They imagine that
it is all attributable to his superior wisdom and smartness, and that
what we term revelation and the spirit of prophecy are the concoction
of his brain or the fabrication of those who are immediately
associated with him. But we who, from the organization of the Church.
until the present, have been led by the spirit of inspiration, know
that it is nothing of the kind, but that God our Heavenly Father does
actually make known His mind and will to His servants in these days as
He did anciently.

Vol. 12,  p.41
Men's ideas differ very much in relation to, what a prophet is or
should be; they have certain ideas [p.42] and opinions as to how he
should receive the gift of prophecy and revelation, and if a man
professing to be a prophet or servant of God does not conform to those
ideas, he is, of course, set down as an impostor. The spirit of
revelation is not so mysterious and incomprehensible as many imagine
it to be. Men have imagined that it is something they cannot
understand, and that men in possession of it must differ very
remarkably from those who are destitute of it. But the Lord in His
dealings with the children of men never did produce these
monstrosities. His servants were not so remarkable in appearance as to
strike everybody who saw them with surprise, but on the contrary they
were natural men, similar in form feature, and apparel, and speaking
the same language as others, and because of this men could not
entertain the idea that they were the servants of God or were intimate
with His purposes, or that they could possess more wisdom than man
obtains by the exercise of his natural mind. My brethren and sisters,
it is a glorious privilege that we possess, of living so before the
Lord our God that we can have the testimony constantly within us that
we are operating and laboring in conformity with the requirements of
Heaven.

Vol. 12,  p.42
There is one subject that I wish to speak upon in connection with the
departure of these missionaries. There has been a movement made in
some of the wards to raise the means necessary to send the
missionaries from these wards to the nations to which they have been
appointed. I do not know how many wards are engaged in this movement,
but it is desirable that the whole people should do what they can to
assist in sending the missionaries, and also to assist their families
while they are away. It will probably be easy for the 13th, 14th, and
20th wards to send the brethren who are called from them, but there
may be some wards that are too poor to assist to the extent that is
needed, and a unity of action on the part of the people generally may
therefore be necessary. President Young desires that all who are here
this morning should do what they can, and that all who come this
afternoon should come prepared to do the same. And all here are
requested to notify all they can to this effect. A few years ago an
exertion was made to raise a Missionary Fund, and for a time that fund
was tolerably well sustained, but by degrees the feelings of the
people became cool, whether for the want of being reminded or not I do
not know, but for some time this matter has fallen into disuse.

Vol. 12,  p.42
A good many are now being called to go on missions, and as we have
done very well in this matter in the past we must not be unmindful
now. It is true we have a great many labors to perform; we have to pay
our tithing, and in various ways have to contribute of our means for
the upbuilding of the Kingdom of God, and it is by taking a course of
this kind that we shall become a great and mighty people. We have
proved this to our satisfaction. We have proved that we can go to the
nations of the earth and spend years, if necessary, in proclaiming the
gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, and then come back and accumulate
means as rapidly as it we had never gone. And those who remain at home
and devote their energies and means to building up the Kingdom of God
increase in wealth and material advantages far more rapidly than they
who have neither given their time abroad nor their means at home. We
are surrounded with the blessings of God, and He can multiply or
withdraw them as seems good in His sight, and [p.43] it ought to be,
and I have no doubt that it is, a pleasure to the Latter-day Saints to
do all they can to roll forth His work. When we have gone, seemingly,
as far as we can, the Lord opens our way and makes it plain before us,
just as He does for the elders when they go forth to preach.

Vol. 12,  p.43
There have been times with the elders abroad preaching when it seemed
as though they could do no more—all was dark before them, every door
seemed closed, and they did not know where to get food to eat, raiment
to wear, or a place of shelter; and, when they could do no other
thing, God has opened the way for them, their faith has been
increased, and they have gone forward with renewed energy to perform
the labors devolving upon them. So his with us here, my brethren and
sisters. I look upon the training we are receiving as essentially
necessary. God is testing us and trying our faith. Our means are
comparatively very limited, but by their proper use, and the exercise
of faith, God, will open up our way before us. This people, called
Latter-day Saints, have performed the mightiest works ever
accomplished with the least means. It is in consequence of their
faith, and it will be more and more the case as we progress in the
things of the kingdom; and if we continually comply with the
requirements of Heaven we shall become heirs of God and joint heirs
with Jesus Christ. And if we are heirs of God and joint heirs with
Jesus Christ we expect to have control over many things, and there is
reason to believe that our dominion will be very extensive. But before
we attain to that dominion we must learn to be wise rulers over the
few things that God has placed in our charge, and to use them for His
glory and the advancement of His purposes on the earth. When He sees
that our eyes are single to His glory, and that our hearts are pure
and free from avarice and every sordid and selfish feeling, He will
multiply His blessings upon us, because He will then know by testing
us that we are fit to be trusted, and it will be said to us according
to the words of the Scriptures, "You have been faithful over a few
things and you shall become rulers over many things."

Vol. 12,  p.43
We cannot say what good will follow from our exertions, though very
feeble and like bread cast upon the waters, yet if we perform the
duties devolving upon us in the Spirit of the Lord, and pray that His
blessing may attend them, great results will follow to us and others.
We all ought to have learned this long ago, and I doubt not that, with
few exceptions, we all have; and the spirit that has been awakened
within us of late, respecting keeping the Word of Wisdom and other
things of a kindred character, ought to keep us keenly alive to the
importance of using to the best advantage all the means God places in
our hands. I recollect very well a saying of President Young, some
seven years ago, I think, this coming summer, in speaking of the
missionaries who were then going abroad, he said that when he was in
England he hesitated to spend a penny for fruit or anything of that
kind, because he thought of what that penny, or a few pence, would do
if judiciously expended for the benefit of the work of God. We should
all feel like this, and should endeavor to deny ourselves of a great
many things that are injurious to us that we may be better prepared to
help to roll forth the work of God our Heavenly Father. If we have
obeyed the counsel given at Conference we have already saved something
in denying ourselves of some of those things which we call luxuries,
and we can [p.44] donate that, if no more; but we might as well donate
something in anticipation of the amount we will save during the coming
year by strictly following the counsel that has been given to us. By
so doing we will confer a blessing upon those going on missions, and
we will have the satisfaction of knowing that our means has been used
for the accomplishment of God's purposes.

Vol. 12,  p.44
I have been very much pleased, as an individual, to hear the
instructions which have been given on these points. I called in at a
Bishops' meeting the other evening and heard some remarks which were
being made on this subject. I would have liked very much, if
circumstances had permitted, to have added something to what was said.
I do not like to hear anybody express himself as though this movement
in relation to keeping the Word of Wisdom is one got up and sustained
only by enthusiasm. I do not call that enthusiasm which prompts people
to walk up to the line of their duty and renounce evil practices, and
when I hear men say—"I have seen the people get enthusiastic about the
Word of Wisdom before, but they have soon relapsed into their old
habits," I consider it wrong. We ought not to require to be talked to
and counselled on points so well recognised and established as this.
God has given to us a most positive promise on this subject, and we
should be diligent in carrying it into effect without waiting to be
counselled, getting up an excitement, or acting on the spur of the
moment and after awhile returning to old habits. I do not think any
person will be benefitted by acting in this manner. There should he a
well settled conviction in the mind of every person belonging to this
Church that it would be a real benefit for him or for her to observe
the Word of Wisdom, and to carry into effect the counsel God has given
on any point. If I do not see the evils that result from smoking and
chewing tobacco, drinking liquor, tea, and coffee, or eating meats to
excess, and the benefits that would result from abstaining, what
anybody else may see would only bare a temporary effect upon me. I
must feel in my own heart that it is injurious to me to indulge in
these things, there must be a well settled conviction within me that
this is the case, then when I am thrown in contact with persons who
use them, and inducements are offered me to do the same, it is easy
for me to decline, because I am satisfied in my own mind that they are
injurious, and there is no need of excitement or enthusiasm to enable
me to refrain.

Vol. 12,  p.44
Our teachings during Conference will, at any rate, induce parents and
guardians to keep their children from learning pernicious habits,
which in early life are so easily acquired, and which when acquired
retain their hold upon us with such tenacity, and if, in addition to
this, five hundred people throughout the Territory are induced to keep
the Word of Wisdom I do not think that our preaching will have been in
vain. But I anticipate far greater results than this. It is true,
probably, that there are many points concerning our welfare that may
not have been touched upon by our Heavenly Father in the Word of
Wisdom, but in my experience I have noticed that they who practice
what the Lord has already given are keenly alive to other words of
wisdom and counsel that may be given. I would consider that for a
person who was in a profuse perspiration to go into the wind without
being properly clothed would be more foolish and injurious than to eat
meat or to drink tea or coffee to excess. There are a [p.45] thousand
ways in which we can act unwisely; our attention has been directed to
some few points, and if we observe them the Lord has promised us great
treasures of wisdom, which will enable us to see a thousand points
where we can take better care of our bodies, preserve our health, and
which will enable us to train our children in the way of the Lord. The
result will be that our children will be healthy and strong, and we
will raise up a generation that will be a blessing to us, and through
whom the Lord can accomplish His great and mighty works in the earth.

Vol. 12,  p.45
These things are very desirable, my brethren and sisters, and I hope
that no person in this congregation will consider that the teachings
we have had during Conference, or their results, arise from
enthusiasm, but attribute them to the right source, the promptings of
the Spirit of God. This is the true view of the matter, and it is for
every one of us to carry them into effect. We do not wish the people
to be coerced or asked, even, to make covenants to observe these
teachings. It is not desirable or wise that this should be done. If
the bishops and teachers in their wards and blocks choose to ascertain
how many will observe this counsel, it may be wise to do so, but it
would be decidedly unwise to go and exact covenants of this character,
because I have noticed that when we make covenants there is a power
brought to bear against us, and temptations thrown in our path to
cause us if possible to break them. We should be exceedingly careful
in these things, and, if we wish to carry them out let us resolve to
do so upon principle and by the help of God, and not in our own
strength, or because somebody else tells us to do so. This is the
course for us, as Latter-day Saints, to take, then the benefits
resulting will be permanant. It is the design of the Lord to develop
within every man and woman the principle of knowledge, that all may
know for themselves. He has poured out His holy spirit upon all of us,
and not upon President Young nor upon bro. Joseph alone. The Lord
designs that the principle of knowledge shall be developed in every
heart, that all may stand before Him in the dignity of their manhood,
doing understandingly what He requires of them, not depending upon nor
being blindly led by their priests or leaders, as is the universal
custom, and one of the most fruitful sources of evil to the people on
the face of the earth. God intends to break down this order of things,
and to develop in the bosom of every human being who will be obedient
to the gospel and the principles of truth and righteousness, that
knowledge which will enable them to perform understandingly all the
labors and duties he requires of them.

Vol. 12,  p.45
If we, in our experience, have not yet proved the truth of the words
of the prophet—"Cursed is he that trusteth in man, or maketh flesh his
arm"—probably we will do if we live long enough. There is a curse
attending every man and woman who does this. If we will watch the
operations of the gospel of Jesus Christ among us, we will see that it
has a tendency to develop knowledge in the bosoms of all, and it is
the design of Providence that it should be so. We must all learn to
depend upon God and upon Him alone. Why, the very man upon whom we
think we can rely with unbounded confidence, and trust with all we
possess, may disappoint us sometimes, but trust in God and He never
fails. We can go before Him at all times, and upon all occasions, and
pour out our souls and desires before Him, and we [p.46] feel that we
lean upon a rock that will not fail, and upon a friend that will not
desert us in the day of trial. He is omnipotent, and in Him only can
we trust under all circumstances, therefore we perceive why the
prophet has said—"Cursed is he that trusteth in man, or maketh flesh
his arm."

Vol. 12,  p.46
God, our Heavenly Father, designs that all who will observe truth and
righteousness should possess wisdom and understanding for themselves,
and He is bringing us through circumstances that will develop within
us that portion of the Godhead or Deity which we have received from
Him, that we may become worthy of our high and glorious parentage.
This being His design respecting us, we should seek by every means in
our power to aid Him in carrying it out, until the whole people ale
enlightened by His Spirit, and act understandingly and in concert in
carrying out His designs. In other systems the design is to keep the
people down in ignorance and darkness respecting the principles that
are taught them, to keep the knowledge in the hands of a select few,
upon whom the people are forced to depend, but this is not the genius
of the kingdom of God. The spirit of the church of God is that
manifested by Moses when, in answer to Joshua, who wished him to
reprove some who were prophesying, he said—"No; but I would to God
that all were prophets." That is the spirit of the gospel of Jesus
Christ. The genius of the kingdom with which we are associated is to
disseminate knowledge through all the ranks of the people, and to make
every man a prophet and every woman a prophetess, that they may
understand the plans and purposes of God. For this purpose the gospel
has been sent to us, and the humblest may obtain its spirit and
testimony, and the weakest of the weak may obtain a knowledge
respecting the purposes of God. This is the difference between the
church and kingdom of God and the creeds and institutions of men. The
idea that prevails in the world concerning us is that we are
hoodwinked and led blindly by our leaders; but the contrary to this is
the case, for it is the wish of every man who comprehends this work
that the people should all understand it. The bishops and teachers, if
they have the right spirit, wish their wards to understand the
principles of the gospel and the requirements of heaven as they
understand them, and so it is through all grades of the priesthood and
through all the ramifications of the church of God. If we take this
course continually we will become a great and mighty people before the
Lord. If we do anything let us do it understandingly. If we hear any
principle taught from the stand that we do not understand let us seek
to comprehend it by the Spirit of God. If it be not of God we have the
privilege of knowing it. We are not required to receive for doctrine
everything that we hear. We may say—"I do not know whether this is
true or not, I will not fight it, neither will I endorse it, but I
will seek knowledge from God, for that is my privilege, and I will
never rest satisfied until I have obtained the light I require." If
you hear a doctrine that does not agree with your feelings, or that
you do not believe, take this course; do not reject nor endorse
hastily, without knowing or understanding. By taking this course you
will develop the principle that God designs we should possess, and we
will thus become a wise and understanding people, for we will be based
on the Rock of Revelation.

Vol. 12,  p.47
May this be the case with you, my [p.47] brethren and sisters, until
you are brought back into the presence of God, to dwell at His right
hand eternally, is my prayer for Christ's sake. Amen.

John Taylor, May 19, 1867

Trip to Southern Utah—the Works and Faith of the Saints

REMARKS by Elder John Taylor, delivered in the Tabernacle, 
Great Salt Lake City, May 19th, 1867.

[Reported By David W. Evans]

Vol. 12,  p.47
As we have just returned from a journey from the south I presume it
would be interesting to you to hear some little about how the Saints
generally are getting on. We have had quite a pleasant journey, but
rather a laborious one, travelling thirty, forty, or fifty miles a
day, and preaching from once to three times a day. But we have had
very pleasant remarks, feelings, and associations during our absence.
We found that the President and those who were with him were welcomed
and well received in every place we visited. There seems be an
increase of faith among the Saints and a desire to live their religion
and keep the commandments of God. We also find that improvements are
taking place in almost every place we visited; they are improving in
their farming operations, their orchards, gardens, dwellings, &c., and
some places, we find, are really very beautiful. Down in the far
south, in Saint George and through that region of country, the people
are beginning to live easier and better than heretofore, so that the
matter of living is no longer a problem with any of them. In the early
days of the settlement of that country a good many became disaffected
and left. Geo. A. used occasionally to go down with reinforcements,
expecting to find quite a large company, but when he tried to put his
finger on them, like Paddy's flea," they were not there. At the
present time, however, different feelings prevail. There are many now
who desire to go down there as a matter of choice, and a great many
there with whom I conversed feel as though it was as good a home as
they could find anywhere in the valleys, and they would not wish to
leave unless counselled to do so. It took counsel to take them there,
and it would take counsel to bring them away. So far as the city of
Saint George is concerned, it is the bess and most pleasant looking
city in the Territory, outside of Great Salt Lake City, and that is
saying a good deal for a new place. They have beautiful gardens and
orchards, and quite a large number of very beautiful buildings, and
they are making for themselves a very pleasant home. And not only so,
but the promises to them are beginning to be fulfilled, waters are
beginning to burst forth in desert [p.48] places, where they had none
before, and they are beginning to feel that the hand of the Lord is
over them, that He is interested in their welfare, that He is their
God, and that they are His people. In fact, when we were down there at
Conference, which we attended for two days, we had a pleasant time,
and a good spirit prevailed, and I felt almost as though we were at
home, there were so many familiar faces. I noticed, too, that there
was a very general disposition among the people to observe the Word of
Wisdom. Of course we had to keep it—we could not for shame do anything
else—and if we had been disposed to do otherwise we could hardly have
helped ourselves, for nobody offered us either tea, coffee, tobacco or
liquor. There seemed to be a general disposition among the people to
obey, at least, that counsel, although they had not heard much
preaching upon it until we went down and talked things over together.
We enjoyed ourselves very much, and the people expressed themselves as
being very highly gratified. They met as you meet us here with their
bands of music, schools, escorts, and so forth and they made us
welcome wherever we went, and we found that it was indeed a very
different thing to preach the gospel among the Saints from what it is
to preach it in the world. Instead of receiving opposition, contumely,
and contempt, we were received with kindness, good feelings, and a
hearty welcome.

Vol. 12,  p.48
In relation to these missionary operations which have been alluded to,
I should like to see something done, I do not know that it is
necessary to talk about it. We used to be in the habit of going
without purse or scrip. That is the way I have travelled hundreds and
thousands of miles, but then we felt as the disciples of old did. When
we returned, if asked if we had lacked anything, we could say verily
no. But there was a time afterwards when Jesus said—"Let him that has
a purse take it with him, and let him that has no sword sell his coat
and buy one." We do not always remain in statu quo. At that time we
were the poorest people in the world, but now we are better off than
the generality of mankind, and we are able to help one another, and
there is no necessity for our missionaries to go under the
circumstances they have done heretofore; and since it is the counsel
that they shall not, why let us do what we can to help them. In
relation to the Kingdom of God, it is still onward, and we expect it
to continue to progress, and we expect, individually, to be co-workers
in its affairs and participators in its progress. If we are called on
missions we go; if we are called upon to contribute to assist others
to go we contribute. If the word is, "remove here," or "go there," we
go—that is, many of us do, some do not. When I was at Conference at
Saint George I felt that I was among a very good people, and that
there was a great deal of the Spirit of the Lord there; but when I
came to reflect on the circumstance I was not surprised that there
should be a good people there, because they who were a little shaky in
the knees, and did not have a great deal of faith, left and came away,
and consequently they passed through that sieve and returned again,
some to us and some to the settlements around, according to
circumstances. And where there is a people that have been called upon
to undertake what they consider to be a painful or unpleasant task or
mission, and they go and perform that mission without flinching, they
feel that they are engaged in the work of God, and that His work and
Ills commands and [p.49] the authority of the Holy Priesthood are more
to them than anything else; and they have the blessing of God resting
upon them, which produces peace and joy in the Holy Ghost, and that is
the reason why there is so good a feeling and so large a flow of the
Spirit of the living God through that district of country. But where
there is a backwardness and a shrinking from duties assigned us there
is a drying up of that Spirit and a lack of the light, life, power,
and energy which the Holy Ghost imparts to those that fulfil the
dictates of Jehovah. When I reflect upon these things I take this
lesson to myself: "That it is a good and pleasant thing to obey the
dictates of the Lord, that it is praiseworthy and honorable to be
found walking in the commands of Jehovah, and that it is a blessing to
all men to fulfil all missions and to discharge all responsibilities
and duties that the Lord lays upon them. When selecting brethren to go
down there I remember the Bishops asked me "what kind of men I
wanted?" I told them I wanted men of God, men of faith, who would go
and sit on a barren rock and stay there until told to leave it. If we
get a number of men of that kind to go, there is faith, union, power,
light, truth, the revelations of Jesus Christ, and everything that is
calculated to elevate, exalt, and ennoble the human mind and happily
the Saints of God. These are my views in relation to the Kingdom of
God.

Vol. 12,  p.49
The Lord has established His kingdom on the earth, and He has given us
His servants to guide and direct us. We, as a people, profess
emphatically to be governed by revelation. We do not believe in this
simply as theory, as something that would be beneficial to somebody
else, but as something that will be a blessing to ourselves. We
believe that God has spoken, that angels have appeared, that the
everlasting gospel in its purity has been restored; we believe that
God has organised His Church and Kingdom on the earth, and that,
through channels which He has appointed and ordained, He manifests His
will first to the Saints and then to the world. And we believe that
the more we adhere to the teachings of the servants of God the more we
shall prosper, both temporally and spiritually, the more we shall
enjoy the favor of the Almighty, and the more likely we shall be to
obtain for ourselves an everlasting inheritance in the celestial
kingdom of our God. We believe that the intelligence and wisdom of man
cannot guide us, and that we, therefore, need the guidance of the
Almighty; and, being under His guidance and direction, it is our duty
to submit to His law, to be governed by His authority, do His will,
keep His commandments, and observe His statutes, that we may
ultimately be saved in His celestial kingdom.

Vol. 12,  p.50
May God help us to be faithful in the name of Jesus. Amen.[p.50] 

Brigham Young, May 26, 1867

Our Delegate to Congress—the Word of 
Wisdom—the Union Pacific Railroad—Spiritual 
Ignorance of Popular Preachers

DISCOURSE by President Brigham Young, delivered in the 
Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, May 26th, 1867.

[Reported By David W. Evans]

Vol. 12,  p.50
If br. Hooper had accomplished his wish in saying just what he desired
to say, would he not have been a superior man? He would. If he were to
do so, he would be about the only man whom I know who could do so. I
am happy to hear what I have heard from him in his speaking to-day,
and in our communications one with the other. Since his return home it
has pleased me more than anything else in the world concerning our
Delegate to find that the spirit of faith, humility, and resignation
to the will and providences of God, our Father, is increasing in him.
This pleases me more than it would to learn that he had grown
exceedingly rich; and, as we profess to be Latter-day Saints, I
rejoice for myself and for his constituents that the spirit of the
holy gospel is increasing in him from year to year. I do not say this
to flatter br. Hooper; I am not the least concerned about it injuring
him, for when a person sees things as they are, flattery and reproach
are all the same to him, he sees no difference. If he finds that he is
pleasing God and his brethren, he is exceedingly rejoiced, and feels
an increase of humility and resignation. When a man is proud and
arrogant, flattery fills him with vanity and injures him; but it is
not so when he is increasing in the faith of God; and I can say of a
truth, according to my understanding of the spirit of the gospel, that
it grows as fast in Win. H. Hooper as in any man I know. He came to
this Territory, as he has said, seventeen years ago next month; he
came as clerk to Ben. Holladay. We found him as he was, he found us as
we were. We have lived together many years, and, notwithstanding his
speculations, I learned years and years ago, through his honesty,
uprightness, child-like feeling, and naturally humble, contrite
spirit, that there was in him the germ of truth and salvation. Now he
is our Delegate, and I am really proud of him, not to detract in the
least from br. Bernhisel, for I am proud of him, too, as a true
gentleman. Br. Hooper has been fervent in every labor placed upon him,
and he has labored indefatigably; his tasks have been arduous, yet he
has succeeded to my astonishment and his own. This is in consequence
of his faith and integrity in the truth that he has embraced. We ·
sent one delegate to Congress, who was baptized, confirmed, and
ordained an elder, to my certain knowledge, for he was ordained under
my hands, and when he got to Congress I understand he denied being a
"Mormon." But br. Hooper, every time he is asked if he is a Latter-day
Saint, replies: "Yes, and I thank God that I am." By this course he
has won the battle, and he has [p.51] obtained more than I could have
anticipated. I am glad that I have this to say in his behalf. Now I
will venture to say a little more, that Willlam H. Hooper, from the
period of his earliest recollection, never enjoyed that peace,
quietness, and solid joy that he now possesses in the situation with
which we have honored him, and that he has obtained by his submission
to the providences of God and his faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. [Br.
HOOPER: I never was so happy, nor enjoyed such good health in my life
as now.]

Vol. 12,  p.51
Now, is not this encouraging? Why, just for the sake of passing
through this life I would not fail of being a Saint for all the riches
in this world. Talk about kings on their thrones! Is there one of them
who feels safe and who can repose in quietness and security? Do you
know one who can?

Vol. 12,  p.51
Take all the Emperors and great men of the world, who receive so much
honor and homage, and what is their peace? It is sorrow. What is their
joy? It is grief and sorrow. Are they safe? No, I think not; and I
will say to my brethren and sisters that there is not a king, emperor,
or potentate on the earth who begins to possess the joy, peace, and
quietness that our delegate now experiences in returning to his
constituents. I think not any of them, unless they enjoy the spirit of
the holy gospel of the Son of God, though their subjects bow their
knees to the ground and take off their hats to them to do them homage
and honor, it is mere show, outward appearance; many of the people do
not do these things from their hearts. This we very well know.

Vol. 12,  p.51
Br. Hooper has returned here to visit, mingle, and talk with the
brethren and sisters, and to learn their feelings. I will say for his
satisfaction, and for the satisfaction of my friends who live in this
city and throughout the Territory, that I am perfectly satisfied with
his labors. Has he been as indefatigable as we could wish? He has. Has
he accomplished as much as we expected he could? More; and above all
this, there is nothing so consoling and cheering to me as to find br.
Hooper increasing in the faith of the holy gospel. I have heard
expressions from his mouth since he came home that have been
heart-cheering to me. Speaking of his business and of the hard times
here, said he, "What is all this speculation, money, or property? It
is nothing at all when compared with peace and the blessings of Heaven
that we desire upon the people called Latter-day Saints, and their
success in spreading the gospel and gathering the poor." this is first
and foremost in his heart, and this makes me cry Hallelujah, and thank
God. I say this for br. Hooper.

Vol. 12,  p.51
I am now going to say a few words for myself with regard to my own
situation and circumstances in the midst of this people, the joy and
thankfulness that seem to surround the people and their leaders. The
increase that is perceptible to those who live in the faith of the
holy gospel is heart-cheering, comforting, and consoling, and is
praiseworthy to the Latter-day Saints. To illustrate, I will refer to
one item of our proceedings at Conference. While assembled there I
told the people what my feelings were in regard to the Word of Wisdom.
I said to them—"The Spirit signifies to me that we should cease
drinking tea, coffee, and liquor, and chewing tobacco." On our journey
south I saw one old lady over eighty years of age drink a little
coffee, and that was the only coffee I saw while from home. I think
there was one of our sisters [p.52] in the company who was sick one
day, and she had a little tea; with this exception, from the time we
left home until we returned, I did not see a drop of tea or coffee
offered to the company. Is not this marvellous? Was there any command
given to the people, or any coercion used towards them at Conference
in relation to these things? Not the least in the world, and the
strongest term I used was that "the Spirit signifies to me that this
people should observe the Word of Wisdom."

Vol. 12,  p.52
It has been said to me—"This reformation in the midst of the people is
too hasty to be permanent." I have replied—"I trust not; I have not
been hasty in my reflections and considerations to honor the purposes
and to do the will of God." It is true that to illustrate the
advantages that would accrue from our observance of the Word of
Wisdom, I compared the abundance of means we should then possess with
the scarcity now existing. Instead of being poor and needy, this would
give us all we could ask, to assist our poor brethren and sisters
abroad to emigrate to this country, to send our elders abroad to
preach the gospel, and to furnish the means necessary to enable them
to do without seeking assistance of those who are already so poor that
they seldom have more than half enough to eat. There are many there
who have grown to manhood and womanhood, who can say of a truth—"Never
in my life did I have the privilege of eating what my nature desired
or required."

Vol. 12,  p.52
If we would observe the Word of Wisdom, and cultivate faith, economy,
and wisdom, the Lord would add blessings to us so that we would have
abundance to give our elders, that they need never be under the
necessity of saying to this sister or that brother, "give me a
breakfast or something to assist me on my way," but they would have
enough to provide for their own necessities, and something with which
to assist the poor whom they might meet. When I was in the old country
I never was under the necessity of asking a penny from any person, and
for which I have been thankful a thousand times since in reflecting
upon it. I believe the only alms I ever asked, or the only intimation
I ever gave of being in need, was on Long Island, when on my way to
England. The brethren there, or rather those who were brethren
afterwards, gave me some money. When I got to England I had a few
shillings left. While there the Lord put means into my hands, and
after I was established in my office, I do not know that I ever went
out without first putting into my pocket as many coppers as my hand
could grasp, to give to the needy I met by the way, and I have fed and
clothed many. I have been very thankful for this. But most of our
elders, when they go to the old country, are under the necessity of
obtaining assistance from the people. We should not suffer this, and
if we, here, will observe the Word of Wisdom, there will be no need of
their doing so in the future. Last week I received a note in which was
enclosed three dollars from a sister; I cannot tell her name, for she
did not give it. She said she had not drank any tea since Conference,
and she had saved about three dollars, which she enclosed for me to do
good with. I felt "God bless her," and she will be blessed as sure as
she lives.

Vol. 12,  p.52
Now, here are brethren on the right hand and on the left who, if they
had observed my counsel and the Word of Wisdom in their economy and in
their dealings, would have been worth hundreds of thousands to-day
where they have not got [p.53] a shilling. But you know when we
exercise faith and influence to induce the people to take a certain
course, they will not always be satisfied that the result will be as
it is described, until, by experience, they learn the opposite. There
have been times when we have let the people do as they had a mind to,
without trying to restrain them by counsel, and when we had done so,
and not sought with all the power we had to concentrate them in their
dealings and in their faith, they have met with difficulty and come to
want; but when we hold them together, and they take our counsel, they
always have plenty. Thank the Lord we do not suffer for food, and I do
not know anybody who suffers for raiment. We have plenty of feed, and
we expect we shall have.

Vol. 12,  p.53
As I have not appeared before you since my return from the south until
to-day, I will say a few words in relation to that. I designed coming
to this Tabernacle last Sabbath, but my health would not permit me. I
am here to-day, however, to present to you my heartfelt thanks for
your faith and confidence in your leaders. When I returned home I saw
an exceedingly delightful manifestation of the good feelings of the
people. The greeting we received from thousands of children and grown
people, who lined the sides of the streets, and the hundreds who came
in carriages to meet us, was very gratifying. When I got home I felt
perfectly peaceable, and not the least concerned about anybody coming
to injure me. I am not like the monarchs of the world, although I have
no doubt there are individuals who would like to throw me a little
lead—I have had intimations to that effect—but I am not at all
concerned. I am always prepared. I am always on the watch. If any man
can creep on me, day or night, he must be exceedingly quick. Still, I
am in the hands of God, and I have to acknowledge that I am not
preserved by my own wisdom and watchfulness, but it is through the
providences of God. The Lord raises up one here and pulls down another
there. He brings forth kingdoms and empires, and He sets monarchs on
their thrones through His providences and at His pleasure. The Lord
has His eye upon all His creatures. His presence and His influence
fill immensity. Understand, Latter-day Saints, I do not teach you the
doctrine that the centre of God is everywhere and His circumference
nowhere. That is false doctrine and nonsense. But His influence. His
power, His spirit fill immensity, and are around about all things,
above all things, beneath all things, and through all things, and they
govern and control all things, and He watches His creatures with that
minuteness that not a hair of the head of even a wicked and ungodly
man falls to the ground unnoticed. Now, permit me to say that through
the providences of God, you and I are, I mean in our present
condition.

Vol. 12,  p.53
Our delegate says he is not fearful of anything arising in this world
to militate against this work and people, except it arises among
ourselves. Now, for your consolation I want to say that we are not
going to commit errors, wrongs, and sirs that will dis-fellowship us
from the heavens, cut us off from the Holy Priesthood, and cast us
out. I have no such faith, not a particle of it. There will be a great
many foolish ones, no doubt. If you and I live to see the time when
the voice is heard, "Behold, the bridegroom cometh, go ye out to meet
him," we shall find many right in the midst of this people without oil
in their lamps; no question of this. But as for believing that this
people will [p.54] apostatize (without having any allusion to what br.
Hooper has said), I do not fear it, though, in reality, it is the only
fear I ever had. I do not fear anything from God and holy angels, from
the powers of darkness, nor from the powers of this world, the only
things I ever feared were the discord, discontent, confusion, and
apostacy in the midst of this people. Still, you and I are not going
to apostatize, we will not apostatize. There are individuals among us
who will, but they will be very few. Another thing that creates
exceeding joy in my heart is, that when a person apostatizes from the
truth, and becomes filled with darkness and unbelief, how anxious he
is to get away from this poor, miserable, sterile, sage plain, where,
as br. Hooper has said, the people have the privilege of getting up in
the night to water their land. This is a matter of great joy to me,
for it is one of the providences of God.

Vol. 12,  p.54
Speaking of the completion of this railroad, I am anxious to see it,
and I say to the Congress of the United States, through our Delegate,
to the Company, and to others, hurry up, hasten the work! We want to
hear the iron horse puffing through this valley. What for? To bring
our brethren and sisters here. "But," says one, "we shall not have any
money." Yes, we shall, if you and I observe the Word of Wisdom, we
shall have plenty of it. Now, let me extend that a little further than
to tea, coffee, tobacco, and whisky—that is, keep your flour here, and
do not send it to Montana nor anywhere else, but keep it here and
store it up, and your grain too. You flour speculators here, do you
know what flour is worth a barrel in New York? It is worth twenty-two
dollars. In my young days, when it reached ten or twelve dollars per
barrel we thought we were all going to starve to death. It is worth
eighteen dollars on the frontiers and twenty at St. Louis. But, again,
with regard to this railroad; when it is through, even in ordinary
times it opens to us the market, and we are at the door of New York,
right at the threshold of the emporium of the United States. We can
send our butter, eggs, cheese, and fruits, and receive m return
oysters, clams, cod fish, mackarel, oranges, and lemons. Let me say
more to you—do up your peaches in the best style, for they will want
them. Their fruit trees are failing in the east. Right in the very
land where the Book of Mormon came forth, and was translated by
Joseph, there has not been an apple grown for this dozen years without
a worm in the centre, as I have been told by men who live there. The
worm is in the centre of all there is there, and it will canker and
eat them until they are consumed. Wherever this work has been, and the
powers of darkness have succeeded in driving the Priesthood, I can
tell you that desolation and ruin, the abomination of desolation will
follow. But where the Saints cultivate the soil, the Lord will bless
it and cause it to bring forth. Let us be fervent, then, in all our
labors, in producing fruits, grains, vegetables, and everything
necessary to sustain life, for by and by it will be said—"We must send
to Zion, or starve to death." Do you believe it? I do not care whether
anybody believes it or not, it makes no difference to me. I am a
Yankee; I guess things, and very frequently guess right.

Vol. 12,  p.54
To the Latter-day Saints I say, live your religion. This is the cry
all the time. Let us live our religion, be faithful, watchful,
prayerful, keep the commandments of God, and observe His word. And now
that we [p.55] have commenced to observe the Word of Wisdom, never
treat resolution with a cup of tea or coffee, for as sure as you treat
resolution once, it will plead hard for a treat again. "But is not tea
and coffee good medicine?" Yes, first-rate; but if you use it as
medicine you will never use it for pleasure. Keep the Word of Wisdom,
help the poor, feed the hungry, and clothe the naked. Never let it be
said of the Territory of Utah that a poor person had to go to the
second house for a morsel to eat. It never has been said. I never
heard of a person going to the second house for something to eat, from
the fact that he always got it at the first, no matter whether friends
or foes, saints or sinners. It is for you and me to do good to all,
and to bless all. As far as we have the ability and capacity, let us
bless our fellow beings, preach to them the gospel of life and
salvation, and treat them as our brethren, sisters, and friends, until
they prove themselves otherwise.

Vol. 12,  p.55
Oh, what a blessing that I have been born! When br. Hooper was
speaking about Mr. Beecher's having said that it was the greatest
misfortune that ever happened to man to be born, it proved to me
positively that he (Mr. Beecher) had not the first glimpse of the
importance of this life, the organization of the earth, or the
destinies of the human family. It never entered his heart, and his
mind never conceived the first principle of the design of the Almighty
in forming the earth and peopling it. He is an eloquent orator, and
pleases the people, but he cannot understand the ways of God. In this
respect he is like the rest of the world. In my youthful days i have
asked some of the smartest and most intelligent ministers America ever
produced, if they could tell me one thing about God, and I have been
mortified, ashamed, and chagrined when I found they could not. They
could read the Bible, and if they had believed it they could have told
me about Him just as well as about their brother or their father, but
no, they could not tell the first thing. Neither had they the
slightest idea with regard to the location of Heaven, hell, or the
spirit world. I believe I have already told here about listening to
one of the smartest of American preachers preach on the soul of man.
When he had exhausted two hours on the subject, he finally wound up,
in his eloquent style, by saying—"My beloved brethren and sisters, I
must come to the conclusion that the soul of man is an immaterial
substance!" Why, such a thing never did nor can exist. What could I
learn from that man with regard to Heaven, earth, hell, man, the soul
of man, a prior existence, a present or a future existence, more than
just to eat and drink, like the brute beasts that are made to be taken
and destroyed. I concluded that I would not give a farthing for all
the religions that existed, and I found nothing to satisfy me, until I
round the revelations that Joseph Smith received from Heaven and
delivered to the people. I have spent time enough. May God bless you.
Amen.[p.56] 

Brigham Young, June 16, 1867

The Priesthood to Dictate in Temporal As Well As 
Spiritual Things—Inconsistency of An Equal Division 
of Property—Let Apostates Alone

DISCOURSE by President Brigham Young, delivered in the 
Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, June 16th, 1867.

[Reported By David W. Evans]

Vol. 12,  p.56
These words—"If ye are not one ye are not mine"—are the words of the
Savior, through the prophet Joseph, and given to us. This is a
principle about which you have heard bro. Robert Williams say a good
deal in his way of talking. His mind is like the minds of a great
many, both in this Church and out of it, with regard to temporal
things. If they had the privilege of dictating the affairs of this
people, or of any other, they would divide the substance of the rich
among the poor, and make all what they call equal. But the question
would arise with me at once, how long would they remain equal? Make
the rich and the poor of this community, or of any other, equal by the
distribution of their earthly substance, and how long would it be
before a certain portion of them, would be calling upon the other
portion, for something with which to sustain themselves? The cry would
soon be—"I have no bread, no house, no team, no farm; I have nothing."
And in a very few years, at the most, large properties would thus pass
from the hands of such individuals, and would be distributed among
those who know how to accumulate wealth and to preserve it when
accumulated We should be one, there is no doubt of that, but the very
men and women who would take the property of the rich and dispose of
it to their own advantage, would spurn from their presence and
disregard every word of counsel given by those who know how to
accumulate and preserve, and they would say, "We know as much as you,
and we can dictate our own affairs." So they can, until they hake
themselves poor and have to be helped by others.

Vol. 12,  p.56
The capacity of the inhabitants of the earth to dictate their temporal
affairs, is a matter that has occupied a certain portion of my time
and reflection. Now, politically, we as a government enjoy the extent
of the franchise granted to us by our Constitution, and that is all we
can ask for; but who knows and understands how to dictate and guide in
wisdom for the benefit of the whole community? Very few. And take the
inhabitants of the earth from first to last, there is not one man in
ten, neither is there one in twenty, and probably not one in forty,
who is capable of guiding himself through life, so as to accumulate
the necessaries and comforts of life for himself and family, and go to
the grave independent, leaving a comfortable living for his wife and
family, with instructions to enable them to pass through life
judiciously, wisely, and prudently. Politically and financially there
is not one man in forty capable of pursuing the course I have
indicated. Then in a moral point of view, take [p.57] our young men,
who are easily operated upon, do they know how to guide their steps so
that a good life may crown their last days? No, they do not. Do the
young ladies know the course to take to preserve themselves in honor?
They do not, any more than the young men. They have to be watched like
an infant running around the house, that knows no better than to take
the carving knife or fork and fall upon it and put out its eyes. And
it is so with the middle aged as well as with the young—they have to
be looked after and cared for. And when this people become one, it
will be one in the Lord. They will not look alike. We will not all
have grey, blue, or black eyes. Our features will differ one from
another, and in our acts, dispositions, and efforts to accumulate,
distribute, and dispose of our time, talents, wealth, and whatever.
the Lord gives to us, in our journey through life, we will differ just
as much as in our features. The point that the Lord wishes to bring us
to is to obey His counsel and observe His word. Then every one will be
dictated so that we can act as a family. Then if br. Robert wanted a
pair of boots, pants, a coat, or a hat, or a dress for his wife or
child, he could have it, but only in the order of God, and not until
he can be dictated by the Priesthood.

Vol. 12,  p.57
I am talking with regard to our temporal affairs—of being so dictated,
guided, and directed, that every man's time and talents will amount to
all he could wish and desire. Are the Latter-day Saints in this
situation? Partially so. Can they be dictated? Yes, in some things.
You take these very men and women who want to make us all equal, and
they tell us that we are covetous, because we have horses, carriages,
houses, lands, and money. Have the poor got greedy eyes? Are they
covetous and penurious? I shall go a little too far if I am not
careful. I must guard myself, because the Lord has chosen the poor of
this world. But what kind of poor? Now the poor may be divided into
three classes. In the first, place there is the Lord's poor, of which
you may pick up one here and another there, one in a city, two in a
family. Is there any other kind? Yes, you come across a certain class
that may be called the Devil's poor. Is there any other class? Yes,
there is another class, who, long before I ever mentioned them, were
denominated poor devils. Hence we have the Lord's poor, the devil's
poor, and poor devils.

Vol. 12,  p.57
We have plenty of men in this community whom we have gathered from
England, Scotland, France, Germany, and the islands of the sea. They
have believed the truth and received it, and we have sent for them
here that they may live their religion. But if Jesus tells the truth,
there is a certain class of people who receive the truth without the
love of it. When such characters gather—and there are plenty of them
here—they would just as soon fellowship, deal, and associate with, and
hold in close communion the poor miserable sharks that follow us, as
they would with the best Saint here, and they do not know the
difference. Why is this? Because, although they have embraced the
gospel and know it is, true, they have not received the spirit of
Christ.

Vol. 12,  p.57
When we come to the doctrines that we preach, as contained in the
Bible, and lay them before the people, the whole Christian world
cannot gainsay a word of them. I have read many and many a time out of
the prophecies, and the sayings of the Savior and His apostles that
the Bible contains, until they who listened [p.58] have got up and
declared they would hear no more from that wicked book, believing it
to be the Book of Mormon. Priests and deacons have declared they would
hear no more from that vile record. I have said, "Does not this agree
with your faith and feelings?" "No, it does not, and if we had it in
our houses, we would take the tongs and put it in the fire." "Well," I
have replied, "the book I have been reading from is the Holy Bible,
the Old and New Testaments, translated by order of King James." But
they did not know what those records contained. When we come to the
doctrines contained in this book the Christians cannot gainsay them;
they are struck dumb and silent as night, or rage in anger. Truth
overcomes error, and when it is set before the people, the honest
receive it. I wonder if there are any elders here who ever had a
minister, deacon, or so-called Christian say to them, "If you will
perform such and such miracles I will believe." I have had that said
to me a great many times; it always shocked me. I would say to them:
"You have not read the Bible, I think." "Oh, yes, we have," they would
say, "we are Bible scholars." "Well, then, I will ask you a question.
Did you ever read in your Bible anything like this—'A wicked and
adulterous generation seeketh after a sign, and there shall no sign be
given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas?" "We do not know that
we ever did." I would turn to the passage and show it to them. Still,
men have believed because they have seen a miracle wrought. They
cannot withstand that by argument, because they see the truth
mathematically demonstrated. Do such characters endure? No; they come
here and then turn away from their God, from the angels, from the holy
prophecies of the Lord Jesus, from their brethren and benefactors who
brought them here from the land of oppression, where they could not
own so much as a chicken, and where almost all they could get was a
morsel of bread. Yet they come here and turn away from their brethren
and the covenants they have made, and are traitors to God and heaven,
and to the good in the heavens and on the earth. Are there men who
came here in this way who have got rich? Yes, there are men now in
flits city who came here poor, naked, and barefoot, and willing to
take a spade and go a ditching for me, or for anybody else who would
furnish them a little bread, and now they are rich. They have made
their wealth out of this people who constitute the kingdom of God, and
they are using it to build up the kingdom of the devil. What are we to
say to them? I would say, let them alone severely. The man who will
apostatize from the truth, forsake his God and his religion, is a
traitor to everything there is in heaven, earth, and hell. There is no
soundness, goodness, truth, or virtue in him; nothing but darkness and
corruption, and down to hell he will go. This may grate on the
delicate ears of some, and they may think it is a pretty hard
sentence, still it is true.

Vol. 12,  p.58
When apostates in this city or Territory crave your gold, silver, fine
flour, and your substance, refuse them. Tell them they have the same
privilege to earn bread that you have, and if they will work for and
earn it, like honest men and women, they are free to do so, but not to
pluck it from the pockets of the honest and poor. Let the Latter-day
Saints give their substance to men who will pay their tithing, help to
support the elders in their preaching to us, donate to the families
here whose husbands and fathers have gone to preach the gospel to the
nations, [p.59] and let the apostates alone. If I were to ask you
honestly and sincerely, and in the character of a Christian, and then
a little stronger, in the name of the Lord God of Israel, will you let
apostates alone and trade with them no more, what would the Saints
say?

Vol. 12,  p.59
How many of the Latter-day Saints would say—"I would as soon trade
with this man as that man, or spend my money in this store as in that
store, even though they pay tithing, and do good with their means?"
Those men and women in whom this feeling exists must get rid of it, or
they will not be numbered with those who are of one heart and of one
mind. Now, remember that! I will promise those who feel in their
hearts that they would sooner trade with an apostate or with a corrupt
outsider, than with a brother, if the former would sell them a shawl a
dollar cheaper, and persist in such a course of things, that they will
never enter in at the strait gate, nor be numbered with those who are
sanctified and prepared to enjoy the celestial presence of God our
Father and of Jesus the Redeemer. I promise you this in the name of
the Lord God of Israel.

Vol. 12,  p.59
You may say it is hard that I should dictate you in your temporal
affairs. Is it not my privilege to dictate you? Is it not my privilege
to give this people counsel to direct them so that their labors will
build up the Kingdom of God instead of the kingdom of the devil? I
will quote you a little Scripture, if you wish, the words of an
apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ to me. You may think that I saw him
in vision, and it was a vision. given right in broad daylight. Said
he—"Never spend another day to build up a Gentile city, but spend your
days, dollars, and dimes for the upbuilding of the Zion of God upon
the earth, to promote peace and righteousness and to prepare for the
coming of the Son of Man, and he who does not abide this law will
suffer loss."

Vol. 12,  p.59
That is a saying of one of the apostles of the Lord Jesus Christ. He
said it to me. Do you want to know his name? It is not recorded in the
New Testament among the apostles, but it was an apostle whom the Lord
called and ordained in this my day, and in the day of a good portion
of this congregation, and his name was Joseph Smith, junior. These
words were delivered to me in July, 1833, in the town of Kirtland,
Geauga County, State of Ohio. The word to the elders who were there
was: "Never, from this time henceforth, do you spend one day or one
hour to sustain the kingdoms of this world or the kingdoms of the
devil, but sustain the Kingdom of God to your uttermost." Now, if I
were to ask the elders of Israel to abide this, what would be the
reply of some amongst us? The language in the hearts of some would
be—"It is none of your business where I trade." I will promise those
who feel thus that they will never enter the celestial Kingdom of our
Father and God. That is my business. It is my business to preach the
truth to the people, and it will be my business by and by to testify
for the just and to bear witness against the ungodly. It is your
privilege to do as you please. Just please yourselves; but when you do
so, will you please bear the results and not whine over them.

Vol. 12,  p.59
It is the way with thousands and thousands, when they burn their
fingers they will turn round and complain of somebody else, when they
themselves are the only ones to blame. How natural is it for some to
endeavor to blame others for the troubles their own follies have
induced! It is [p.60] a trick of the devil. You never see Saints take
this course. When they do wrong they do not try to lay the
responsibility on their neighbor, or on some brother or sister. The
Saint is ready to acknowledge his fault, to bear the responsibility,
and to kiss the rod and reverence the hand that corrects him. But you
hear those who are not Saints continually complaining. It is so, to a
great extent, with our new comers. When they come here they look for
perfection. They say this is Zion. And so it is; but if we go to the
Scriptures we shall find that the Zion of God is composed of the pure
in heart. Brethren and sisters, have you Zion within you? If Jesus
Christ is not in you, the apostle says, "then are ye reprobates." If
the Zion of God is not within the bosom of you who profess to be
Latter-day Saints take care that you are not reprobates. Be careful
that no man takes advantage of you, leads you astray, and causes you
to leave the Church and Kingdom of God, apostatize, and go down to
hell. If you have Jesus and the Kingdom of God within you, then the
Zion of God is here.

Vol. 12,  p.60
Our brethren and sisters, when they gather here, are apt to find fault
and to say this is not right and that is not right, and this brother
or that sister has done wrong, and they do not believe that he or she
can be a Latter-day Saint in reality and do such things. The people
come here from the east and the west, from the north and the south,
with all their traditions, which impede their progress in the truth
and are difficult to lay aside. Yet they will pass judgment on the
acts of their brethren and sisters. I want to ask who made them the
judges of the servants and handmaidens of the Almighty, who, shoulder
to shoulder, have borne off this kingdom for more than a bird of a
century? Thousands upon whom the yoke of Christ has rested so long,
and who have borne oil the kingdom, are judged and found fault with,
by some who probably were baptized last summer or but a short time
ago. You know that this is so, you are witnesses to the truth of what
I am saying, for you hear it yourselves. Now, who are they who will be
one with Christ? If I were to tell the truth just as it is, it might
not be congenial to the feelings of some of my hearers, for truth is
not always pleasant when it relates to our own dear selves. You take
some of those characters to whom I have referred to-day, who want us
all to be of one heart and of one mind, and they think we cannot be so
unless we all have the same number of houses, farms, carriages, and
horses, and the same amount in greenbacks. There are plenty in this
Church who entertain such a notion, and I do not say but there are
good men who, if they had the power, would dictate in this manner, and
in doing so they would exercise all the judgment they are masters of,
but let such characters guide and dictate, and they Would soon
accomplish the overthrow of this Church and people. This is not what
the Lord meant when He said: "Be ye of one heart and of one mind." tie
meant that we must be one in observing His word and in carrying out
His counsel, and not to divide our worldly substance so that a
temporary equality might be made among the rich and the poor.

Vol. 12,  p.60
You take these very characters who are so anxious for the poor, and
what would they tell us? Just what they told us back yonder—"Sell your
feather beds, your gold rings, ear rings, breast pins, necklaces, your
silver tea spoons or table spoons, or anything valuable that you have
in the world, to help the poor." I re[p.61] collect once the people
wanted to sell their jewellery to help the poor; I told them that
would not help them. The people wanted to sell such things so that
they might be able to bring into camp three, ten, or a hundred bushels
of corn meal. Then they would sit down and eat it up, and they would
have nothing with which to buy another hundred bushels of meal, and
would be just where they started. My advice was for them to keep their
jewellery and valuables, and to set the poor to work—setting out
orchards, splitting rails, digging ditches, making fences, or anything
useful, and so enable them to buy meal and flour and the necessaries
of life.

Vol. 12,  p.61
A great many good men would say to me—"Br. Brigham, you have a gold
ring on your finger, why not give it. to the poor?" Because to do so
would make them worse oil. Go to work and get a gold ring, then you
will have yours and I will have mine. That will adorn your body. Not
that I care anything about a gold ring. I do not have a gold ring on
my finger perhaps once in a year.

Vol. 12,  p.61
You who are poor and want me to sell that ring, go to work and I will
dictate you how to make yourselves comfortable, and how to adorn your
bodies and become delightful. But no, in many instances you would
say—"We will not have your counsel, we want your money and your
property." This is not what the Lord wants of us.

Vol. 12,  p.61
There was a certain class of men called Socialists, or Communists,
organized, I believe, in France. I remember there was a very smart
man, by the name of M. Cabot, came over with a company of several
hundreds. When they came to America they found the City of Nauvoo
deserted and forsaken by the "Mormons," who had been driven away. They
set themselves down there where we had built our fine houses, and made
our farms and gardens, and made ourselves rich by the labor of our own
hands, and they had to send back year by year to France for money to
assist them to sustain themselves. We went there naked and barefoot,
and had wisdom enough, under the dictation of the Prophet, to build up
a beautiful city and temple by our own economy and industry without
owing a cent for it. We came to these mountains naked and barefoot.
Are you not speaking figuratively? Yes, I am, for it was only the
figure that got got here, for, comparatively, we left ourselves
behind. We lived on rawhide as long we could get it, but when it came
to the wolf beef it was pretty tough. We lived, however, and built a
fort, and built our houses inside the fort. Then we commenced our
gardens, we planted our corn, wheat, rye, buckwheat, oats, potatoes,
beets, carrots, onions, parsnips, and we planted our peach and apple
seeds, and we got grapes and strawberries, and currants from the
mountains. The seeds grew, and so did the Latter-day Saints, and we
are here to-day.

Vol. 12,  p.61
I am not unfrequently asked the question—"What induced you to come to
this desert sterile country?" Sometimes my answer is—"We came here to
get rid of the so-called Christians." This is somewhat of a stumbling
block to them; they do not knew how to understand it. They could
understand it if they had been with us and had seen the Methodists,
Baptists, and Presbyterians leading on the mob to rob, plunder, and
destroy, as I have seen them. Do you think we came here of our own
choice? No; we would have stayed in those rich valleys and prairies
back yonder if we could have had the privilege of inheriting the land
for which[p.62] we had paid the government our gold and silver, but we
could not, so we came here because we were obliged to. And now we are
gathering, gathering. Did you ever read in the New Testament that the
Kingdom of Heaven in the last days would be like a net cast into the
sea which should gather all kinds—the good and the bad? If this is not
a proof to the inhabitants of the earth that this is the Kingdom of
God, why there is abundance of other evidence to prove it. But this is
one true evidence to all the inhabitants of the earth—we are gathering
the good and the bad of all kinds. The good, I expect, will improve
until they are gathered into the garner, and the bad will be cast
away, thrust overboard.

Vol. 12,  p.62
Now, I want to come back to a subject upon which I have already
touched. I want to hit somebody or other. Will you remember it? Never,
from this time henceforth and forever, sustain a man, men, a people, a
community, or anybody that operates against or forsakes the Kingdom of
God. Do you know what I call them, or have you forgotten what I said
about the poor of this world? The Lord has chosen them, it is true,
but He has not chosen the devil's poor nor the poor devils. They who
forsake or operate against the Kingdom of God are what I call poor,
miserable devils. That is a harsh expression, especially to come from
the pulpit, but I built this stand to say just what I pleased in it.
Who among the people of the world can dictate for themselves? They
want to be talked to, guided, directed, pampered, and caressed like
little children. This people also do. How many are there here who, if
they had stayed in their native land, would ever have owned a chicken
or a sixpence, who have now a good house, farm, garden, orchard, and a
carriage to ride in? There are hundreds.

Vol. 12,  p.62
Shall I make an application of this? If you please I will. The Lord
owns the heavens and the earth, all things are His, and He delights to
give them to His children, and He would much sooner that they should
enjoy the good things of the earth than that they should not do so, if
they would use them for the accomplishment of His purposes. It would
cheer and comfort His heart to see all the Latter-day Saints combined
in their efforts to promote His kingdom instead of promoting the
kingdoms of this world. But we are but children, and the Lord is
merciful, gracious, and long-suffering to His people and to all the
inhabitants of the earth. We are all His children—saint or sinner, it
makes no difference. Every son and daughter of Adam and Eve that ever
came on this earth is the offspring of that God who lives in the
heavens whom we serve and acknowledge. How merciful He is to His
children! To see the wicked flourish like a green bay tree, and see
the nations of the earth that oppose Him, set at naught all His
counsel and will have none of His reproof, and spurn His servants, yet
see how merciful lie is to them. But let me say that the time is now
at hand when the chastening hand of the Almighty will be upon the
nations of the earth. He has commenced His work. Through His kind
providences He has ordained that it should commence here where it
commenced in the morning of creation. On this continent He will wind
up His work; from here He will send the gospel of Jesus Christ to the
uttermost parts of the earth, and woe to the nation that rejects it,
and that persecutes and slays His servants; they will have to pay the
debt.[p.63] 

Vol. 12,  p.63
I can make a just comparison between the nations of the earth and the
children of Israel. Of all the hundreds of thousands who left Egypt,
and who were over twenty years of age, who crossed the Red Sea, and
travelled in the wilderness two only were permitted to go into the
land of Canaan. This was in consequence of their transgressions, and
the Lord cut them off in the flesh that He might save them in the day
of the Lord Jesus. So it will be with all the nations of the earth.
Some few will be saved, but, to use scripture terms, very few will
escape the punishment of the lake that burns with fire and brimstone.
The Lord is merciful, but, when He comes to His Kingdom on the earth,
He will banish traitors from His presence, and they will be sons of
perdition. Every apostate who ever received this gospel in faith, and
had the Spirit of it, will have to repent in sackcloth and ashes, and
sacrifice all he possesses, or be a son of perdition, go down to hell,
and there dwell with the damned; and those who persecute and destroy
the people of God, and shed the blood of innocence, will be judged
accordingly.

Vol. 12,  p.63
Now, if you will please to hearken and hear, you Latter-day Saints, do
not spend another dollar with an apostate, neither in this city nor in
any other. Will we purchase from outsiders? Yes, and call them ladies
and gentlemen, because many of them are the friends of God if they did
but know it. There are plenty in the world who want to be, but very
few come here except these apostates, who would sap the fountain of
the Kingdom of God, and destroy all that was virtuous and truthful on
the earth, like many others who never come into the Church. Let them
alone. Will you sell them your wheat? No, sir; if you do—but remember
you can do just as you please. I will not injure you, nor speak, nor
even think evil of you, but my prayer will ever be—"O, God, the
eternal Father, I ask Thee, in the name of Thy Son Jesus Christ, to
save the righteous, and let the wicked and the ungodly go to their
place and share the reward of their doings." I will lift my heart to
God in your behalf who feel to build up the kingdoms of this world.
You say this is harsh. No, it is not, it is good policy, to say
nothing about religion. Is it not good policy to trade with and
support our friends? If you go to London, Paris, the German States, or
even in America, do you ever hear a Catholic found fault with for
trading at a store owned by a Catholic? And the same is true with
regard to the Church of England, Methodists, or any other society. It
is good policy and economy to sustain each other. Then why is it not
so with the Latter-day Saints? It is so, and we will do it, so help us
God. We are here because there was no other place on the face of the
earth where we could go and be safe; but here we are all right, and
here the Lord designs that we should stay. By and bye we shall hear
the locomotive whistle, screaming through our valleys, dragging in its
train our brethren and sisters, and taking away the apostates. "Will
not our enemies overslaugh us when we get the railroad?" No, ladies
and gentlemen. Do you want to know what will take every apostate and
corrupt hearted man and woman from our midst? Live so that the fire of
God may be in you and around about you and burn them out. But if we
mingle, fellowship, shake hands with, and think they are as good as
anybody, the Lord says: All right; you may try it until you are tired.
But the Lord has said that He will [p.64] gather the pure in heart;
they shall come by thousands, and "the chariots shall rage in the
streets, they shall jostle one another in the broadways, they shall
seem like torches, they shall run like the lightnings." I do not know
what the prophet referred to here unless it was one of those engines.
But the Lord will gather up His people, and fill the land of Zion with
those who love and serve Him, and will waste away the wicked and the
ungodly.

Vol. 12,  p.64
I can say to you, Latter-day Saints, I will guide you in the way of
truth if you will be guided, and I will tell you how to save
yourselves spiritually and temporally.

Vol. 12,  p.64
May the Lord bless you. Amen.

Brigham Young, June 23, 1867

How Divisions Were Introduced Into the Christian 
World—the Gospel Perfect, But Its Teachers Imperfect—
the Priesthood and Its Restoration

DISCOURSE by President Brigham Young, delivered in the 
Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, June 23rd, 1867.

[Reported By David W. Evans]

Vol. 12,  p.64
The Latter-day Saints believe in the doctrine that was taught by the
prophets, by Jesus, and by his Apostles. Much has been said and
written concerning the Church that was organized in the days of the
incarnation of the Savior, and there has been a great deal of
speculation as to the faith of that Church and the doings of its
members. To tell what this religion, which we call the gospel of
salvation, comprises, would require more than a lifetime. It would
take more than our lifetime to learn it, and if it were learned by us
we should not have time to tell it. In it is incorporated all the
wisdom and knowledge that have ever been imparted to man, and when man
has passed through the little space of time called life, he will find
that he has only just commenced to learn the principles of this great
salvation. In the early days of the Christian Church we understand
that there was a good deal of speculation among its members with
regard to their belief and practice, and the propagation of these
speculative ideas created divisions and schisms. Even in the days of
the Apostles there was evidently considerable division, for we read
that some were for Paul, some for Apollos, and others for Cephas. The
people in those days had their favorites, who taught them peculiar
doctrines not generally received and promulgated. The Apostles had the
truth, and thought that they were so established in it in their day
that they really had the power to unite the Church together in all
temporal matters, as Jesus prayed they might be, but they found
themselves mistaken. Have we any proof of this? Yes; you recollect
reading that the Apostles assembled [p.65] themselves together to
break bread and to administer; and they did administer from house, and
from congregation to congregation, the words words of life and the
ordinances of the gospel. They thought they had power to make the
people of one heart and one mind with regard to temporal things, and
that they could amalgamate the feelings of the people sufficiently to
organize them as one family. And the people sold their possessions and
laid the price at the Apostles' feet, and they had all things in
common. There is no doubt that this is a correct doctrine, and can be
practiced to the benefit of a community at large, if believed and
understood. But who has got the doctrine; who has eyes to see, ears to
hear, and a heart to believe? Who has the authority and the capability
to organize such a society? The Apostles thought they had, but when
Ananias and Sapphira fell dead because they had lied, not only to man
but to the Holy Ghost, in saying they had laid their all at the feet
of the Apostles when they had only laid part there, a great fear fell
upon the people, and they dispersed. Have we any history that the
people ever assembled in a like capacity afterwards? I think you
cannot find it. After the days of the Apostles, when the Council of
Nice was called, they then and there determined what they considered
to be correct and scriptural and what they would lay aside, but that
sure word of prophecy which Jesus had shed forth into the hearts of
those who believed On him seemed to be so mixed up and interwoven with
darkness and unbelief, that they could not come to understanding and
receive the full testimony of Jesus. So the old Christians lived, and
so they spent their days down to the days of the Reformation.

Vol. 12,  p.65
If we have eyes to see, we can understand at once, the difficulties
that the Apostles had to encounter. If the people had lived according
to the gospel that was delivered to them, the Apostles would have had
power to accomplish a great deal more than they did, although there
can be no doubt but they were mistaken with regard to the time of the
winding up scene, thinking it was much nearer than it really was, and
they might have made mistakes in other respects. Many of the
difficulties they had to encounter, we are not troubled with. We have
not only the sure word of prophecy delivered in the days of the
Apostles, but we actually have that surer word of prophecy delivered
to us through the Prophet Joseph, that in the last days the Lord would
gather Israel, build up Zion, and establish His kingdom upon the
earth. This is a more sure word of prophecy than was delivered in the
days of the Apostles, and is a greater work than they had to perform.

Vol. 12,  p.65
The few hints that I have dropped clearly show, I think, to all who
are acquainted with its history, how these schisms and divisions have
been introduced into the Christian world. For more than seventeen
hundred years the Christian nations have been struggling, striving,
praying, and seeking to know and understand the mind and will of God.
Why have they not had it? Can you tell me why it is there has not been
a succession of the Apostleship from one to another through all these
seventeen centuries, by which the people might have been led, guided,
and directed, and have received wisdom, knowledge, and understanding
to enable them to build up the Kingdom of God, and to give counsel
concerning it until the whole earth should be enveloped in the
knowledge of God? "O, yes. it was the apostacy." Very true, if it had
not been for those [p.66] schisms such might not have been the case. I
have taken the liberty of telling the Latter-day Saints in this and
other places something with regard to the Apostles in this our day. It
is true that we have a greater assurance of the Kingdom and the power
of God being upon the earth than was possessed by the Apostles
anciently, and yet right here in the Quorum of the Twelve, if you ask
one of its members what he believes with regard to the Deity, he will
tell you that he believes in those great and holy principles which
seem to be exhibited to man for his perfection and enjoyment in time
and in eternity. But do you believe in the existence of a personage
called God? "No, I do not," says this Apostle. So you see there are
schisms in our day. Do you think there was any in the days of the
Apostles? Yes, worse than this. They were a great deal more tenacious
than we are.

Vol. 12,  p.66
We have another one in the Quorum of the Twelve who believes that
infants actually have the spirits of some who have formerly lived on
the earth, and that this is their resurrection, which is a doctrine so
absurd and foolish that I cannot find language to express my
sentiments in relation to it. It is as ridiculous as to say that
God—the Being whom we worship—is principle without personage. I
worship a person. I believe in the resurrection, and I believe the
resurrection was exhibited to perfection in the person of the Savior,
who rose on the third day after his burial. This is not all, we have
another one of these Apostles, right in this Quorum of the Twelve,
who, I understand, for fifteen years, has been preaching on the sly in
the chimney corner to the brethren and sisters with whom he has had
influence, that the Savior was nothing more than a good man, and that
his death had nothing to do with your salvation or mine. The question
might arise, if the ancient Apostles believed doctrines as absurd as
these, why were they not handed down to after generations that they
might avoid the dilemma, the vortex, the whirlpool of destruction and
folly? We will not say what they did or did not believe and teach, but
they did differ one from another, and they would not visit each other.
This was not through the perfection of the gospel, but through the
weakness of man.

Vol. 12,  p.66
The principles of the gospel are perfect, but are the Apostles who
teach it perfect? No, they are not. Now, bringing the two together,
what they taught is not for me to say, but it is enough to say this,
that through the weaknesses in the lives of the Apostles many were
caused to err. Our historians and ministers tell us that the church
went into the wilderness, but they were in the wilderness all the
time. They had the way marked out to get out of the wilderness and go
straightforward into the Kingdom of God, but they took various paths,
and the two substantial churches that remain—a remnant from the
apostles, that divided, are now called the Holy Catholic Church and
the Greek Church. You recollect reading in the Revelations of John
what the angel said to John, when he was on the Isle of Patmos, about
the Seven Churches. What was the matter with those Churches? They were
not living according to the light that had been exhibited. Do the
Latter-day Saints live according to the light that has been exhibited
to them? No, they do not. Did the ancient saints live according to the
revelations given through the Savior and written by the Apostles, and
the revelations given through the Apostles, and left [p.67] on record
for the Saints to read? No, they did not. We may say there is some
difference between the days of Jesus and the Apostles and these days.
Then, Jesus said, "Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to
every creature;" proffer this gospel to all the inhabitants of the
earth. That was a day of scattering and dispersion for those who
believed in the Savior. When we come to discriminate between the
former and the Latter-day Saints we shall find there was a little
difference in their callings and duties, and in many points that we
may say pertain to our temporal lives. Not in the doctrine of baptism,
the laying one of hands for the reception of the Holy Ghost, nor in
the gifts of the gospel. There is no difference in these things, but
there is a difference in regard to the temporal duties devolving upon
us. In those days the command was "Go to the nations of the earth;" in
these days it is "Come from the nations of the earth." Do you not see
the difference? Read the revelations in the Book of Doctrines and
Covenants given through Joseph, and you will find that the burden of
the gathering of the House of Israel, the building up of Zion, and the
sanctifying of the people, and the preparing for the coming of the Son
of Man is upon the elders of this church.

Vol. 12,  p.67
Soon after the death of Jesus the word He gave to His Apostles was to
go and preach the gospel to the nations) that all might be benefitted
thereby; but now, it is to gather up the House of Israel, and the
fulness of the Gentiles, and bring them home to Zion, and to the lands
of their fathers, that they may receive their inheritances on the
lands given to them of the Lord in ancient days. So you see there is
some difference between the duties and callings of the Saints in
former and in latter days. When the Lord called upon Joseph he was but
a boy—a child, only about fourteen years of age. He was not filled
with traditions; his mind was not made up to this, that, or the other.
I very well recollect the reformation which took place in the country
among the various denominations of Christians—the Baptists,
Methodists, Presbyterians, and others—when Joseph was a boy. Joseph's
mother, one of his brothers, and one, if not two, of his sisters were
members of the Presbyterian Church, and on this account the
Presbyterians hung to the family with great tenacity. And in the midst
of these revivals among the religious bodies, the invitation, "Come
and join our church," was often extended to Joseph, but more
particularly from the Presbyterians. Joseph was naturally inclined to
be religious, and being young, and surrounded with this excitement, no
wonder that he became seriously impressed with the necessity of
serving the Lord. But as the cry on every hand was, "Lo, here, is
Christ," and "Lo, there!" Said he, "Lord, teach me, that I may know
for myself, who among these are right." And what was the answer? "They
are all out of the way; they have gone astray, and there is none that
doeth good, no not one." When he found out that none were right, he
began to inquire of the Lord what was right, and he learned for
himself. Was he aware of what was going to be done? By no means. He
did not know what the Lord was going to do with him, although He had
informed him that the Christian churches were all wrong, because they
had not the Holy Priesthood, and had strayed from the holy
commandments of the Lord, precisely as the children of Israel did.
They were the children of promise,[p.68] of whom the Lord had
said—"They shall be called by my name, and I will save them;" and for
generations he had striven to do so. When pursued by the hosts of
Pharaoh He had delivered them from Egyptian bondage; He had destroyed
the Hittites and other heathen nations, and had given them possession
of the land of Canaan, and in every way had tried to bless them; yet
they would not be blessed, and in the Prophet Isaiah's writings we
read that they had transgressed the laws, changed the ordinances, and
broken the everlasting covenants. Do you think the Gentile Christian
nations have rebelled? I know they have. Take, for instance, the
sayings of Jesus of Nazareth, the Savior of the world, as found in
this book—the Bible. He commanded His Apostles to go go all the world
and preach the gospel to every creature, and he that believeth and is
baptized shall be saved. How many methods of baptism were practised in
those days? Just as many as there were saviors—one. How many methods
of laying on of hands for the Holy Ghost? One. How many methods of
obtaining the spirit of prophecy and the gifts of healing and the
discerning of spirits? One. One God, one faith, and one Lord and
Savior Jesus Christ, and one only. Well, the Apostles went and
preached this gospel, yet one would vary a little on one point, and
another on another, and those who took the gospel and ran here and
there would introduce items of doctrine that were altogether
imaginary. Do we find any curious ideas advanced in our day? Yes, I
can relate a circumstance that I once heard myself, from one of the
first elders in this church· He was preaching to the people on the
principle of adultery, and told them that, according to the law of the
Lord, whosoever commits adultery shall have his blood shed. But the
idea striking him that millions had committed this crime whose blood
had never been shed, he thought this could not be correct, and so to
improve it he said if their blood was not shed in this life it would
be in the resurrection. What an absurdity! There is no blood there.
Flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God. Does not this show
to you how these little things will creep into the Church? Have we the
power and authority and the method of detecting every such error? We
have. Do you know what they are? Some of you do, and if you do not I
shall not tell you to-day. But we are in possession of the means by
which to detect every error that comes into the church, and to decide
satisfactorily on every point, and to decide what is and what is not
true.

Vol. 12,  p.68
The gospel is a fountain of truth, and truth is what we are after. We
have embraced the truth—namely, the gospel of the son of God. Its
first principles are to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, to repent of
our sins, then go down into the waters of baptism for the remission of
our sins, and have hands laid upon us for the reception of the Holy
Ghost, which will lead us into all truth. If there are any of my
friends or enemies here who do not know what "Mormonism" is, I am
telling them. We believe in God our Father. This leads me right to
another point that I have not much time to talk about. I recollect
preaching once in the old bowery with regard to our Father and God,
the Being we worship and whom we think so much of. There was a Baptist
minister present; he was staying at my house· He was a kind, friendly
man, and was on his way to the gold mines. He was sitting beside me. I
wanted to leave [p.69] him in a puzzle. I would not tell him, but
brought him right to the point, and there left him. When we got home,
said he, "Oh! brother Young, you came right to the point exactly, and
I did pray that you might tell us what kind of a being God is." I
replied, "I left you in a puzzle on purpose for you to guess it. You
have read it frequently, and you can hardly read the Bible at all
without reading precisely what kind of a being our Father is." Said
he, "I am not aware that I know anything about it." I asked him if he
could fell me what kind of a being Adam was. "Oh! Adam was a man like
I am." I asked him if he believed in the history of the creation, as
given in Genesis by Moses, for if he did he would find that God said
to His associates, "Let us go down and make man in our own image and
likeness." He believed the history given by Moses, and had read the
passage to which I referred. "Then," said I, "you must believe that
Adam was created in the exact image of the Father." He had never
thought of that in his life. I told him I had read that many times to
Christians and to Christian ministers, but they would not believe what
was in the Bible. Says Jesus, "Whosoever has seen me has seen the
Father." He is the Being the Latter-day Saints worship; He is a
man-God. Can you get a better term than that—a God-man? It is said
that Jesus is the only begotten of the Father. It is strange that
people cannot understand it, but they cannot unless they are told. How
can we know unless we are told, and how can we tell the people unless
the Lord tells us to do so? Faith comes by hearing the word of God
declared, and this must be declared by those having authority. This
character whom we serve is God, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ and the Father of our spirits, if the Apostle tells the truth;
if he has not, who can correct him unless they have a revelation from
the heavens? I have had a great many ministers tell me that I must
understand that spiritually. I have told them that I read and
understood it just as it was, and if it was not right, and they could
give the correct meaning (which it was impossible for them to do
without revelation), they were under condemnation before the Lord if
they did not do so. That would stop them.

Vol. 12,  p.69
Our Lord Jesus Christ—the Savior, who has redeemed the world and all
things pertaining to it, is the only begotten of the Father pertaining
to the flesh. He is our elder brother, and the heir of the family, and
as such we worship him. He has tasted death for every man, and has
paid the debt contracted by our first parents. What about this? I am
not going to tell this, for I have a few more ideas with regard to the
Christian world that I wish to lay before you. Why have they wandered
so far from the path of truth and rectitude? Because they left the
Priesthood and have had no guide, no leader, no means of finding out
what is true and What is not true. It is said the Priesthood was taken
from the Church, but it is not so, the Church went from the
Priesthood, and continued to travel in the wilderness, turned from the
commandments of the Lord, and instituted other ordinances. There are a
great many churches that do not believe in ordinances at all, and
there are some called Christians who do not believe in the blood of
the Savior, and that he, himself, was nothing more nor less than a
good man. If they believe in the baby resurrection, or that a person
who had committed adultery would have his blood shed in the [p.70]
resurrection, it would be just as consistent as to believe what they
do believe. These ideas are all wrong.

Vol. 12,  p.70
The Christian world struggled on until the days of the Reformation.
But what of the Reformation? Nothing, only it shows that there were
some few among them who had courage to come out against the orthodox
principles ordained, published, and proclaimed by the Priests. They
had an idea in their minds that the Lord was going to do something for
the people, but they could not tell what. There was a spirit upon them
that prompted them to declare against the wickedness of those
professing to be Christians. Did they profess to know enough to take
the truth and leave the error? No; down to the days of my youth the
Christians did not know any better than to renounce any doctrine that
the Church believed from which they came. This is more or less the
case with every denomination on the face of the earth. Some who call
themselves Christians are very tenacious with regard to the
Universalians, yet the latter possess many excellent ideas and good
truths. Have the Catholics? Yes, a great many very excellent truths.
Have the Protestants? Yes, from first to last. Has the infidel? Yes,
he has a good deal of truth ;and truth is all over the earth. The
earth could not stand, but for the light and truth it contains. The
people could not abide were it not, that truth holds them. It is the
Fountain of truth that feeds, clothes, and gives light and
intelligence to the inhabitants of the earth, no matter whether they
are saints or sinners. Do you think there is any truth in hell? Yes, a
great deal, and where truth is there we calculate the Lord has a right
to be. You will not find the Lord where there is no truth. The devil
had truth in his mouth as well as lies when he came to mother Eve.
Said he, "If you will eat of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of
good and evil, you will see as the gods see." That was just as true as
anything that ever was spoken on the face of the earth. She did eat,
her eyes were opened, and she saw good and evil. She gave of the fruit
to her husband, and he ate too. What would have been the consequence
if he had not done so? They would have been separated, and where would
we have been? I am glad he did eat. I am glad the fruit was given to
mother Eve, that she ate of it, and that her eyes were opened, and
that my eyes are opened, that I have tasted the sweet as well as the
bitter, and that I understand the difference between good and evil.

Vol. 12,  p.70
When the Lord called upon His servant Joseph, after leading him along
for years until he got the plates, from a portion of which the Book of
Mormon was translated, "By and bye," said he, "you are going to
organize my church and establish my kingdom. I am going to have a
church on the earth. All these churches you have inquired about are
wrong; they have truth amongst them, but not the Priesthood. They lack
a guide to direct the affairs of the Kingdom of God on the earth—that
is the keys of the priesthood of the Son of God." This tells the
story. We possess the Priesthood. The Lord sent John to ordain Joseph
to the Aaronic Priesthood, and when he commenced to baptize people he
sent a greater power—Peter; James, and John, who ordained him to the
apostleship, which is the highest office pertaining to the Kingdom of
God that any man can possess on the face of the earth, for it holds
the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven, and has power to dispense the
blessings of the kingdom. This [p.71] priesthood is that which the
Christian world do not possess, for they have taken leave of the
kingdom and the priesthood. Joseph bestowed this priesthood upon
others, and this Church possesses it and its power, which enables us
to detect all error, and to know what is true.

Vol. 12,  p.71
There are other things I wanted to talk about, not pertaining to the
Kingdom of God on the earth, but to the faith of this people before
God, but I shall leave this for the present, as I feel that I have
talked as long as is prudent for me. May the Lord God of Israel bless
you, is my prayer, in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Daniel H. Wells, June 30, 1867

Joseph Smith Taught By Revelation—the Gospel 
Reasonable and Consistent—the Lord Works Through 
Simple Instruments—Mormonism Full of Charity

DISCOURSE, by President D. H. Wells, delivered in the 
Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, June 30th, 1867.

[Reported By David W. Evans]

Vol. 12,  p.71
I have been pleased whilst listening to the remarks of br. Eldredge.
The recital of his reasons for receiving the principles of the gospel
forcibly reminded me of the days of Joseph, and of the effect which
those principles had on my mind as I heard them proclaimed by the
servant of the Lord. Many of the principles which he taught were in
the world—they were not new, yet it seemed as though they had never
been thought of, comprehended, or understood by the children of men;
at least, they had not been by me. I did not know anything about God
my heavenly Father, nor the connection which existed between Him and
the children of men, nor the object He had inview in sending them
through this earthly probation, until I learned it from the prophet;
and I apprehend that this is, to a very great extent, the case with
the world to-day. I had no more confidence in Joseph Smith being a
prophet, or in his knowing anything about religion, than I have now in
a juggler or a wandering mountebank. I knew nothing at all about
Joseph, except what I had heard from his enemies or read in the
papers.

Vol. 12,  p.71
It was not very far—only two or three counties—from where I was born,
in the State of New York, that this work took its rise. I had
frequently heard through the religious papers of the miracles that had
been performed by the "Mormons," and I supposed the whole affair was a
great humbug, that the "Mormons" were fanatics and very bad people.
The days of my youth were days of religious excitement—the days of
revivals, which so pervaded that section of country at that time—and I
can well apprehend the effect these things [p.72] must have had on the
mind of Joseph; he was a young man, I was but a boy, and I know how
those revivals affected young minds in the neighbourhood in which I
lived. Some of those preachers would hold their protracted meetings
for days and weeks, and sometimes for a month, one meeting after
another, every day and every evening, getting around the young with
their influences, and concentrating their prayers, perhaps, on a
single individual, and praying for no other, until he would say he had
got religion and was converted. Suffice it to say, that I was
disgusted with it, and did not believe in any of it, and rested my
chance, so far as religion was concerned, on trying to do that which
was right as near as I could, and running the risk.

Vol. 12,  p.72
In this frame of mind I was introduced to Joseph Smith, by Sidney
Rigdon, who remarked, at the time, that he was the man who was talked
about so much. He was a fine looking man; he did not say much to me
nor I to him. Time passed along, and for years after I was
occasionally thrown into his society, and frequently heard him speak;
and, though I did not at first believe that he was inspired or that he
was more than a man of great natural ability, I soon learned that he
knew more about religion and the things of God and eternity than any
man I had ever heard talk. I read the Book of Mormon and the Book of
Doctrine and Covenants without their having any particular effect on
my mind. I did not get the principles from either of these sources,
but I obtained them from Joseph, and it seemed to me that he advanced
principles that neither he nor any other man could have obtained
except from the Source of all wisdom—the Lord himself. I soon
discovered that he was not what the world termed a well-read or an
educated man; then where could he have got this knowledge and
understanding, that so far surpassed all I had ever witnessed, unless
it had come from Heaven? It commended itself to my understanding and
my sober judgment, and although I admitted nothing, and did not
embrace the gospel, but stood aloof, yet the words and principles
which I heard from him had their effect on my mind.

Vol. 12,  p.72
I had been a reader of the Scriptures, and had learned a great deal by
heart in my youth in the Sunday school. I had read a great many
religious publications, and had a tolerable idea of what the sects of
the day believed with regard to the principles of salvation. I had
investigated and had been raised according to orthodox notions, and in
my early youth I believed in the "Trinity." I investigated the
principles of the Unitarians, who did not believe in the "Trinity,"
and also the doctrines of the Universalists, and I believed about as
much in Universalism at the time I was introduced to Joseph as in any
of the religions of the day, if not a little more, but had not united
myself with any church organization, because I was not fully
satisfied. I heard Joseph Smith state at one time in Nauvoo that
whether "Mormonism" was right or wrong, the people were just as wall
without as with the ordinances taught and administered by the
sectarians of the day. That was exactly what I thought, though I did
not comprehend so much then in relation to the ordinances of the
gospel, and those authorized to administer in them, as I afterwards
learned. And although my understanding of these things may have been
of slow growth, yet I can say and feel that it is grounded in the
truth of heaven; for with the [p.73] few keys I received from the
servants of God I obtained corroborating testimony from the
Scriptures, which I have read from that time until now with an
understanding that I never had before; and even now, whenever I search
the Scriptures, I find things that are new to me, that I never
understood nor comprehended before, although I have been familiar with
with them from my youth.

Vol. 12,  p.73
When I first heard Joseph Smith enunciate the principle of baptism for
the dead, and the method of administering it, I was astonished that no
person had ever thought of that before, it was so plainly laid down in
the Scriptures. The principle of acting by proxy was just as plain to
me as the noon-day sun the moment it was explained to me, but I never
thought of it until that time. When I heard these principles my heart
leaped for joy, and although I was not a praying man I prayed inwardly
that whatever else I might do, I might never be left to deny the
principles of truth which the prophet was revealing. That was the
inward conviction of my soul. Still I did not join the Church, and I
did not know that I ever would; I was not fully satisfied. Some things
were made very manifest to me, others I could not comprehend. He
preached a funeral sermon once, in which the doctrine of eternal
judgment was dwelt upon considerably; this I received, and many a time
in Council have i heard him develop the principle so plainly that it
would have been a sin against light and knowledge for me to have
rejected it, therefore I treasured it up in my own heart. Many and
many a time he would go right along developing principle without ever
alluding to the Scriptures, while my own knowledge of them would bring
passage after passage to my mind in corroboration of that which he was
advancing.

Vol. 12,  p.73
When he said it was the privilege of the Latter-day Saints to be
baptized for their dead, I remembered the words of Paul, "Else what
shall they do which are baptized for the dead if the dead rise not at
all? why are they then baptized for the dead?" and when he spoke upon
the principle of preaching to the spirits in prison, it flashed across
my mind, as quick as lightning, that the Savior did that between the
time of His crucifixion and resurrection. The analogy of the thing
struck me with such force that I could not get it out of my mind. And
so scripture after scripture and testimony after testimony come to my
mind, proving that the principles he advanced were true. But had I
ever thought of them, or had the Christian world for ages? No, not
until Joseph revealed them. The Catholics, even for praying for the
deliverance of the dead from purgatory, were scouted and ridiculed,
yet this principle of administering for the spirits in prison was
unfolded to my mind, and in and of itself was great and glorious. Said
I, if they who were disobedient could be administered to by the Savior
of the world, how much more reasonable is it to suppose that they can
be administered for, who have not been disobedient, but who have died
without a knowledge of the gospel? This seemed reasonable and
consistent to me, and the principle was sustained by the Scriptures of
divine truth which I had been taught to believe from my youth up. When
the apostle used the expression—"If the dead rise not, then why are ye
baptized for the dead," he was instructing the Church at Corinth on
the principle of the resurrection, some of them apparently having been
embued with the doctrine of the Sadducees who denied the resurrection
of the dead. I saw the reason and [p.74] propriety of the expression.
I never had comprehended it before; I did not know God, nor His Son
Jesus Christ, nor the relationship that we, His children, bear to Him.
That is the condition of the Christian world at the present day. They
do not comprehend God, themselves, their past, nor their future.

Vol. 12,  p.74
These principles have come to us by revelation through the Prophet
Joseph. There may be those here who hate not received these
principles; it will do no harm to talk upon that awhile, and it may
not harm those who have. They are incontrovertible. Arguments to
sustain them can be adduced if necessary, but I do not think they need
it. Still it has a tendency to open up the mind and prepare it to
receive those principles which have been made manifest in this our day
for the salvation and exaltation of mankind. It showed to me that
there was a work to be done, and that the time, so long talked of for
its accomplishment, was hastening on. I saw that there was a necessity
for it, for truly all people seemed to me to be blinded concerning the
tilings of God. Like the Jews at the appearance of the Savior, they
multiplied words, made long prayers, made great pretensions in
religions matters, but their hearts were far from God. The fact of
some of the Jews denying the resurrection, after hearing the Savior
and his Apostles elucidate it so clearly, proves to me that they were
nearly if not quite as ignorant with regard to the things of God as
the Christian world at the present day. They read the Scriptures
without understanding, they administered in the ordinances without
power, and they changed the ordinances, substituting one thing for
another, thinking the change would, doubtless, answer the same purpose
and suit their convenience a little better.

Vol. 12,  p.74
It was thus that schisms crept into the church, and men began to
reason themselves out of the principles of their most holy faith, as
was touched upon here a short time ago by the President. I can see how
this parity of reasoning would carry men off. To illustrate for a
moment. We say that Jesus died for all mankind, that his blood was
shed for everybody, but will this save them unless they comply with
the requirements of the gospel? Why, no. Some say that the doctrine of
one being born to be saved and of another being born to be damned
would set that aside. That is the extreme view. Others come along and
say, "If men's salvation depends upon their actions, where is the need
of the atonement, for with all the efficacy of the atonement men
cannot be saved without repenting of evil, and if they do this they
will be saved anyhow."

Vol. 12,  p.74
This is fallacious reasoning. Jesus died that all might live. As we
read in the Scriptures, "As in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall
all be made alive." Every son and daughter of Adam may be saved if
they will live according to the principles of the gospel. Salvation is
within the reach of every human being, because the restitution is as
good as the fall. Here is the platform, and if men are not saved it is
their own fault. The plan of salvation devised by our Father in heaven
is amply sufficient to reach the whole of the human family. He will be
justified and we condemned, if we do not receive the principles of the
gospel. We can receive the principles of the gospel with its virtues
and the attributes of God, or we can go on in the practice of evil
until we go down to death and destruction, if we choose.

Vol. 12,  p.75
Here comes another man, however, who reasons that the virtues and
[p.75] attributes of God are what make God, and that without these
attributes He would not be God, hence that the attributes alone are
God. Do you not see how fallacious this reasoning is? What is a
principle without being acted upon? It is no more than the iron in the
ore, it is inert and dead. Of what benefit are principles in the
abstract, however good they may be? They are of no benefit to humanity
unless manifested throngh organized intelligence. Food when
appropriated to its natural use imparts vigor to the system, but
unappropriated it is comparatively worthless. The same is true of
water and other beverages—they are good to quench thirst if rightly
used, otherwise they are of little value. By partaking of the Spirit
of God, our thirst for knowledge will be satisfied, and it will be
within us as a well of water springing up to eternal lives. But if we
partake not of that Spirit we will sink, and our course will be
continually downward. Hence we see, that in and of itself, the
attribute is no more than the iron in the ore, to be beneficial it
must he developed by use. If there is a disposition in me to live
according to good and true principles, they are bound to elevate and
exalt me, just the same as the growth of a child is promoted by proper
supplies of nutritious food, whereas if it did not partake of this
food it would starve and die. It is just so in spiritual matters. It
is not in those matters themselves, but in the individual, and the
capacity of the individual who receives and applies them to his own
use, and practices upon them, that they are calculated in their nature
to elevate and exalt him.

Vol. 12,  p.75
Such views as I have referred to, do away with God entirely; they do
away with the Savior and the virtue of the atonement. They are worse
than infidelity. They turn things completely around. Men advancing
them say if such things had been so so and so, other things would have
been so and so. For instance, "What would have been the condition of
the world of mankind if the Savior had not died?" I do not know
anything at all about it. It was in the plan devised in the councils
of the Gods before man was brought forth to inherit the earth. One
came with, and as a consequence of, the other. I do not know what the
condition of man would have been if the Savior had not died. I do not
suppose man would have been here if that had not been part of the
arrangement. It is not a supposable case with me. I take things as
they are. The Lord has arranged it, and if I do not like His
arrangement it will not make any difference to Him, though with
mankind generally it might. It is for me to submit to the arrangement
as I find it, having faith and confidence that it is the best and the
only way for us, as the children of God, to walk in, that we may
obtain salvation and exaltation in His kingdom.

Vol. 12,  p.75
Do you suppose that our heavenly Father would have sent us through
this probation of sin, trial, misery, and death, if it would have been
as well for us to have stayed in our spiritual state in the eternal
world? I do not suppose any such thing, but I believe there is a wise
purpose in sending us to pass through this mortal state, and that was
so well understood by our spirits that they were willing to come and
run all risks, and descend below all things, that they might have the
privilege of rising above all things. The principle of the thing is
plain, beautiful, and correct to my mind. I begin to understand my
origin and the purpose [p.76] of God my Father in sending me to this
state of existence, and the relationship in which I stand to Him.

Vol. 12,  p.76
To those called to mourn the departed who have died in the faith,
these principles are a source of great consolation; their
contemplation causes the heart to bound with joy and exultation, and
to rejoice in God and the holy gospel which He has revealed. You can
bear testimony to this as well as I can. You had no knowledge
pertaining to the principles of salvation, the knowledge of God and
things pertaining to eternal life, until you received it through the
gospel. The sectarians of the Christian world, although they are
professedly engaged in the promulgation of these things, are as
ignorant in relation to them as the beasts that perish. They do not
know anything about the principles of salvation, and they are so
prejudiced that they will not be taught; they ignore the only source
whence they can be obtained in these days, because it is unpopular,
and they will be damned, because great is the sin of unbelief. As it
was with the Jews in the days of the Savior, so it is now with the
Christian world. Light is offered them, and they reject it, and this
will be their condemnation. It was said anciently that no good thing
could come out of Nazareth, and to-day the Christians say that no good
thing can come from the "Mormons" or from Joseph Smith. By and by they
will find that a great many good things can come from just such a
source.

Vol. 12,  p.76
That is the way the Lord works. He takes the poor weak things of the
earth to confound those who are wise and mighty in their own
estimation. God will have the glory, it is His right. He will
accomplish His work and His purposes in His own due time. It is His
right to do so, and to have the glory and the honor of it. If the Lord
were to choose those who are great and wise, according to the notions
of the world, they would want to dispute with Him because of their
great attainments, and they would claim the honor for this and for
that, and would say that such a man should be canonized because of his
holy and righteous life, and great honor should be paid to another
because of his learning, and because he has divulged so many things.
If the Lord were to reveal principles of truth to such men they would
claim the honor, and would make merchandize of the gospel. Some may
inquire how I know this? I know it by what they have done and are
doing. They are selling men's souls and their own for filthy lucre's
sake. There is a scramble among the clergy for the loaves and fishes.
They will take children and make ministers of the gospel of them
without any authorized ordination, and whether the Lord wants them or
not, no matter whether their minds are touched With the principles of
truth or not, provided they become learned in the law and have Rev. or
D.D. appended to their names. Such things are abominable in the sight
of Heaven? It is not likely that the Lord would avail Himself of such
people to make known His law to the children of men. There is no room
in such hearts for Him to make an impression, upon. It is a great deal
more likely that He would select such a one as Joseph Smith, who was
free from tradition, and on whose mind He could make an impression as
easily as He could with a pen on a piece of white paper—an honest,
sincere soul, seeking the way of eternal life. It is far more
reasonable to me to suppose that the Lord could make an impression on
such natures, than that He [p.77] could on learned doctors of the law.

Vol. 12,  p.77
The prophet has said that when this thing came forth, the poor and the
meek of the earth should rejoice in the Holy One of Israel. They do,
they have rejoiced in Him. This gospel commends itself to their
understanding, whether it does to the understanding of the rich and
learned or not. They whose understandings have been touched with the
principles of salvation have enjoyed a great privilege, and our elders
who go forth can teach the whole world the way of life and salvation.
It is that which makes them bold to stand up in any place, for they
know that if the people will heed their teachings they can lead them
into the celestial Kingdom of God. I was bold to declare this to the
elders while abroad in the nations, in order to strengthen and
encourage them, for they know more than any other set of men on the
face of the earth, pertaining to the things of God and eternal life.
Therefore I encourage them to stand up in all confidence, trusting in
God, and declare the things they had received, and I assured
congregation after congregation, when attending conference where the
elders were, that if they would listen to the teachings and principles
which the elders would unfold to them, they would lead them into the
celestial Kingdom of God.

Vol. 12,  p.77
It becomes the Latter-day Saints, then, to live so that they may show
by their good works that they do believe in these glorious principles,
and that they will cleave to them with full purpose of heart. This
course will increase faith, which is the source and root of power; it
will give confidence in God and in the principles of the gospel. When
a man has gone before the Lord and prayed for the recovery of the
sick, and his prayer has been answered, can he not go a second time
with more confidence? Most assuredly; and if he continues to live a
pure and virtuous life, keeping himself from the contaminations of the
wicked and ungodly, he will go on step by step, continually increasing
in faith in God and the things of eternal life. The world is full of
sin, iniquity, contamination, and everything that is calculated to
destroy man's existence here on the earth. And what does Christianity,
in its present phase, accomplish for the redemption of the human
family? Has not wickedness continued to increase, until now it
pervades all classes of society, and it is impossible to stem the
torrent? Look at those who are numbered with the Christian world, they
are but a small portion of the people on the face of the earth, and
then, again, how few of them believe, or even profess to believe in
the principles of Christianity. There are a few sects, but a great
number of people do not join themselves to any of them, though, as I
have already said, they are just as well without. Then, how
uncharitable in those few sectarians to believe that they are the only
ones in the way of eternal life! The "Mormons" are sometimes accused
of being uncharitable, but the fact is, "Mormonism" will save all who
can be saved.

Vol. 12,  p.77
Then a large portion of the sectarian world do not believe in many of
the principles I have referred to pertaining to the plan of salvation.
For instance, they do not believe that anything can be done for a man
after death, although he may have died without a knowledge of the
gospel. Look what myriads would be debarred from salvation through
this alone, according to popular religious notions. There are the
Baptist and Presbyterian churches, that number but a few thousands on
the earth, and yet according to their theories nearly [p.78] everybody
but themselves must be damned and go to hell. It is the same with the
Catholics. Take them all combined, and there are but a few millions on
the earth who call themselves Christians, and yet, in their midst and
numbered with them, except in Catholic countries, are the old and the
young, and, in fact, a majority of all classes, who never attach
themselves to any church, and these latter, according to the doctrine
of their orthodox brethren, will be damned. In Catholic countries the
majority of the women belong to the church, and the children, too,
until they reach maturity, when they become infidel, and when, instead
of attending church on a Sunday morning, they spend their time in
restaurants. In the afternoon, males and females all spend their time
in enjoyment, going to balls, races, restaurants, &c. In countries
where the Protestants and Dissenters prevail they make more profession
in relation to the observance of the Sabbath. A great many faithfully
attend church, while others stay at home or go out riding, or on
excursions, or otherwise enjoy themselves.

Vol. 12,  p.78
I have heard men standing at the corners of streets praying for their
sinful brethren—for one who had been on an excursion, perhaps,
spending his time on the Sabbath in pleasure; and for mercy on another
man who had been beating his wife; pleading for the Lord to have mercy
on this and on that class of what they termed sinners, and saying that
all these would be consigned to eternal torments unless He did have
mercy on them, though they are denominated Christians, in the general
classifications, and that all but the few who believed as they did,
whether such ever heard the contracted creeds taught by them or not,
would be doomed to hell to suffer through all eternity; and this they
say because of their illiberal ideas and uncharitable notions. But the
gospel of Jesus teaches us, that while those sinners whom they prayed
for must repent of their sins and do right, as well as those who, like
the Pharisees, prayed for them at the street corners, all the human
family who ever did, do now, or will yet live upon the earth, may be
saved if they will obey the principles of the gospel, except such as
have been "once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and
were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, and have tasted the good word
of God, and the powers of the world to come," for "if they shall fall
away" it is impossible "to renew them again unto repentence, seeing
they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an
open shame." But to all will the gospel be preached, if they are in
the flesh that they may act for themselves, and if they are in the
spirit world, that they may be administered for in this world, "that
they may be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according
to God in the spirit," This shows that, after all, the principles
which the "Mormons" have embraced are calculated to save more of the
human family than any other known to men on the earth. Then how can
they call us uncharitable They cannot without injustice.

Vol. 12,  p.78
May God bless us and help us to be faithful, and to pass along from
knowledge to knowledge, and from virtue to virtue, practising those
things through our lives which are calculated to exalt us eventually
in the presence of our heavenly Father, which is my prayer in the name
of Jesus. Amen.[p.79] 

John Taylor, July 21, 1867

Condition of the World and of the Saints—God Has 
Commenced to Regenerate the World By Revealing the 
Gospel: Its Purity and Its Union—President Young 
a Benefactor to the Human Family

REMARKS by Elder John Taylor, delivered in the 
Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, July 21st, 1867.

[Reported By David W. Evans]

Vol. 12,  p.79
I have been very much interested in the remarks made by br. Bywater
this afternoon, and in fact I was very much interested in listening to
the remarks made this morning. It is difficult for anybody to rise
here and place themselves under the influence and dictation of the
Spirit of God, and not advance ideas and principles that are
calculated to enlighten the mind, expand the capacity, enlarge the
understanding, and enable us to appreciate more fully the blessings of
that life, light, truth, and intelligence which God has been pleased
to manifest to us, in these last days, for our salvation and
exaltation. It was said in former days, and may with equal propriety
be said to-day, "Happy is that people whose God is the Lord," and if
we fall short of obtaining truth, light, and intelligence from Him,
whatever our situation may otherwise be, it is very deplorable for us
as rational, intelligent, eternal beings. The principles that are made
known by the Lord and enunciated by His servants are eternal, and they
are not only calculated to promote our happiness on the earth, but
also our happiness hereafter; they go back to far distant times and
show our associations with and relationship to God. They have a
bearing on our present existence and happiness, and they look forward
to something in the future that is really certain and tangible. When
we talk about the world and the confusion, folly, and evil of its
inhabitants, we look at them as they are, we value them at their
present worth. We do not expect to compare ourselves and our hopes
with them and their hopes. We have come out from among the world,
guided by the light of revelation, by the Spirit of eternal truth, by
the everlasting gospel which God has sent among us. He has gathered us
from the world, we are no longer of them, and we do not expect to
compare ourselves with them; and what their ideas, views, and notions
with regard to us may be, we care but very little, it is to us a
matter of very little importance. We feel desirous to know what the
will of our heavenly Father is, we feel desirous to comprehend what
are the duties and responsibilities that devolve upon us, and we feel
an emulation in our own bosoms to overcome the ignorance, evil, folly,
and vanity with which we are surrounded; that, as the servants of God
who have dedicated themselves to, and made a profession of faith in
Him, we may participate in the Spirit that dwells in and with God;
that we, as individuals, as cities, and as communities, in this land
of Saints, may act as becomes the Saints of the Most High, walking in
the paths of truth, virtue, holiness, and purity.[p.80] 

Vol. 12,  p.80
A remark was made by br. Bywater to the effect that perhaps one of the
weakest arguments that could be adduced in support of any movement
amongst us as a people, was one that touched our temporal affairs, or
our pockets. If we were all perfect this would be a very weak
argument, but we are not, we are very imperfect, we are surrounded by
all the infirmities of human nature, and we exhibit them in the varied
actions of life, and men have to be dealt with as they are, and not as
if they were angels or the spirits of the just made perfect. We are
surrounded with all our infirmities, weaknesses, and follies, and,
until they are overcome, we have to be governed, more or less, on the
principle that I have heard the President express. Says he, "I would
like to lead this people a little faster, but, if they will not come
up to my speed, I must make mine correspond with theirs." If he did
not do this he would soon be beyond the reach of the people, but he
has got to be one with us, and we have got to be one with each other,
and we must all seek to be one with the Lord.

Vol. 12,  p.80
We have been brought up in error, we have been born in, sin and
cradled in iniquity, we have sucked in superstition, folly, and vanity
with our mother's milk. We have scarcely imbibed one principle that is
true and that will stand the test or scrutiny of eternal truth, and
bear to be compared with the laws of life, as they emanate from God.
The Lord has to deal with us as He best can, just as He does with the
world. We talk sometimes about the world. What could any ruler do with
a depraved, corrupt world, with men lost to every sense of propriety,
honor, integrity, and truthfulness, men wallowing in vice,
licentiousness, fraud, and corruption of every kind? What ruler could
govern such a people? No one, unless he listened to correct
principles. The Lord understood this very well when He commenced
gathering people from among the nations of the earth by the preaching
of the gospel. Says He, "My sheep hear my voice, and know me, and
follow me, and a stranger will they not follow, because they know not
the voice of a stranger." God sent forth His servants to the world to
declare the principles of truth. His sheep heard the voice of mercy
and obeyed the gospel, and the same spirit and influence that operated
upon them there, operates upon them here; hence it is that, under the
auspices of the Spirit of God, we were gathered together; not in a
political capacity, but in a religious capacity. Our moral sense was
appealed to, our love of honesty, truth, and integrity was appealed
to, the light of the gospel, as it existed in former days, was made
manifest to us, we admired it, believed in, and obeyed it, and through
obedience, we received a portion of the Spirit of God, and felt a
disposition to listen to His laws and to be governed by the principles
of truth. And yet how weak that feeling is still within us! How
frequently those evil propensities and powers that operated upon us in
former days still operate upon us, and our minds become befogged,
beclouded, and dimmed by the darkness with which the enemy of truth
seeks to inspire us! How little we appreciate our relationship to, and
standing before God, and the destiny that is before us! It is very
difficult for us to comprehend correct principles, and it is more
difficult still to bring ourselves into subjection to, and to be
governed by them. Hence we have to be treated not like men but like
children. Yet, notwithstanding the weaknesses and infirmities of His
creatures, neither God nor His servants feel like destroying them,
[p.81] cutting them off, and sending them to perdition. The Lord has
never dealt with His people in that way; He is full of magnanimity,
kindness, love, and regard for the human family. We read that the
Savior, while upon the earth, "Was tempted in all points like unto us,
yet without sin; therefore he is a faithful high-priest, and knows how
to deliver those who are tempted." We have our weaknesses, our
infirmities, follies, and foibles. It is the intention of the gospel
to deliver us from these; it operates upon the mind and intelligence
of man, that we may be led from strength to strength, from
intelligence to intelligence, from knowledge to knowledge, from one
degree of faith to another, victory over one evil and then over
another, until we shall see as we are seen and know as we are known.
If we make any little stumbles the Savior acts not as a foolish,
vindictive man, to knock another man down. He is fall of kindness,
long suffering, and forbearance, and treats everybody with kindness
and courtesy. These are the feelings we wish to indulge in and be
governed by; these are the principles, and this is the spirit, that
ought to actuate every elder in Israel, and by which he ought to
govern his life and actions. Having gathered us together in the
position we now occupy, we are prepared, more or less, to be governed
in regard to other things; we know that the goal before us is one of
the brightest that has ever attracted the attention of the human mind,
one in which God calculates to elevate and exalt us, not only on the
earth but in the heavens. God has commenced to establish His kingdom
on the earth, and He will accomplish His own purposes in His own time,
and bring to pass His designs with regard to a world lying in
wickedness.

Vol. 12,  p.81
We sometimes reflect on the situation of the world, and feel as though
we would be glad to see them destroyed. Now no right feeling man has a
wish of this kind in his heart. We should be glad to see iniquity
destroyed, but unfortunately the workers of iniquity would have to
share in that catastrophe. We should be glad to see evil rooted out of
the earth, and we know that if men will not submit to the law of God,
by and by, however painful it may be, their destruction will be
consummated, and we know, as has been referred to, that all
governments and kingdoms having the elements of destruction within
themselves, must necessarily dissolve, and we know that if we could
have just laws, a just administration—if we could have the revelations
of the great God for our guide, and men inspired by God for our
rulers, if we could have what the Israelites prayed for and what the
prophets have prophesied about, the Lord for our king, the Lord for
our judge and law-giver, and have Him to reign over us—there is no
right thinking man on the earth, no matter what his principles may be,
but what would appreciate such a system of things as that. But they
despair of accomplishing it, and they may well despair, for with the
materials that they have it would be impossible to bring about such a
result. You may take a graft from any poor tree there is in existence,
and graft it once, or ten thousand times, and it will still bear its
like. But if you can get a better graft, and have that implanted
there, then you may have a chance of having better fruit.

Vol. 12,  p.81
The Lord has commenced on this principle. He has revealed himself from
the heavens, and has restored correct principles which are calculated
to elevate, ennoble, and exalt the human mind, and having commenced
[p.82] this, it will be like the little leaven Jesus speaks of—it will
work and work until the whole lump is leavened, and has become
indoctrinated or inducted into the family of God, and become heirs of
Him and joint heirs with Jesus Christ, having a relationship to our
Heavenly Father that will live and exist "while life and thought and
being last or immortality endures." It is upon this principle, and
upon no other, that the knowledge of God will ever cover the earth as
the waters cover the deep.

Vol. 12,  p.82
This is the work that lies before the Saints of God, but it will not
be done all at once, it will be the work of time and progress, and
will require a continual warfare with evil, corruption, error, and
vice, in all their varied forms. It is the greatest blessing that can
be possessed by this or any other people on the face of the earth, to
have the word of God among them, and then it is a great blessing when
men can appreciate that word, and honor God and His servants, and obey
His laws. This is what we are seeking to attain—to bring our passions,
thoughts, reflections, and feelings, and everything pertaining to us,
in subjection to the law of God, that as wise children, under the
guidance of our Heavenly Father, we may be able to fulfil our destiny
on the earth, whatever that may be, and prepare ourselves for an
everlasting inheritance in the celestial kingdom of our God.

Vol. 12,  p.82
The fact is, God has commenced to regenerate the world, but the world
does not know it, and we, sometimes, hardly understand it. We become
captivated and carried away by every little foible and folly that we
see around us. We can only understand these things as we live our
religion, and as the Spirit of God reveals them to us, and if we want
to know more we must seek for more of the Spirit of God, which gives
wisdom, light, and intelligence, and enables us to see things as they
are and as they ought to be. If men are living in the enjoyment of
that Spirit there is no difficulty about false doctrines or errors of
any kind, or evil passions, for it will lead them into truth, and will
enable them to overcome all that is evil, and if we enjoy that Spirit
we shall feel better and happier, and we shall not see so many faults
in our neighbors, or in the Priesthood, or anything associated with
the Kingdom of God, for as the light of God, the revelations of the
Most High, inspires the hearts of the Saints, they will be one with
each other, with the servants of God, with God our Heavenly Father,
and with Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. Jesus prayed most devoutly
for this when about leaving the earth. Said he, "Neither pray I for
these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their
word, that they all may be one." This is the kind of feeling we should
cherish.

Vol. 12,  p.82
With regard to the world. I know there is a feeling that President
Young is illiberal in his remarks sometimes, and that we ought to feel
more like catering to their prejudices and feelings. I do not think
so. I think it is one of the greatest blessings we can have to have
somebody to tell us when we are wrong; and does President Young, or do
any men of intelligence in this Church and Kingdom, have feelings of
enmity towards the world? I do not think they have. I have seen
President Young travel thousands and thousands of miles, without purse
or scrip, to preach the gospel of salvation to the world. Does that
show that he is an enemy to the world? There is no man of reflection
and good judgment but what would say to the reverse. [p.83] We have
come out from among the world, for the express purpose of serving God
and keeping His commandments, building up Zion, and establishing His
Kingdom upon the earth. Are there not men in the world who seek to do
right and try to be just and equitable in their acts? Yes, and there
are a great many who seek to do wrong, who are full of lasciviousness,
corruption, and evil; a great many who would seek to lead us down the
paths of death and destruction. And shall not the shepherd who stands
on the walls of Zion lift up his warning voice? What is the good of a
shepherd if he does not do that? Who does not know that, combinations
have been entered into, from time to time, right here in our midst,
for the purpose of undermining the virtue of this people? Who does not
know that the public prints in the east have been very profuse in
their recommendations to send out fine fast young men to Utah? What
for? to corrupt our virtue and to bring us down to their own level.
Who does not know that we have had organizations in our midst,
plotting night after night, to effect the political and social
destruction of this people, and seeking to undermine their virtue? Are
we—the servants of God—to sit still and not lift a warning voice in
relation to these things? Are we to go hand and glove with the world?
No, we are not of the world; God has chosen us out of the world to be
His people, that we may be subject to His laws and bow to His
authority. Do we plot against the virtue of any man? God forbid! Is
there any man on the face of the earth who can bring a charge of this
kind against the elders of Israel? I defy them. We sustain all
virtuous principles here and everywhere in the world where our lot may
be cast. Did we ever go, as elders, or as messengers of any kind among
the nations of the earth, and interfere with the rights and privileges
of the people, or seek to overturn the government of any nation?
Never. We were always subject to the law, authority, rule, and
dominion prevailing in the nations in which we have sojourned. What
right have others, then, to intere with us? None. Shall we allow them
to do it? No, in the name of Israel's God we will not. [The
congregation said, amen.] We will root out the workers of iniquity,
and maintain purity and virtue. When men come among us who are
honorable and virtuous we will treat them accordingly; but when men
come among us and seek to destroy our virtue, supplant our
institutions, and try to put a sword to the neck of the good, honest,
and virtuous, in the name of Israel's God we will oppose them with all
the might God shall give to us. [The congregation said, amen.] These
are our principles. What good honorable man in the world would not
sanction them? There are none but what would. Every virtuous man and
woman would submit to principles of this kind, and say it is right.

Vol. 12,  p.83
There is another point to which I would refer here: that all men are
not depraved, as it is said by some, but the natural instinct of man,
as President Young has remarked, is to do good.

Vol. 12,  p.83
May God help us to do right and keep His commandments, that we may be
saved in His kingdom, in the name of Jesus. Amen.[p.84] 

Orson Pratt, August 11, 1867

Experience in Missionary Labors—Ancient Prophecies 
Concerning the People of God in the Last Days

DISCOURSE by Elder Orson Pratt, delivered in the 
Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, Sunday, August 11th, 1867.

[Reported By David W. Evans]

Vol. 12,  p.84
I have long looked forward with joyful anticipations to the time, when
I should again meet with the people of God in these mountains, and
have the privilege of standing before them. I feel very thankful to my
Father in heaven for this great privilege. I have been absent from
this city and place over three years, and have performed one of the
longest missions of my life. I feel thankful to God that you gave me
this privilege, and that I have had the opportunity of adding one more
lengthy mission to the long catalogue of missions which I have taken
abroad among the nations. It is a great satisfaction to me to have the
privilege of being numbered with this people, and to have my name
enrolled among those who profess to be Latter-day Saints. With them is
safety; with them are joy, peace, and satisfaction. And I feel to say,
as one said in old times—that with this people I desire to live, and,
if it is necessary to die, I desire to have the privilege of dying
with them. But I do not know whether it will be necessary for all of
us to die, perhaps there may be some who will escape this curse in
some measure, and who may meet with a change equivalent to that of
death.

Vol. 12,  p.84
I have been abroad for the purpose of doing good, that was the only
object I had in view in leaving this Territory three years ago last
spring. Whether I have done much good or not remains for the day of
judgment to reveal; it is not altogether for me to judge in relation
to this matter. We are well assured that our Father, who reigns in
yonder heavens, keeps a journal, or, in other words, a record—a great
record in which He records the doings of the children of men. We know,
from a certain declaration of Jesus in the Book of Mormon, concerning
the records of heaven, that the acts and doings of all men are
recorded by the Father in that book, and the time is fast hastening
when I, as an individual, and all others, must be brought before the
Judge of all the earth, and our acts and doings here, in this short
space of time appointed to us as a probation, will be read before us,
or if not read they will be perfectly remembered by us and by those
who sit in judgment, so that a righteous judgment will be rendered on
our heads, and we will receive the reward of our doings, whether they
be good or evil. I have enjoyed myself remarkably well on this
mission. I hope that some good has been done, and that the Lord will
remember the good that I have intended to do, even though it may not
have been fully accomplished. He knows the desire of my heart has been
to fulfil the numerous missions which I hay e taken during the last
thirty-seven years of my life.[p.85] 

Vol. 12,  p.85
Since I came home, I have contrasted the present condition of myself
and this people with what existed when I first became acquainted with
this gospel. Then we were a little handful of people—there were,
perhaps, not a hundred persons in all the States who had received the
truth. I received it about five months after the organization of this
Church, and, although but a boy, was immediately called to the
ministry. In my inexperience I went forth, with gladness of heart, to
bear my humble testimony to what I knew to be true. You may ask me if
I had a knowledge before I commenced preaching this gospel. I answer,
yes. I went forth from a farming occupation in the eastern part of the
State of New York, and traveled alone between two hundred and three
hundred miles, for the purpose of beholding the Prophet Joseph Smith.
I found him in Fayette, Seneca County, New York, at the house of
father Whitmer, where this Church was organized with only six members.
In that house I found not only Joseph, the Prophet, but David Whitmer,
John Whitmer, Christian Whitmer, and many of those witnesses whose
names are recorded in the Book of Mormon. Those were happy days to me.
To see a prophet of the living God, to look on a man whom the Lord had
raised up to bring forth one of the most glorious records that ever
saluted the ears of mortal man, was to me almost equal to beholding
the face of an holy angel! Yet, when I took that journey, and first
beheld his countenance, I did not certainly know that he was a
prophet. I believed him to be such because of the purity of the
doctrine that I had heard preached which he had brought forth. I knew
it was a scriptural doctrine, agreeing in every respect with the
ancient gospel. For although but a boy, I had already become
acquainted, in some measure, with the doctrines of the various
religious sects of the day, but none of them satisfied me, none of
them seemed to coincide with the word of God. I stood aloof from all,
until I heard this, when my mind became fully satisfied that God had
raised up a people to proclaim the gospel in all its ancient beauty
and simplicity, with power to administer in its ordinances. That was a
great satisfaction, so far as faith was concerned, but still I sought
for a knowledge. I felt as though I was not qualified to stand before
the people, and tell them that the Book of Mormon was a divine
revelation, and that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God, unless I had a
stronger testimony than that afforded by ancient prophets. However
great my assurance might be, it seemed to me, that to know for myself,
it required a witness independent of the testimony of others. I sought
for this witness. I did not receive it immediately, but when the Lord
saw the integrity of my heart and the anxiety of my mind—when He saw
that I was willing to travel hundreds of miles for the sake of
learning the principles of the truth, He gave me a testimony for
myself, which conferred upon me the most perfect knowledge that Joseph
Smith was a true prophet, and that this book, called the Book of
Mormon, was in reality a Divine revelation, and that God had once
more, in reality, spoken to the human family. What joy this knowledge
gave me! No language that I am acquainted with could describe the
sensations I experienced when I received a knowledge from Heaven of
the truth of this work.

Vol. 12,  p.85
In that early day the prophet Joseph said to me that the Lord had
revealed that twelve men were to be chosen as Apostles. A manuscript
[p.86] revelation to this effect, given in 1829—before the rise of
this Church—was laid before me, and I read it. Joseph said to me,
although I was young, weak, inexperienced, especially in public
speaking, and ignorant of many important things which we now all
understand, that I should be one of this Twelve. It seemed to me a
very great saying. I looked upon the Twelve Apostles who lived in
ancient days with a great deal of reverence—as being almost
superhuman. They were, indeed, great men—not by virtue of the flesh,
nor their own natural capacities, but they were great because God
called them. When Joseph told me that I would be one of the Twelve, I
knew all things were possible with God, but it seemed to me that I
would have to be altogether changed to occupy such a great position in
the Church and Kingdom of our God.

Vol. 12,  p.86
But I will pass over the first years of the organization of the Church
and come down to the time when the Twelve were chosen. It was in the
year 1835. In the preceding year a few of us, by commandment and
revelation from God, went up to the State of Missouri in company with
the Prophet Joseph Smith. By the direction of Joseph I was requested
to stay in Clay County for a few months, to visit the Saints scattered
through those regions, to preach to and comfort them, and to lay
before them the manuscript revelations, for they were not then fully
acquainted with all the revelations which had been given. After having
accomplished this work, and proclaimed the gospel to many branches of
the Church in the western part of Missouri, I returned again a
thousand miles to the State of Ohio, preaching by the way, suffering
much from the chills, and the fever and ague, while passing through
those low sickly countries, wading swamps and sloughs, lying down on
the prairies in the hot sun, fifteen or twenty miles from any
habitation, and having a hearty shake of the ague, then a violent
fever, thus wandering along for months before getting back to
Kirtland, Ohio, where the Prophet lived. In the meantime, however, I
built up some few branches of the Church, and then started for the
capital of the State of Ohio—the city of Columbus. I entered the city,
a stranger, on foot, and alone, not knowing that there was a
Latter-day Saint within many miles, but, while passing along the
crowded streets, I caught a glimpse of the countenance of a man who
passed, and whirling around instantly, I went after him, and inquired
of him if he knew whether there were any people called "Mormons" in
the city of Columbus. Said he: "I am one of that people, and the only
one that resides in the city." I looked upon this as a great marvel.
"How is it," said I, "that here in this great and populous city, where
hundreds are passing to and fro, that I should be influenced to turn
and accost the only Latter-day Saint residing here." I look upon it as
a revelation, as a manifestation of the power of God in my behalf. He
took me to his house, and, when there, presented me with a paper
published by our people in Kirtland. In that paper I saw an
advertisement, in which br. Pratt was requested to be at Kirtland on
such a day and at such an hour, to attend meeting in the Temple, that
he might be ready in take his departure with the Twelve who had been
chosen. The day and hour designated were right at hand; the Twelve
were chosen, and were soon to start on their first mission as a
Council. I had been travelling among strangers for months, and had not
seen the paper.[p.87] 

Vol. 12,  p.87
I saw that I had not time to reach Kirtland on foot, as I had been
accustomed to travel, and consequently could not thus comply with the
request; but, with a little assistance, I got into the very first
stage that went out, and started post-haste for Kirtland, and landed
at Willoughby, or what was then called Chagim, three miles from
Kirtland, to which I travelled on foot, reaching there on Sunday
morning at the very hour appointed for the meeting, which I entered,
valise in hand, not having had time to deposit it by the way. There I
met with Joseph, Oliver Cowdry, David Whitmer, Martin Harris, and
others of the witnesses to the Book of Mormon, besides several of the
Twelve who had been chosen and ordained a short time previous. They
were meeting on that day in order to be fully organized and qualified
for their first mission as a council. And, strange to relate, it had
been prophesied in that meeting, and in prior meetings, I would be
there on that day. They had predicted this, although they had not
heard of me for some time, and did not know where I was. They knew I
had been in Missouri, and that I had started from there, several
months before, but the Lord poured out the spirit of prophecy upon
them, and they predicted I would be there at that meeting. When they
saw me walk into the meeting, many of the Saints could scarcely
believe their own eyes, the prediction was fulfilled before them so
perfectly. I look at these things as miraculous manifestations of the
Spirit of God.

Vol. 12,  p.87
I was ordained, and went forth with the Council of the Twelve. We
performed an extended mission through the eastern States, built up
churches, and returned again to Kirtland.

Vol. 12,  p.87
It is not my intention to give many items of our history. I merely
touch upon these points, as they present themselves to my mind. I have
continued, from that day until the present, to bear testimony to that
which I know to be true. I do not speak enthusiastically when I say I
KNOW. It is not a spirit of excitement which prompts me to declare
these things, but I testify now, to that which I know by revelation to
me from heaven, as I have testified to hundreds and thousands of
people, both in America, in England, and on the Continent in Europe. I
know this great work which you, Latter-day Saints, have received, to
be the work of Almighty God. I have the same certainty that I have
that you are now sitting on these seats. This religion is not a whim;
it is not a wild enthusiastic creed, invented by human wisdom, but the
origin of this Church is divine. This book, called the Book of Mormon,
God gave, by the inspiration of His holy Spirit, to Joseph Smith, whom
you and I believe, and not only believe, but know to be, a prophet.
This book I consider the choicest book communicated to the children of
men for many centuries. The choicest! Why do I say the choicest? Are
there not many useful and interesting books of great value, containing
much information and many things of importance, that have been sought
out by the judgment, skill, and learning of men? Yes; but among all
those which have appeared since the first century of the Christian
era, there is one common characteristic—viz., they were written by the
wisdom of man. No doubt, in many respects, though unknown to their
authors, they were measurably dictated by the inspiration of the
Spirit of the living God. But God Himself is the author of the Book of
Mormon. He inspired the ideas it contains, and gave them [p.88] by the
urim and thummim. He sent forth His angel from heaven, clothed in
brightness and glory, to chosen witnesses, commanding them to declare
to all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people, that this precious book
was a divine revelation. How great, then, is the importance of this
work!

Vol. 12,  p.88
It was a very interesting period of my life, when but nineteen years
of age, to visit the place where this Church was organized—the room of
old father Whitmer—where the Lord spoke to His servant Joseph and
others, as printed in the Book of Doctrine and Covenants. In that same
room a revelation, through the prophet Joseph, was given to me,
November 4th, 1830, which is also printed. That house will, no doubtf
be celebrated for ages to come, as the one chosen by the Lord in which
to make known the first elements of the organization of His Kingdom in
the latter days.

Vol. 12,  p.88
But there are many wonderful things connected with this
dispensation—not only in the manifestations of the Spirit of God to
His servants in the many revelations that were given to individuals,
in healing the sick, in casting out devils, in restoring the blind to
their sight, in making the deaf to hear, and in causing the lame man
to leap as a hart—but what is still more wonderful, the gathering of
the people from distant nations. It is a wonder to me to look upon the
great sea of faces now before me in this bowery. Twenty years ago on
the twenty-first day of July, I stood solitary and alone on this great
city plot, near the place where now stands bishop Hunter's house,
being the first man of the Latter-day Saints that ever stood on this
ground: this was in the afternoon of the twenty-first day of July;
1847. Brother Erastus Snow entered the valley with me in the
afternoon. We travelled down to the south-east of the city. Br.
Erastus lost his coat off his horse, and went back to hunt it up, and
told me if I wanted to look over the country he would wait for me at
the mouth of what we now call Emigration Kanyon. I started from where
we parted, and came up and stood on the bank of City Creek. I gazed on
the surrounding scenery with peculiar feelings in my heart. I telt as
though it was the place for which we had so long sought. Brother
Brigham had requested me to proceed on and search out the road.
Several of the brethren had been taken sick at Yellow Creek, and they
appointed me and a small company to go on and see if we could find
anything of Salt Lake Valley or a country suitable for a location.
What did I see when I came into this valley? I saw some few green
bushes on yonder bench, but saw but little life throughout the valley,
except a certain insect that was afterwards called a cricket. I saw
them cropping the few isolated bushes, and gnawing everything green
around them. The land on yonder bench was all parched up, and the
soil, as we went down still further, also dry and baked; but as we
neared the waters we could see there was a little moisture round the
banks. It was really a solitary place, and is well described by the
prophet David in the 107th Psalm. He exclaims in this beautiful
language: "O give thanks unto the Lord, for He is good, for His mercy
endureth for ever. Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom He hath
redeemed from the hands of the enemy, and gathered them out of the
lands, from the east and front the west, from the north and from the
south." But David describes the country to which this people were to
be gathered. He calls it a dreary desolate land.[p.89] "They wandered
in the wilderness in a solitary way; they found no city to dwell in."
Are there not many sitting on these seats who can reflect back to the
time when they wandered over the solitary plains, the and deserts, and
rugged mountains? Are there not here some of the pioneers who were
numbered among the one hundred and forty-three who travelled fifteen
hundred miles from Nauvoo and a thousand from our Winter Quarters on
the Missouri river, who can bear testimony that we did "wander in the
wilderness in a solitary way?" Oh, how solitary it was except for the
red men, buffalo a few antelope, some elk, deer, and howling wolves!
It was indeed solitary; no road broken for us, no bridges across the
streams; we were unable to tell what latiture or longitude we were in
only by taking astronomical observations—get ting the altitude of the
sun, moon, or stars, and determining our latitude and longitude to
find out where we were, as sea captains do on the great deep. And thus
we continued, month after month, to wander in this solitary way, in
this wilderness, as it were, and when we entered these valleys we
found no city already built for us. David said that the people who
should be gathered from all lands would "find no city, to dwell in"—no
city already prepared for them.

Vol. 12,  p.89
Did we have any suffering, affliction, hunger, thirst, and fatigue? I
can bear testimony that the pioneers, and many others who followed in
their track that season, can look back to that period of their lives
as to a time when they experienced the fulfilment of David's
words:—"Hungry and thirsty their souls fainteth in them. Then they
cried unto the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them out of
their distresses." This was liferally fulfilled, for we were faithful
in calling on the Lord; we bowed before Him in the morning, we humbled
ourselves before them in the evening, and we prostrated ourselves
before Him in our secret places. Some of us went out upon the hills by
ourselves, and called upon the Lord, according to the order of the
Holy Priesthood, which order many of you who have received your
endowments understand. Many times we were thirsty, and our souls were
ready to faint within us, but we came forth by the direction of the
Almighty. His hand was with us, He heard our cries, our prayers came
up before Him, and He delivered us from all our afflictions. Yet we
found no city to dwell in, no splendid houses, mansions, and palaces,
and everything conducive to happiness and comfort, as our emigration
from foreign countries find in these times.

Vol. 12,  p.89
Finding no city to dwell in, the Lord permitted us to prepare a city
for habitation. I have stated that the Lord had accomplished
wonders—great wonders—besides healing the sick and doing those things
already named, and one of those great wonders is the city of Great
Salt Lake. It is a miracle to my eyes, it is a miracle to the
Latter-day Saints who dwell within it, it is a miracle to all the
inhabitants of the Territory, it is a miracle to all our enemies
scattered abroad, and a wonder to all the nations of the earth who
have read its description. Let me tell a secret that some of you,
perhaps, have not fully understood. Do you know, Latter-day Saints,
that this city is already celebrated in distant nations, across the
sea, as one of the most beautiful cities upon the American Continent?
It is even so. What renders it beautiful? It is not because all the
houses have been joined [p.90] house to house, and story piled on
story. No; that does not add to the beauty of a city. That is after
the fashion of old Babylon, or like the cities of the nations. They,
it is true, build some very superb buildings, of the most beautiful
and costly materials—granite and marble stone, magnificent in style,
and adorned with all the beauties of modern architecture. We see this
in the cities of the eastern states, in old England, on the Continent
of Europe, and wherever modern civilization extends; but what is all
this when compared to the beauty of our habitations? When emerging
from Parley's Kanyon in the stage, I put my head out of the window to
look for the city of Great Salt Lake, but it was so completely
shrouded in trees that I could scarcely get a glimpse of it. Now and
then I caught sight of a chimney peeping out above the stately shade
trees and smiling orchards; I could also see this great tabernacle
that you are now building, towering up, like a little mountain; but it
was impossible to get a full view of the city generally, it was so
completely covered with orchards and ornamental shade trees. I thought
to myself that I never saw a grander sight. Where did these trees come
from? You brought them down from the mountains, then little saplings;
many of you brought them on your shoulders, others piled them on their
wagons, and then you set them out on land that had the appearance of
being a parched desert, and in soil that to all human appearance was
unproductive. And during the twenty years that have rolled over your
heads, you have beautified this city, and made it a paradise. It
surpasses all the cities of the east in beauty, and your industry is
spoken of abroad as something wonderful and marvellous. For a people
without capital driven from their former homes, having nothing, us it
were, but bone and sinew, to bring to pass the marvels we now behold,
is considered without a parallel.

Vol. 12,  p.90
But David says, that this people, gathered from all nations, who would
find no city to dwell in, should finally prepare a city for
habitation. Thank you, brethren, for having fulfilled the prophecy.
Many other things, in this same Psalm, are now being fulfilled. The
inspired psalmist predicts that the Lord would cause waters to break
out in the wilderness, and in the desert springs of water, and that
the thirsty ground should become pools of water. Has this been
fulfilled? What aspect is presented over the country, for miles and
miles around, when you irrigate your farming lands? Do you cast your
eyes over them sometimes, and see standing pools of water? If you do
you behold the fulfilment of the psalm. In the twenty-ninth chapter of
Isaiah—the very place where this book (the Book of Mormon) is spoken
of, and the marvellous work that should be accomplished by its means,
we also read that a forest "shall be turned into a fruitful field, and
the fruitful field shall be esteemed as s forest." David also says,
that you were not only to make a city for habitation, but you were to
plant vineyards, sow fields, and eat the increase thereof, and he
would not suffer your cattle to decrease.

Vol. 12,  p.90
I have been gone about three years, and I would like to inquire of
those who keep cattle, whether they are on the increase in this
Territory? I think if they were to answer they would say they are.
Brother Kimball says the Territory is perfectly alive with them, and I
have no doubt that the hills, mountains, and valleys are sprinkled
over with them, and [p.91] that they are on the increase. This is what
David says:—"He suffers not their cattle to decrease;" and he also
informs us that that barren, thirsty land, that solitary place, that
wilderness through which His people should be led, should become, as
it were, a fruitful field—this you know has been literally fulfilled.
We are further informed that "blessed are they who sow beside all
waters and send forth thither the feet of the ox and the ass." How do
you farm in this land? You answer, by the side of the water streams.
They do not farm in this way in the old countries, but wherever they
find a beautiful piece of soil, whether on mountain or plain, they
convert it into a farm, it is no matter if it be many miles from the
water. But Isaiah saw that this people would be put in possession of a
land where it would be necessary to "sow beside all waters," and in
passing up and down this Territory it is universally the case that all
our farming lands are located alongside the water streams which come
out of the mountains.

Vol. 12,  p.91
Do you want a blessing, brethren? If you do, Isaiah has given you one,
for he exclaims, "Blessed are ye that sow beside all waters, that send
forth thither the feet of the ox and the ass." David also declares, in
the Psalm already referred to, that "He setteth the poor on high from
affliction, and maketh him families like a flock." What does the
Psalmist mean? Does he mean to say that the families of a poor man who
has been gathered should increase like a flock? This is what he
predicts; why do the world find fault with it? Are there not some
fault-finders? I hope not. Br. Kimball says they are all dead; if so,
it is to be hoped that we will be troubled with them no more.

Vol. 12,  p.91
We should rejoice to think that God has brought us into this desert
country, and made it so fruitful, like the Garden of Eden, where the
poor man, who in the old countries could scarcely live, has, in the
course of the twenty years, not only got flocks and herds, but
"families" (for David actually puts in the plural) "like a flock." To
go around these valleys, and occasionally count the families of a poor
man, is like counting a flock of sheep. Gentiles (we merely repeat the
name they have given themselves) feel like finding fault with us in
regard to this matter, but if we are satisfied, why should they find
fault? If the poor man has been lifted up on high, just as David said
he should be, and if the Lord has made him to have families like a
flock, why should you find fault with this poor man? Is he not better
off here than in the old countries, where for twelve or sixteen hours
daily labor he received only eight shillings per week, for himself and
family—and was scarcely able to keep body and soul together—living and
dying in the most squalid poverty?

Vol. 12,  p.91
I cannot see any harm in the people coming to this distant land, and
gathering around them flocks, and herds, and fields, and each
multiplying his own families, till they resemble a flock. All seem to
feel tolerably well about it. The wives of these poor men have smiling
faces, and seem happy. I do not know but some of them quarrel, but
that does not prove that the principle is not good and true.
Monogamist families also quarrel sometimes, but you would not do away
with marriage, and say that a man ought not to have one wife, because
they pull hair occasionally. Why find fault, then, with the poor man
David speaks about, whose families should be like a flock, because now
and then one gets up a quarrel? The system is good; the [p.92] quarrel
is no part of the system, but is a violation of it, and is the
introduction of discord into that which the Lord intended to
harmonize. Plurality of wives is something a little different from
what our fathers have taught us, and it will take us a little while to
learn this ancient scriptural order. You would not find fault with a
little child because it did not learn the alphabet, spelling lessons,
and get into reading in one day. Let all have a chance to learn by
experience, and by that which God has revealed in ancient and modern
times, to rule, govern, and control these great flocks and families so
that they may be worthy to rule in the Kingdom of God.

Vol. 12,  p.92
There are many curious things written in the ancient prophecies and in
the writings of the Psalmist. The people abroad in the world generally
think a great deal of what David said. There are some churches so
pious that they would not have a hymn, composed in modern times, sung
by their congregations. They would think their chapels were polluted
by singing a hymn composed by any poet or poetess in these days. You
may think I am misrepresenting them, but I am not. You go to Scotland
if you wish to see the truth of these words. Will the Scotch
Presbyterians permit hymns of their own composition to be sung in
their sanctuaries? No; what do they substitute? The Psalms of
David—the man after God's own heart, who was so righteous when but a
boy that God was with him, and who, long before he was raised to the
throne of Israel, and while yet a youth, as it were, had eight wives,
and into whose bosom God afterwards gave all the wives of his master
Saul, This man knew how to make psalms, for he made them by
inspiration for the Scotch Church to sing; he understood it, and when
he looked upon and realized what a flock of wives and children he had,
he no doubt felt a glow of pleasure in anticipation of the time when
the same order should be established among that people who were to be
gathered from all lands. When have any people ever fulfilled. these
ancient prophecies if this people are not doing it now.

Vol. 12,  p.92
Go back, now, historians, and tell us what people have ever fulfilled
these sayings, except the Latter-day Saints. Did the ancient church
ever fulfil these prophecies? No; why not? Because the dispensation of
gathering had not then come. They were commanded to build up churches
in Rome, Corinth, Galatia, Ephesus, and various parts of the earth,
and when they had built up these churches they were permitted to stay
at home. David says the people of God are to be gathered from all
lands, and we see float it was not done by the ancient church· Now
come down from the days of the introduction of Christianity into
Palestine to the present period and place your finger, if you can, on
a people who have fulfilled these prophecies. You can find nothing
that has had the appearance of it until the appearance of the Prophet
Joseph Smith. Since his day you can see what the Lord has done in
sending abroad His missionaries, as swift messengers, to preach the
gospel to all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people, baptizing all
who would repent, and building up churches to His holy name, then
proclaiming in the ears of all the Saints, "Go from all these nations
to the great western hemisphere, locate yourselves on the high
portions of the North American Continent in the midst of the
mountains, and be gathered in one, that you may fulfil the prophecies
that have been uttered concerning you." When we [p.93] see this, we
see God fulfilling that which He spake many long centuries ago. And
the work is still rolling on, just as fast as the wheels of time can
roll it. The Prophet Isaiah, in the 35th chapter, says "The wilderness
and the solitary place shall be glad for them, and the desert shall
rejoice and blossom as the rose."

Vol. 12,  p.93
Latter-day Saints lift up your hearts and rejoice with joy
unspeakable, for you are the very ones who have the privilege of
fulfilling this, you see it directly before you. Has this prophecy
been fulfilled here? Was there a wilderness here? Was there a desert
here, and does it blossom as the rose? I was not here this spring, but
I will venture to say that if I had been within three miles of this
city, in April or May, I should have seen, for five or six square
miles, peach, pear, plum, and apple trees all in bloom, literally
making the wilderness to blossom as the rose· What a miracle compared
with twenty years ago, when I stood, solitary and alone, by the side
of City Creek, near this temple block, and surveyed the scene! The
prophecy of Isaiah has been fulfilled, thanks be to Him who rules,
controls, and guides all these things.

Vol. 12,  p.93
If there ever was a people that needed blessings, it seems to me that
the Latter-day Saints are the ones. How much you have suffered in
years past and gone! How great have been your trials for the truth's
sake! How great your exertions to gather out from among the nations of
the earth! How great has been your toil in this desert country to
fulfil these prophecies! God bless you, and your generations for
evermore, and give you a hundred fold, besides these valleys, to make
you and your posterity rejoice, is my prayer in the name of Jesus
Christ. Amen.

Brigham Young, June 30, 1867

Condition of Apostates—the Young Men of the Saints—
Bible Christians—Mormon Battalion—His Testimony to 
Strangers—Council to Mothers  and  Daughters on Polygamy

REMARKS by President Brigham Young, delivered in the 
Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, June 30th, 1867.

[Reproted By David W. Evans]

Vol. 12,  p.93
We have heard good instruction and good news from our brethren in the
south and in the east, and we hear good news concerning Zion. But this
is not good to the world, for Zion and the spirit of Zion are not
loved by the wicked. There is good news, and it may be summed up by
saying that God is carrying on His work most admirably. He has
commenced His work in the last days, for the last time; and into this,
work He will gather all things. We are here in these mountains.
Accidentally? Perhaps so. If we had Brother George A. Smith to tell
the starry, he would say we came here because we were obliged to come,
and we stay here because there is no other place to which we can go.
We [p.94] have built cities in this mountainous region, because there
was no other place where we could do so. We have not got through with
our work here yet. The people have hardly commenced to realize the
beauty, excellence, and glory that will yet crown this city. I do not
know that I will live in the flesh to see what I saw in vision when I
came here. I see some things, but a great deal more has yet to be
accomplished. We go abroad and preach to the people and gather them
home to Zion, and it appears to be the feelings of a great many that
when they get here they have done all that the Lord requires of
them—their mission is out, and they are then ready to go and work for
themselves. I heard of one man who came here twenty years ago, who
stayed a few years and got more property than he ever had before, then
sold it, and went to California, feeling and believing that he had
worked long enough for the Lord, and that henceforth he would work for
himself. The last I heard of him he was in poverty, distress, and
disgrace. Loved of the Lord? No; if the Lord did not hate him, he did
not love him. Angels did not love him, Saints did not love him, and
the devil despised him, as he does all apostates.

Vol. 12,  p.94
On this particular point I said a little a Sunday or two ago. I will
now take the liberty of saying a little more. If there is a despicable
character on the face of the earth, it is an apostate from this
Church. He is a traitor who has deceived his best friends, betrayed
his trust, and forfeited every principle of honor that God placed
within him. They may think they are respected, but they are not. They
are disgraced in their own eyes. There is not much honesty within
them; they have forfeited their heaven, sold their birthright, and
betrayed their friends. What will the devil do with such characters?
Will he have them in his kingdom? Yes, he will be obliged to, because
he is an apostate himself. He apostatized from the Celestial Kingdom,
and was thrust down to hell. Yet, when apostates get to his kingdom,
he will say—"I do not like you, for you are just as mean as I am. I
was a traitor and a liar, and I am yet. I despise myself and every
character that betrays his trust." That is all I wish to say on that
point. Let apostates go.

Vol. 12,  p.94
A word now to the Elders of Israel, especially to the young elders.
There are a great many young men born and brought up in this Church,
and if they do not go to the nations of the earth to preach they are
not, therefore, obliged to make shipwreck of their good education and
the faith they have received. Brother Pitkin was talking about young
men being ruined through acquiring bad habits and forming bad
associations here. If we had sent such young men to preach they would,
in all probability, have disgraced themselves and the cause; for I am
satisfied that if any man or woman, old or young, wished to be honest,
upright, truthful, and virtuous, there is no community on the face of
the earth that honors and seeks to promote every holy principle to
such an extent as this does. Do you know it? If you do not, just go
into the world and mingle with the people, and you will soon find it
out.

Vol. 12,  p.94
If there are any ladies and gentlemen present who have not joined the
Church, I wish to say a few words to them. Are men or women honest
with themselves and their God when they refuse or neglect to search
diligently to know the truth of the latter-day work? I could not be,
with the sensibility God has blessed [p.95] me with. A man or woman
desirous of knowing the truth, upon hearing the gospel of the Son of
God proclaimed in truth and simplicity, should ask the Father, in the
name of Jesus, if this is true. If they do not take this course, they
may try and argue themselves into the belief that they are as honest
as any man or woman can be on the face of the earth; but they are not,
they are careless as to their own best interests. Before I heard the
gospel I searched diligently to know and understand whatever could be
learned among the sectarians respecting God and the plan of salvation.
It was so with the majority of the Latter-day Saints. But very little
can be learned among Christian professors; they are ignorant about God
and His kingdom, and the design He had in view in the formation of the
earth and peopling it with His creatures. The Christian world are
deficient in these matters; and many among them who believed the Bible
was true have felt this, and Martin Luther, John Calvin, John Wesley,
and other great Reformers and revivalists have felt this, and have had
the spirit of conviction upon them that God was going to reveal
something or other to His creatures. My brother Joseph once said to me
(and we were both Methodists at the time), "Brother Brigham, there is
not a Bible Christian in the world; what will become of the people?"
For many years no person saw a smile on his countenance, in
consequence of the burden of the Lord being upon him, and realizing
that the inhabitants of the earth had all gone out of the way and had
turned every man to his own views. I am not speaking now of the world
morally, but of their ignorance of the gospel of the Son of God and of
the way to be saved in the celestial kingdom of our Father. There was
not a Bible Christian on the face of the earth who was known to us. I
cannot say what is to be found in the frozen regions of the north, or
a little beyond; if any nook or corner among the icebergs contains an
Apostle, I do not know it, but I suppose none have been able to find
one. No people on this earth had the Priesthood of the Son of God at
their command or within their grasp, and there was no delegation from
God to the children of men.

Vol. 12,  p.95
Now, we come proclaiming that the Lord has spoken from Heaven, and has
sent His angels to administer to the children of men. If you ask
"where is my proof?" my reply is, I am a witness. Have we any more
witnesses? Yes, here is this whole people. What else has brought them
together? Do you think they have been gathered for the sake of making
money, or for raising a political kingdom? Try if, you statesmen and
philosophers, and see if you can gather a people together as we came
here. How did we come here? We came comparatively naked and barefoot,
driven from our homes into these mountains, robbed of our horses and
cattle, and our houses rifled by mobs. Were we sustained by any
government? Did England put forth her hand to sustain us, or did
France donate anything for the assistance of this poor people? No not
anything. Did the Government of the United States? No, but I will you
what they did do—they imposed a trifling tax upon us. When they were
at war with Mexico they said, "Now, you Mormons are going into the
wilderness, but we will prove whether you are loyal or not—we want
five hundred of your men." Did we give them? Yes, we took the men from
their wagons, from their aged fathers and mothers, their [p.96] wives
and children, and they went to fight the battles of the United States.
Who helped us here? The Lord Almighty, and He has fed and clothed and
sustained us, and given us the ability to gather around us the
comforts of life. And now we declare that the principles we preach are
the principles of the gospel of the Son of God, and no man nor nation
beneath the Heavens can contradict or confute what I say. And here are
my witnesses—some few thousands in this congregation, Who would rise
and testify by the power of the Holy Ghost that this is the gospel of
life and salvation. Can men and women be honest who lot this pass by
as a thing of nought, and say—"These poor despised 'Mormons' and their
religion are not worthy of our notice, they are beneath our dignity
and refinement." Stop! Pause and think! Do you know what refinement
is? Do you know what belongs to honor and greatness? If you do, you
will never make use of such expressions. Those who are honorable will
honor their being, and prepare according to the best of their ability
and knowledge, and the revelations God has given, to preserve their
existence and identity, and to dwell for ever in the presence of the
Father and the Son. Every person who is honorable and loves truth will
do this. I do not want men to come to me or my brethren for testimony
as to the truth of this work; but let them take the Scriptures of
divine truth, and there the path is pointed out to them as plainly as
ever a guideboard indicated the right path to the weary traveller.
There they are directed to go, not to Brothers Brigham, Heber, or
Daniel, to any apostle or elder in Israel, but to the Father in the
name of Jesus, and ask for the information they need. Can they who
take this course in honesty and sincerity receive information? Will
the Lord turn away froth the honest heart seeking for truth? No, He
will not; He will prove to them, by the revelations of His Spirit, the
facts in the case. And when the mind is open to the revelations of the
Lord it comprehends them quicker and keener than anything that is seen
by the natural eye. It is not what we see with our eyes—they may be
deceived—but what is revealed by the Lord from Heaven is sure and
steadfast, and abides for ever. We do not want the people to rely on
human testimony, although that cannot be confuted and destroyed;
still, there is a more sure word of prophecy that all may gain if they
will seek it earnestly before the Lord. This is to my friends or my
enemies who do not believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and in the gospel
which He has revealed in these days. Now, mark my words, if you are
honest to yourselves you will inquire as to its truth. You are invited
to inquire, and it is your duty to do so, of the Father in the name of
Jesus, if these things are so. "Well," say a great many, "when Jesus
was on the earth he wrought miracles." Very true, and have we not done
so? You read all the history of the world, laying aside the Book of
Mormon containing the history of the people who once inhabited this
continent, and you cannot produce anything that will compare with the
labors of this people in these mountains. Everything is thrown into
the shade when compared with it. Have we any witnesses with regard to
the healing of the sick by the power of God? Plenty of them. "O," say
you, "we do not know anything about that." We do not want you to know
anything about it until you learn for yourselves. [p.97] Miracles, or
these extraordinary manifestations of the power of God, are not for
the unbeliever; they are to console the Saints, and to strengthen and
confirm the faith of those who love, fear, and serve God, and not for
outsiders. When Jesus was spoken to with regard to miracles, he said,
"An evil and an adulterous generation seeketh after a sign, and there
shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the Prophet Jonas," and
this principle is as true with regard to individuals as to
generations. Here is the truth—God has spoken from the heavens,
calling upon the inhabitants of the earth to repent, and we call upon
them to repent. Is there anything immoral or in the least
unchristian-like in this? Not in the least. We also call upon all men
to be baptized for the remission of their sins. Is this a heresy, is
it immoral or unchristianlike? No, everybody will agree that it is not
in the least. Then we say to all, if you have been in the habit of
lying, stealing, or committing any sin whatever, do it no more, but
live righteously and godly as long as you stay on the earth. Who can
complain of this.

Vol. 12,  p.97
Now, the sermon which I design preaching to the ladies comes right
before me. It is said—"If it were not for your obnoxious doctrine of
plurality of wives we could believe in the rest very well." It is not
that. That is not the touchstone at all, but it is because our wives
and daughters cannot be seduced; it is because this people are
strictly moral, virtuous, and truthful. Now, taking the history of
creation as given by Moses, let me ask the question—"Mother Eve, did
you not partake of the forbidden fruit, as also did Adam, and thus
bring sin and iniquity into the world?" "O, yes," says mother Eve.
Then, why cannot you bear the affliction of it? Why not say—"If I was
the cause of bringing evil into the world, I will firmly bear all that
God puts upon me, and maintain His word and His law, and so work out
my salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God working within
me." I ask this question of you, mother Eves, every one of you. If you
are not sanctified and prepared, you ought to be sanctifying and
preparing yourselves for the blessings m store for you when it will be
said of you, this is Eve. Why? Because you are the mother of all
living. You might as well prepare first as last. If you wish to be
Eves and mothers of human families you ought to bear the burden. But
you say this is cruel. No, it is not cruel at all. Is there a passion
in man that he cannot subdue for the sake of the gospel of salvation,
that he may be crowned with glory, immortality, and eternal lives?
Shame on the elder who, if duty calls, cannot go and preach the gospel
until he winds up his earthly career and never permit a female to kiss
him. I do not wish to say much upon this subject, but I say, woe to
you Eves if you proclaim or entertain feelings against this doctrine!
Woe to every female in this Church who says, "I will not submit to the
doctrine that God has revealed." You will wake up by and by and say,
"I have lost the crown and exaltation I might have gained had I only
been faithful to my covenants and the revelations which God gave. I
might have been crowned as well as you, but now I must go to another
kingdom." Be careful, O, ye mothers in Israel, and do not teach your
daughters in future, as many of them have been taught, to marry out of
Israel. Woe to you who do it; you will lose your crowns as sure as God
lives. Be careful! "Well," but say you,[p.98] "these men, these elders
of Israel, have it all their own way." That is not so, and we are not
going to have it all our own way, unless our way is to do just right.
And the man and woman who set up their will against the providence of
God, will be found wanting when accounts are squared. They will have
to say, "the summer is past, the harvest is ended, and we have not
received our crowns." Will you think of this, sisters, you who are not
married as well as you who are? I have a good many daughters, but it
would he better for every one of my daughters, and for every female in
this Church, to marry men who have proved themselves to be men of God,
no matter how many wives they have, than to take these miserable
characters who are running around here. For myself, I desire to please
God, whether it is ever to see another wife or child while I live or
not. Have I proved it? Yes, God, the heavens, and the Saints know it.
When Joseph called upon me and my brethren here, we were always ready.
We made it a point ever to be ready to leave fathers, mothers, sisters
and brothers, wives and children to go and preach the gospel to a
perishing world, and save as many as would hearken to our counsel. We
have proved this years ago. We have been willing to leave all for the
sake of the gospel, and therein the Lord has made us rich. But who is
going to complain about it?

Vol. 12,  p.98
I want the daughters of Israel, both old and young, to remember that
part of my sermon intended especially for them; and I want our friends
who come here, who are not of us, to hear what the Latter-day Saints
have to say. If we have the words of eternal life for you, and you
will not receive them at our hands, we want you to be left without
excuse. The Lord has spoken from the heavens; He has sent His
delegation to the earth, and He has commissioned men on the earth to
preach this gospel and to bring people into the Church. If they
disobey they must take the consequence; it is they and the Lord for
it. As we have always told them, the gospel of Jesus which we believe
and preach, which they call "Mormonism," is the doctrine of life and
salvation, and if they do not believe it, they can pray to the Lord
and ask Him for knowledge. All this they can do if they please. We do
our duty in telling them what they should do, and the result is with
them and their God. May God bless you. Amen.[p.99] 

Brigham Young, November 17, 1867

The Witness of the Spirit—How to Continue to 
Be Sons of God—Necessity of Prayer

REMARKS by President Brigham, Young, delivered in the 
Old Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, November 17th, 1867.

[Reported By G. D. Watt]

Vol. 12,  p.99
We have great reason to be thankful for the blessings we enjoy as
individuals and as a people. There is no other people on the earth,
that we have any knowledge of, who are blessed to the same extent as
this people called Latter-day Saints. If we are blessed more than
others, we should be more thankful than others. The blessings and
bounties of the Lord upon us are bestowed according to our
faithfulness and obedience to the requirements made of us. We have
seen times in our history as a people, that if the hand of God had not
been immediately over us, we must have perished. But to secure His
blessings the Lord requires the strict obedience of His people. This
is our duty. We obey the Lord, Him who is called Jehovah, the Great I
AM, I am a man of war, Eloheim, etc. We are under many obligations to
obey Him. How shall we know that we obey Him? There is but one method
by which we can know it, and that is by the inspiration of the Spirit
of the Lord witnessing unto our spirit that we are His, that we love
Him, and that He loves us. It is by the spirit of revelation we know
this. We have no witness to ourselves internally, without the spirit
of revelation. We have no witness outwardly only by obedience to the
ordinances.

Vol. 12,  p.99
About the time I was preparing myself to embrace the gospel, there
were great reformation meetings, and many professed to be converted.
Those were very stirring times. The cause of religion was the great
topic and theme of conversation, and preachers were full of zeal to
bring souls to Christ through repentance and faith in His name. I
recollect very distinctly that if I permitted myself to speak in any
of their meetings, the spirit forbade me mentioning or referring to
the testimony of Jesus, only in a superficial way. A few who believed
in the everlasting gospel which had been revealed through Joseph, the
prophet, testified in their meetings that they knew by the spirit of
revelation that God had done thus and so, and they were hooted at
immediately by those reformers. If I spoke at all in their meetings, I
had to guard every word I uttered, lest I should offend those who
professed to understand the gospel of life and salvation, but who did
not. Gradually we broke through this fear, and ventured to utter the
sentiments of our hearts, in faith before God, delivering that to the
people which the Lord had revealed to us. Such is the condition of the
professed religious portions of Christendom to-day. They refuse to
receive the testimony of Jesus through revelation from His spirit; but
they believe in the mutterings, [p.100] whisperings, and rappings of
low, foul, degraded spirits, who delight to lead astray rather than to
guide to the truth. They "Seek unto them that have familiar spirits,
and unto wizards that peep, and that mutter; should not a people seek
unto their God for the living to the dead?" Unless we are willing to
be guided by the revelations of the spirit of the Almighty, by obeying
and living up to the principles of His gospel, we are as apt to
believe one thing as another, and to be influenced by, and follow the
dictations of a bad spirit as a good one. We have the same testimony
as the faithful followers of the Lord Jesus had anciently.

Vol. 12,  p.100
The scriptures made use of by Elder George A. Smith this morning, show
the way in which the former Saints became the sons of God. "But as
many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God,
even to them that believe on His name." Who did receive Him and
believe on His name? Did the Jews as a nation? No. Did the Gentiles as
nations? No. A few Jews and a few Gentiles only received Him and
believed on His name.  When the gospel was preached to the Jews and to
the Gentiles, a few had ears to hear, eyes to see, and hearts that
understood by the spirit of revelation; they believed the sayings of
the Savior, and received the Lord Jesus Christ as the promised
Messiah. It is written, "The Son can do nothing of himself, but what
he seeth the Father do; for what things soever He doeth, these also
doeth the Son likewise. For the Father loveth the Son, and sheweth him
all things that himself doeth." Again, it is written, "For I have
given unto them the words which thou gavest me." The disciples
believed the words of the Savior, and proved to Him and to His
apostles that they were sincere and honest in their belief. Thus they
were entitled to the spirit of revelation through their obedience.
They asked and they did receive, "not the spirit of bondage again to
fear, but the spirit of adoption, whereby we cry Abba, Father. The
spirit itself bearing witness with our spirit that we are the children
of God." While the same Holy Spirit, or comforter, becomes the
testimony of Jesus to all true believers, "He will reprove the world
of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment;" for in the days of the
Savior many who did not receive the gospel were pricked in their
hearts, and they did perish, although convinced of its truth. And so
it is to-day; wherever the gospel is preached by the Elders of this
Church many are pricked in their hearts, and they testify in their own
conscience that it is from heaven, and yet they will not receive the
gospel, and perish in their sins. They smother the spirit of
conviction within them, and go into greater darkness than before.
"Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God." When a
man or woman anciently renounced the Jewish religion, or any of the
sects of it that then existed among the Jews, forsaking every mode of
worship excepting that which Jesus introduced, it was regarded as a
sufficient testimony that they were honest—that they were born of
God—and all the sincere and honest believers received the testimony of
Jesus, which is the spirit of prophecy, and received power to become
His sons.

Vol. 12,  p.100
I think, however, that the rendering of this Scripture is not so true
as the following, namely: "But as many as received Him, to them gave
He power to continue to be the sons of God." Instead of receiving the
gospel to become the sons of [p.101] God, my language would be—to
receive the gospel that we may continue to be the sons of God. Are we
not all sons of God when we are born into this world? Old Pharoah,
King of Egypt, was just as much a son of God as Moses and Aaron were
His sons, With this difference—he rejected the word of the Lord, the
true light, and they received it. For "this is the condemnation, that
light is come into the world, and men love darkness rather than light,
because their deeds are evil. Then we receive not the gospel that we
may become the sons of God, but that we may remain the sons of God
without rebuke. Inasmuch as all had apostatized, they had to become
the sons of God by adoption, still, originally, all were the sons of
God. We receive the gospel, not that we may have our names written in
the Lamb's book of life, but that our names may not be blotted out of
that book. "For," saith the Lord, "He that overcometh, the same shall
be clothed in white raiment, and I will not blot out his name out of
the book of life." Why? Because he had overcome through his
faithfulness. My doctrine is—that there never was a son and daughter
of Adam and Eve born on this earth whose names were not already
written in the Lamb's book of life, and there they will remain until
their conduct is such that the angel who keeps the record is
authorized to blot them out and record them elsewhere. These are my
views on that intricate point, but we are satisfied to use this
Scripture as it is rendered by our translators.

Vol. 12,  p.101
I now wish to make an application of this to our own day. By what
means. shall the people of this generation become the sons and
daughters of the Almighty? By believing on the Lord Jesus Christ? Yes.
How shall they know that they believe in Him? By yielding obedience to
the gospel as it is revealed to us in this generation, at the same
time believing in all that has been revealed to others until now,
concerning the children of men, the character of God, the creation of
the earth, the ordinances of the Lord's house, the oracles of
truth—believing in all things that have been revealed to mankind from
the time that the Lord first began to reveal His will to them. Now, we
say to the people of the nineteenth century, and we speak the truth
and lie not., whosoever believes that Joseph Smith, jun., was a
prophet sent of God, and was ordained by Him to receive and hold the
keys of the Holy Priesthood, which is after the order of the Son of
God, and power to build up the kingdom of God upon the earth, to
gather the house of Israel, to guide all who believe and obey to
redemption, to restore that which has been lost through
transgression—who soever believes this, believing in the Lord, and
obeying His commandments to the end of their lives, their names shall
not be blotted out of the Lamb's book of life, and they shall receive
crowns of glory, immortality, and eternal life. This is for the
nineteenth century, for the generation of people now living, and who
lived thirty or thirty-seven years ago. I am not now preaching to a
congregation of unbelievers, but to the Saints; and I now say to you,
Saints, and to the unbelievers, that all who reject the gospel, who
despise the principles of life and salvation that have been delivered
to us, they must taste of the second death if they do not repent.
There may be some, however, who are so ignorant that repentance is yet
left for them. This is the gospel that we preach, the testimony which
we send forth to the [p.102] world, inculcating strict obedience to
the requirements of heaven, which is expected from all who embrace
this gospel. For example, Joseph, the prophet, said to the Colesville
branch, "sell your farms.' So he said to other branches, "gather up
and let us go to the Ohio," and they went, and from the Ohio to
Missouri. Before we went to the Ohio, Oliver Cowdery, Peter Whitmer
jun., Parley P. Pratt, and Ziba Peterson started in the fall of 1830
to visit the land where the centre take of Zion was afterwards
located.  When Joseph went up he located the city. Those who had farms
and stores were instructed to sell out, to forsake all, to give to the
poor, and to impart of their substance to sustain this elder, clothe
another elder, and to send another on his mission, which they did, and
up they got, and to the Ohio and to the Missouri they moved. What
other people would have done this? They are not to be found in
Christendom. While in Missouri they moved from county to county, and
then back east into Illinois; for, thus said the Lord, through the
prophet Joseph, return to Illinois, and there the prophet was killed.
Then the word of the Lord to us was: gather up my people, and flee to
the mountains, and hide yourselves, and there wait until you shall see
the hand of the Lord made bare, and the wrath of the Almighty poured
out upon the wicked nation that has consented to the death of my
prophets. Impart of your substance, was the word of the Lord to them,
and who were there in all those trains of Saints that did not impart
of their substance? When we left Missouri we covenanted before the
Lord that we never would cease our endeavours until the last man,
woman, and child should be brought out of Missouri to Illinois who
wanted to be moved. A few tarried in Missouri and apostatized. When
the persecuted and driven Saints reached Illinois, the word of the
Lord through the prophet Joseph was—gather up to Commerce, which was
afterwards darned Nauvoo. We did not lose sight of one Saint in
Missouri, and gave our means to gather out the last and least Saint
that would leave. When the word came—"gather to the mountains from
Nauvoo"—we agreed before we left that city that we would use our means
and our influence to gather the last Saint to the mountains. I have
sent, time and time again, to inquire if there was a Saint in Nauvoo
who wished to be gathered to these mountains. If there are any, let
them come, for we have means and teams to bring them. This proves that
we have kept our covenants. Now the word of the Lord is go
forward—press on. The kingdom of God is onward and upward. The proof
of this declaration is before me to-day.

Vol. 12,  p.102
Who believes Joseph Smith to be a prophet? These my brethren and
sisters who are now sitting before me. They entertain no doubts on
this subject. They may sometimes be tempted and tried, and neglect
their prayers, until they hardly know whether "Mormonism" is true or
untrue. The cares of the world, we know very well, flood in upon them;
but let me tell you one thing—and I want you to seriously remember
it—if you are in darkness, and have not the spirit of prayer, still do
not neglect your prayers in your families in the morning. You, fathers
and husbands, get down on your knees, and when the cares of this world
intrude themselves upon your devotions, let them wait while you remain
on your knees and finish your prayers. Brother Daniel D. Hunt's
blessing over a dinner in Missouri, [p.103] when he and Benjamin Clapp
first met, is a very good prayer for us all. It was: "O, Lord, save us
from error." If you can say no more than this very short but
comprehensive prayer, go down upon your knees and say it. When you
have labored faithfully for years, you will learn this simple
fact—that if your hearts are aright, and you still continue to be
obedient, continue to serve God, continue to pray, the spirit of
revelation will be in you like a well of water springing up to
everlasting life. Let no person give up prayer be. cause he has not
the spirit of prayer, neither let any earthly circumstance hurry you
while in the performance of this important duty. By bowing down before
the Lord to ask Him to bless you, you will simply lind this result—God
will multiply blessings on you temporally and spiritually. Let a
merchant, a farmer, a mechanic, any person in business, live his
religion faithfully, and he need never lose one minute's sleep by
thinking about his business; he need not worry in the least, but trust
in God, go to sleep and rest. I say to this people—pray, and if you
cannot do anything else, read a prayer aloud that your family may hear
it, until you get a worshipping spirit, and are full of the riches of
eternity, then you will be prepared at any time to lay hands on the
sick, or to officiate in any of the ordinances of this religion. I do
not recollect that I have seen five minutes since I was baptized that
I have not been ready to preach a funeral sermon, lay hands on the
sick, or to pray in private or in public. I will tell you the secret
of this. In all your business transactions, words, and communications,
if you commit an overt act, repent of that immediately, and call upon
God to deliver you from evil and give you the light of His spirit.
Never do a thing that your conscience, and the light within you, tell
you is wrong. Never do a wrong, but do all the good you possibly can.
Never do a thing to mar the peaceable influence of the Holy Spirit in
you; then whatever you are engaged in—whether in business, in the
dance, or in the pulpit—you are ready to officiate at any time in any
of the ordinances of the House of God. If I commit an overt act, the
Lord knows the integrity of my heart, and, through sincere repentance,
He forgives me. Before Joseph's death he had a revelation concerning
myself and others, which signified that we had passed the ordeal, and
that we should never apostatize from the faith of the holy gospel;
"and," said Joseph, "if there is any danger of your doing this, the
the Lord will take you to Himself forthwith, for you cannot stray from
the truth." When men and women have travelled to a certain point in
their labors in this life, God sets a seal upon them that they never
can forsake their God or His kingdom; for, rather than they should do
this, He will at once take them to Himself. Probably this is so with
many of the elders who are taken from us, and over whom many
ignorantly mourn. I say, to God give thanks, for who knows but that
had they lived there might have been trials to pass through which they
could not overcome. It is all right, blessed be the name of the Lord.

Vol. 12,  p.104
May the Lord bless you. Amen.[p.104] 

Brigham Young, November 3, 1867

The Witness of the Spirit—Bishops Should Be 
Examples—the Saints not Ignorant

REMARKS by President Brigham Young, delivered in the Old 
Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, November 3rd, 1867.

[Reported By G. D. Watt]

Vol. 12,  p.104
I will, in the commencement of my remarks, take up a subject upon
which much has been said in the pulpit and in the chimney corner. It
is regarding the Spirit of the Lord manifesting His will to His
children. There is no doubt, if a person lives according to the
revelations given to God's people, he may have the Spirit of the Lord
to signify to him His will, and to guide and to direct him in the
discharge of his duties, in his temporal as well as his spiritual
exercises. I am satisfied, however, that in this respect, we live far
beneath our privileges. If this is true, it is necessary that we
become more fervent in the service of God—in living our religion—and
more truthful and honest with one another, that we be not slack in the
performance of any duty, but labor with a right good will for God and
truth. If this people, called Latter-day Saints, live beneath their
privileges in the holy gospel of the Son of God, are they justified in
every respect before Him? They are not. If we do not live in the
lively exercise of faith in the Lord Jesus, possessing His Spirit
always, how can we know when He speaks to us through His servants whom
He has placed to lead us? It was observed here this morning, by one of
the brethren, that he never attempted to perform a duty required of
him unless the Spirit manifested to him beforehand that he would be
justified in doing it. Now, let me ask, how many of you know, by the
manifestation of the Spirit of revelation, that the Lord has whispered
to His servants the necessity of this people observing the Word of
Wisdom? Some submit to it, and say that it is right, because their
President says so; but, how many of the Saints have received the
manifestations of the Spirit to themselves that, this is the will of
God? Again, how many know by the Spirit of revelation that they should
contribute of the substance the Lord has given to them to gather home
the poor Latter-day Saints from Europe? Many may have received a
testimony from the Holy Spirit that this is their duty, but there may
be one-half of the community who have not received such a
manifestation. Now, is it the duty of those who have not lived so as
to enjoy the Spirit of revelation, as others do, to perform this
labour of love and charity, the same as those who have received the
Spirit of revelation, to witness to them that it is right? We think
that it is. I can call to mind revelations which the Lord delivered to
His servant Joseph, that when they were written and given to the
people there would not be one in fifty of the members of the Church
who could say that they knew, by the revelations [p.105] of the Lord
Jesus, that they were of the Lord; but they would have to pray and
exercise faith to be able to receive them, and in some instances some
apostatized in consequence of revelations that had been given. This
was the case when the "Vision" was given through Joseph Smith and
Sidney Rigdon.

Vol. 12,  p.105
At that time there was not as many in the whole Church as there is in
this congregation. Yes, many forsook the faith when the Lord revealed
the fact to Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon, as He did to His ancient
Apostles, that all would receive a salvation except those who had
sinned a sin unto death, of which the Apostle John said—"I do not say
that ye shall pray for it." I prayed and reflected about it, and so
did others. I became satisfied that, when a revelation came to Joseph
for the people to perform any labor or duty, it was their privilege to
go to with their might and do it collectively and individually, not
waiting for the manifestations of the Spirit to me, but believing that
the Prophet knew more than I knew, that the Lord spoke through him,
and that He could do as He pleased about speaking to me. This is a
close point; but I will tell you what is right, what is the duty of
the Latter-day Saints, unless they can, by undeniable proof, show that
the word of the Lord has not come through the President, they have no
right to hesitate one moment in performing the duties required of
them. This is the way I understand revelation. It is the privilege of
the Latter-day Saints to know and understand the mind and will of God
concerning them; yea, it is even the privilege of the wicked world to
know this. The Spirit of the Lord bears witness to all people
according to the faith, honesty, and humility which dwell in the
individual who hears and in those who administer the word. In a great
measure it depends upon this with regard to the witness of God to
them. It is hard, however, for people to understand these things. The
intelligence we possess is from our Father and our God. Every
attribute that is in His character is in His children in embryo. It is
their duty to improve and develop those attributes; and it is,
consequently, necessary to pay strict attention to every requirement
of Heaven, that we may better understand the mind and will of God
concerning us and our duty. If we will live so as to enjoy the Spirit
of revelation, we may know concerning ourselves and those we preside
over.

Vol. 12,  p.105
If the people are ready and prepared to receive the word of the Lord
continually, it can be given to them. An elder may declare the truth
philosophically, and the light of Christ may kindle up the candle of
the Lord within those who hear him, and they see, understand, and are
convicted of its truth, although the elder who preaches it to them may
himself be void of the Spirit of revelation. Again, a man may preach
to a people whose ears are closed, and their hearts hardened against
conviction, they will not believe the gospel, yet the man who
testifies to them may be full of the power of God. For example, we
will say, here is a man on the right or the left, Who declares that he
cannot perform this or that duty unless he receives a witness to
himself, direct from the Lord, that He requires the duty at his hands.
Upon what principle has he the right to question any requirement made
by the constituted authority of God on the earth? Is he entitled to
any such right? He is not. He is not entitled to the right of bringing
up any argument in his [p.106] own mind, as to the right or wrong of
it, or to in any way remonstrate against any requirement the Lord has
made of him through His servants. He is under obligation to obey,
whether the Spirit of the Lord gives him a manifestation or not. When
the authorities call for so many loads of rock to be hauled for the
Temple, should every man wait to know by direct revelation to himself
whether he should draw rock or not? Or should all acknowledge the call
as the word of the Lord to us, and promptly and willingly obey? When
we asked the brethren to build this New Tabernacle, did they wait to
get a revelation to themselves before they commenced the work? life;
but while they were engaged in that work, when they knelt down to pray
before the Lord, His Spirit was with them, and it justified the act.
And so will it be with every duty that is required of this people, if
they perform the same in faith before God. Our beloved brother did not
speak as he meant. He will be understood to mean simply this: If a
requirement is made of this people, it is their privilege to have a
testimony that it is of God. This is what I mean, and it is what my
brother meant who spoke this morning. I wish now to say a few words to
the Bishops. It is a common saying, "as with the priest so with the
people." I will change that a little, and say as are our bishops so
are the people. We have said much to the people with regard to laying
up provisions to last them a few years. This is our duty now; it has
been our duty for years. How many of our bishops have provisions laid
up for one year, two years, or seven years? There may be a few bishops
who have got their grain laid away to last their families a year, but
the great majority of them have not. The people do, or should look to
their bishops for example. Each bishop should be an example to his
ward. If the bishop Of a ward lays up wheat to last his family a year,
two years, or seven years, as the case may be, his neighbors on the
right and on the left will be very apt to do the same; they will very
likely build good bins and try to fill them. But I need not talk much
about this. Do you ask me if I have wheat laid up? Yes, I have it all
the time. I have been furnishing this tithing office in part with my
own flour for the building of the New Tabernacle, and I calculate to
furnish it still. I have so many hundreds of people to feed, it cannot
be expected that I can save much; yet I have enough laid by to last my
family for years.

Vol. 12,  p.106
I wish now to refer to what was said this afternoon regarding this
people's knowledge. I think of this frequently. It is said by our
enemies that the Latter-day Saints are an ignorant people. I ask all
the nations of Christendom if they can produce a people, considering
all the circumstances, who are better educated in all the great
branches Of learning than this people, as a people. Many of them have
been brought from poverty, and have been placed in comfortable
circumstances in these mountains, where they have been taught how to
get their living from the elements, and to become partially
self-sustaining. How much do you know among the nations? Can you make
an axe helve? "Yes," and so can we, and make an axe to fit it, and
then we know how to use it. We can make a hoe-handle and a hoe to fit
it, and then we know how to hoe the ground with it. Can we make a
plough? Yes, and know how to use it as well as any people on the
earth. We can make every agricltural implement, and can [p.107] use
it. We can make a cambric needle; and we can make the steam engine and
vessel to carry it. We can direct the lightning, and make it our
servant, after Franklin showed us how; and the philosophers of the day
are as dependent on his discoveries as we are. We have all the
improvements that have been made in the arts and sciences, and know
how to use them to our advantage. We can make boots and shoes for the
sturdy, plodding agriculturist in the field, and for the delicate lady
in the parlor, and we know how to make the leather as well as others
do. We can read the Bible and understand it, and our lexicographers
can make dictionaries. Wherein, then, are we more ignorant than
others? We have good mechanics, good philosophers, good astronomers,
good mathematicians, good architects, good theologians, good
historians, good orators, good statesmen, good school teachers, and we
can make a good prayer and preach a good sermon. I heard a very
sensible prayer the other day at camp Wasatch. In the prayer were
these words—that "the militia might be enabled to keep their guns
bright and their powder dry." We know how to make cloth, how to make
it into garments, and wear it; we know how to provide for ourselves,
how to protect ourselves, and we ask nobody to help us but God our
heavenly Father. Then, wherein are we so woefully ignorant as some
people make us out to be? We know how to build houses, and can make
the furniture to furnish them; we know how to plant gardens, set out
orchards, and plant vineyards. We know how to raise all kinds of
vegetables, fruit, and grain, and everything else that will flourish
in this latitude. Wherein are we ignorant? 

Vol. 12,  p.106
We may not be able to get out a great burst of words, which mean
nothing, as many of the preachers and reverend divines abroad can.
They speculate a great deal about walking the golden streets of the
New Jerusalem, and about going into the presence of God to sing psalms
forevermore, but when they are asked seriously where they are going
when they leave this earth, they are unable to tell you. If you ask
them what they are going to do in the next existence, when the labors
of this word are ended, they are still in the dark. You may ask them
where God lives, and they do not know—they say in heaven; but where is
heaven? They do not know. If you ask them what He looks like, still
they do not know. Some have gone so far as to say that He dwells
beyond the bounds of time and space, and is seated on a topless
throne, being Himself without body, parts, and passions. Numerous are
the wild speculations of religionists regarding God and His
habitation. We can instruct the world oil these matters; wherein are
we ignorant? We know and read history; we understand the geography of
the world, the manners, customs, and laws of nations. Our astronomers
describe to us the geography of the heavens, measure the distances
between the earth and the sun, moon, and planets. We have learning to
speculate on all these works of God. and revelation unfolding reliable
knowledge on many of the wonders of the heavens. Now, wherein are we
more ignorant than other people? Is it because we believe the Bible,
which declares that man is made in the likeness and image of God, that
He has ears to hear our prayers, eyes to see His handiwork, a
stretched-out arm to defend His people, and to make hare to punish the
wicked nations of the earth? Wherein are we ignorant?[p.108] We
understand the laws of domestic and civil government; we know how to
conduct ourselves like men of sense, like gentlemen and christians; we
understand natural philosophy and medicine; and are satisfied of the
emptiness of the vain philosophy of the world. If believing and
knowing what we do constitute ignorance, then let us be ignorant
still, and continue in the way which will lead us to the perfection of
knowledge which the world call ignorance.

Vol. 12,  p.108
Now, let me say to you, it is our imperative duty to use a portion of
our substance to send for our poor brethren and sisters who are still
back in the old countries. May the Lord bless you. Amen.

Brigham Young, November 17, 1867

The Saints a Peculiar People—Gathering 
of the Poor From Europe

REMARKS by Elder Brigham Young, jun., delivered in the Old 
Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, November 17th, 1867.

[Reported By G. D. Watt]

Vol. 12,  p.108
I am grateful for this privilege of speaking to you for a short time
this afternoon, and I trust that the Spirit of the Lord will be
present to bless and edify both the speakers and hearers. By our
experience we can testify that the Spirit of the Almighty is always
present where His Saints congregate, and no person can come into their
assemblies without feeling the influence of that Spirit, although he
may not personally possess it. I have met with religious bodies of
people in various nations, but I have never experienced that heavenly
influence in any of their meetings that I have invariably felt while
assembled with the Latter-day Saints.

Vol. 12,  p.108
There is something about this people that is truly peculiar, and this
peculiarity consists in their enjoying the Holy Spirit to a greater
degree than it is enjoyed by any other people of the present day and
for many ages past. The possession of this Spirit makes us happy under
every circumstance of life, except in committing sin. The Lord has
enlightened our minds by the spirit of revelation; hence, wherever you
find a Latter-day Saint upon the face of the whole earth, you will
find a happy person. Faithful Latter-day Saints everywhere triumph
over all the ills that humanity is subject to, because they know that
the Lord has redeemed them, and brought them forth to bless them with
salvation in His presence.

Vol. 12,  p.108
We, as a people, cannot sufficiently realize what the Lord has done
for us. When we reflect upon the situation of this people in Missouri,
Illinois, Iowa, Ohio, and other places, and contrast our present
position with our circumstances then, we can, in a measure, realize
what the Lord has [p.109] done for us, and we begin to understand that
He has led us from the midst of our enemies, and planted us where no
man maketh us afraid. This has not been done by the feeble effort of
man, but by the power of the Almighty, and the praise and thanksgiving
of all His Saints are justly due to Him.

Vol. 12,  p.109
This people are greatly blessed by receiving the Spirit of the
Almighty, and by being privileged to go into His house and making
covenants with Him, and in return receiving the keys of eternal life
from his hands. We are peculiar in this. There is no other people upon
the face of the earth that we know anything about who are permitted to
make such covenants with the Most High God. If we do not appreciate
these blessings it is because we do not live faithfully to the
covenants we have made—because we do not do all in our power to fulfil
the commandments of the Almighty, and obey, fully and freely, the
words and counsels of those who hold God's authority upon the earth,
who have led us thus far efficiently, and who can lead us into the
presence of our Father and God.

Vol. 12,  p.109
These servants of the Most High have called upon us, as a people, to
step forward and do our utmost to deliver our brethren and sisters who
are now in the old countries. The Lord has placed means in our
possession to do this. He has led us forth from the midst of our
enemies, where the lives of our leaders were constantly sought, and
where no man durst say, he knew that Jesus was Christ, and that he
lives. In delivering us, He has given us new life, and all that we
require to sustain us and to make us happy and comfortable. Now, shall
we use a portion of these means which He has given us to gather the
Saints? The people of this city are better prepared to-day to emigrate
every Latter-day Saint from foreign lands to these mountains, than the
whole people of Nauvoo and surrounding country were prepared to
emigrate one hundred families. I believe this statement to be true,
and that it will bear scrutiny. While we feel very poor, we are really
increasing in wealth; yet as we increase in wealth, our wants
increase. If we have a fine carriage, we must then have a fine horse
and harness to go with it; but instead of spending our means upon
unnecessary luxuries, it is far better for us to sacrifice everything
in property that our hearts are set upon, and let it go where it can
be used to the gathering of Israel. This is the standard to which all
the faithful are approaching, and the sooner we reach it the better
for us. We must, sooner or later, give our whole hearts to our Father
and God, if we wish to gain salvation. We owe to Him every energy of
our souls, and all the earthly wealth we can amass, if He calls for it
through His servants. We should look upon God as being unjust were He
not to give us the blessings we are entitled to through His promises.

Vol. 12,  p.109
There are hundreds in this congregation who know the situation of the
poor Saints in the old countries, for they were once in the same
condition themselves. It has not improved any since you left; but you
were not able to realize it then as you should now be able to. When
you were there in the midst of your enemies, when your children wanted
bread, and were destitute of clothing and the comforts of life, there
were none to help you to preserve them from perishing with hunger.
Here you are comfortable, and the great majority of this people in
these mountains are wealthy, and it has all been given them of the
Lord. Then, shall [p.110] we refuse to subject all we have to Him?
When we identified our interests with this Church, we made a Covenant
with Him to aid all in our power to gather together the honest from
every land, kindred, tongue, and people, but we are too apt to forget
our covenants, and to be slow in the performance of our duties. An
immense labor has already been performed; many thousands are now in
this Territory who have been gathered from the nations of Europe, and
from other parts of the earth, still there are thousands in those
lands who are praying for deliverance, and whose greatest hope in life
is to identify their interests with ours in this our mountain home,
and join with us in building up cities and temples to the most High
God. They look to us for help, shall they look in vain? Shall we not,
with uplifted hands, covenant afresh that we will devote the means
which God has given us for the building up of His kingdom, and the
gathering of His people of the house of Israel? Those who are not
living under broken covenants will feel ready and willing to do this.

Vol. 12,  p.110
If we do not put forth our hands to strengthen the cause of Zion on
the earth with all we have and are it is a dereliction of duty on our
part, to say the least of it, and for which we stand accountable to
God. In a few months the emigration of the year 1868 will leave
England, and now is the accepted time for the means to be supplied.
The sooner we put forth our means for this purpose the better, that
our agents may not be pressed for time to make every necessary
arrangement.

Vol. 12,  p.110
If you will show me a member of this Church, in this or any other
country, who has faithfully paid his tithing, although he might only
get ten shillings a week, and have to support a large family out of
it, if he has been obedient to the counsels of the servants of God,
there you will find a man who has prospered continually. It is
invariably the case that men who have been honest with God have been
greatly blessed of Him, even until they had not room to contain His
blessings. I have known men in the old country whose wages did not
exceed $2.50 per week, and out of this small sum thay have supported a
family of nine persons, paid their tithing, and in three years saved
money enough to emigrate the whole of them. This could not have been
done if the Lord had not blessed them. This is their testimony. I have
seen it, and it is my testimony. We have seen His blessings so often
and so visibly bestowed upon the faithful, that there is no room to
doubt His word or His ability to bless us with all that we need. The
words of the Apostle may be very fifty applied here: "And he that
doubteth is damned—for whatsoever is not of faith is sin." Every
intelligent Latter-day Saint, who has made himself acquainted with the
dealings of God with this people, has no room to doubt the hand of the
Almighty. We cannot doubt and at the same time enjoy the blessings
which are for the faithful.

Vol. 12,  p.111
May God bless you. Amen.[p.111] 

Brigham Young, December 8, 1867

Salvation—All Knowledge the Result of Revelation—
Freedom of the Kingdom of God—How to Care for the Poor

REMARKS by President Brigham Young, delivered in the Old 
Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, December 8th, 1867.

[Reported By Edward L. Sloan]

Vol. 12,  p.111
The subject of salvation is one which should occupy the attention of
the reflecting among mankind. Salvation is the full existence of man,
of the angels, and the Gods; it is eternal life—the life which was,
which is, and which is to come. And we, as human beings, are heirs to
all this life, if we apply ourselves strictly to obey the requirements
of the law of God, and continue in faithfulness. The first object of
our existence is to know and understand the principles of life, to
know good from evil, to understand light from darkness, to have the
ability to choose between that which gives and perpetuates life and
that which would take it away. The volition of the creature to choose
is free; we have this power given to us.

Vol. 12,  p.111
We have reason to be thankful more than any other people. We have no
knowledge of any other people on the face of the earth who possess the
oracles of God, the priesthood, and the keys of eternal life. We are
in possession of those keys, and, consequently, we are under greater
obligations, as individuals and as a community, to work righteousness.
I hope and trust we will continually manifest before the Lord that we
appreciate these blessings. There is no question but every person here
who seriously reflects upon his own existence, his being here, and the
hereafter which awaits him, must many times feel that he comes short
of doing all the good for which our Father in heaven has brought us
forth. This I conclude from my own experience. Every mind that thinks
deeply upon the things of time and eternity, sees that time, which we
measure by our lives, is like the stream from the mountains which
gushes forth, yet we cannot tell from whence it comes, nor do we know
naturally where it goeth, only it passes again into the clouds; so our
lives are here, and this we are certain of. We do know that we live
and that we have the power of sight. We do know and can realize that
we possess the faculty of hearing. We can discern between that which
we like and that which we dislike. Give a child candy and it is fond
of it, it wishes more; but give it calomel and jalap, and if turns
from it with loathing. It has the power of discerning between that in
which it delights and that in which it does not delight. It can taste,
smell, see, and hear. We know we are in possession of these faculties.
This life that you and I possess is for eternity. Contemplete the idea
of beings endowed with all the powers and faculties which we possess,
becoming annihilated, passing out of existence, ceasing to be, and
then try to reconcile it with our feelings and [p.112] with our
present lives. No intelligent person can do it. Yet it is only by the
spirit of revelation that we can understand these things. By the
revelations of the Lord Jesus we understand things as they were, that
have been made known unto us; things that are in the life which we now
enjoy, and things as they will be, not to the fullest extent, but all
that the Lord designs that we should understand, to make it profitable
to us, in order to give us the experience necessary in this life to
prepare us to enjoy eternal life hereafter.

Vol. 12,  p.112
These principles are before us. We are now acting upon them. We feel
to exhort ourselves and our fellow-beings, not only those who have
embraced the gospel, but all mankind, to hearken to the words of truth
and wisdom, to hearken to the still, small voice that whispers to the
conscience and understanding of all living beings according to the
knowledge and wisdom which they possess, instructing them in right and
wrong, entreating them, wooing them, beseeching them to refrain from
evil. There is not a person so sunk in ignorance but has that
principle in him teaching him that this is right and that is wrong,
guiding him in the way that he will not sin a sin unto death. Can we
realize this? Yes. There are many who possess the spirit of revelation
to that degree that they can understand its operations upon the
creature, no matter whether they have heard the gospel preached or
not, nor whether they are Christians, Jews, or Mahommedans. They are
taught of the Lord, and the candle of the Lord is within them, giving
them light.

Vol. 12,  p.112
This principle we are in possesion of, and it should be nourished and
cherished by us; it is the principle of revelation, or, if you like
the term better, of foreseeing. There are those who possess
fore-knowledge, who do not believe as we believe with regard to the
establishment of the Kingdom of God on the earth. Take the statesman,
for instance; he has a certain degree of knowledge with regard to the
results of the measures which he may recommend, but does he know
whence he derives that knowledge? No. He may say: "I foresee if we
take this course we shall perpetuate our government and strengthen it,
but if we take the opposite course we will destroy it." But can he
tell whence he has received that wisdom and foreknowledge? He cannot.
Yet that is the condition of the statesmen in the nations of the
earth. If the philosopher can gaze into the immensity of space, and
understand how to fashion and make glasses that will magnify a million
times, that knowledge comes from the fountain of knowledge. A man of
the world may say: "I can foresee, I can understand, I can frame an
engine, make a track, and run that engine upon it, bearing along a
train of loaded cars at the rate of forty, fifty, or sixty miles an
hour." Another may say: "I can take the lightning, convey it on wires,
and speak to foreign nations." But where do they get this wisdom? From
the same source where you and I get our wisdom and our knowledge of
God and godliness. Realizing these things, I look upon my brethren and
sisters, and ask what manner of persons ought we to be? We are apt to
think wrong and to speak wrong. Our passions will rise within us, and
without reflection the organs of speech are put in motion and we utter
that which we should not speak. We have feelings which we should not
have, and we neglect the great and glorious principles of eternal
life. We are grovelling, of the earth earthy. We [p.113] look after
the the things of this life, are attached to them, and it is hard for
us to see and understand the final result of things, even though we
have the spirit of revelation.

Vol. 12,  p.113
What will be the final result of the restoration of the gospel, and
the destiny of the Latter-day Saints? If they are faithful to the
priesthood which God has bestowed upon us, the gospel will
revolutionize the whole world of mankind; the earth will be
sanctified, and God will glorify it, and the Saints will dwell upon it
in the presence of the Father and the Son. We need to exert our
powers, and call forth all the ability within us, and put into
requisition every talent that God has given us, to bring about this
glorious result, to bear off this Kingdom, and see that the gospel is
preached to all the inhabitants of the earth. This is our duty and
calling. It is obligatory upon us to see that the House of Israel have
the gospel preached to them; to do all that is in our power to gather
them to the land of their fathers, and to gather up the fulness of the
Gentiles before the gospel can go with success to the Jews. We are
under obligations to establish the Zion of our God upon the earth, and
establish and maintain its laws, so that the law of the priesthood of
the Son of God may govern and control the people.

Vol. 12,  p.113
Go into the world, among the inhabitants of the nations of
Christendom, whether Infidels, Episcopalians, Baptists, Methodists,
Presbyterians, or people of any other religious sect, and tell them
plainly that the law of God is going to be the law of the land, and
they would be terrified, they would fear and tremble. But tell them
that the law of liberty, and equal right to every person, would
prevail, and they could understand that, for it is according to the
Constitution of our country. To do the greatest good to the greatest
number of the people is the principle inculcated in it. But tell them
that the law of Zion will be the law of the land, and it grates upon
their ears, they do not like to hear it. Many have read with regard to
the effects of Catholicism, when it exercised great power among the
nations, and the thought of any church getting such a power strikes a
terror to them. That church professed to be the church of God upon the
earth, and some dread similar results to those which attended that.
Supposing the early Christians had not departed from the truth, but
had retained the keys of the kingdom, there never would have been a
man put to the test with regard to his religious faith. If an Infidel
had abused a Christian, it would have been stopped, and the wrong-doer
would have been compelled to cease his violence, but no religious test
would have been applied. The law of right would have prevailed. Some
suppose that when the Kingdom of God governs on the earth, everybody
who does not belong to the Church of Jesus Christ will be persecuted
and killed. This is as false an idea as can exist. The Church and
Kingdom of God upon the earth will take the lead in everything that is
praiseworthy, in everything that is good, in everything that is
delightful, in everything that will promote knowledge and extend an
understanding of truth. The Holy Priesthood and the laws thereof will
be known to the inhabitants of the earth, and the friends of truth,
and those who delight in it, will delight in those laws and cheerfully
submit to them, for they will secure the rights of all men. Many
conclude, from reading the history of various nations, that
Catholicism never granted any rights to any person, unless he would
believe it as he was [p.114] required to believe. But it is not so in
the Kingdom of God; it is not so with the law nor with the Priesthood
of the Son of God. You can believe in one God, or in three gods, or in
a thousand gods; you can worship the sun or the moon, or a stick or a
stone, or anything you please. Are not all mankind the workmanship of
the hands of God? And does he not control the workmanship of His
hands? They have the privilege of worshipping as they please. They can
do as they please, so long as they do not infringe upon the rights of
their fellow-beings. If they do well they will receive their reward,
and if they do ill they will receive the results of their works. You
and I have the privilege of serving God, of building up Zion, sending
the gospel to the nations of the earth and preaching it at home,
subduing every passion within us, and bringing all subject to the law
of God. We have also the privilege of worshipping Him according to the
dictates of our own consciences, with none to molest or make us
afraid.

Vol. 12,  p.114
I am now going to preach you a short sermon concerning our temporal
duties. My sermon is to the poor, and to those who are not poor. As a
people, we are not poor; and we wish to say to the Bishops, not only
in this city, but through the country, "Bishops, take care of your
poor." The poor in this city do not number a great many. I think there
are a few over seventy who draw sustenance from the General Tithing
Office. They come to the Tithing Office, or somebody comes for them,
to draw their sustenance. If some of our clever arithmeticians will
sit down and make a calculation of the hours lost in coming from the
various parts of the city to the Tithing Office, and in waiting around
there, and then value those hours, if occupied in some useful
employment, at twelve and a half cents each, every eight of them
making a dollar, it will be found that the number of dollars thus lost
by these seventy odd persons in a week would go far towards sustaining
them. We have among us some brethren and sisters who are not strong,
nor healthy, and they must be supported. We wish to adopt the most
economical plan of taking care of them, and we say to you Bishops,
take care of them. You may ask the question, '"shall we take the
tithing that should go to the Tithing Office to support them, or shall
we ask the brethren to donate for that purpose?" If you will take the
time consumed in obtaining the rations drawn by them out of the
General Tithing Office—for every person who is not able to come must
send some one for them—and have that time profitably employed, there
will be but little more to seek for their sustenance. Get a house in
your Ward, and if you have two sisters, or two brethren, put them in
it, make them comfortable, find them food and clothing, and fuel, and
direct the time now spent coming to this Tithing Office wisely in
profitable labor. Furnish the sisters with needles and thread to work
at sewing, and find something for them to do. Take those little girls
who have been coming to the Tithing Office, and have them taught to
knit edging, and tidies, and other kinds of knitting, and make lace,
and sell the products of their labor. Those little girls have nimble
fingers, and it will only take a little capital to start them at such
kinds of work. Where you have brethren who are not strong enough to
saw and split wood, or do some kind of out-door labor, agree with some
chairmakers to have his chairs bottomed, and get rushes, and set the
brethren to bottoming the chairs. If you cannot get that for them to
do, procure some flags or [p.115] rushes, and let them make foot-mats,
and sell them, but do not ask too high a price for them; do not ask a
dollar or two dollars each for them, for one can be made in an hour or
two. And if the market should get stocked with them, get some willows
and have willow baskets made, and you can scarcely stock the market
with them, for they wear out almost as fast as they can be made. In
the spring have these brethren sow some broom-corn,—they will enjoy
working a little out of doors in the nice spring weather,—and then in
fall they can make brooms with the corn. By pursuing this course a
Bishop will soon be able to say, "I have accomplished a good work; the
brethren and sisters whom I had to help are now in a condition to help
themselves." And in a short time, if their labor and time are wisely
employed, you can build for them the finest house in the ward. You may
call it a poor-house if you choose, though it should be the best house
in the ward, and there its inmates can enjoy themselves, the younger
ones can be taught music, and thus a source of enjoyment be created,
as well as being taught in various kinds of profitable employment, and
the lives of all be made a blessing to themselves, they being in the
enjoyment of happiness and comfort. You may think that I am painting a
fancy sketch, but it is practicable, and those are places I intend to
visit by and by.

Vol. 12,  p.115
Now, Bishops, you have smart women for wives, many of you; let them
organize Female Relief Societies in the various wards. We have many
talented women among us, and we wish their help in this matter. Some
may think this is a trifling thing, but it is not; and you will find
that the sisters will be the mainspring of the movement. Give them the
benefit of your wisdom and experience, give them your influence, guide
and direct them wisely and well and they will and rooms for the poor,
and obtain the means for supporting them ten times quicker than even
the Bishop could. If he should go or send to a man for a donation, and
if the person thus visited should happen to be cross or out of temper
for some cause, the likelihood is that while in that state of feeling
he would refuse to give anything, and so a variety of causes would
operate to render the mission an unsuccessful one. But let a sister
appeal for the relief of suffering and poverty, and she is almost sure
to be successful, especially if she appeals to those of her own sex.
If you take this course you will relieve the wants of the poor a great
deal better than they are now dealt by. We recommend these Female
Relief Societies to be organized immediately.

Vol. 12,  p.115
Another thing I wish to say. You know that the first Thursday in each
month we hold as a fast day. How many here know the origin of this
day? Before tithing was paid, the poor were supported by donations.
They came to Joseph and wanted help, in Kirtland, and he said there
should be a fast day, which was decided upon. It was to be held once a
month, as it is now, and all that would have been eaten that day, of
flour, or meat, or butter, or fruit, or anything else, was to be
carried to the fast meeting and put into the hands of a person
selected for the purpose of taking care Of it and distributing it
among the poor. If we were to do this now faithfully, do you think the
poor would lack for flour, or butter, or cheese, or meat, or sugar, or
anything they needed to eat? No, there would be more than could be
used by all the poor among us. It is economy in us to take this
course, and do better by our poor [p.116] brethren and sisters than
they have hitherto been done by. Let this be published in our
newspapers. Let it be sent forth to the people, that on the first
Thursday of each month, the fast day, all that would be eaten by
husbands and wives and children and servants should be put in the
hands of the Bishop for the sustenance of the poor, I am willing to do
my share as well as the rest, and if there are no poor in my ward, I
am willing in divide with those wards where there are poor. If the
sisters will look out for rooms for those sisters who need to be taken
care of, and see them provided for, you will find that we will possess
more comfort and more peace in our hearts, and our spirits will be
buoyant and light, full of joy and peace. The Bishops should, through
their teachers, see that every family in their wards, who is able,
should donate what they would naturally consume on the fast day to the
poor.

Vol. 12,  p.116
You have read, probably, that we are starting the school of the
prophets, We have been in this school all the time. The revelations of
the Lord Jesus Christ to the human family is all the learning we can
ever possess. Much of this knowledge is obtained from books, which
have been written by men who have contemplated deeply on various
subjects, and the revelations of Jesus have opened their minds,
whether they knew it or acknowledged it or not. We will start this
school of the prophets to increase in knowledge. Brother Calder
commences to-morrow to teach our youth and those of middle age the art
of book-keeping and impart to them a good mercantile education. We
expect soon to have our sisters join in the class and mingle with the
brethren in their studies, for why should not a lady be capable of
taking charge of her husband's business affairs when he goes into the
grave? We have sisters now engaged in several of our telegraph
offices, and we wish them to learn not only to act as as operators but
to keep the books of our offices, and let sturdy men go to work at
some employment for which by their strength they are adapted, and we
hope eventually to see every store in Zion attended by ladies. We wish
to have our young boys and girls taught in the different branches of
an English education, and in other languages, and in the various
sciences, all of which we intend eventually to have taught in this
school. To-morrow evening we shall commence our course of lectures on
theology. To that class I have invited a few, but not many. I believe
I have invited the First Presidency, the Twelve Apostles, Bishop
Hunter and his Counsellors, the first seven presidents of Seventies,
the Presidency of the High Priests' quorum, the Presidency of this
Stake of Zion, the High Council, the Bishops and their Counsellors,
and the City Council. A few more will be invited, enough to fill the
room. I wish us to profit by what we hear, to learn how to live, to
make ourselves comfortable, to purify ourselves, and prepare ourselves
to inherit this earth when it is glorified, and go back in the
presence of the Father and the Son.

Vol. 12,  p.117
God bless you. Amen.[p.117] 

Brigham Young, August 17, 1867

The Word of Wisdom—Degeneracy—Wickedness 
in the United States—How to Prolong Life

REMARKS by President Brigham Young, delivered 
in Tooele City, August 17th, 1867.

[Reported By G. D. Watt]

Vol. 12,  p.117
I desire to say much to the people, but I fear I shall have to deny
myself the satisfaction, unless I am strengthened of the Lord. I will
present before you a few things with which I am more particularly
impressed. I desire you to hearken to that which has been said during
the session of this Conference, and to that which may yet be said
during the continuation of our meeting.

Vol. 12,  p.117
We can enjoy the blessings of heaven, or we can deprive ourselves of
that enjoyment. Intelligent beings have the power to exercise their
free will and choice in doing good, equally as much as in doing evil.
All have the privilege of doing evil if they are disposed so to do,
but they will always find that the wages of sin is death. The
Latter-day Saints, by their righteousness, can enjoy all the blessings
which the Lord has promised to bestow upon His people, and they can,
by their unrighteousness, deprive themselves of the enjoyment of those
blessings. We, for instance exhort the Saints to observe the Word of
Wisdom, that they may, through its observance, enjoy the promised
blessing. Many try to excuse themselves because tea and coffee are not
mentioned, arguing that it refers to hot drinks only. What did we
drink hot when that Word of Wisdom was given? Tea and coffee. It
definitely refers to that which we drink with our food. I said to the
Saints at our last annual Conference, the Spirit whispers to me in
call upon the Latter-day Saints to observe the Word of Wisdom, to let
tea, coffee, and tobacco alone, and to abstain from drinking
spirituous drinks. This is what the Spirit signifies through me. If
the Spirit of God whispers this in His people through their leader,
and they will not listen nor obey, what will be the consequence of
their disobedience? Darkness and blindness of mind with regard to the
things of God will be their lot; they will cease to have the spirit of
prayer, and the spirit of the world will increase in them in
proportion to their disobedience until they apostatize entirely from
God and His ways.

Vol. 12,  p.117
This is no new or strange thing that you are required to do.
Thirty-five years ago we were called upon to reform in our lives, by
giving heed to the same Words of Wisdom; and if any man comes to you
and tells you that you must have a little tea and a little coffee, by
the same rule he may urge you to take a little tobacco and a little
intoxicating liquor, or a little of any other substance which is
hurtful to man. This destroys their claim and right to the spirit of
revelation, and they go into darkness. There is not a single Saint
deprived of the privilege of asking the Father,[p.118] in the name of
Jesus Christ, our Savior, if it is true that the Spirit of the
Almighty whispers through His servant Brigham to urge upon the
Latter-day Saints to observe the Word of Wisdom. All have this
privilege from the apostle to the lay member. Ask for yourselves.

Vol. 12,  p.118
We are called to be Saints, to be the chosen people of the Lord
Almighty, to be the saviors of the children of men, to gather the
house of Israel, and save the house of Esau. Are we trifling with our
high and holy calling before the Lord? Are we trifling away our
precious time? If we are, we are trifling with our salvation. Then
hearken, O ye Latter-day Saints, and hear the Words of Wisdom which
the Lord has given unto you. It is written: "For the children of this
world are in their generation wiser than the children of light." There
is a just reason for this saying. But the Latter-day Saints who
hearken to the words of the Lord, given to them touching their
political, social, and financial concerns, I say, and say it boldly,
that they will have wisdom which is altogether superior to the wisdom
of the children of darkness, or the children of this world. I know
this by the revelations of the Lord Jesus Christ, and by the results
of my own actions. They who have hearkened to the counsels given to
them in temporal matters, have invariably bettered their condition
temporally and spiritually. The day has gone by in which the people of
God are to be trodden under foot by their enemies, in which they are
to be poor outcasts to wander in sheep skins and goat skins, etc., but
they had better continue to do that, and dwell in the caves of these
mountains, and dress as the Indians do, than to forsake their God and
their religion. Who is there among this people who cannot handle the
things of this world without loving them in preference to the things
of God? If there is such a person, I pray God to make him or her poor.
Some among us are so foolish as to lift up their heels against the
Almighty as soon as He blesses them sufficiently to make them a little
comfortable and independent. This is lamentable. It is a disgrace to
humanity to suffer the paltry things of this mortality to decoy away
our affections from God and turn them to the beggarly elements of this
world.

Vol. 12,  p.118
If you observe faithfully the Word of Wisdom, you will have your
dollar, your five dollars, your hundred dollars, yea, you will have
your hundreds of dollars to spend for that which will be useful and
profitable to you. Why should we continue to practise in our lives
those pernicious habits that have already sapped the foundation of the
human constitution, and shortened the life of man to that degree that
a generation passes away in the brief period of from twenty-seven to
twenty-nine years? The strength, power, beauty, and glory that once
adorned the form and constitution of man have vanished away before the
blighting influences of inordinate appetite and love of this world.
Doubtless we are about the best looking people to-day upon this
footstool, and about the healthiest; but where is the iron
constitution, the marrow in the bone, the power in the loins, and the
strength in the sinew and muscle of which the ancient fathers could
boast? These have, in a great measure, passed away; they have decayed
from generation to generation, until constitutional weakness and
effeminacy are bequeathed to us through the irregularities and sins of
our fathers. The health and power and beauty that once adorned the
noble form of man must again be restored to our race;[p.119] and God
designs that we shall engage in this great work of restoration. Then
let us not trifle with our mission, by indulging in the use of
injurious substances. These lay the foundation of disease and death in
the systems of men, and the same are committed to their children, and
another generation of feeble human beings is introduced into the
world. Such children have insufficient bone, sinew, muscle, and
constitution, and are of little use to themselves, or to their fellow
creatures; they are not prepared for life, but for the grave; not to
live five, six, eight, and nine hundred years, but to appear for a
moment, as it were, and pass away. Now, when a person is fifty years
of age he or she is considered an old man or an old woman; they begin
to feel decrepit, and think they must feel old, appear old, and begin
to die. Premature death is in the marrow of their bones, the seeds of
early dissolution are sown in their bodies, they feel old at fifty,
sixty, and seventy years, when they should feel like boys of fifteen,
sixteen, and seventeen. instead of feeling decrepit at those years
they should feel full of strength, vigor, and life, having attained to
early maturity, prepared now to enter upon the duties of a long future
life, and when two hundred years have been attained, they should then
feel more vigorous than the healthiest of men do in this age at forty
and fifty years.

Vol. 12,  p.119
Let me assure you, my friends, that there does not exist another
people in all the world who will take good counsel as readily as the
Latter-day Saints do. All men are free to do right or to do wrong, to
take good advice or reject it, to pursue the path that leads to
eternal life, or to go down to death their own way. I am as
independent in praying, and living a righteous life, as I would be if
I were to violate the laws of God and man. This is my philosophy with
regard to the human mind. We have cried to the nation of the United
States, and to other nations for over a third of a century, saying,
the wages of sin is death. Every man and woman who wishes to forfeit
their right to the tree of life have the privilege of doing so. The
nation that kills the prophets of God in any age must expect to reap
cursings instead of Blessings, unless it speedily repent. Judgment
must begin at the house of God first, and we are perfectly willing it
should. In 1857 they sent an army to Utah to annihilate "Mormonism,"
but the scourge with which they intended to overwhelm this people has
come upon their own heads, and the end is not yet. I told General
Thomas L. Kane, that friend to humanity, when he visited us in 1857,
that the coming of that army was the entering wedge to split the
Government of the United States in pieces, and that soon. He, of
course, could not see how this could ever be. They then were in great
prosperity, and were going to annex the whole continent and
neighboring islands, and so continue to annex until the whole world
should take shelter under our national banner. He only saw this from a
political stand point, basing his expectations of such grand results
upon the goodness of the Constitution and laws. I acknowledged to him
that we have the best system of government in existence, but queried
if the people of this nation were righteous enough to sustain its
institutions. I say they are not, but will trample them under their
feet. I told General Kane that the Government of the United States
would be shivered to pieces. Will this Government ever be restored to
its former peace and tranquillity, and the institutions thereof ever
be maintained [p.120] and honored? If they are, it will be by this
people. Everything they are doing at present in Congress is only
calculated to widen the breach, and alienate and destroy every vestige
of love and affection that may yet be existing; and this they will
continue to do until they have severed the last tie and worked out the
entire destruction of the Government. They think they are doing the
best that can be done. Many of them are honorable men, and would do
good to the nation if they knew how. The results of their acts will be
dissolution, strife, war, and bloodshed, until they are wasted away.
The Lord will waste away the wicked as lie maid lie would. A curse
will come upon them to the third and fourth generation, saith the Lord
Almighty, if they repent not, and refrain not from their sins. There
is no likelihood of their doing this.

Vol. 12,  p.120
The destruction of property and life during the war has been enormous;
but I am satisfied that the destruction of the love of virtue—the love
of every exalted principle of honor, and of political and social
government—has been greater, comparatively, than the destruction of
property and life. Religious societies abound in the nation. Although
it never was more wicked than at the present time, it is strange to
say that it never was more religious in profession. Religion is the
ruling power. The conscience of the masses in regard to religion, to
politics, and social life is moulded from the pulpit. In my early life
I was acquainted with ministers of the sects of the day, and am
satisfied that many of them lived honorably in their families,
praying, and desiring, and seeking for guidance from on high. While on
the other hand, to my certain knowledge, many of them encouraged a
practice which to-day exists to an alarming extent, and which is
openly and shamelessly acknowledged as a necessity of the age. To
check the increase of our race has its advocates among the influential
and powerful circles of society in our nation and in other nations.
The same practice existed forty-five years ago, and various devices
were used by married persons to prevent the expenses and
responsibilities of a family of children, which they must have
incurred had they suffered nature's laws to rule pre-eminent. That
which was practised then in fear and against a reproving conscience,
is now boldly trumpeted abroad as one of the best means of
ameliorating the miseries and sorrows of humanity. Infanticide is very
prevalent in, our nation. It is a crime that comes within the purview
of the law, and is therefore not so boldly practised as is the other
equally great crime, which no doubt, to a great extent, prevents the
necessity of infanticide. The unnatural style of living, the extensive
use of narcotics, the attempts to destroy and dry up the fountains of
life, are fast destroying the American element of the nation; it is
passing away before the increase of the more healthy, robust, honest,
and less sinful class of the people which are pouring into the country
daily from the Old World. The wife of the servant man is the mother of
eight or ten healthy children, while the wife of his master is the
mother of one or two poor, sickly children, devoid of vitality and
constitution, and if daughters, unfit, in their turn, to be mothers,
and the health and vitality which nature has denied them through the
irregularities of their parents are not repaired in the least by their
education. A great proportion of the leading men of our nation have
sprung from wealthy and influential families, have been reared and
educated in the midst [p.121] of circles where the vices of the age
flourish the most vigorously, destroying moral force and the love of
truth and virtue, making education and refinement mere cloaks to cover
sins of the blackest dye. The great majority of that class of persons
appear in society as polished gentlemen, whose suavity of manners
would deceive, if it were possible, the very elect. They have been
educated in our seminaries of learning, and this class of men are now
seeking to denude the Constitution of the United States of all its
protective and saving powers.

Vol. 12,  p.121
Why all this? They killed the Prophet. The mob that collected at
Carthage, Illinois, to commit that deed of blood contained a
delegation representing every State in the Union. Each has received
its blood stain. In the perpetration of this great national sin, they
acted upon their own free volition which God implanted within them, as
much so as if they had been willing to hearken to the advice of the
Prophet and his friends when they showed them how to preserve the
nation from destruction, how to do good to all, and how so introduce
every holy principle that is calculated to bless and exalt a people.
But, said they, "we will not hearken to the counsels of this man;"
for, like the Jews of old, they were afraid if they let him live he
would take away their place and nation. They not only feared the
principles which he taught, but they feared the increasing numbers
which followed him; they feared that if they let him alone he would
incorporate in his religion all the religion there is that is good for
anything, or that is according to the Bible, and all the honest,
truthful, and virtuous of the nation, they feared, would follow him;
and they feared that thereby they would be deprived of their rich
emoluments and livings, so they concluded to get rid of him by slaying
him. In killing the Prophet Joseph Smith, they did not kill
"Mormonism," and they cannot kill it unless they kill all the
"Mormons," for if they leave a single Latter-day Saint living he will
cry to the people to repent of their sins and return to the Lord, and
the Lord will work with him to gather the righteous, build up His
kingdom, build up Zion, and establish Jerusalem no more to be thrown
down. Well, they will go on their way, and we will go on ours. If they
had hearkened to the counsel of Joseph Smith, this nation would have
had no wars; there would have been no division in the Government, but
it would have gone on in harmony and prosperity. So this people if
they will take the counsels which the Lord gives to them through His
servants with regard to their grain, and prepare for all contingencies
to which they are subject in this mountainous country, we shall never
see a famine; but if we neglect this counsel, refusing to hearken to
good advice, we shall, by taking this course, bring distress upon
ourselves and upon all who depend upon us for a subsistence. Let us
pursue a course to preserve ourselves and avert every calamity. This
we can do. It is not necessary for calamity to come upon us, if we
will only take a course to prevent it. According to present
appearances, next year we may expect grasshoppers to eat up nearly all
our crops. But if we have provisions enough to last us another year,
we can say to the grasshoppers—these Creatures of God—you are welcome.
I have never yet had a feeling to drive them from one plant in my
garden; but I look upon them as the armies of the Lord, and with them
it is easy for Him to consume a great nation. We had better lay up
bread [p.122] instead of selling it to strangers, and thus avoid a
great calamity that otherwise might overtake us. If the people refuse
to hearken to this timely counsel they will commit a great error. Good
actions always result in blessings. The history of the people of God
in all ages testifies that whenever they have listened to the counsel
of heaven they have always been blessed. All this people are satisfied
that they will be more blessed to hearken to good counsel than not to
do so.

Vol. 12,  p.122
Instead of doing two days' work in one day, wisdom would dictate to
our sisters, and to every other person, that if they desire long life
and good health, they must, after sufficient exertion, allow the body
to rest before it is entirely exhausted. When exhausted, some argue
that they need stimulants in the shape of tea, coffee, spirituous
liquors, tobacco, or some of those narcotic substances which are often
taken to goad on the lagging powers to greater exertions, but instead
of these kind of stimulants they should recruit by rest. Our
artificial wants, and not our real wants, and the following of
senseless customs subject our sisters to an excess of labor. To supply
these wants—to get a ribbon, an artificial flower, this, that, and the
other gewgaw, rather than substantial necessaries—our farmers sell
their wheat. Work less, wear less, eat less, and we shall he a great
deal wiser, healthier, and wealthier people than by taking the course
we now do. This whole Yankee nation eat so much, and so many good
things, that they are always poor in their bodily habit; now and then
only you will see a fleshy person among them; it is also the case with
the people of the southern portion of the nation. It is difficult to
find anything more healthy to drink than good cold water, such as
flows down to us from springs and snows of our mountains. This is the
beverage we should drink. It should be our drink at all times. If we
constantly drink even malt liquor made from our barley and wheat, our
health would be injured more or less thereby. It may be remarked that
some men who use spirituous liquors and tobacco are healthy, but I
argue that they would be much mere healthy if they did not use it, and
then they are entitled to the blessings promised to those who observe
the advice given in the "Word of Wisdom." Some few persons who have
been addicted to the use of hot drinks, &c., have reached the age of
eighty, eighty-three, and eighty-four years, but had they not been
addicted to such habits of living they might have reached the age of a
hundred or a hundred and five years.

Vol. 12,  p.122
We profess to be Saints of the Most High. We are the children of that
Being who lives in the heavens, who is filled with all intelligence,
and possesses all power. We cannot be prepared to dwell with Him
unless we instruct our minds and sanctify ourselves in all things. I
am happy to see our children engaged in the study and practice of
music. Let them be educated in every useful branch of learning, for
we, as a people, have in the future to excel the nations of the earth
in religion, science, and philosophy. Great advancement has been made
in knowledge by the learned of this world, still there is yet much to
learn. The hidden powers of nature which give life, growth, and
existence to all things, have not yet been approached by the wisdom of
this world. There exists around us, in the works of God, an
everlasting variety—no two leaves, no two blades of grass are alike.
Natural philosophy, so far as [p.123] known, marks these phenomena of
nature, and reveals her wonders, but is incapable of revealing the
modus operandi of the production. All this is veiled in impenetrable
mystery to mortals. It is information which cannot be approached by
science and philosophy known to man; it can only be reached through
the revelations of the Almighty, the Great Author of Nature's work
Great perfection has been attained in the application of important
discoveries to the wants and necessities of mankind. I can, in a
moment, transmit my wishes to the east, and in a few minutes to the
city of London. Great perfection has been attained in the art of
telegraphy, yet there is much more to be learned, and the same may be
said of the power of steam, and its application to the wants of
mankind. While the wonders of art and science in the present age
astonish us, yet there was much useful knowledge possessed by the
ancients which is lost to us. One little simple art that they
understood was that of tempering copper and making it equal to our
finest tempered steel.

Vol. 12,  p.123
Let the children in our schools be taught everything that is necessary
with regard to doctrine and principle, and then how to live; and let
mothers teach their daughters regarding themselves, and how they
should live in their sphere of existence, that they may be good wives
and good mothers. Let the sisters study economy in the labor and
management of their homes. I am satisfied that more than one-half of
the labor that is done in our houses can be saved by a judicious
exercise of thought and good judgment. Then be wise in these things,
and we shall not need tea and coffee, or any other stimulant stronger
than our natural food. I say, God bless you, and I bless you in the
name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Brigham Young, December 29, 1867

Saints Improving Slowly—Guidance of the Spirit 
and Dictation of the Priesthood—Fasting 
and Gathering the Poor

REMARKS by President Brigham Young, delivered in the Old 
Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, December 29th, 1867.

[Reported By G. D. Watt]

Vol. 12,  p.123
It is said that short visits make long friends, and short sermons
perhaps make interesting meetings. I am sure this is the case
sometimes. I am thankful for the privilege of being instructed, and of
meeting with a people who manifest by their lives a desire for
improvement. I am thankful that we have the privilege of meeting in
this tabernacle from Sabbath to Sabbath. Last Sabbath I referred to
the meagre congregations that generally attend in the morning, and
to-day I really expected to see every seat in this house occupied. I
cannot think that the [p.124] people are sleigh riding, for there is
no snow; neither can I conclude that they are in the kanyon, for the
roads cannot be travelled. I do not think that they are fishing at
this season of the year; neither can they all be in attendance at
Sabbath schools. Then what are they doing? Are they praying, resting,
sleeping, or wasting their time in frivolous and unprofitable
employment? We are happy to see large congregations of the Saints in
the afternoons. This is the only public meeting house in which
meetings are held in the morning and afternoon on the Sabbath day in
this city. The people of Great Salt Lake City make to one point to
attend meeting in the morning and afternoon, unlike the people of the
large cities of the world. I have seen them go to meeting in some of
those cities, and I cannot compare them to anything that will describe
them as they appeared to me better than the inhabitants of an ant
hill. They run in all directions, the Methodists jostle against the
Baptists, and the Baptists against the Presbyterians, and the
Presbyterians against the Quakers, &c.

Vol. 12,  p.124
Let the people come to meeting, and hear what is said, and if any of
you are not instructed to your satisfaction, be so kind as to send up
a card to the stand, intimating your desire to speak, and we will give
you an opportunity of doing so, to display your wisdom; for we wish to
learn wisdom and get understanding.

Vol. 12,  p.124
We are in a great school, and we should be diligent to learn, and
continue to store up the knowledge of heaven and of earth, and read
good books, although I cannot say that I would recommend the reading
of all books, for it is not all books which are good. Read good books,
and extract from them wisdom and understanding as much as you possibly
can, aided by the Spirit of God, for without His Spirit we are left in
the dark. I have very frequently urged upon the people to live so that
they can enjoy the spirit of revelation, even that intelligence which
proceeds directly from heaven—from the fountain of all intelligence.
Do this people live so? Yes, measurably. We improve slowly, and as
brother George A. Smith has said, we do not improve fast enough. I
acknowledge that this people are improving, and I am proud of it. When
I address the throne of grace in prayer, I am happy to be able to
thank God that the Latter-day Saints are striving to order their lives
correctly before Him. I am pleased, I am happy, I am full of comfort,
of joy, of peace, because of the progress this people are making; and
yet I see how easy it is for a person to slide backward, and get into
darkness and blindness of mind. We are prone to wander, and do that
which our inclinations bid us do; like the boys with their sleds, we
go up hill very slowly, but rush quickly down again. We are too apt to
be slow to learn righteousness, and quick to run in the ways of sin.
The adversary of our souls is constantly watching to decoy us from the
path of truth and duty to God, until we become reckless in our
disobedience to His commandments and to the counsels of His servants.
There is one path—one line to follow to obtain and continue in the
love and light of the Lord, which is, as it were a compass to direct
the Saint to the haven of safety, and it will not vary, for its
directions are sure.

Vol. 12,  p.124
We have many duties to perform, and a great work is before us. We have
Zion to build up, and upon this we are all agreed, but we differ more
or less respecting the modus operandi for we wish, in the majority of
instances to follow the dictates of our [p.125] own inclinations. We
do this too much for our good. If the people will live so as to be
directed continually by the light of the Spirit of the Lord, they
never will go much astray. In many instances our anxieties, our
desires, and our wills are so great that we actually plead with the
Lord to allow us to bend duty a little particle for the purpose of
accomplishing what we wish. We are pleased to do this, and to do evil
also, hence "man is born to trouble as the sparks fly upward." We are
very prone to wander. Let the people watch themselves lest they take a
course that will lead them into darkness, and they know not the things
of God, and be left to believe a lie instead of the truth. What is
that which turns people away from this Church? Very trifling affairs
are generally the commencement of their divergence from the right
path. If we follow a compass, the needle of which does not point
correctly, a very slight-deviation in the beginning will lead us, when
we have travelled some distance, far to one side of the true point for
which we are aiming. When men take upon themselves strength, depending
upon their own wisdom, light, and knowledge, saying—"I am right, and I
care not what anybody else says;" and, "I will do thus and so on my
own responsibility," asking no odds of God and His servants. "If I
wish to go to the north, south, east, or west, or follow this or that
employment, or pursue this or that course to obtain the necessaries of
life, it is my affair, and I cannot see that any other man has
anything whatever to do with it." I say, if we thus arrogate to
ourselves strength, wisdom, and power, and think that we can judge for
ourselves in all things independent of God and His servants, then are
we liable to be led astray. Every man and woman who walks in the light
of the Lord can see and understand these things for themselves; but
through our anxiety, and over desire to have our own way, we often
swerve and turn to the right or to the left of the true line of our
duty. How often have we sealed blessings of health and life upon our
children and companions in the name of Jesus Christ and by the
authority of the Holy Priesthood of the Son of God, and yet our faith
and prayers did not succeed in accomplishing the desires of our
hearts. Why is this? In many instances our anxiety is so great that we
do not pause to know the spirit of revelation and its operations upon
the human mind. We have anxiety instead of faith. When a man
prophecies by the power of the Holy Ghost, his words will be fulfilled
as sure as the Lord lives; but if he has anxiety in his heart, it
swerves him from the thread of the Holy Gospel, from the true thread
of revelation, so that he is liable to err, and he prophesies, but it
does not come to pass, he lays his hands upon the sick, but they are
not healed. It is in consequence of not being completely moulded to
the will of God. Do we not realize that this is so? And do we not
realize that we should constantly strive to live in the counsel and
light of God day by day, and hour by hour? If we do this we shall
certainly make sure to ourselves a celestial inheritance.

Vol. 12,  p.125
We have gathered the best people from among the nations of the earth,
and yet we are not so good as we should be. Why are we not as good as
we should be? Because we have eternal light and knowledge here, and no
person is deprived of the privilege of asking and receiving of God for
himself, but we do not all avail ourselves of this great privilege. We
are not like others who are called by [p.126] men to go on missions to
the world, we are called of God, and carry with us true credentials,
not the credentials of Paul, Peter, or any of the old Apostles and
servants of God, who used them a thousand years ago, but we have the
living oracles and the Holy Priesthood restored in our day, giving
authority to men in the nineteenth century as in days of old. Having
this authority, and these great advantages, we should be better than
anybody else. We have believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, we have
received in our faith the fullness of the gospel, we have yielded
obedience to God's commandments, obeyed the ordinances of His house,
receiving them in our faith and practice, and these we have received
through apostles and prophets, called of God, in. our own age, as was
Aaron. These blessings and callings the Almighty has revealed in this
as in all ages for the benefit of finite beings, that through
obedience to the gospel, eternal life in the presence of God might be
brought upon all who endure to the end in righteousness. By obeying
the ordinances of God, mankind glorify God, but if they do not obey
Him, they do not detract one particle from His glory and power.
Although all His children should wander from the holy commandments,
God will be glorified, for they are left to choose for themselves, to
choose death instead of life, darkness instead of light, pain instead
of ease, delight, and comfort. This liberty all beings enjoy who are
created after the likeness and image of God, and thus they become
accountable for their own actions. The commandments of God are given
to us expressly for our benefit, and if we live in obedience to them
we shall live so as to understand the mind and will of God for
ourselves, and concerning ourselves as individuals. This is a subject
upon which a great deal can be said, but I shall not follow it at this
time.

Vol. 12,  p.126
I exhort my brethren continually to live so that they may have the
light of the Holy Spirit in them, to know their duty, and when they
know their duty fully it will be to follow truly those whom God has
placed over them to lead them as a community, as a people, as a
kingdom of God; it will be to obey the counsel that is given them from
time to time. What does the man who understands the spirit of his
religion believe with regard to his own affairs, with regard to his
life, with regard to his business transactions, &c.? He believes that
it is his privilege to be dictated by the constituted authorities of
the church of God and the spirit of revelation in all things in his
mortal life. There is no part of his life that he will consider exempt
from the guidance and dictation of the Priesthood of the Son of God.

Vol. 12,  p.126
We wish the Latter-day Saints to meet at their respective houses,
erected for that purpose, on the day appointed for a fast, and take
with them of their substance to feed the poor and the hungry among us,
and, if it is necessary, to cloth the naked. We expect to see the
sisters there; for they are generally first and foremost in deeds of
charity and kindness. Let the hearts of the poor be made glad, and let
their prayers and thanksgiving ascend unto God, and receive an answer
of rich blessings upon our heads. I think I told you last Sabbath that
I would mention this subject again to-day.

Vol. 12,  p.126
If you would be healthy, wealthy, full of wisdom, light and knowledge
do all you can for the kingdom of God. I expect that there are
brethren who are well to do, who can command their thousands, who
consider that their business crowds them this year, and they do not
see how [p.127] they can give anything for the gathering of the poor
Saints. I have a word of consolation for such. You, merchants,
mechanics and farmers; yea, every one; let me console you, and say to
you, keep your money, and pay your debts, and buy your teams, and your
farms, and your goods. You think I am speaking to you ironically.
Well, I acknowledge to you that I am. You keep all, and do not apply
one dollar for any purpose outside of your business, and I will
promise you, in the name of the Lord, that you will be poorer than you
would have been if you had given of your substance to the poor. Do you
consider these hard words? They are true words. The earth is the
Lord's and the fullness thereof, the gold and the silver are all his;
and he throws up the precious metals to view whenever he pleases, and
when he pleases he sends his messengers to hide them in the bowels of
the earth, beyond the reach of man. He also closes the eyes of wicked
gold hunters, that they cannot see them; but they walk over them, and
leave them for the righteous to gather in the due time of the Lord.
Now, you who think that you must keep your means and that you cannot
spare a portion to gather the poor another year, remember that you
will not get rich by so doing. You may ask what I am going to do? I am
going to get rich, for I calculate to give considerably more to gather
the poor than any other man; because I want to be richer than any
other man. I want more, because I believe I know what to do with it
better than most of men.

Vol. 12,  p.127
These are a few words of consolation to the brethren who wish to keep
their riches, and with them I promise you leanness of soul, darkness
of mind, narrow and contracted hearts, and the bowels of your
compassion will be shut up, and by and by you will be overcome with
the spirit of apostacy and forsake your God and your brethren.

Vol. 12,  p.127
I see around me a great people. Joseph Smith was called of God, and
sent to lay the foundation of this latter-day kingdom. He presided
over this people fourteen years. Then he was martyred. Since that time
your humble servant has presided over and counselled this people; he
has directed the Twelve Apostles, the Seventies, the High Priests, and
every quorum and department of the Melchesidec and Aaronic
Priesthoods, guiding them throngh the wilderness where there was no
way into a dry, barren land. For the space of twenty-four years he has
watched over their interests, holding at bay their enemies, teaching
them how to live, and redeem this country from the barrenness and
desolation that have, for many generations, made it unfit for the
habitation of man. What man or woman on the earth, what spirit in the
spirit-world can say truthfully that I ever gave a wrong word of
counsel, or a word of advice that could not be sanctioned by the
heavens? The success which has attended me in my presidency is owing
to the blessings and mercy of the Almighty. Why I have referred to
this is to show you that I realize the importance of obeying the words
of the Lord, which he gives through his acknowledged servants. When
revelation is given to any people, they must walk according to it, or
suffer the penalty which is the punishment of disobedience; but when
the word is, "will you do thus and so?" "It is the mind and will of
God that you perform such and such a duty;" the consequences of
disobedience are not so dreadful, as they would be if the word of the
Lord were to be written under the [p.128] declaration, "Thus saith the
Lord."

Vol. 12,  p.128
Now, I say to the people, will you gather the poor? To the Elders I
say, will you carry the Gospel to all the world? Blessed are they who
obey when the Lord gives a direct commandment, but more blessed are
they who obey without a direct commandment. For it is written: "It is
not meet that I should command in all things, for he that is compelled
in all things, the same is a slothful and not a wise servant;
wherefore he receiveth no reward. Verily I say, men should be
anxiously engaged in a good cause, and do many things of their own
free will, and bring to pass much righteousness, for the power is in
them, wherein they are agents unto themselves. And inasmuch as men do
good they shall in no wise lose their reward. But he that doeth not
any thing until he is commanded, and receiveth a commandment with a
doubtful heart, and keepeth it with slothfulness, the same is damned."
I say this that you may understand that I feel just as patient, and
just as kind towards the Latter-day Saints as a man's heart can feel,
and am careful to take every precaution in directing their steps to
the possession of eternal life in the presence of God that none may be
lost. My course is not to scold, but to persuade and entreat the
people to do their duty, holding before them the reward of
faithfulness. It requires all the care and faithfulness which we can
exercise in order to keep the faith of the Lord Jesus; for there are
invisible agencies around us in sufficient numbers to encourage the
slightest disposition they may discover in us to forsake the true way,
and fan into a flame the slightest spark of discontent and unbelief.
The spirits of the ancient Gadiantons are around us. You may see
battlefield after battle-field, scattered over this American
continent, where the wicked have slain the wicked. Their spirits are
watching us continually for an opportunity to influence us to do evil,
or to make us decline in the performance of our duties. And I will
defy any man on earth to be more gentlemanly and bland in his manners
than the master spirit of all evil. We call him the devil; a gentleman
so smooth and so oily, that he can almost deceive the very elect. We
have been baptized by men having the authority of the holy Priesthood
of the Son of God, and consequently we have power over him which the
rest of the world do not possess, and all who possess the power of the
Priesthood have the power and right to rebuke those evil spirits. When
we rebuke those evil powers, and they obey not, it is because we do
not live so as to have the power with God, which it is our Privilege
to have. If we do not live for this privilege and right we are under
condemnation.

Vol. 12,  p.128
I know that the Bishops in this Church are improving, and are better
men, and they should lead and dictate their Wards still better than
they do.

Vol. 12,  p.128
It may be asked, should not brother Brigham lead the people better? No
doubt he should. Will you hearken to one little saying? I can say,
follow me as I follow Christ, and every one of us is sure to go into
the celestial kingdom of our God, God being our helper. Can all the
Bishops say this? I think not in every case. But are they improving?
They are and that is not all, they will continue to improve, and they
will become wise leaders of the people. They should be fathers to
their Wards. They are looked upon as such by the people; and their
example has its effect for better or for worse, and they should be
foremost in every good word and work, to be [p.129] successful in
leading the people into the celestial kingdom of God.

Vol. 12,  p.129
Here is a great people, and we have Called upon them to contribute of
their substance to gather the poor Saints from abroad another year. It
is now nearly three months since we commenced to call upon them for
means to apply in this way. Means for this purpose does not come in so
readily as we think it should. Now, I will mention a single
circumstance in this city to show you that there is money in the
country. One mercantile house in this city traded in one month
forty-one thousand dollars. If one house can sell this amount of goods
in a month, surely we can gather considerable for so laudable a
purpose as the gathering of our poor brethren and sisters to a place
where they can be fed and clothed, and taught further in the things of
God. Yet, for all this, we are improving as a people; but do we serve
God with a perfect heart and a ready and willing mind? We do not. If
the Latter-day Saints will put into my hands one-twentieth part of the
means that go into the hands of their enemies, I think we can gather
up every poor saint there is in the old country. Will they do this? I
do not expect they will. My brethren are willing to go and preach the
gospel in all the world. I would like to see them just as willing to
assist in gathering them home. The kingdom of God is the safest
institution on earth in which to invest means. We are citizens of His
kingdom and members of His church, and we realize that we have to
suffer all things for the gospel, but it will make us richer than we
can possibly be in any other work. May God bless you. Amen.

John Taylor, May 19, 1867

Good Spirit of the People South

REMARKS by Elder John Taylor, delivered in the 
Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, May 19th, 1867.

[Reported By David W. Evans]

Vol. 12,  p.129
As we have just returned from a journey from the south, I presume it
would be interesting to you to hear some little about how the Saints
generally are getting on. We have had quite a pleasant journey, but
rather a laborious one, travelling thirty, forty, or fifty miles a
day, and preaching from once to three times a day. But we have had
very pleasant remarks, feelings, and associations during our absence.
We found that the President and those who were with him were welcomed
and well received in every place we visited. There seems to be an
increase of faith among the Saints, and a desire to live their
religion and to keep the commandments of God. We also find that
improvements are taking place in almost every place we visited; they
are improving in their farming operations, their orchards, gardens,
dwellings, &c., and some places we find are [p.130] really very
beautiful. Down in the far south, in St. George, and through that
region of country, the people are beginning to live easier and better
than heretofore, so that the matter of living is no longer a problem
with any of them. In the early days of the settlement of that country
a good many became dissatisfied and left. George A. used occasionally
to go down with reinforcements expecting to find quite a large
company, but when he tried to put his finger on them, like "Paddy's
flea," they were not there. At the present time, however, different
feelings prevail; there are many now who desire to go down there as a
matter of choice, and a great many there with whom I conversed feel as
though it was as good a home as they could find anywhere in the
valleys, and they would not wish to leave unless counselled to do so.
Many of then, stated that it took counsel to take them there and it
would take counsel to bring them away. I noticed, too, that there was
a very general disposition among the people to observe the Word of
Wisdom. Of course we had to keep it; we could not for shame do
anything else, for while teaching others to observe it we were morally
bound to observe it ourselves; and if we had been disposed to do
otherwise we could hardly have helped ourselves, for nobody offered us
either tea, coffee, tobacco, or liquor. There seemed to be a general
disposition among the people to obey, at least, that counsel, although
they had not heard much preaching upon it until we went down and
talked things over together. We enjoyed ourselves very much, and the
people expressed themselves as being very highly gratified. They met
us as you met us here—with their bands of music, schools, escorts, and
so forth, and they made us welcome wherever we went, and we found that
it was indeed a very different thing to preach the gospel among the
Saints from what it is to preach it in the world. Instead of receiving
opposition, contumely, and contempt, we were received with kindness,
good feelings, and a hearty welcome.

Vol. 12,  p.130
When I was at Conference at St. George I felt that I was among a very
good people, and that there was a great deal of the Spirit of the Lord
there; but when I came to reflect on the circumstance I was not
surprised that there should be a good people there, because where
there is a people that have been called upon to undertake what they
consider to be a painful or unpleasant task or mission, and they go
and perform that mission without flinching, they feel that they are
engaged in the work of God, and that His work and His commands and the
authority of the Holy Priesthood are more to them than anything else;
and they have the blessing of God resting upon them, which produces
pence and joy in the Holy Ghost. That is the reason why there is so
good a feeling and so large a flow of the spirit of the living God
through that district of country. But where there is a backwardness
and a shrinking from duties assigned us, there is a drying up of that
spirit, and a lack of the light, life, power, and energy which the
Holy Ghost imparts to those who fulfil the dictates of Jehovah. When I
reflect upon these things I take this lesson to myself—that is a good
and pleasant thing to obey the dictates of the Lord, that it is
praiseworthy and honourable to be found walking in the commands of
Jehovah, and that it is a blessing to all men to fulfil all missions
and to discharge all responsibilities and duties that the Lord lays
upon them. When selecting brethren to go down there, I remember the
Bishops asked me "what kind of men I wanted?"[p.131] I told them I
wanted "men of God, men of faith, who would go and sit on a barren
rook and stay there until told to leave it." If we get a number of men
of that kind to go, there is faith, union, power, light, truth, the
revelations of Jesus Christ, and everything that is calculated to
elevate, exalt, and ennoble the human mind and to happily the Saints
of God. These are my views in relation to the order of the Kingdom of
God.

Vol. 12,  p.131
The Lord has established His kingdom on the earth, and He has given us
His servants to guide and direct us. We, as a people, profess
emphatically to be governed by revelation. We do not believe in this
simply as theory, as something that would be beneficial to somebody
else, but as something that will be a blessing to ourselves. We
believe that God has spoken, that angels have appeared, that the
everlasting gospel in its purity has been restored; we believe that
God has organised His Church and kingdom on the earth and that,
through channels which He has appointed and ordained, He manifests His
will first to the Saints and then to the world, and we believe that
the more we adhere to the teachings of the servants of God the more we
shall prosper both temporally and spiritually, the more we shall enjoy
the favour of the Almighty, and the more likely we shall be to obtain
for ourselves an everlasting inheritance in the celestial kingdom of
our God. We believe that the intelligence and wisdom of man cannot
guide us, and that we, therefore, need the guidance of the Almighty;
and, being under His guidance and direction, it is our duty to submit
to His law, to be governed by His authority, do His will, keep His
commandments, and observe His statutes, that we may ultimately be
saved in His celestial kingdom.

Vol. 12,  p.131
May God help us to be faithful, in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Daniel H. Wells, August 18, 1867

Eternal Life—Hows To Find Out The Truth—
The Sacrament—Exhortation to The Young

REMARKS by President D. H. Wells, delivered in the 
Bowery, Great Salt Lake City, August 18th, 1867.

[Reported By David W. Evans]

Vol. 12,  p.131
I feel it a privilege to mingle my voice with my brethren in
testifying to the truth of the work of the last days, although, if it
were left to my own choice, I suppose I should very seldom speak to
the congregation of the people, and I expect that if the Lord were to
call upon me as He did upon Moses, I should do as Moses did—plead with
him for a mouthpiece. Nevertheless, if I can say anything to comfort
or encourage the Saints, or to strengthen their faith, it is my duty
to do so, for I conceive that none have the right to contend in their
own bosoms the light and [p.132] truth with which the Lord has blessed
them, but that it is the duty of the Latter-day Saints, and of all
people on the earth, to make known the good they possess that all may
be benefitted and blessed thereby.

Vol. 12,  p.132
Jesus said, "Enter ye in at the strait gate, for wide is the gate and
broad is the way that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which
go in thereat; because strait is the gate and narrow is the way which
leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it." He also said, "And
this is life eternal, that they might know thee, the only true God,
and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent."

Vol. 12,  p.132
Eternal life is what we are all anxious to obtain. All the children of
men on the face of the whole earth are anxious to secure to themselves
an eternal existence in the great hereafter. Even those who have but a
limited idea of the principles of the gospel look and hope for a
beatitude or heaven hereafter, where they may dwell eternally in peace
and happiness, free from the power of Satan, sin, and death. All the
people of Christendom, and perhaps all the generations of men, have at
some time in their lives felt the spirit of the living God convicting
them of sin, and they have felt a desire to learn how they might
secure to themselves eternal lives in the presence of God.

Vol. 12,  p.132
We read that God created man upright, but that he has sought out many
inventions. This is especially true in regard to religious matters.
Instead of walking according to the precepts and commandments of God
as taught by His servants holding the Holy Priesthood, they have done
as the Prophet foretold—taught for the commandments of God the
precepts of men. More particularly is this the case in our day and
generation, when the Lord has again revealed Himself and has opened up
the dispensation of the fullness of times. We find a great many
religious views, notions, and opinions upon the face of the earth at
the present time; but in the absence of truth there is little
difference among them, for they are all wrong. But when the truth is
revealed it is necessary that mankind should pause, listen, and
investigate, that they may learn whether that which is proclaimed as
truth be so or not, and if it be, embrace it, and walk continually
according to its precepts, that they may obtain that exaltation in the
presence of the Father and Son which all so earnestly desire. What
does it matter to me how eloquent the preacher may be, how beautiful
the theory, or how nice the principles that are laid before me, if
they are not true? Why should I attach any importance to, or
circumscribe my faith and feelings by that which is not true, because
it is beautiful or plausible, or because my fathers for hundreds of
years before me have considered it sacred? When the word of God, the
truth from high Heaven, has come, why not repudiate that which is
false although contravening my early prejudices and the traditions of
my fathers before me? I know of no reason why we should cling to the
traditions of the fathers, more especially when we are told by the
oracles of God that we have inherited lies from them. We find this to
be true when we investigate, even with regard to the scriptures; for
by the aid of the principles now made manifest through the revelations
of the Lord Jesus, we can understand them as we never understood them
before. Why? Because we have the light of truth, and we see from the
stand point possessed by the prophets and Jesus and his apostles;
hence the scriptures open up to our minds a new and entirely different
field to that [p.133] we possessed while under the guidance of
teachers who have not come from God, neither hold the power of the
Holy Priesthood.

Vol. 12,  p.133
This is a great wonder to some. They cannot understand the difference
between the Latter-day Saints and the Christian world. Say they:
"There are a great many sectarian churches in the world, and you
Mormons are only one added to the list." But this is not so; the
principles of truth are not sectarian in their character. Are not the
Mormons a sect? No. They are the church of the living God—the church
of the First born; they are they who have come out from the world, as
Jesus and his followers did in their generation. This people have been
touched with the light of truth; they have received the testimony of
Jesus, and know for themselves the truth of the holy gospel they have
embraced. Having been made participants in the knowledge of God,
through the power and gift of the Holy Ghost, they speak with
assurance of these things, and not as they speak who only believe and
hope.

Vol. 12,  p.133
"But," say they who have not embraced the truth, "we do not know
whether that which you say is true or not." Suppose you do not, that
does not make the truth false, and I can tell you how you may find it
out. Repent of your sins, go forth into the waters of baptism, eschew
evil, learn to do well, seek after the Lord your God with full purpose
of heart, and you can obtain a testimony as we have done—you may learn
to know God and Jesus Christ, whom to know is life eternal. This is
the only principle upon which you can obtain that knowledge which you
so much desire. Many a person will say—"If I only knew these things
were so, I would be with you heart and hand." I have told you how you
can find out. You cannot be healed of your leprosy of sin unless you
comply with the requirements of the gospel. When Naaman came to the
prophet Elisha to learn what he should do to be healed of his leprosy,
he went away in a rage because he was simply told to wash himself in
the river Jordan. But his servants came near and said unto him—"My
father, if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldst thou
not have done it? How much rather, then, when he saith to thee, wash
and be clean?" Then the Syrian went and did as he was commanded, and
he was made whole. So it is with us all, we must comply with the
requirements of heaven before we can receive its blessings. We need
not expect to be cleansed from sin and made meet receptacles for the
indwelling of the Holy Ghost, unless we yield obedience to the gospel,
because this is the way appointed of God, our heavenly Father, for
bringing us to a knowledge of the truth. Be honest, then, before God,
and when you are pricked to the heart, and feel that what is called
"Mormonism" may be true, follow up that feeling until you come to
understanding, and then obey the gospel, and receive the Holy Ghost,
which will give you a full knowledge of those things necessary for
your salvation and exaltation hereafter. If the Lord had commanded you
to do some great thing—to go to the ends of the earth or some other
different undertaking—would you not have done it? How much more
willing should you be to comply with these small things when they are
for your own good? Eschew evil, repent of your sins, and walk in the
ways of truth and righteousness, for they are the ways of peace and
wisdom.

Vol. 12,  p.133
It is wisdom in us to pursue a course in this, our earthly probation,
that will secure to us eternal life in [p.134] the world to come. It
is our privilege to do so; we are here for this express purpose.  The
God who reigns in heaven is the father of our spirits and the God and
Father of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ; and we may become heirs of
Him and joint heirs with Jesus Christ by complying with the
requirements of the gospel that He has revealed. How plain and simple
is the way of life if we will but open our ears to hear, our eyes to
see, and our hearts to understand. God has revealed it; He has opened
up the dispensation of the fulness of times, which will embrace within
its purview all other dispensations since the world began. In this
dispensation will be revealed the keys of the resurrection, which will
enable men to go forth clothed with power to raise and bring forth the
dead. The Lord has commenced this great work; we are engaged in it;
and it will go forth until it covers the whole earth. The foundation
of that kingdom which shall endure for ever and ever is laid. The
principles of the kingdom have gone forth, and have touched the hearts
of many of the children of men—one of a city and two of a family—and
they have been brought together from the nations of the earth to the
valleys of the mountains, as was foretold by the prophets thousands of
years ago.

Vol. 12,  p.134
Jesus told the Jews that Abraham saw his day and rejoiced in it. They
queried with Him as to how he—not fifty years old—could know anything
about Abraham, who had been dead so long. Jesus said—"Before Abraham
was I am." This seemed to puzzle the Jews; they did not understand the
principle of pre-existence and that Jesus, who was then clothed with
flesh, had possessed an existence in the spirit world, that he was the
first born of many sons, and had been born before Abraham in the
spirit. Jesus understood it, and once in a while, as in that case, he
spoke upon the principle.  the Jews prided themselves on serving the
God of their father Abraham, but Jesus told them that the God of
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob was not the God of the dead but of the
living, thus teaching them plainly the principles of the resurrection.

Vol. 12,  p.134
I will now say a few words with regard to partaking of the sacrament.
This ordinance was instituted by our Savior, and his followers were
commanded to partake of it in remembrance of Him. But how many of us
partake of it regardless of Him in commemoration of whose death it is
administered! I have seen some of the Saints take the cup very
irreverently,—blessed and consecrated as it is—and drink to quench
their thirst. I do not suppose that such persons think any more about
our Lord and Savior than they do when drinking on ordinary occasions.
To say the least of such conduct, it is highly improper and
irreverent. I have seen brethren and sisters partake of the sacrament
with their gloves on, and in a very careless attitude, stretching out
the left hand. You should always put forth the right, hand when taking
either the bread or the cup; and you should take off your hats if you
have them on, and partake of the consecrated emblems with reverence,
and remember that you do it in commemoration of the death, sufferings,
and resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who will yet
rule and reign on this earth, King of kings and Lord of lords. Would I
partake of the sacrament with my hat or gloves on? No; I would take
them off, and let my soul ascend in prayer and thanksgiving to my
heavenly Father that I had been permitted to partake [p.135] of the
ordinance of the House of God.

Vol. 12,  p.135
I am happy in believing that I am associated with a people in the
majority of whose minds such feelings and desires predominate, and to
whom the few hints I have dropped will be sufficient in regard to the
carelessness to which I have referred. We have the principles of
eternal life in our midst, and we practise them in our lives, and when
the world witness the good actions of this people, it should be a
testimony that they are of God. I say it is a testimony to the world
of the truths of High Heaven revealed through this people, and it will
bring this generation to judgment unless they listen to and obey the
principles we teach. Do I know that? I do. The world may seoul at it,
and say things that are calculated to hurt our feelings, but that will
not after the truth. We offer the words of eternal life to the people,
and if they will receive them they are welcome, but if they will not
our testimony will prove unto them a savor of death unto death,
instead of life unto life.

Vol. 12,  p.135
That which is good tends to exalt us and to increase in us knowledge,
power, understanding, and everything worth possessing, while that
which is evil tends to destruction, and if its practice be persisted
in it will lead to dissolution and even the loss of our own identity.
This is the reward of the wicked; as the prophet; has said, "The
wicked will come to a full stop," but the blessing of the righteous is
the same as that pronounced upon Abraham—to their increase there will
be no end. This is the blessing conferred upon the Saints in their
ordinations and endowments under the authority of the Holy Priesthood
of the Son of God—the Melchisedec Priesthood, which is without
beginning of years or end of days, without father, without mother,
without descent, eternal, in the Heavens. That authority and
priesthood have been again restored to the earth, and men are once
more empowered to administer in the ordinances of the holy gospel.
There is no authority of the kind upon the face of the earth except
through that channel. None of the sects and denominations of the world
possess that authority. It has not existed upon the earth for many
hundreds of years. Do I know that this is true? I do, and you may
obtain that knowledge upon the same principle that I obtained it—by
working righteousness and obeying the ordinances of the gospel as
appointed by Jehovah. Has not the Lord a right to prescribe the method
by which we may approach Him; and, when He has done it, shall we seoul
at the idea and say some other way will do as well? Verily, no other
way will answer as well. Let us, therefore, take heed how we prescribe
a path for the Lord to walk in, or subvert the ways of truth which the
Lord has revealed for the guidance of the children of men. We have no
right to do it. It is for us who have received this knowledge to walk
therein with fearfulness and trembling, and yet with joyful hearts,
seeking to the Lord to guide and direct our steps, that we may always
have His spirit to be with us to enable us to endure to the end, that
we may make sure of our salvation in the world to come, and inherit
thrones, dominions, and exaltations in the presence of the Father and
the Son.

Vol. 12,  p.135
How few there are of all who have been on the face of the earth that
will find eternal lives?—for strait is the gate and narrow the way
that leads thereto. It is the privilege of the children of men to
attain to this if they will be obedient to the requirements [p.136] of
the gospel. But in this they can exercise their volition. They have
been clothed upon with a tabernacle taken from the dust of the earth,
and have become subject to the power of sin and death. They have come
to pass through an earthly probation in order to be tempted and to
prove whether they would be carried away by the wiles of Satan, and
enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season, or whether, faithful to their
trust, their integrity, and their God, they would endure the trials of
this life, and come forth in the resurrection clothed upon with
immortality and eternal lives.

Vol. 12,  p.136
The world say we are exclusive because we do not hold communion or
fellowship with the Sectarians. How can we do so when they scorn us
and say we are a poor, ignorant, deluded set of people, without
knowledge or intelligence? How can we, when we know that they and
their leaders are blind, and that they will all fall into the ditch
unless they repent of their evil deeds? We send forth our Elders to
the nations of the earth to proclaim the principles of the gospel to
the people, and to plead with them to turn from their evil ways, that
they may be redeemed from the sin and iniquity which, like a flood,
are overwhelming the nations. Yet, they call us uncharitable because
we will not fellowship them. Far from being uncharitable, we exercise
more charity than all the Christian world put together, for whilst
they consign to perdition all who have not obeyed the gospel as they
preach it, we believe that the great majority of all people who have
ever lived on the face of the earth will be saved, and will enjoy a
far greater glory than they ever anticipated. In this we are sustained
by the testimony of the Scriptures, for the Apostle tells us that
Jesus went to preach to the spirits in prison who were disobedient in
the days of Noah, that they might live according to God in the spirit
and be judged according to men in the flesh. If they who died
disobedient to the gospel, having heard and rejected its principles,
could be administered to by the Savior of the world, how much more
reasonable is it to suppose that they who have lived according to the
light they possessed, but yet died without a knowledge of the gospel,
can enjoy the same privilege? How much more consistent it is to
suppose this; and the dispensation of the fullness of times has opened
up these great principles to the understandings of the Latter-day
Saints. Do not say, then, that we are uncharitable. We believe not
only that they who have died without the gospel may be saved, but we
believe that they who rejected the gospel, who were disobedient in the
days of Noah may be saved also.

Vol. 12,  p.136
We have become the happy recipients of this knowledge, the knowledge
that leads to life and exaltation in the presence of our Father,
through yielding obedience to the gospel He has revealed in our day.
Herein we differ with the Sectarian world. We differ also in our
Church organization. In the Sectarian churches they place bishops at
the head. 1 do not know that it matters, when they are altogether
wrong; but I mention this to show that it is not the order of God. In
His Church there is—firstly, Apostles, and afterwards helps of various
kinds, the Bishops being those who administer in temporal things, and
belonging to the lesser Priesthood. The Sectarians, however, do not
understand the two orders of Priesthood—the Melchisedec and Aaronic.
They substitute one thing for another—such, for instance, as
sprinkling and pouring for baptism. They have perverted the principles
[p.137] of truth, and changed the ordinances of the gospel, and if the
Lord does not hold them in derision now He will by and by, for He is
not the author of such confusion. He has established His kingdom and
has set His house in order, and has conferred His authority upon His
servants, and told them to go forth and administer in the ordinances
of salvation for the edification of the true and living Church. Then
let us have respect to these things and live our religion, shun all
associations with the wicked and ungodly, and walk faithfully before
the Lord our God all our days, that we may be entitled to dwell in
that holy city whose streets will be paved with gold and whose maker
and founder is God.

Vol. 12,  p.137
This is especially applicable to our young people, for Satan uses the
wicked and ungodly to allure them into forbidden paths, and to
captivate their hearts by fine dresses, nice deportment, smooth
speeches, lively manners, and so on. I would say to my young sisters,
that one of these boys or Elders, who is ready to stand forth for the
defence of Israel, to go and preach to the nations, work in the
kanyon, or do anything he may be required to do, though he may be
dressed in homespun and appear rather uncouth, is worth more than a
thousand smooth-tongued, hypocritical deceivers, who seek your society
only to lead you astray. Be careful, my young sisters, of the
associations you form, and do not let your minds be captivated by the
giddy and worthless, or the first thing you know you will wake up in
darkness, having made shipwreck of your faith through forsaking the
ordinances of the House of God. How can you who have received these
ordinances go and fellowship such persons and their practices? If you
associate with the wicked and ungodly you will cut yourselves off from
eternal lives and exaltation in the presence of our Father, for the
wicked can never lead you there—no, never. As far as they lead you it
will be in the ways of misery, death, and destruction. Parents should
be careful to preserve their children in the ways of truth and
righteousness, and in the purity of our most holy faith, that they may
be faithful in their day and generation.

Vol. 12,  p.137
If I were in the place of a great many of our young men, I would not
go out on the road to different places, as many of them do, just for
the sake of earning a little money. They too often fall into vile
company, and learn to profane the name of the Deity. There is too much
of it here in the midst of the Saints. I am sorry to say that some who
profess to be Latter-day Saints so far forget themselves as to use the
name of the Lord in vain, thus breaking the commandment, which says,
"Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord in vain." Instead of the
brethren being so heedless, thoughtless, and reckless as to profane
the name of the Lord, they should hold it in. the highest reverence. I
would say to all, never speak irreverently of baptism or of any of the
ordinances of the House of God. I have heard people, if they happened
to fall into the water, say that they were baptized, and they would
laugh over it and speak very irreverently. All such things tend to
evil. Do not indulge in such levity. I remember once, before I was in
the Church, being at a party given by one of my neighbors. One of the
guests was a Latter-day Saint Elder. He said he was anxious to dance
off some of his superstition and sectarianism. It chanced that they
had a very poor fiddler and a very poor fiddle, and the strings kept
breaking. This Elder, thinking, I suppose, to [p.138] tickle our ears,
who were not in the Church, proposed that we should lay hands on the
fiddle. How do you suppose it struck upon my mind? Said I to
myself—"You are a poor, miserable hypocrite; you do not believe your
religion, and you blaspheme against God by professing to do so." That
man's name was William Smith, and although a brother of the Prophet
Joseph, and one of the Twelve Apostles, he has gone into darkness. Yet
I have heard him speak when he had the spirit of the Lord with him,
and I have been much pleased with his remarks. But by persisting in
such an irreverent course a man's mind is gradually darkened, and, if
not forsaken, it will finally lead to his overthrow and destruction.

Vol. 12,  p.138
I speak these things by way of exhortation to my young brethren and
sisters that they may not depart nor go astray from light and
knowlege, but seek after that which is good continually, and so order
their course as to be blameless before the Lord their God. I would not
wish to make men offenders for a word. God is merciful, and we can
forgive our brethren and sisters as long as they manifest a desire to
do good. Let us try to be a pattern worthy the imitation of all,
through our lives, be more perfect in our intercourse one with
another, and do nothing offensive in the sight of God, but live so
that we may ever have the guidance of His holy Spirit, which is my
prayer in the name of Jesus. Amen.

George A. Smith, October 9, 1867

Education—Phonetics—Storing up Grain—Home Manufactures

REMARKS by Elder George A. Smith, delivered in the 
Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, October 9th, 1867.

[Reported By David W. Evans]

Vol. 12,  p.138
We are composed of persons from various nationalities. We speak a
number of languages.  the languages and dialects of the British
empire, the Scandinavian, the French, Dutch, German, Swiss, and
Italian are all represented here. It appears that God in His divine
wisdom revealed the gospel in the English language, which is the
native tongue of the majority of the Saints, probably more than half
of them having acquired it, in America, and a large portion of the
remainder in the old world. It is very desirable that all of our
brethren who are not acquainted with the English language should learn
it. We do not wish to blot out the original languages that they may
have spoken, but we want them all—men and woman, old and young—to
learn the English language so perfectly that they will be able to
thoroughly understand for themselves the teachings and instructions
and the published works of the Church, as well as the laws of the
country. And while we preach to all classes—all the boys and girls
under ninety—to go to school and educate themselves in the various
useful branches, we do not want our brethren [p.139] who do not speak
the English language to think that they are neglected or without the
pale of this call. We hope the bishops and teachers will make every
reasonable exertion to stir up the minds of the brethren and sisters
who do not thoroughly understand English to the importance of this
particular item of counsel. We of course, wish them to stir up
everybody on the subject of education, and to encourage, in every
possible manner, our day and Sunday schools, for the cause of
education should be popular in Israel now, as it was in the days of
Joseph; and old and young should go to school together. I recollect a
school that I attended in Kirtland under the direction of the prophet
Joseph; the oldest scholar in my class was sixty-three years old. We
shall have long winter evenings directly, and a good deal of time to
spend in self-improvement, and it is our duty to become a cultivated
people in all the useful branches of education known among mankind.
There is a spirit among some of our young men in different settlements
to appear rough and reckless; they indulge in rowdyism and cultivate
the savage side of human nature. We ought to use all the influence and
power we possess to suppress this, and to stir up in the minds of our
young and old the necessity of cultivating simple, plain, innocent,
and genteel manners. There is an idea out that a man who has to go to
the kanyon cannot do it without swearing, or that when he gets to the
mouth of the kanyon he must throw off his religion and swear all the
way up and back again. Any man who entertains such a sentiment should
dispense with it at once, for he needs his religion more there than
anywhere else. The roads are rough, and there is danger of him being
tipped over and breaking his neck, or mashing up his wagon or his
team, and he needs the influence of his religion as much under such
circumstances as under any others. The Elders of Israel should avoid
indulging in rough language under all circumstances.  Most men, if
they thought there was a probability of them dying by some sudden
accident, would begin to think about praying. When a man is more
exposed to danger than at any other time I am sure he needs his
religion, for if he should have a log roll over him, and be sent into
eternity with a big oath in his mouth, he might not be recognised as a
Saint on the other side of the vail. Hence I would like our brethren,
and would recommend them to dispense with the idea, that on some
occasions they can lay their religion to one side. It is said that an
old Quaker, I on a certain occasion when his family were grossly
insulted and abused, felt very much like chastising the offender, but
his religion forbade him fighting. He bore it tolerably well for a
time, but at last his patience was exhausted, and, pulling off his
broad-brimmed hat and his broad-tailed coat, said he—"Lie there
religion until I lick this man." He might just as well have kept his
religion on while doing the flogging. He might have felt as an uncle
of Joseph Smith—Rev. Mr. Mack—did on a certain occasion. He was a
Baptist minister, and was celebrated for his great physical strength.
A professional pugilist went to see him once, and told him that
hearing he was one of the strongest men in the state he had come to
test his strength. The old man was too pious to wrestle or scuffle.
The stranger said he would fight him, but Mr. Mack was too religious
to fight. The stranger told him he had no ill will towards him, but
said he—"I must and will know which is the strongest." Mr. Mack
[p.140] did his best to put him off, telling him that he was a
minister and so forth, but the stranger would not be disappointed,
and, as Mr. Mack turned round, he kicked him. The reverend gentleman's
religion could not stand this, and he set to and gave the stranger a
good thrashing. He went before his congregation and made a confession,
which was something like unto this—"I bore all this patiently,
notwithstanding my own nature was to try the man's strength, but after
he kicked me I took off my coat and flogged him most properly." I
think that kind of a rule might work under some circumstances; but at
the same time a man should never lay down his religion, and should
never believe that it is necessary to swear, not even in the kanyon. I
tell you that every vile word we utter and every vile sentiment we
entertain is a wrong for which we, some day, will have to atone. When
I hear men—young or old—talking intemperately or improperly, I realize
that they have that folly to overcome and repent of.

Vol. 12,  p.140
In speaking of the education of our children, I wish to draw the
attention of the Saints particularly to the system of phonetics, or
the Deseret alphabet, which has been referred to by President Young
and some of the brethren. This is calculated to considerably abridge
the labor of our foreign brethren in learning to read English. I think
that in all our schools phonetics should form one branch of study, and
as fast as works of phonotopy can be obtained they should be
introduced, for there is no doubt that a general reformation will be
effected in our English orthography. It is said that the Lord will
restore to the people a pure language, that they may all call upon Him
with one consent. While we urge our brethren to acquire the English
language, and to make themselves proficient in the useful branches of
education, we wish them to remember that the orthography which the
English nation has adopted is by no means perfect, for our present
mode of spelling might be materially improved. According to the
present system, it is a very long and difficult job for a man to learn
to spell. I commenced as soon as I was old enough to put three letters
together, and I have been at it ever since, and I hardly dare write a
letter now without consulting the dictionary to see how some word or
other should be spelled. The spelling of the English language is very
arbitrary. For several generations it has been undergoing improvements
and modifications, and it will, no doubt, go on until English
orthography will become so perfect that every letter will have but a
single sound, instead of having, as now, in some cases, four or five
sounds to the same letter. Now, when a child learns to spell, he
learns first to give to the vowel a its long sound, as heard in the
word male, supposing that to be its only sound. In another position he
gives It the Italian or grave sound—as in the word father, and so on,
until he finds it has four or five distinct sounds, and then he has to
continually exercise his judgment, or has to depend upon the judgment
of some other man, to know which of these sounds to use.

Vol. 12,  p.140
I wish our brethren to give this subject their serious and candid
consideration, and do their best to introduce into our schools a
system that will greatly abridge the time required to gain the various
branches of a good education. No greater or more blessed mission can
be given to an Elder in Israel than to teach the true principles of
education to the rising generation of this Territory. I would [p.141]
advise our brethren, aside from the ordinary schools, to get up
evening reading classes in all our settlements for the instruction of
those who cannot attend at other times. The instruction of our wives
and daughters is of the utmost importance. The disposition of some to
neglect the education of girls is the extreme of folly. If we take
pains to have the English language taught correctly to our wives and
daughters, they will teach it to their children, and this will lay the
foundation for the permanent improvement of the language of the state,
of which we form the nucleus. Some of the ablest men in the Territory
received the most of their education from their mothers, and it is
said that the President of the United States was educated by his wife.
I wish to call the attention of the Conference to the text of
President Young in relation to storing our wheat. This is a question
of vast importance. A few years ago President Young gave counsel to
the people of the Territory—most of whom agreed to it—to lay by seven
years provisions. We were to have commenced three years ago, and were
to have laid up one year's bread over and above the year's supply. The
following year we were to add another year's supply, and so have
continued until we had our seven years' supply laid up. How faithful
the people have been in keeping this counsel I am not prepared to say,
but I am afraid that few men in Israel, even among those who have
raised breadstuffs and have had the power to control considerable
quantities of it, had three years' bread laid aside when the
grasshoppers made their descent this season and swept off half the
grains, vegetables, and fruit raised in the Territory, and were
prepared, if the whole had been swept off, to live for the next three
years without laying in more bread. I am aware that some of our
brethren thought this counsel extravagant; they considered that it
could not be necessary to lay up such a quantity of bread; and some of
them, instead of getting out lumber and making good substantial bins
for the preservation of their wheat, turned out their means for teams,
and freighted their bread to the north, to the east, and to the west;
and not only so, but in many instances they gave it away, if they
could only get half price for hauling it. Hundreds and thousands of
sacks of flour have been hauled away, when it should have been stored
up here against a day of want. I feel just as keenly on this matter
now as when this counsel was given, and a little more so, for the army
of the Lord—the grasshoppers—may have awakened my mind to the
importance of the subject.

Vol. 12,  p.141
All nations have to take more or less precaution for their general
preservation, and, as they are occasionally visited with years of
scarcity, if they failed to do so the consequences might be
disastrous. We are situated in the heart of a great desert, surrounded
a portion of the year by impassable mountains. We have no railroads,
no seaports, no great navigable rivers and canals by which we can
bring provisions from abroad; and if there had been ten grasshoppers
this year where there was but one every particle of food raised in the
Territory would have been consumed; then where would our bread have
been? Where could we have gained our subsistence?

Vol. 12,  p.141
In the empire of China provision is made for the general preservation,
and one-fifth of the produce of the country is stored in the public
granaries against a day of famine. A famine occurred not long since in
one of the provinces of China containing [p.142] thirty-three millions
of people—a little more than the whole population of the United
States—and they lost their entire crop. China, however, is favored
with large navigable rivers, some capable of navigation for over two
thousand miles. There are also many canals and seaport towns that are
used in the coasting trade; the result is that when this famine came
on this province the storehouses were opened, and the grain or rice
was carried to its inhabitants, and they were kept from starvation. We
are differently situated. We have no public storehouses, neither can
we bring sufficient provisions from abroad without it costing more
than we are able to pay. A good many of us claim our descent from
Joseph, who was sold into Egypt. He was the instrument of the Almighty
in saving the Egyptians, through the interpretation of the King's
dream of the seven fat and the seven lean kine, and the seven full and
the seven blighted ears of corn. He prescribed the means by which the
storehouses of Egypt were filled with corn, and when the seven years
of famine came the whole people were actually saved from death through
the wisdom of Joseph in laying up bread. We expect to be saviors on
Mount Zion in the last days. We all exercise faith that, God may give
to our President wisdom and understanding to foresee the evils with
which we may be threatened, and to take measures to avert them.
Suppose that he comes forward and tells us how to prepare, and we
neglect his counsel, then the watchman is clear, and we are liable to
the dangers and difficulties resulting from disobedience. If the King
of Egypt, had not observed the counsels of Joseph almost the whole
people would have been destroyed. As it was, those who did not obey
Joseph's counsel were under the necessity of selling all their
property, and ultimately themselves, for slaves to the king, in order
to obtain that bread which they could bare laid up during the seven
years of plenty, if they had obeyed Joseph's counsel.

Vol. 12,  p.142
Now, brethren, let us not treat this subject lightly. If we have been
neglectful in times past, let us remember that we live in a high
altitude, in a country subject to frost and to extreme drouth, that we
have several times lost our crops, and that we have twice been reduced
to famine or half rations through the crickets or grasshoppers. Let us
heed the counsel given about storing up provisions, and, instead of
freighting our food away to feed strangers, let us go to work and
build good substantial granaries, and fill them with breadstuff, until
every man and woman has enough on hand to last for seven years.
Terrible destruction awaits the wicked. They will come to us by
thousands by-and-by, saying—"Can you not feed us? Can you not do
something for us?" It is said by the prophets they shall come bending,
and shall say you are the priests of the Lord. What priest could
administer greater earthly blessings than food to the hungry, who have
fled from a country where the sword, famine, and pestilence were
sweeping away their thousands? I look upon the subject of storing
grain and other kinds of food as a very religious matter. How could a
man who was half starved enjoy his religion? How on the face of the
earth could a man enjoy his religion when he had been told by the Lord
how to prepare for a day of famine, when, instead of doing so, he had
fooled away that which would have sustained him and his family. I wish
our brethren to lay this matter to heart, and riot rest until they
have obeyed this particular item of counsel.[p.143] 

Vol. 12,  p.143
I also advise them to live within their means, and avoid getting into
debt. I suppose our nation at the present time owes about three
thousand millions of dollars, and the several states owe one thousand
five hundred million dollars more, and that the countries, cities,
towns, and village owe as much more, making a total of about six
thousand million dollars. All this is the result of folly, corruption,
and wickedness of men in authority. I do advise my brethren to avoid
getting into debt. "Well," say you, "how are we going to do it?" A few
years ago, during the war, while money was plentiful and almost
everybody had greenbacks, the President devised a plan. Said he—"You
bishops, go to work and sow rye, and set our sisters and their
children to work to make straw hats and bonnets and ornaments for the
whole Territory." What does a nice straw cost now? I have bought so
few of such things that I am not very well posted as to the prices,
but I suppose five or six dollars. What would have been the result if
this counsel had been faithfully kept for the last few years?  The
result would have been a saving of two hundred and fifty thousand
dollars that have been paid out of the Territory for straw hats and
bonnets and trimmings. "But," say some, "if we had not bought these
tilings we should not have been in the fashion." Why bless you,
sisters, in my young days, in northern New York, I wore hats made in
the neighbourhood of lambs' wool. Why not produce them here? Why not,
manufacture and wear the beaver and other furs collected in our
mountains rather than send them to the States to be manufactured, and
brought back to be sold to us at exorbitant profits. If ninety-nine
out of every hundred of you present were wearing these home made
articles at this Conference, she who was not wearing one would have
been the only one out of the fashion. Why she would be as odd as
Dick's hat band, which was said to go half way round and tuck under.
And if the brethren had all worn home made hats, the man wearing any
other kind would have been an oddfellow among us.  Why not make our
own fashions, and keep the money in our pockets to do good with? It is
a very simple matter to do, and the hats we can manufacture here are
just as pretty and just as comfortable as the imported articles, most
of which are made abroad out of materials that can be raised in
abundance here! When any of the brethren start in the hat business
here we cannot wear them, they are too heavy; we must buy hats that
will not last more than a month. Why not go to work and manufacture
our own, and have them suitable for either winter or summer? Why not
plant the mulberry? President Young imported the seed, and he has on
hand a half million of trees for sale. the silkworms are here, and our
sisters and children have nimble fingers to handle them, and this is
naturally as good a silk producing country as Italy or France. There
is nothing on the face of the earth to hinder us, as a people, from
making our own ribbons, silk handkerchiefs, and dresses; and it is
believed, by those who are acquainted with the business, that we can
actually produce silk here at a lower figure than other material for
clothing, taking into account the time it will last.

Vol. 12,  p.143
I advise all the brethren to cultivate the mulberry, and raise silk,
as well as flax and wool, and let us extend our efforts to the cotton
region. There is no mission more important to the welfare and
development of Israel than a mission to the cotton [p.144] region. We
have entered into the Church to build up the kingdom of God, and to
labor where the master builder says we can labor to the best
advantage. In that region we have a climate and a little land suitable
for the production of cotton. What could we have done without what has
been already raised there? When cotton rose to a dollar and a half a
pound in the States, and it would actually pay to raise it in Santa
Clara and send it to San Francisco and St. Louis for sale, what could
we have done here but for our home grown article? Look at the
thousands of pounds that have been grown and manufactured in this
Territory. Where could we have got our clothing without the efforts
that have been made in this direction by our brethren in Dixie? God
bless them for their exertions. Every man who has done what has been
required of him on the southern mission is entitled to the eternal
gratitude of the Saints and will have the blessing of the Almighty.

Vol. 12,  p.144
In relation to the Word of Wisdom, I wish to impress upon the minds of
the brethren the fact referred to by President Young yesterday—that it
is perpetual.

Vol. 12,  p.144
When I was in the States I had a conversation with a professor of some
pretensions to learning, who declared that, if we carried out the
institutions we had commenced here in the mountains, including the
Word of Wisdom and our system of marriage, in about seventy years we
should produce a race of men who would be able to walk the rest of the
human race under foot. This is just what we expect. Do not let us be
negligent or careless on these subjects, but, pay strict attention and
be diligent. And let us inaugurate a system of fashions of our own. I
do not care about the shape of our hats and bonnets so long as they
are of our own manufacture. I would just as soon a man should wear a
bellows hat or a stove pipe as anything else, if it please him; but I
say, encourage home manufactures instead of paying ten dollars for a
hat made in Paris, or in the United States, with the word "Paris" put
in the inside. I do not care whether the ladies wear a bunch of
flowers, a cabbage leaf, a squash, or a scoop, or a saucer on their
heads, if it pleases them; but let it be made at home. I would
recommend the brethren and sisters to establish societies for the
promotion of home manufactures. With the money that has been spent and
sent off for hats, bonnets, and trimmings since the President
counselled the Bishops to raise rye to manufacture them, we could have
built woollen and cotten factories in nearly every country in the
Territory, with which we could have manufactured our own clothing,
besides establishing other branches of business. These things are a
great part of our holy religion. I tell you that the judgments of the
Almighty are coming upon the earth, and the Saints will barely escape.
God has gathered us here to these mountains to prepare for the storm.
We were told in a revelation, given more than thirty years ago, to let
the beauty of our garments be the workmanship of our own hands, and a
great many have tried to carry it out. The old fashioned spinning
wheel, hand loom, and cards have been brought into requisition; but
the majority prefer to buy everything that is imported. Our young men
are afraid to get married because they cannot afford to buy all these
trimmings. Say they—:"We cannot do it, it is impossible with our
limited means." Young men, when you get married take wives who will be
a help to you. You do not want [p.145] women who can only waste your
means. Choose women who can spin, card, and make a mattress or
comforter, if necessary, and, if she cannot do it, let her be willing
to learn, and be zealous to make herself useful, for the woman who is
really ornamental in society is the one who is useful as well. You go
to New England, that is where a great many of us came from, regular
old down east Yankeedom, and you will find many of the farms occupied
by our grandfathers owned by Irishmen, and the girls who descended
from that old Puritanic stock are above work now-a-days, and Irish
girls are hired to do it. While the American ladies are living on the
proceeds of their fathers' estates, and making a great display in
following the fashions—they deem it not fashionable to work or even to
have children—the boys are marrying Irish girls. If asked why they do
this, they will say they are compelled to do it, for they cannot
afford to marry a woman and hire another to wait upon her. Our girls
ought to adopt a different policy. Every man and woman in the world
ought to be useful. No man is too rich to labor. All men and women,
according to their health, strength, and ability, ought to labor to
sustain themselves, and for the welfare of the community. "The idler
shall not eat the bread of the laborer." This is the law of Heaven. In
connection with labor we should also take into consideration our
manner of living. It is really probable that in many houses in this
Territory fall one-third of the provisions brought in for the support
of the family is wasted, and what is cooked is not as palatable and
healthful as it might be. Every female should study and become
acquainted with the best modes of cooking, and introduce it into their
families and wards. A great many of our sisters have come from
districts of country in Europe where they have had to work in
factories, and to follow other branches of business, and consequently
have had but little opportunity to learn cookery and other household
work; but I have known many of them, after arriving here, become very
proficient housekeepers, and all may if they will try.

Vol. 12,  p.145
I feel to impress these sentiments on your minds that we may become a
practical people, and learn to provide within ourselves the
necessaries of life, that in all things we may be pleasing to the
Lord. Let us live in accordance with the laws of life, avoiding
excess, all vulgarity and unnecessary levity, and endeavor to conduct
ourselves wisely, properly, and genteely, and use our influence to
promote that class of manners that will command respect everywhere. We
shall thus lay the foundation of a great, polished, and highly
civilized people, setting an example worthy of imitation in all things
to all nations.

Vol. 12,  p.146
May God bless us, is my prayer, in the name of Jesus. Amen.[p.146] 

Lorenzo Snow, October 9, 1867

Necessity of Performing the Duties Required of Us 
and not Those Required of Others—All Should 
Become More Spiritually Minded

REMARKS by Elder Lorenzo Snow, delivered in the 
Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, October 9th, 1867.

[Reported By David W. Evans]

Vol. 12,  p.146
Knowing our religion to be true, we ought to be the most devoted
people on the face of the earth to the cause we have embraced. Knowing
as we do, or should know, that the gospel we have received promises
all our hearts can wish or desire, if we are faithful, we ought to be
very faithful, devoted, energetic, and ambitious in carrying out the
designs and wishes of the Lord, as He reveals them from time to time
through His servants. We ought not to be lukewarm or negligent in
attending to our duties, but with all our might, strength and souls we
should try to understand the spirit of our calling and nature of the
work in which we are engaged. When Jesus was upon the earth he
commanded his disciples to go forth and preach the gospel without
purse or scrip, taking no thought beforehand as to what they should
eat or drink, or wherewithal they should be clothed, but simply go
forth and to testify of those things which had been revealed to them.
In doing this they secured to themselves the blessings of the
Almighty, and success attended all their exertions. They were bound to
succeed; no power could cross their path and prevent them reaping the
most sanguine success, because they went forth in the strength of the
Almighty to perform His will, and it was His business to sustain and
support them and to furnish them all the means of success. Through
obedience to the commands of the Lord they secured to themselves the
blessings of life with the privilege of coming forth in the morning of
the first resurrection, and they had the assurance that in their
labors no power on earth could successfully oppose them.  These were
the kind of prospects I should have liked had I been in their
position, or in any other position, for to the thoughtful mind the
idea of ultimate success in any pursuit is very pleasing. Now, had the
Apostles, instead of doing as they were commanded, imagined that by
doing something else they could have answered the same purpose, they
would not have succeeded so well in their operations, neither would
they have possessed that assurance of success which, under all the
trials and persecutions to which they were exposed, was, doubtless, to
them a source of constant pleasure and satisfaction.

Vol. 12,  p.146
Quite a number of young men have been called to go to the southern
portion of our Territory for the purpose of developing the resources
thereof and building up Zion. Now, should they imagine that they could
be as successful by taking upon themselves a mission similar to that
given by Jesus to his disciples, they would find themselves very much
mistaken. Had the Apostles or Seventies in the days of Jesus imagined
that they could have fulfilled the missions [p.147] given them by
building an ark as Noah did, or building granaries and storing grain
as Joseph did, they would have been grandly mistaken.

Vol. 12,  p.147
Joseph, in the land of Egypt, was called upon to perform a certain
class of duties, which were made incumbent upon him. He was not called
to preach the gospel without purse or scrip, but to build granaries,
and to use all his influence with the king, nobles, and people of
Egypt to store their grain against a day of famine. I have often
thought, in reflecting upon this subject, how little proof they had of
the importance of doing what Joseph required of them, when compared
with the abundance of proof we possess in relation to the importance
of the duties required of us. There was Pharoah—a Gentile, making no
profession of religion—had a dream which none could interpret save
Joseph, a stranger in the land, whom no one knew, who had been bought
for money, and who was taken from prison into the presence of the
king. No doubt the nobles and the people who heard of the
interpretation of the dream believed that Joseph made that for his own
benefit, glory, and exaltation, and that the king might think well of
him; and when they saw him riding round in pomp and splendor, trying
to establish granaries all through the country, they, no doubt,
thought he was an imposter, and placed no credence in his predictions.
In fact, I think I could hardly have believed it myself had I lived in
those days. Many of the people placed such little faith in his words
that, failing to lay up their food, when the famine overtook them, to
save themselves from starvation they had to sell themselves for slaves
to the King. Now, supposing that Joseph had gone to work and built an
ark, he would not have been accepted of the Lord, neither could he
have saved the people of Egypt nor his father's house. When Noah was
commanded to build an ark, supposing he had established granaries, he
and his house could not have been saved. So in regard to ourselves,
when duties are required at our hands, whether it is to go to the
southern part of our Territory, to Europe, to contribute to the
Perpetual Emigration Fund, or to build temples, or whatever we may be
required to do within the pale of the kingdom of the Almighty, we have
to walk in the spirit of these requiremens, and perform them, if we
would gain power and influence with our God.

Vol. 12,  p.147
I am pleased, indeed, to see the prosperity of Zion. I feel a spirit
of solemnity upon me while standing here gazing upon this multitude of
Saints. Seeing the difficulties through which we have passed, our
present prosperity is astonishing to ourselves and equally so to the
world. I feel to thank God for the prosperity of Zion as it presents
itself at this time. And when we contemplate our individual position,
and see the blessings God has conferred upon us in gathering us from
the nations of the earth to the valleys of the mountains, where we are
under the guidance of the Priesthood, we should be a contented,
joyous, and happy people.

Vol. 12,  p.147
I feel to say a word or two in reference to education. There are very
few people who have arrived at the age of fifty and upwards who feel
like studying mathematics; they do not feel like attending school and
applying their minds to the acquisition of the sciences, but there is
a kind of education worthy the best attention of all, and in which all
ought to engage—that is the education of the Spirit. As we advance in
life we one and all ought to be less passionate, more spiritually
minded. The men [p.148] ought to be more fatherly at home, possessing
finer feelings in reference to their wives and children, neighbors and
friends, more kindly and godlike. When I go into a family I do admire
to see the head of that family administering to it as a man of God,
kind and gentle, filled with the Holy Ghost and with the wisdom and
understanding of Heaven. Men and women can increase their spiritual
knowledge; they can grow better as years multiply upon them. It was
so, in a measure, with the old prophets. When they stood on the verge
of the grave, ready to give up the ghost and to pass from this life to
another, they were full of the power of the Almighty, and could lay
their hands on the heads of their children and tell them what would
befall them down to the latest ages. The High Priests and Elders of
Israel should cultivate this spirit, and live continually that they
can have the revelations of the Almighty to guide them, that they may
grow wiser and better as age advances.

Vol. 12,  p.148
Nothing can be more foolish than the idea of a man laying off his
religion like a cloak or garment. There is no such thing as a man
laying off his religion unless he lays off himself. Our religion
should be incorporated within ourselves, a part of our being that
cannot be laid off. If there can be such a thing as a man laying off
his religion, the moment he does so he gets on to ground he knows
nothing about, he gives himself over to the powers of darkness; he is
not on his own ground; he has no business there. The idea of Elders in
Israel swearing, lying, and giving way to intoxication is far beneath
them; they ought to be above such things. Let us put from as every
evil, and live by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. Let
us lay hold of every duty assigned to us with ambition and energy,
that we may have the spirit of our God, the light of truth, and the
revelations of Jesus Christ within us continually. God bless the
Latter-day Saints. God bless the President, the Priesthood, and all
Israel, and may we be successful m winning our way onward in the path
of eternal truth and glory; and that, as we advance in life, we may
not only have the privilege of gazing upon this beautiful scenery
within these walls, but of meeting together in a temple built by the
power of the Almighty and the united efforts of His Saints; of
building the Center Stake of Zion; and above all, when we have
finished our course on the earth, that we may have the privilege of
coming forth in the morning of the first resurrection with our bodies
glorified and singng the new song. Amen.[p.149] 

George A. Smith, December 29, 1867

Proneness of Mankind to go Astray

REMARKS by Elder George A. Smith, delivered in the Old 
Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, December 29th, 1867.

[Reported By David W. Evans] 

Vol. 12,  p.149
In the dealings of God with the children of men, in almost every age
of which we have any account, we find that a certain weakness of the
human heart has ever manifested it-self—that is, its proneness to
stray from the Lord. On almost every occasion when the children of
Israel began to get prosperous and wealthy, they forgot their duty and
strayed kern the Lord. After Joshua had led them across the Jordan,
subdued their enemies, and placed them in possession of Canaan, he
called the people together en masse, and exacted of them a covenant
that they would serve the Lord, who bad brought them out of Egypt and
had wrought so many miracles in their favor; and it is recorded of
that generation that they served the Lord all the days of Joshua and
all the days of the Elders who outlived Joshua. This is about us long
a time as Israel ever did abide by the law of the Lord. In reading the
Book of Mormon this same trait of character is very noticeable in the
history of the Nephites and Jaredites. When the Elders were stirred up
to preach and prophecy to the people, or when, through the scourging
of the Almighty, they were brought to repentance and to the knowledge
of their fathers, it would be but an incredibly short time—a few years
of peace and industry with their attendant blessings—before they would
again go astray from God, follow new doctrines and forms of worship
designed by men, and wickedness would soon again overspread the land.
This was repeated time and again by the Nephites from the time they
separated from the Lamanites until their final destruction. It is
remarkable, however, in the history given in the Book of Mormon, that
after the mission of the Savior to this continent, and the reception
of the gospel by the whole of the Lamanites and Nephites. that for
several generations they remained faithful to its precepts and
principles, and walked before the the Lord with such a degree of
humility and thanksgiving that they were prospered and blessed in all
things. This is the longest period of peace, and the most like a
millennium that we have any account of in any of our records where
time is given to us. It is true that Enoch and his followers were more
faithful than this, for it is said that he walked with God three
hundred and sixty-five years; but, as we have no detailed account of
the transactions in his cities, or of the regulations in Zion under
his direction, we are not prepared to use the short. account we have
of him and his people by way of comparison.

Vol. 12,  p.149
All these lessons taught in the Bible, the Book of Mormon, and by our
own experience are to warn us of the danger of going astray, and to
show us how prone we are to lust after the leeks and onions of Egypt
[p.150] or to sacrifice principle to gain some temporary advantage or
to answer some mercenary purpose; and they should be so firmly fixed
upon our minds, and so applied in our lives, that nothing could induce
us to do so, for however great the seeming advantage resulting from
such a course, it would in the end prove a serious disadvantage, for
in following it we sacrifice our integrity, violate our faith, weaken
our confidence in God and our power with him, and lay ourselves liable
to fall into snares from which it is impossible for us to extricate
ourselves.

Vol. 12,  p.150
As I have already said, when I first read the Book of Mormon, this
trait of character astonished me, and I have been equally astonished
at seeing it manifested by this people during the thirty-seven years I
have been conversant with their history. In relation to the Word of
Wisdom, see what a variety of opinions and feelings have arisen
amongst us. It is now about thirty-six years since that was given by
the Lord to His people, not by commandment or constraint, but a
principle with promise, and yet to-day many of us find it difficult to
leave off our tea or to do without our tobacco. Had we, as a people,
pursued an even, straightforward course in obedience to the counsels
of the Almighty, many of us who to-day are in bondage to these and
other pernicious practices would never have indulged in them.

Vol. 12,  p.150
I moved into Kirtland with five families. the question immediately
arose—"Where shall we settle?" Why, right here in Kirtland; the Lord
designs to make this a stronghold for a few years, and here we are to
settle, which was the counsel of the Prophet.

Vol. 12,  p.150
The very first thing that occurred after this advice was that two out
of the five came to the conclusion that they had better go to the
neighbouring town, because they thought they could gain some temporary
advantage. To Chagrin they went, in opposition to the advice of the
Prophet, and in a few weeks they were in darkness, and not long after
they were numbered with the enemies of Zion, and were soon using all
their power for the destruction of the Saints. He that gathereth not
with us scattereth abroad. Joseph, the Prophet, told us to go to work
and build up the cities of Zion, and not to build up strange cities.
Kirtland, of course, contained but few Saints, and they were poor, and
many of the brethren who were mechanics would go to Cleveland,
Painsville, and other places, while the residue were willing to take
the advice of the Prophet and stay in Kirtland and get what work they
could among the brethren, and make improvements, and at the end of the
year it invariably turned out that those who had obeyed counsel had
made the most means, and what was more, they had the best spirit, and,
as a general thing, they are still in the midst of the Saints; while
those who went abroad, contrary to the counsels and instructions of
the servants of the Lord, became darkened in their minds, and
eventually apostatized. The fact is, in relation to this, that we are
to seek first the Kingdom of God and its righteousness, and to use all
our efforts to sustain His Kingdom and each other, and to sustain and
uphold those who uphold the Kingdom of God, and when we neglect to do
this, and suffer temporary interests to drag us to the right or to the
tell, we lay a foundation for darkness and destruction. However many
objections we may feel to abiding the counsels and instructions which
are given to the Saints, we will find, under all circumstances, that
they are invariably for [p.151] the best, and that, when they have not
been observed, the result was unfavorable. It seems to me that most of
us can look back the last four or five years and see the course that
has been pursued by some in their eagerness and determination to
disobey counsel. By these lessons and examples in the school of
experience we ought to make ourselves acquainted with the principles
of progress, and profit by them. If we will do so God will strengthen
our hands and enlighten our minds, and enable us to pull unitedly
together; and, when we are united as a solid mass, all the powers of
earth cannot prevail against us.

Vol. 12,  p.151
Our weakness consists in division among ourselves, in not living up to
our calling, in not abiding by the counsels which the Lord inspires
His servants to impart unto us, and not abiding by the covenants which
we make when we lift up our hands to Heaven and vote to sustain our
President, or Prophet, as a seer and revelator unto us. This failure
on our part weakens both his hands and ours. Brother Woolley said this
morning—"We are progressing," and there is no doubt we are, but it is
slowly.

Vol. 12,  p.151
May the Lord bless us, unite our hearts, and quicken our progress, is
my prayer, in the name of Jesus, Amen.

Brigham Young, January 12, 1868

Liberty of the Saints—Why They Are Gathered—
Object of the "Word of Wisdom"

REMARKS by President Brigham Young, delivered in the Old 
Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, January 12th, 1868.

[Reported By G. D. Watt]

Vol. 12,  p.151
I feel happy for the privilege of again speaking to the Latter-day
Saints in this city; and I am also happy for the privilege of being a
member of this Church. In this I am exceedingly blessed, and I can say
of a truth, that ms soul drinketh of that "river, the streams whereof
shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of
the Most High." I am full of peace by day and by night—in the morning,
at noon, and in the evening, and from the evening until the morning. I
am extremely happy for the privilege of living with those who are
seeking to do the will of God. We are gathered together in the tops of
these mountains for the express purpose of building up Zion, the Zion
of the last days, the glory of which was seen by the prophets of the
Almighty from the days of old. "And they' shall nail thee," says
Isaiah, "the city of the Lord, the Zion of the Holy One of Israel."
"The Lord shall be unto thee an everlasting light, and thy God thy
glory." We are removed fag away from those who bore rule over us and
oppressed us,[p.152] and who deprived the Saints of their
constitutional rights. The Lord has led His people to a land where
they can enjoy as much liberty as they are disposed to live for. There
is no oppression here; there is no people on earth who have as few
encumbrances upon their spiritual and temporal rights as the
Latter-day Saints in these mountains. We have all liberty, yet we are
not at liberty to do wrong in this community, and have it sanctioned,
although many do wrong, which wrongs are in many cases overlooked and
forgiven.

Vol. 12,  p.152
The law of liberty is the law of right in every particular—that is, if
we understand it to mean the privilege of doing anything and
everything to promote the peace, happiness, and well-belng of mankind,
whether in a national, State, Territorial, county, city, neighborhood,
or family capacity, with a view to prepare them for the coming of the
Son of Man, and to have a place in the presence of their Father and
God. Shall we say that we enjoy this law of liberty to the fullest
extent? We do, in fact, and no power can deprive us of it. We have a
good and wholesome government, when it is administered in
righteousness and equity, and its laws scrupulously obeyed; and it
guarentees to all their political, religious, and social rights. We
have the privilege of worshipping God according to the dictates of our
own consciences, and according to the revelations of the Lord Jesus
Christ. It is true our consciences are formed more or less by
circumstances and by the effects of early teachings, until we enter
upon the stage of action for ourselves. Parental influences upon the
growing organization of the unborn infant have much to to in giving
character in conscience, But we always have the privilege of answering
a good conscience. We have the privilege of praying as many times a
day as we please; we have the privilege of praying from morning until
evening and from evening until morning without anyone to molest us. We
have the privilege to meet in a congregational capacity in our great
public meeting-houses, or in our ward meeting-houses, to attend to our
sacraments and fasts, and there to tarry, when we are thus assembled,
as long as we please without any restrictions whatever.

Vol. 12,  p.152
There are circumstances in which it would be right to restrict a
person even in prayer and worship. For instance, if a man should hire
another to work for him so many hours a day, for which he agrees to
pay him so much, the employed is thereby bound by the conditions of
the agreement to work the number of hours stipulated, that he may
justly collect his pay, for be is not paid for praying, nor for
holding religious meetings and religious conversations with his
fellow-workmen. If this may be called a restriction upon the free
exercise of religion, it is a just one, for the restriction itself
becomes a religious duty in order that mistaken notions of religious
freedom may be corrected. In such a case we would not say that a
person is in the least degree abridged in the free exercise of his
religious privileges, but rather, by keeping him to a faithtful
observance of his agreement, he is made to exemplify one of the
foremost principles of true religion—namely, honesty. If a man has
sufficient to supply his wants, and the wants of those who depend upon
him, and can, without infringing upon the rights of others, afford to
pray all the day long and then all the night long, he is free to do
so.

Vol. 12,  p.153
A great many instances might here be introduced to illustrate wherein
[p.153] men should not be permitted to do as they please in all
things; for there are rules regulating all good societies and the
business intercourse of men with each other, which are just and
righteous in themselves, the violation of which cannot be countenanced
either by civil or religious usages. It is not the privilege of any
man to waste the time of his employer under any pretence whatever, and
the cause of religion, good government, and humanity is not in the
least degree advanced by the practice, but the contrary is really the
case. Men should be abridged in doing wrong; they should not be free
to sin against God or against man without suffering such penalties as
their sins deserve.

Vol. 12,  p.153
I have looked upon the community of the Latter-day Saints in vision
and beheld them organized as one great family of heaven, each person
performing his several duties in his line of industry, working for the
good of the whole more than for individual aggrandizement; and in this
I have beheld the most beautiful order that the mind of man can
contemplate, and the grandest results for the upbuilding of the
kingdom of God and the spread of righteousness upon the earth. Will
this people ever come to this order of things? Are they now prepared
to live according to that patriarchal order that will be organized
among the true and faithful before God receives His own? We all
concede the point that when this mortality falls off; and with it its
cares, anxieties, love of self, love of wealth, and love of power, and
all the conflicting interests which pertain to this flesh, that then,
when our spirits have returned to God who gave them, we will be
subject to every requirement that lie may make of us, that we shall
then live together as one great family; our interest will be a
general, a comment interest. Why can we not so live in this world?
This people have been gathered together for a further purpose than to
prepare them to be one in the faith of the doctrine of Christ, to be
one in the proclamation of the Gospel in all the world; to be one in
our obedience to the ordinances of the house of God. All this we could
have done in the different countries from whence we have been gathered
out. We could have lived and died there, as many have, in faithfulness
to the spiritual requirements of our religion, if the Lord had not had
in view a great spiritual and temporal purpose in gathering His people
from the four winds. The order of God among men is not complete
without a gathering. Hence Jesus says—"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou
that killest the prophets and stonest them which are sent unto thee,
how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen
gathereth her chickens. under her wings, and ye would not." And
because they would not be gathered and avail themselves of the great
blessings consequent upon it, their house was left unto them desolate,
etc.

Vol. 12,  p.153
We are gathered together expressly to build up the kingdom of God. We
are not gathered together to build up the kingdom of this world. The
voice of God has not called us together from the uttermost parts of
the earth to build up and enrich those who are diametrically opposed
to His kingdom and its interests. No, but we are gathered together
expressly to become of one heart and of one hind in all our operations
and endeavors to establish Christ's spiritual and temporal kingdom
upon the earth, to prepare for the coming of he Son of Man in power
and great glory.

Vol. 12,  p.154
When the everlasting gospel is preached by the power of the Holy
[p.154] Ghost, the minds of those who are honest and worthy of the
truth are opened, and they see the beauty of Zion and the excellence
of the knowledge of God which is poured out upon the faithful. Such
men and women have seen in the revelations of the Spirit that God
would gather His people even before the gathering was taught to them
by the servants of God; and they understood the great object of the
gathering, they saw that the people of the Lord could not be
sanctified while they remained scattered abroad among the nations of
the Gentiles. When the people first receive the Spirit you may ask
what you will of them, and they will yield it in a moment; their
submission to God and the counsels of His servants is almost complete.
They are ready to give their substance, their houses and lands, they
are ready to leave all and follow Christ; they are ready to leave
their good, comfortable, happy homes, their fathers and their mothers,
and their friends; and some have left their companions and their
children for the gospel's sake, and all this because of the vision of
eternity which has been opened to their minds so that they beheld the
beauty of Zion, and they sacrifice all to gather to the home of the
Saints.

Vol. 12,  p.154
We have been assembled together from among all nations to be corrected
in our lives and manners, and for purification before the Lord. We
have come up to these mountains through trials and tribulations and
perplexities, and what do we see when we come here? The fatigues of
the journey have proved and tried the souls of many, so that they have
faltered in their faith; the light of the Spirit within them has
become darkened and the understanding benighted. They look for
perfection in their brethren and sisters, forgetting that in the
vision of the Spirit they saw Zion in her perfection and beauty, and
that this state must be obtained by passing through a strict school of
experience. When they arrive here they find the people like
themselves, subject to many weaknesses of the flesh, and some giving
way to them every day. The great majority of the people are apt to
lose the Spirit they at first possessed through the cares of the world
and the many afflictions they pass through in gathering together from
the distant nations of the Gentiles, and through looking for
perfections in others which they do not find and which they themselves
do not possess. Notwithstanding this there exists no other community
so dissimilar in their education and training, and yet so agreed in
theological and civil polity as we are.

Vol. 12,  p.154
What does the Lord want of us up here in the tops of these mountains?
He wishes us to build up Zion. What are the people doing? They are
merchandizing, trafficing and trading. I wish to view them as they are
and where they are. Here is a merchant—"How much have you made this
year, 1867?" "I have made sixty thousand dollars." "Where did you get
it? Did the merchants in the east or the west give it to you?" "No."
"Who did give it to you?" I answer that this poor people, the
Latter-day Saints, who have gathered together in their penury, have
put this means into the hands of the merchant. He has got it from a
people, a great number of whom have been helped here by the means of
others; and when they get a dime, a dollar, ten dollars, they carry it
at once to the merchant for ribbons, artificials, etc., making him
immensely rich. We all have our pursuits, our different ways of
supplying ourselves with the common necessaries of life and also its
luxuries. [p.155] This is right, and the possession of earthly wealth
is right, if we follow our varied pursuits, and amass the wealth of
this life for the purpose of advancing righteousness and building up
the kingdom of God on earth. But how easy it is to wander from the
path of righteousness. We toil days and months to attain a certain
degree of perfection, a certain victory over a failing or weakness,
and in an unguarded moment, slide back again to our former state. How
quickly. we become darkened in our minds when we neglect our duties to
God and each other, and forget the great objects of our lives.

Vol. 12,  p.155
The purpose of the Lord is to get the Saints together, and then preach
to them the doctrines of the kingdom of God by the voices of His
servants, and it is the duty and the privilege of all His people to
conform to them in their lives, in all their daily pursuits, until
they became one in all things, in every day's operations in life, for
the obtaining of our bread and meat and clothing of every description,
being one in the exercise of our ability in gathering together the
various comforts of life around us, sustaining ourselves and the
household of faith, and still being kind to the stranger. The Lord has
not called us here to make our enemies rich by giving to them our
substance for considerable less than it has cost us to produce it,
from the elements They would use that means for our destruction. This
course is against the mind of the Holy Spirit, against the mind of the
angels who watch over us, against the commandments of the Almighty,
against the mind of every faithful and true Latter-day Saint, and
against the cause of God and truth. As Elder Orson Hyde has said, I
would that all the inhabitants of the earth would repent of their evil
ways and become righteous, and then work the works of righteousness
all their days.

Vol. 12,  p.155
As Latter-day Saints it is our business, morning, noon, and night, all
the day long, all the week long, all the month long, all the year
long, and all our life long, to sustain those who sustain the kingdom
of God. Does not the religion which we have embraced incorporate
everything which is in heaven and earth and under the earth? Yes, if
there is a truth among the ungodly and wicked it belongs to us, and if
there is a truth in hell it is ours. Everything that will produce deed
to the people is within our religion. With our religion we have
embraced all good, but we have not engaged to sustain the powers of
Satan and the kingdoms of this world. We have left them and engaged to
sustain the good—the wine and the oil—until we become one, and act as
with one voice in maintaining every temporal and spiritual interest of
the political kingdom of our God on earth, whose officers shall be
peace and whose exacters shall be righteousness. Our judges will be of
our own selection, who will deal out justice and right. ousness to the
people. We are looking forward to this state of things. We expect to
see the day when there will be none in our midst but those who are for
God and truth and who are valiant for His kingdom on earth. As the
Prophet has said—"Thy people also shall be all righteous; they shall
inherit the land for ever, the branch of my planting, the work of my
hands, that I may be glorified." We are longing for this state of
things, then why not begin to work for it to-day? Why not commence the
work to day by ceasing to do evil, by ceasing to give strength to the
hand which would pierce us through with many sorrows? Why not begin
to-day by sustaining those [p.156] who will sustain the kingdom of
God? This is my text for the Latter-day Saints, and I wish it to be
constantly held before them until they exemplify it in their lives, by
becoming of one heart and of one mind in all things in righteousness
and holiness before the Lord.

Vol. 12,  p.156
To observe the Word of Wisdom is nothing more than we ought to have
done over thirty years ago. Touching this matter, I tell the people
the will of God concerning them, and then they are left to do as they
please in obeying it or not. It is a piece of good counsel which the
Lord desires His people to observe, that they may live on the earth
until the measure of their creation is full· This is the object the
Lord had in view in giving that Word of Wisdom· To those who observe
it He will give great wisdom and understanding, increasing their
health, giving strength and endurance to the faculties of their bodies
and minds until they shall be fell of years upon the earth. This will
be their blessing if they will observe His word with a good and
willing heart and in faithfulness before the Lord.

Vol. 12,  p.156
I am talking to the bishops continually almost, giving them
instruction and advice, but it is hard for them to get the people to
be graded by them. Now, for example, we will take the least ward in
the city, and suppose the people all consent to be guided and
controlled by the word el the Lord in all tilings, to be faithful in
their labor and in the discharge of every duty, being economical,
prudent, and industrious in all their labors, taking care of
everything, abstaining from the use of spirituous liquor, tea, coffee,
and tobacco, etc., also to let doctors alone, and faithfully abide the
word of the Lord relating to the sick, manufacturing what they need to
wear, and raising what they need for food; saving their dollars as
they happen to get them by the sale of some of their products,
sustaining themselves in all things, wanting only what they can
produce in the country from the elements and the labor of their
hands—suppose, I say, they were to take this course, three years would
not pass away before the people of that ward would be able to produce
everything they need in life. Thus, by a union of purpose and a
concentration of action, that little ward would soon be able to buy
out their nelghboring wards, who would persist in pursuing the
opposite course; and perhaps fifteen years would not pass away before
this prudent ward would be able to buy out and own this whole city, if
they continued to do as they were desired to do, and the rest of the
wards pursued their own way. I pray my brethren the Bishops, the
Elders, the Seventies, the Apostles, yea, every man and woman and
child who has named the name of Christ to be of one heart and of one
mind, for if we do not become of one heart and mind we shall surely
perish by the way.

Vol. 12,  p.156
Before I close my remarks I will again remind my brethren and sisters
that we have a duty to perform in sending for our brethren and sisters
who are in foreign lands. We wish to gather them together. As to
whether they will stick to the faith after they are gathered I know
not, neither do I care. It is better to feed nine unworthy persons
than to omit feeding one who is unworthy among the ten. So it is with
clothing the needy and sending for the poor. They must have the same
opportunities for salvation that we have, for the neglect of which
they will be held accountable in the day of judgment as we will also
be. Let us send for the poor. We are doing considerable,[p.157]
though we are not doing as much as we should do. If I could only have
power sufficient with God I think I should accomplish the desire of my
heart in this matter and that of my brethren and sisters· We do desire
to have our friends relieved from their bondage, and brought to these
valleys of the mountains to share with us the blessings we enjoy. It
would he a blessing to the poor if we could only exercise the faith
that Elijah had in the case of the widow's meal and cruse of oil, that
the little we do get for the emigration of the poor may accomplish,
under the blessing of God, much more than is natural for us to expect
from it. If we can only obtain faith to multiply the means we do get,
we may make a little reach out so far as to accomplish the desires of
our hearts.

Vol. 12,  p.157
May God bless you. Amen.

Brigham Young, February 8, 1868

School of The Prophets—Improvement of Provo City—
Litigation—Injudicious Trading

REMARKS by President Brigham Young, delivered 
at Provo, Saturday, February 8th, 1868.

[Reported By G. D. Watt]

Vol. 12,  p.157
I am happy in the privilege of meeting with you. We have come here to
lay before you matters pertaining to the building up of the kingdom of
God upon the earth. The remarks which you have just heard from Brother
George A. Smith are to the point. As far as I am acquainted with the
inhabitants of Provo I think they are as good a people as those who
dwell in Salt Lake City or in any other settlement in Utah Territory.
I think much of Provo; it is a very favored locality. We have
established a school of the prophets in Salt Lake City. It is written
in a revelation given to the Prophet Joseph Smith, August, 1833—"Be
hold, I say unto you, concerning the school in Zion, I, the Lord, am
well pleased that there should be a school in Zion." And when speaking
of the President of that school, it is written—"And I will bless him
with a multitude of blessings, in expounding all scriptures and
mysteries to the edification of the school and of the Church in Zion."

Vol. 12,  p.157
When the school of the prophets was inaugurated one of the first
revelations given by the Lord to His servant Joseph was the Word of
Wisdom. The members of that school were but a few at first, and the
prophet commenced to teach them in doctrine to prepare them to go out
into the world to preach the gospel unto all people, and gather the
elect from the four quarters of the earth, as the prophets anciently
have spoken. While this instruction prepared the Elders to administer
in word and doctrine, it did not supply the teachings necessary to
govern their private or temporal lives; it did not say whether they
should be merchants, [p.158] farmers, mechanics, or money changers.
The prophet began to instruct them how to live that they might be the
better prepared to perform the great work they were called to
accomplish. I think I am as well acquainted with the circumstances
which led to the giving of the Word of Wisdom as any man in the
Church, although I was not present at the time to witness them. The
first school of the prophets was held in a small room situated over
the Prophet Joseph's kitchen, in a house which belonged to Bishop
Whitney, and which was attached to his store, which store probably
might be about fifteen feet square. In the rear of this building was a
kitchen, probably ten by fourteen feet, containing rooms and pantries.
Over this kitchen was situated the room in which the Prophet received
revelations and in which he instructed his brethren. The brethren came
to that place for hundreds of miles to attend school in a little