Journal of Discourses Volume 17

BY PRESIDENT BRIGHAM YOUNG, 

HIS COUNSELORS, AND THE TWELVE APOSTLES.

REPORTED BY DAVID W. EVANS,

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

VOL. XVII

LIVERPOOL:

PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY ALBERT 
CARRINGTON, 42, ISLINGTON.

 LONDON:

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

1875.[p.iii] 

Preface

Vol. 17,  p.iii
WE take great pleasure in presenting to the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints the Seventeenth Volume of the JOURNAL OF DISCOURSES
of President Brigham Young, his Counselors and the Twelve Apostles. In
doing so we feel confident that the work will be received by the
Saints with much satisfaction. It is replete with good teachings and
wise counsels, and it may be read with profit by all lovers of truth.

THE PUBLISHER.[p.1] 

John Taylor, February 1, 1874

What the Gospel Teaches—Revelation From God 
Necessary—the Faith and Doctrines of the Latter-Day Saints

Discourse By Elder John Taylor, Delivered in the 
Fourteenth Ward Assembly Rooms, Salt Lake 
City, Sunday Afternoon, Feb. 1, 1874.

(Reported by David W. Evans)

[Continued From Page 376, Vol. 16.]

Vol. 17,  p.1
John the Revelator, when on the Isle of Patmos, wrapt in prophetic
vision, said—"I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven,
having the everlasting Gospel to preach to them that dwell upon the
earth, to every nation, kindred, tongue and people, crying with a loud
voice, 'Fear God and give glory to him, for the hour of his judgment
is come.'" He also saw a time when a certain power "would make war
with the Saints, and prevail against them, and they should be given
into his hand until a time, times and the dividing of a time."

Vol. 17,  p.1
Well then, to come back, to accommodate my strange friend, whoever he
may be, I will say that we, the Latter-day Saints, believe this Gospel
just as Jesus taught it. We believe in faith in the Lord Jesus Christ,
and that we should reverence him as the Son of his heavenly Father and
our Father. We believe in the ordinances that he introduced, and that
were practiced by his disciples; we believe in the same Spirit and
revelation that they believed in. I do not wish to argue these
matters, or to go into details, for time would fail on the present
occasion; but the Scriptures am before us, and I shall only attempt to
touch upon some of the principles that Jesus enunciated, and which
were taught by him and his disciples; and it is for believing in God
and Jesus Christ, in prophecy and revelation, that we are continually
arraigned before the world as impostors and deceivers. We believe in
being honest to ourselves and with every body, whether they are with
us or not; we believe in men acting all the time as though they were
in the presence of God and holy angels, and that for all their acts
they will be brought to judgment, for we believe that God [p.2] will
bring men into judgment "for every word and every secret thought." We
believe a good deal as David says—Who is he that can dwell with
devouring fire, and among everlasting burnings? That man who has
feared God in his heart, and who has not lied in his heart, that man
who will swear to his own hurt and change not, a pure, virtuous, holy
man who regards the rights of others as he regards his own; a man who
will concede to others all that he would ask for himself, and who
seeks to promote the welfare of the human family.

Vol. 17,  p.2
The Elders of this Church have been called, as the disciples of Jesus
were in former times, to go and preach the Gospel without purse and
script. I have traveled hundreds and thousands of miles on this errand
myself, and I see men all around me here who have done the same. What
for ? To benefit mankind, to tear away the veil of ignorance, to
combat error, to reveal truth, to make known the Divine will, to tell
to the human family that God has spoken, that angels have appeared,
that the heavens have been opened, that light and intelligence have
been communicated to man, that the everlasting Gospel has been
restored, and that we, in this age, can enjoy the same blessings that
the Saints enjoyed in former days, and to point out to them the way of
life and salvation. We have received this commission from our God, and
we have endeavored faithfully to fulfill it, so that our blood maybe
clear, and that when we come to stand before the Great Eloheim, when
all nations shall be gathered together, we can say, "Oh God, we have
finished the work which thou gavest us to do."

Vol. 17,  p.2
What else? We are standing now rather in a political capacity. How is
this? We cannot help ourselves, the Gospel told us to gather together.
Do the Scriptures say anything about it? Yes; but if they did not, and
God gave us that command, the silence of the Scriptures would make no
difference at all. But they do, for the ancient Prophets had a view of
the gathering of the Saints in the latter days; they saw them flocking
to the mountains like doves to the windows; and through them the Lord
declared that he would gather his people "from the east and from the
west, from the north and from the south." It is said—"I will take them
one of a city and two of a family and bring them to Zion, and give
them pastors after my own heart, who will feed them with knowledge and
understanding;" and in speaking of the calamities of the last days he
says that in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be deliverance."
But we gathered because the revelations given through our Prophet
commanded us to do so, these revelations agreeing with those given on
the same subject formerly.

Vol. 17,  p.2
Standing in this capacity, we form a large body of people. We have
lived in different places, and as the believers in the Gospel in other
ages were persecuted, so have we been; and having been persecuted and
driven we have come here, as Geo. A. Smith said on a certain occasion,
"because we could not help it." We could not live in Nauvoo, yet we
neither injured nor robbed anybody, neither did we interfere with
anybody's rights. They drove us from Missouri and from Illinois, and
here we are, and what now? We were on Mexican territory when we
arrived here, having been forced to flee from the United States
because we could not have protection. Why was it? Who can tell why it
was [p.3] that people who strewed their garments and spread branches
of palm trees in the path of Jesus, crying, "Hosanna, blessed be he
that cometh in the name of the Lord," should cry, a short time
after—"Crucify him, crucify him?" Said Pilate, "I wash nay hands of
this just man's blood;" and the people said, "let his blood be upon us
and our children." Terribly have they realized that invocation, for
the avenging hand of the Almighty has been heavy upon them, and in
every nation in which they. have sojourned, they have been robbed,
stripped, their property confiscated, and they have been deprived of
all the rights of men. The time will come when God's wrath will be
satisfied towards them, and when they will again be his elect people
and gathered to their own land, even to Jerusalem, where, as the
Prophet says, "The measuring line shall go forth, and little boys and
girls shall again play in the streets of that city;" and when the Son
of God will descend and "set his feet on the Mount of Olives, and it
will cleave in twain, and there will be a great valley, and they will
flee from before hint like as they fled in the days of Oziah, King of
Judah;" and "the Lord our God," we are told, "will come and all his
Saints with him," and there will be deliverance in Zion and in
Jerusalem in the remnant whom the Lord our God shall call."

Vol. 17,  p.3
Well, we are here in a political capacity, inhabiting a Territory, and
forming an integral part of the United States. Whom do we interfere
with? Nobody. Do we rob or pillage anybody, or interfere with the
rights of any? No. Do we make incursions on the citizens of
surrounding Territories? No, we interfere with the civil or religious
rights of no persona in this or any other city or Territory; we never
did, we do not now; but we can not help being in the capacity that we
occupy to-day. We form a body politic, and have necessarily become a
Territory, and we could not help ourselves if we would. But we do not
interfere with anybody, we observe all good and wholesome law. People
will lie about us; but that makes no difference, they lied about
Jesus. Our enemies say—"You are a bad people, and that is the reason
we persecute you." That is what the enemies of Jesus said about him;
it was not because he was good; you never saw a religious persecution
got up on that account, all such persecutions have been "because of
the wickedness of the people." The Scribes and Pharisees, after seeing
Jesus heal the blind man, said—"Give God the glory, for we know this
man is a sinner, it is true that he cast out devils, but he does it
through Beelzebub, the prince of devils." Well, if they persecuted the
Lord of the house, they will persecute the members of his household;
if they do these things in the green tree, what will they do in the
dry? The fact is, there is, and always has been, and always will be,
an antagonism between truth and error, light and darkness, between the
servants of God and the servants of the adversary. The devil is called
the father of lies, and he delights therein. What difference does that
make to us, what do we care about it? Very little. But suppose we are
oppressed. We have stood it before and we can stand it again. Suppose
they should pass prescriptive laws against us. All right, if the
nation can stand it we can. I will risk upholding and standing by
correct principles which emanate from God. We will cleave to truth,
honor, holiness, [p.4] and to all the principles that God has revealed
to us, and we will go on increasing in every good.

Vol. 17,  p.4
This nation and other nations will be overthrown, not because of their
virtue, but because of their corruption and iniquity. The time will
come, for the prophecies will be fulfilled, when kingdoms will be
destroyed, thrones cast down and the powers of the earth shaken, and
God's wrath will be kindled against the nations of the earth, and it
is for us to maintain correct principles, political, religious and
social, and to feel towards all men as God feels. He makes the sun to
shine on the just as well as on the unjust; and if he has enlightened
our minds and put us in possession of more correct principles than
others have, let us be thankful and adore the God of Israel. Let us
thank our heavenly Father for his goodness towards us in making us
acquainted with the principles of the everlasting Gospel, and let us
go on from strength to strength, from purity to purity, from virtue to
virtue, from intelligence to intelligence; and when the nations shall
fall and crumble, Zion shall arise and shine, and the power of God
shall be manifest among his people. No man can overturn or permanently
hurt those who do right. They may kill some of our bodies, but that is
all they can do. We shall live and shout among the assembled throng,
in the eternal heavens, "Hosanna, blessed be the God of Israel," and
his kingdom shall grow and increase until the kingdoms of this world
shall become the kingdoms of our God and his Christ, and he will rule
and reign for ever and ever.

Vol. 17,  p.4
May God help us to be faithful in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Orson Hyde, February 8, 1874

Living Faith in Cod—the Providences of the Almighty in Behalf 
of His People—Lay Up Treasures in Heaven—the Meek 
to Inherit the Earth—the Word of Wisdom

Discourse By Elder Orson Hyde, Delivered in the Fourteenth 
Ward Assembly Rooms, Salt Lake City, Sunday Evening, Feb. 8, 1874.

(Reported by David W. Evans)

Vol. 17,  p.4
I rejoice very much, brethren and sisters, at the opportunity we enjoy
to-night of meeting together to worship the Lord our God, and to wait
upon him, that we may renew our strength. It is the desire of my [p.5]
heart to do all I can to inspire in you a living faith in God, and I
am sorry to say that there are those in our midst, against whom I have
no particular charge to make, but who, by reason of the favors which
fortune or this world has bestowed upon them, have become weak and
sick in the faith, and who, I may say, have almost no faith at all. I
feel on this occasion that if wealth would destroy what little faith I
have I would rather that it would take to itself wings and fly beyond
my reach. I have no faith to boast of, but what little faith I may
possess I think more of than I do of the wealth of this world, for the
wealth of this world will not carry me successfully through the dark
valley of the shadow of death; it will not open to me the portals of
bliss, but real and genuine faith in God will accomplish this. I
remember once, in Nauvoo, when we felt ourselves happy and fortunate
if we could get half a bushel of meal to make mush of, the Prophet
Joseph Smith, talking to some of us at the horse of brother John
Taylor, said—"Brethren, we are pretty tight run now, but the time will
come when you will have so much money that you will be weary with
counting it, and you will be tried with riches;" and I sometimes think
that perhaps the preface to that time has now arrived, and that the
Saints will soon be tried with riches; but if riches, would kill our
prospects of eternal life by alienating us from the Priesthood and
kingdom of God, I say it would be far better for us to remain like
Lazarus, and that all our fine things should perish like the dew, and
we come down to the bedrock of faith, and trust in the true and living
God. The question is whether we have to come there in order to inherit
eternal life. I will read a little of the words of our Savior, as
recorded in the 6th chapter of Matthew. Said he—"Take no thought,
saying what shall we eat or what shall we drink, or wherewithal shall
we be clothed, for after all these things do the Gentiles seek, for
your heavenly Father knoweth ye have need of these things, but seek ye
first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things
shall be added unto you. Take therefore no thought for the morrow, for
the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient
unto the day is the evil thereof."

Vol. 17,  p.5
There are many Saints at this time who are laboring to acquire wealth;
and the kingdom, in the hearts of a good many, has become a secondary
consideration; if we were to reverse this order of proceeding and seek
the kingdom of God first, we could then put our heavenly Father to the
proof whether all these things shall be added to us, and thus also
test the truth of our religion, and I believe that this would be a
legitimate way to test it to our satisfaction.

Vol. 17,  p.5
I have heard several very able discourses, by good men, showing that
unless our exports equal our imports, we are not making headway
financially. This is all very good so far as it goes, but reasoning of
that kind is not our Savior's, it is the reasoning of this world, and
so far as this world is concerned, their reasoning, if correct is just
as good as any other reasoning; but if it is not correct, and we are
swerved by its force and power from the line marked out for us to walk
by, we shall become the losers. I wish now to refer you to certain
events that have transpired in days gone by, and then any of you may
tell me by what financial calculations these things happened, and
whether they were [p.6] brought down to the very nicety of worldly
reasoning, or whether they were left open to the providences of our
God.

Vol. 17,  p.6
Once on a time there was a great famine in Samaria, and so sore was
that famine that a mule's head sold for four score pieces of silver in
the market, and a cab of dore's dung sold for food in the market, I
can not recollect for how much. We should consider it pretty much of a
task or penalty to be compelled to use an article like that for food;
but the people of Samaria were sorely distressed with famine, and
which way to turn to save themselves they knew not. About this time,
the King of Syria, with a large army, came to besiege the city, and
there was a mighty host of them, and they brought everything in the
shape of food that was necessary for the comfort and happiness of man;
and although the famine was so sore among the Samaritans, the old
Prophet, Elisha I think it was, told them that on the next day meal
should be sold in the gate of their city at very low figures, lower
than it had ever been known to be sold before. A certain nobleman, who
heard the prophecy of Elisha expressed his doubt of its truth, and he
said that if the windows of heaven were opened and meal poured down
from above it could not fall to such low figures. Now see what he got.
by doubting the words of the Prophet—said Elisha to him—"Your eyes
shall see it, but you shall not taste it." That night the Lord sent
forth the angels of his presence and they made a rustling in the
trees, and sounds like horses' hoofs and chariots, as if the whole
country had combined to go out to battle against the Syrians, and they
did not know what to make of it, and they were frightened, and fled,
leaving almost every thing they had brought with them in the borders
of the town; and as they went, the rustling of the trees and the noise
of the horses and chariots seemed to pursue them, and in order to make
their burdens as light as possible, they threw away everything they
had with them, and their track was strewed with everything good and
desirable. The next morning the people of Samaria went out and brought
the spoils into the market, and it was overstocked with provisions,
and the word of the Lord through the Prophet was fulfilled.

Vol. 17,  p.6
Now, you see, the Lord knew they had eaten mules' heads long enough,
and that they had need of something more palatable; he had had the
matter under advisement, no doubt, when the crusade was inaugurated
against the people of Samaria, and he, in all probability, inspired
them to take abundant supplies, that they might feel all the more
confident on account of their great numbers being so well provided
for. They no doubt calculated that they had the sure thing, little
thinking that God was making them pack animals to take to his people
what they needed. Their Father in heaven knew that they had need of
them, and he sent them, and the people of Samaria brought them into
market, and behold and lo the multitude rushed together just as hungry
people will, and this nobleman came out also, and he was trodden down
under foot and stamped to death—he saw it but he never tasted it. That
is the reward of those who disbelieve the Prophets of God; it was so
then, and if the same thing does not occur in every instance something
of a similar character is sure to take place. There was no living
faith in that man, he could not believe the [p.7] testimony of the
Prophets, and in this he was like some of our—what shall I say, great
men, whose faith is weak and sickly, and they think they know it all,
and can chalk out right and left that which would be best for building
up the kingdom of God.

Vol. 17,  p.7
Well, after the flight of Sennacherib and his hosts, the starving
multitudes of Samaria had an abundant supply of food. By what
financial calculation was this brought about? Was it by worldly
financiering, or was it by the bounteous dispensation of kind Heaven,
who, disregarding worldly technicalities, sent a full supply to
administer to and supply the wants of those who put their trust in
Him, for at that time the people of Samaria stood fairly before him,
and he plead their cause.

Vol. 17,  p.7
Said the Savior—"Take no thought what ye shall eat or what ye shall
drink, or wherewithal ye shall be clothed, for after all these things
do the Gentiles seek." Have the Gentiles come here to make money and
to become wealthy? They say they have; I am told that that is their
sole errand. I have not the least objection to it, but I have an
objection to my brethren and sisters adopting their spirit by which
their faith withers and becomes like a dried reed. The Lord said to
Joseph Smith once—"As I live, saith the Lord, I give not unto you that
ye shall live after the manner of the world." Are we seeking to live
after the manner of the world by our trading and trafficking? I do not
know, however, that there is anything objectionable about legitimate,
honorable trading, and I am not going to speak against it; but in
these days it is a pretty rare thing to find an honorable dealer.
There may be, and undoubtedly there are, men who do nothing but
honorable business transactions, but most business men are eager to
lay up a fortune, and to get rich in a short time. Some of our
merchants think they ought to get rich in from five to ten years, and
then retire; but in honorable business transactions it takes almost a
lifetime to amass a fortune. I will not, however, speak of things that
occurred in old times, but will come down to our own experience.

Vol. 17,  p.7
I recollect when we were forced away from Nauvoo, at the point of the
bayonet, and when we crossed the river to the Iowa side there were
hundreds of our people camped along the shore, and what had they to
eat, or to make themselves comfortable with, in the scorching sun and
burning with fevers? Nothing. We wanted meat and other comforts, but
we had not the means to procure them, and the Lord in mercy sent
clouds of quails right into camp. They came into the tents, flew into
the wagons, rested on the wagon wheels, ox yokes and wagon tongues,
and our little children could catch them, and there was an abundant
supply of meat for the time being. Who financiered that, and by what
calculation of two and two make four did it happen? It was the mercy
and generosity of kind Providence. After the people arrived here in
Salt Lake, they had pretty hard times. I was not one of the honored
ones first here, but I arrived soon after, and I can recollect very
well hearing of the hard times, when the brethren and sisters were
forced to dig roots, and boil up thistletops, and anything that could
be converted in the seething pot into food for the stomach. In those
days the rations of our people were very short indeed. The Lord was
aware of the position of the Saints in these times, he knew that they
craved and had need of the [p.8] necessaries and comforts of life, and
he provided a way for them to obtain them. He opened the mines of
California, and he caused the news to fly eastward, and this inspired
the people of the East, almost en masse, to go to the Eldorado of the
West to secure the precious metals. I happened to be on the borders at
the time the excitement was in progress, and having crossed the Plains
once or twice, people came to me to know what they should lead with. I
told them to take plenty of flour, for that would be good anyhow, and
if they took more than they could carry they could trade it with the
Indians to good advantage for something that they needed. I also told
them to take plenty of bacon, the very best that they could bring;
plenty of sugar, and also plenty of coffee and tea, we were not quite
so conscientious in those days about using tea and coffee as we
profess to be now. I also told them to take plenty of clothing, such
as shirts, overcoats, blankets and everything that would keep the body
warm; and I told them that tools of every kind would be very
convenient ands almost indispensable, such as spades, shovels, planes,
saws, augurs, chisels, and everything that a carpenter needs, for said
I—"When you get to the end of your journey you may not find everything
to your hand that you want, and these things will be very convenient
for you to build with." And I gave them this counsel in good faith,
for I thought if they did not feel disposed to carry all these things
through, they could very readily exchange them in our valley for
something that our folks could spare and which the emigrants would
find useful.

Vol. 17,  p.8
Well, they fitted up train after train with these staple articles, and
to use a steamboat phrase, they loaded to the very guards, and when
many of them reached here, having been retarded by their heavy loads,
it was so late that they said—"If we attempt to go through to
California with this outfit, we shall be swamped in the snows of the
Sierra Nevada Mountains, and so we must leave it here." They had
brought it just where God wanted it, for said he—"I knew you had need
of these things;" and while many of those who brought them along were
good, honorable men, it so happened in the providence of God that his
people were abundantly supplied.

Vol. 17,  p.8
Did not brother Kimball prophecy here once, in a time of the greatest
strait, that goods and merchandize of every kind would be so cheap and
plentiful within a certain time, that they would have to be piled up
on the way side? Yes, and his prediction came true, and the
merchandize had to be placed by the wayside because there were not
houses enough to put it in. Well, when the emigrants got here with
their jaded teams, they were glad to trade them off. Said they—"Here
gentlemen, are the dry goods, merchandize, tools, and other things we
have brought along, they are at your service, give us a pack mule and
a pack-saddle, a lariat and a pair of spurs that we may go on our
way." This was the way matters were arranged in many instances, and
there was no fault to find, we did the best we could under the
circumstances, and they did the best they were obliged to for us.

Vol. 17,  p.8
Who financiered that? Was that on the principle of two and two make
four? I do not object at all to that principle, but one is the result
of human skill and wisdom, the other is based upon unshaken faith in
God. That is what I am coming to—unshaken faith in God, which in this
case, in our own experience, [p.9] brought deliverance to the Saints,
for they were well supplied with tools, wagons, clothing and all they
needed to make them comfortable. Our community was small then, a few
trains heavily laden were sufficient to supply it, but now it would
take a number of railroad trains. We are growing and increasing, and I
fear that we are growing beyond our faith, we are taking thought for
to-morrow too much.

Vol. 17,  p.9
To illustrate this matter I will suppose that I say to my sons—"Here,
my boys, I want you to go and plough, take care of the stock, or make
the garden beautiful;" and they reply—"Father, we want some boots,
pants and hats." "I tell them I know they have need of these things,
but I want them to attend to what I require of them without first
receiving the boots, pants and hats. What would you think of these
boys if, because father did not give them what they thought they
needed just at the time, they should say "we will strike out on our
own hook, for we must have, and are determined to have these things?"
How many of us are there now who feel as though We could chalk out and
financier our own course irrespective of what the Prophet says?
Perhaps some would be grieved if their faith in the ordinances of the
Gospel and in the servants of God were questioned; but, as I said in
the start, to come down to the bedrock, leaving fiction out of the
question, how many of us are there who are ready to strike hands with
the Prophet of God and to hang on to him blow high, or blow low, come
coarse or come fine? There are some men who have acquired fortunes and
who are rich, and I have reason to believe, though perhaps good men in
every other respect, there will be a divorce between them and their
silver and gold, or I fear they may not enter the kingdom of God. The
rich man may say—"Divorced! is it possible that I must be divorced
from that to which I am so devotedly attached—my riches—in order that
I may obtain life everlasting?"

Vol. 17,  p.9
In further illustration of the subject we have under consideration, I
will quote the saying of the Savior, "Lay not up for yourselves
treasures on earth, where moth and rust can corrupt, and where
thievess break through and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures
in heaven where neither moth nor rust can corrupt, nor thieves break
through and steal." If heaven be beyond the bounds of time and space,
as some of our religious friends believe, it would require a long arm
to deposit our treasures there; but I apprehend that the heaven here
referred to is not so far away. I believe it is near, and that when I
yield my treasures to the powers that govern the kingdom of God I lay
up treasure in heaven. Whenever I see the hungry and feed him, the
naked and clothe him, the sick and distressed and administer to their
wants I feel that I am laying up treasure in heaven. When I am
educating my children and embellishing their minds and fitting them
for usefulness, I am laying up treasures in heaven. I would ask that
little boy, who is well educated and well trained, "What thief can
enter in and steal the knowledge you have got?" It is beyond the power
of the thief to steal, it is out of his reach, that treasure is laid
up in heaven, for where is there a place more sacred than the hearts
of the rising generation which beat with purity, and with love to
their parents, and with love to God and his kingdom? What better place
can you find in which to deposit treasures than that? But all our
[p.10] obligations are not pointing to one source or quarter, there
are many ways in which we can lay up treasures in heaven by doing good
here on the earth.

Vol. 17,  p.10
The Bible says, "Take no thought beforehand, what ye shall eat or what
ye shall drink, or wherewithal ye shall be clothed." Says one—"If we
are to take no thought beforehand I would like to know how the farmer
will ever contemplate sowing his seed if he does not look with an eye
to the harvest, if he does not take some forethought?" I do not see
any necessity for this. I know that the times and seasons roll around,
and when Spring comes my natural senses tell me then is the time to
plough, and I go and plough, because I know it is my duty to plough. I
keep on ploughing day after day until I get through, and then I
commence sowing seed. It is no use for me to give myself any anxiety
about the harvest—I have no control over that, as the Scriptures
say—"Paul may plant and Apollos water, but God giveth the increase,"
and I, with all my figuring, can not swell the kernels of wheat and
cause them to germinate. I can do my duty in the time and the season
thereof, but I must leave the issue with God. When I see that the
grain wants watering I can turn on the water, but never mind
to-morrow, let that take care of itself. As each day rolls around I
can do the duties thereof, but tomorrow is beyond my reach or control.
We, however, are looking to great results from our present labors as
Latter-day Saints, and perhaps there is no particular harm in this;
but it is far safer for us to do the duties of to-day than to neglect
them by dreaming of the glory that is to be revealed in the future.
That is in safe-keeping. The hands of the Lord are strong and true,
they will keep the reward in reserve for the faithful, and none can
rob them of it. Let us do the work of to-day, then, and our heavenly
Father knoweth that we have need of all these things.

Vol. 17,  p.10
There is one very peculiar saying of our Savior in the New Testament
which I believe I will quote. Said the Savior, "It is easier for a
camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter
into the kingdom of God." This is a saying which very few people who
live now seem to believe, for, apparently, the main object for which
most people labor is to get rich, and hence, according to the saying
of Jesus, to keep themselves out of the kingdom of God. I know men in
this Church whom I would have gladly seen here to-night, but I do not
see them. I suppose they have so much riches they have no time to
attend meeting. Maybe they are here, I hope so, my sight is not very
keen, and I can not see all over the room; but I do hope and pray that
I shall never get so much wealth that I shall have no time to attend
meetings, or so, much as to keep me busy taking care of it, so that I
shall not have time to enrich my heart with the knowledge of the Lord
our God by putting myself in the way to obtain it. "Easier for a camel
to enter the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the
kingdom of God." Said the disciples "Who then can be saved?" The
Savior answered, "That which is impossible with man is possible with
God."

Vol. 17,  p.10
Now I want to look a little at the possibilities and impossibilities
of the matter, not that I claim to understand everything, but
sometimes a train of thought comes through my mind which cheers and
does me [p.11] good, That man who claims to be under the jurisdiction
of an authority that he professes to believe is paramount with God,
and yet is engaged in this way, that way and the other way, in getting
rich so that he has no time to honor it, the question is, Can that man
enter into the kingdom of God? I am not going to say, but I will bring
up another case that, perhaps, may have a bearing on, and serve to
illustrate this subject.

Vol. 17,  p.11
There was a certain rich man who fared sumptuously every day. He had
abundance of everything that was good. Then there was a poor man named
Lazarus, who lay at his gate, and the dogs came and licked his sores.
This poor man would have been glad of the crumbs that fell from the
rich man's table. By and by poor Lazarus died and was carried by
angels into Abraham's bosom. I was once conversing with a Presbyterian
minister on the subject of polygamy. Said I to him—"My dear sir, where
do you expect to go when you die?" He said—"To some good place, I
hope." "To heaven, I suppose?" "Yes," said he, "I hope to go there."
Said I—"Right into Abraham's bosom." Well, he said, figuratively, that
was correct. Said I, "If you go right into Abraham's bosom there will
be on one side Sarai and on the other Hagar, and if you make a
deadshot right into Abraham's bosom how do you expect to dodge
polygamy? If you get into Abraham's bosom you get into a curious
place." By this time his argument was exhausted and our conversation
closed. But Lazarus went to Abraham's bosom, I suppose he has a pretty
large bosom and a large heart, large enough to embrace all the
faithful from his day down to the end of time, for in him and his seed
shall all the families of the earth be blessed.

Vol. 17,  p.11
By and by the rich man died, and it is said that he lifted up his eyes
in hell, or in torment, and he saw Abraham afar off with Lazarus in
his bosom: Said he—"Father Abraham, send Lazarus that he may dip the
tip of his finger in water that he may cool my tongue, for I am
tormented in this flame." Abraham replied, and he spoke to him very
kindly and fatherly, "Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime'
receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things, but now
he is comforted and thou art tormented. And besides all this, between
us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that they who would pass
from hence to you cannot, neither can they pass to us who would come
from thence." Here, then, we see illustrated the fate of the man who
obtained wealth independent of the Lord Almighty. He obtained wealth
and enjoyed it, and down he went to hell, while that poor man who, in
this life, lay at the rich man's gate and desired to be fed with the
crumbs that fell from his table, was carried by angels into Abraham's
besom. Probably, in life, this rich man had oppressed and dealt
wrongfully by that poor man, I cannot tell how that was, but at any
rate he went to hell.

Vol. 17,  p.11
Now, let me ask you who the mall is who may be rich, and still enter
into the kingdom of God. There was father Abraham himself, none of you
will dispute that he was a rich man while here, yet there he was, on
the other side of the great gulf, prepared to welcome Lazarus to
happiness and heaven. But how did Abraham get rich? Was it by cheating
and defrauding, by calculating and financiering? or did he get it by
doing his duty and trusting in God to bestow upon him what he [p.12]
saw fit. He trusted in the Lord, and the Lord gave to him all the Land
of Canaan, for an everlasting possession and promised him that his
seed should be as numerous as the stars in the sky, or the sands on
the sea shore. The Lord made Abraham rich, Abraham did not do it
himself; he did not cheat anybody, but in the providences of God he
was elevated and made rich. Why, there are some men who can not sleep
nights for laying plans to get rich, but I would advise them, if they
want to get riches that will last for ever, just to lay plans to build
up the kingdom of God, or in other words take the advice of
Jesus—"Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all
things else shall be added unto you." I used to think—I can not get
married until I get rich, for I can not support a wife; and it was not
half so hard to support a wife in the days when I married as it is
now, because there was not half the pride or fashion to support then
that there are now. Then I did not make money very fast, and I thought
that if I waited until I got rich before I married I should wait too
long, and finally I concluded that I would marry and take hold with my
wife and we would work together. It is certainly better to have two
oxen than one, for if one is yoked up at one end the other end of the
yoke drags, and when one wheel is off and the other is on, the point
of one axle drags in the sand, and it is a complete nothing at all,
that is just what it is. Well then I would give the same advice to my
young brethren and sisters that I acted upon myself, and that is—Get
married and get rich afterwards, and dispense with this fashion that
so many are anxious to follow. We cannot very well, unless we are born
princes, heirs or millionaires, support the fashion of the present day
and prosper, and we had better dispense with it. I like to see
everybody cleanly and comfortable, but all this display and
paraphernalia that fashion demands of its votaries seems to me like
clogging the wheels and creating discomfort rather than comfort. When
I was in the old country, I recollect hearing a lady say—"Some people
wrap themselves up and put on so much that they are completely
clogged. If you draw a net over a fish, how can it swim in the water?
It is freedom they want, and it is a light covering we want,
especially in warm weather." I like to see persons neat and clean, and
would rather see them thus than adorned in fine feathers, dresses,
caps and jewelry. I believe God's people will be so. I have no
particular fault to find, I am only telling what I think would be
good.

Vol. 17,  p.12
The man that goes along and does his duty, and, without straining a
point, picks up honestly and fairly the blessings and means that God
strews in his pathway, can appreciate and do good with his means; and
as long as he keeps an open heart and is willing to do good, God will
continue to put wealth in his way, and wealth obtained in this way, no
matter how much, if it swells as large as the mountains on the east
here, can not keep its possessor out of the kingdom, because it is the
gift of God, and not the fruits of over-reaching dishonesty. God is
not going to keep me out of his kingdom because I have wealth, no
matter how much, if I obtain it honestly in his sight, and strive
continually to do good with it. The reason why men of God were rich in
old times was, that they were willing and desirous that God should
rule, govern and control them and [p.13] their means, while the
miserable calculators after the fashion of the world shut God out of
the question altogether. Such men are a stink in the nostrils of the
Almighty, and he will hurl them from his presence, and they will find
that it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than
for them to enter into His kingdom. This is my faith, and I hope it
will last me all the way through and for ever, that if we will keep
the commandments of God, build up his kingdom, and lay up treasure in
heaven by doing good with whatever means and ability God may entrust
us with here, wealth will roll in upon us from quarters we are not
aware of, and in a way theft eye has not seen nor ear heard, neither
has it entered into the heart of man to conceive. All the world is for
the Saints, and if they only take the right course and do as they are
required, wealth will roll in upon them and can not go anywhere else.
The world say the Latter-day Saints are the lowest of all people, and
just for argument's sake we will grant it; but then, if we are so,
that fact is only a proof of our excellence, for everything that has
weight and worth rolls down and finds the centre, the froth only rises
to the top. I will venture to say float if you take a dollar and place
it on the edge of a nice washbasin, it will roll down to the centre,
and if we are there, we shall all be in the right place. It is the
meek and lowly who are to inherit the earth and the kingdom of God,
and enjoy the gifts of heaven.

Vol. 17,  p.13
I have spoken once to-day before pretty freely, and I begin to feel a
little sore about the sides, and I do not think I shall talk to you
much longer on this occasion. I was talking this afternoon about the
antediluvians. How strong they were in their own estimation! They were
able to carve out their own destiny, and to amass and spend their own
fortunes; but when the flood came they and their wealth went together.
They were nevin the ark, they had no interest in it whatever. I
suppose they were a good deal as some people are at the present day. I
saw a little ticket out here—I did not stop to read it—but in passing
I read the words—"Not one cent for Tithing." I suppose that was the
motto of the ante-diluvians. "Not one cent for Tithing," not one iota
to build up the kingdom of God. Well, they went to destruction.

Vol. 17,  p.13
I wish to say to my brethren I have had considerable experience in the
kingdom of God, and I have had some experience that a man never ought
to have, and let me here ask my brethren and sisters if everything
could be arranged to suit all, where under the heavens would there be
any trial of our integrity? There would be no such thing. As the
Methodist say—"When I can read my title clear to mansions in the
skies," and neither stumbling-block nor obstacle in the way, I shall
begin to think that I am on the wrong road, for I do know that in the
way of exaltation and eternal life there are stumbling-blocks and
difficulties to overcome, and if I keep in that way I shall have some
things to swallow that are unpleasant and uncomfortable. But they will
appear smaller and less difficult to overcome, if we swallow less
whisky. I would advise all my brethren to avoid it, and to have no
connection with it; and if we see those who are feeble in faith, and
more inclined to find fault than they are to approve, let us labor
with them and do all we can to bring them back to a sense of their
obligations.[p.14] 

Vol. 17,  p.14
"Take no thought for the morrow, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall
drink, nor wherewithal shall ye be clothed," but go to, and do just as
God, through your brethren, tells you, and never be the means of
administering a blow or doing one act that shall cause a division
among the Saints of God, for says Jesus—"Except you are one you are
not mine," and how many are there in this city and throughout the
country who are kind of half Jew and half Ashdod, and more Ashdod than
Jew in many instances? Do not understand me to apply this to the body
of the Saints, but to them that are pairing off, the disaffected and
dissatisfied, and those who seem as if they had just swallowed a dose
of fishhooks, and were choking over it. I would advise such to grease
it well, and it will go down. Let the oil of the grace of God be
applied, and there is no obstacle that we can not overcome. I say
then, let us never allow ourselves to be the entering wedge to divide
the people of God. If we cannot overcome a little difficulty or a
little trial, how much faith have we got? Not much. I say to my
brethren—God bless you; and to the weak, the Lord, through the
Prophet, says, "Be strong." Be as weak as you have a mind to, but when
there is need of strength put it on. If we have the right spirit, the
more strength we need the more we shall have, but keep the fire
burning, and may the Lord God of heaven bless you.

Vol. 17,  p.14
I could say many more things, but I have said as many as I should say.
May the Lord bless you here in the 14th Ward. I used to know all the
people who were here, but now I do not know a tithing of them; they
have either grown up out of my knowledge, or else there is another
set, or else we have lost our faith and our countenances are changed.
I do not know which. Well now, let these pipes and tobacco alone, and
let whisky alone; and sisters, let tea and coffee alone. I know I am
touching you in a vital place, but will you do it? "Oh dear, I shall
die if I can not have some." Well, we have got to die once, and it had
better be in a good cause than in a bad one. Then let us keep the Word
of Wisdom, and keep ourselves unspotted from the world and live to the
honor and glory of God, that when we have got through, having really
complied with the will of heaven, we may see opening before us fields
of everlasting bliss, and crowns and dominions beyond calculation
opening in the wide expanse of eternity. Oh, shall we come short, or
shall we not?

Vol. 17,  p.14
Brethren and sisters, live to God, and may God bless you. I want to
live until the power of God will be felt and acknowledged in this
world, and that day is not far remote. May God bless us for ever, is
my prayer in the name of Jesus. Amen.[p.15] 

William C. Dunbar, January 4, 1874

Remarks to the Young

Remarks By Elder William C. Dunbar, Delivered in the Twentieth 
Ward School-House, Salt Lake City, Sunday Afternoon, Jan. 4, 1874.

(Reported by David W. Evans)

Vol. 17,  p.15
Last Sunday evening I asked the privilege from the Bishop to give a
little lesson to the young, and to the old and middle-aged about the
young. It is something new for me to ask for the privilege of
speaking, for my weakness has generally led me to decline speaking
when asked to do so; but inasmuch as I have assumed the task, I trust
I shall be assisted by that Spirit that illuminates the understanding,
and that it will on this occasion dictate things which will be for our
good.

Vol. 17,  p.15
I have heard some say that they thought we made too much fuss and talk
about the rising generation; but when we take into consideration the
circumstances in which we are placed as Latter-day Saints, we shall
see that this is not the case. We are connected with the kingdom of
God, established in these last days never to be east down again. We
are not connected with a system of religion which is to expire When we
expire, but with one which is to exist when we are gone, and there is
a prospect of a great many of us departing this life before very many
years more pass away. There are thousands and tens of thousands of us
who embraced the Gospel soon after the Church was organized by the
Prophet Joseph Smith, and who are now arriving at an age when we must
naturally expect that we will not live long upon the earth, hence, in
the minds of all such who reflect, there is an anxiety about the
young. Why? Because they have an anxiety about the kingdom of God
being perpetuated; they have an anxiety about the young, realizing
that the responsibility of bearing off this kingdom and its principles
must shortly rest upon their shoulders, when they will have to preach
the Gospel and to administer the laws and ordinances of the kingdom of
God, and to bear off its principles while they shall live Upon the
earth, hence the anxiety of the old members of the Church to know that
their children are in a position to be able to perform the duties
devolving upon them as well as, if not better than, their
predecessors.

Vol. 17,  p.15
We have around us a multitude of children growing up. We are in the
habit of calling them children and of treating them as such, and all
the time our speeches to them are as if directed to children; but all
of a sudden it has come to our notice that some of these children have
arrived at the years of ace countability. Some of our sons, for [p.16]
instance, are as old as we were ourselves when we went forth to preach
the Gospel, and we see around us a multitude of young men and women
who were baptized when they were eight years old, and who, almost
unnoticed, have arrived at years when they begin to think and act for
themselves. Among them are those who have a knowledge, by the gift of
the Holy Ghost, that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
is the Church and work of God, and perhaps a great proportion of them
have this knowledge. Then, them are a great many of them who say they
have not this knowledge, but they believe "Mormonism" is true because
father and mother say it is; that is, they believe it by education and
not by conviction and through understanding it for themselves. Among
these children to which I am referring is a small number who have come
in contact with certain influences, and who are becoming skeptical and
unbelieving as to the principles of the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints.

Vol. 17,  p.16
We may shut our eyes to these things, but they are facts, and the
question is, How shall we treat them? If we knew that two Gentiles
were in this meeting, we would so arrange our discourse as to be
suitable to them, and let all the rest of the congregation, who
already know these principles, sit and listen. But it appears to me
that we have to take a new departure in regard to our preaching. We
must adapt ourselves to circumstances, and remember that there are
those amongst us of the kind I have mentioned. It is true our children
have been raised and grounded, as it were, in the principles of
"Mormonism:" they have grown up and have scarcely heard anything else.
It is not these little ones here that I am so much concerned about,
but it is the young men and the young women, from sixteen to
twenty-two or twenty-three years of age, who go out in life for
themselves. Perhaps the sisters go to service in various parts of the
city and among various kinds of people; and the young men, they go to
learn trades—learn to be carpenters, masons, blacksmiths, or some
other occupation. They have to go out in life, and they meet with a
great many influences now that were not to be found in our midst years
ago; for amongst us now are those who are straining every effort to
undermine the education that we have been giving to our children. When
I say education, I mean the religious training which we have been
giving them. There are men in our midst who consider they have a
mission to perform, and that mission is to undermine our religion.
There are many amongst us now who do not believe in and who care
nothing about our religion. Some of these have come to dig in the
mountains, to extract the silver and get a fortune; they care nothing
about religion of any kind. There are others here who consider they
have a mission to undermine "Mormonism," and who think the only way
for them to do that is by undermining the education of our young
people. They say, "We can only reach the young, so far as faith in
"Mormonism" is concerned; but if we succeed in making the rising
generation skeptical, "Mormonism" will be a thing of the past and
almost forgotten in the next generation." There is a class of
so-called religious men whose aim is to make our young folks
skeptical; there is the apostate, who is either an infidel or a deist,
working to accomplish the same object; there is also the Gentile, who
is a deist or a freethinker, [p.17] and does not believe in God or in
a life hereafter; and they all feel that it is their special mission
to undermine what we have been doing during the last twenty years to
establish in the minds of the rising generation the truth of the
principles which we have espoused, and which we know to be true.

Vol. 17,  p.17
Now, if it has taken all the knowledge that we have, all the testimony
that we have received from the Almighty, to carry us through to the
present moment; if it has taken the power of the Holy Ghost and the
Spirit of God to enable us to stand and resist the various opposing
influences by which we have been assailed since we obeyed the Gospel,
it will take the same testimony and the same understanding to enable
the rising generation to carry off this kingdom triumphantly in spite
of all the combined opposition that may be brought against it. Hence
the necessity, my brethren and sisters, of being exercised about the
young, and hence the reason that they should have a knowledge of the
principles of truth that we have received, that when we are departing
this life we can lay our hands upon them and bless them, and set them
apart for the work that we have about closed. Then the fathers in
Israel can say—"Here are our sons, who will carry out what we have
begun;" and the mothers can say—"Here are our daughters, who will
carry out what we have commenced." Under such circumstances the
feelings of the dying will be those of joy and pleasure, for they will
know that they are leaving behind them a multitude upon whose hearts
is ineffaceably impressed the conviction of the divinity of this work.

Vol. 17,  p.17
I am pleased when I hear a young man or young woman testify that they
know this is the kingdom of God; but I should not be pleased to hear
them testify that they did know if they did not; I should not be
pleased to hear them say they believed if they did not believe. It
might cost me sorrow to hear my son or my daughter, or your son or
your daughter, say, "I do not know that 'Mormonism' is true," or "I do
not believe it is true," or to see them in a kind of betwixt and
between state of mind, not knowing what to believe; but at the same
time I would rather they would honestly say just what is the fact,
than to have them hypocritically say one thing and mean another. I
would not like to see this among children or among men and women. But
if a person is really sick and we can find out what the disease is,
then we can apply the remedy; if, however, the patient insists that he
is not sick, and that nothing is the matter with him, we can not touch
him. Hence I say, if we know the circumstances in which we are placed,
we know what remedy to apply. A young man or young woman will ask this
question, for instance, which is very natural—"Father, I hear you say
that all the sects in the Christian world are wrong except the
'Mormons;' but yet I find, when I attend the Episcopal, Roman Catholic
or Methodist church, that they quote from the very same Bible which
you quote from. How is it that they are wrong? Do you recollect,
brethren and sisters, how we were when first the Gospel reached our
ears? One of the first questions that we asked of the Elder who
preached to us was—"You say that 'Mormonism' only is right, but how is
it that all these other sects and parties, who say they believe in
God, the Bible and Jesus Christ, are wrong and you only are right?"
This was a [p.18] kind of a mystery to us, it caused a query to arise
in our minds, and we could not exactly understand it. This brings to
my remembrance a figure that was very frequently used by the Elders
when preaching the Gospel in the old country in early days. To explain
this seeming mystery to the minds of the new converts, they would
liken the Gospel and Church of Jesus Christ and its organization, to a
watch with all its complicated machinery, including wheels, pivots and
pins, face, fingers and mainspring. All these properly combined will
correctly tell the time of day. "But," said the Elders, "Suppose a man
comes along and takes one of these wheels away, and another man takes
another wheel, and another takes another wheel; another man takes a
pin, and another another pin; another man takes a pivot, and another
takes another pivot; one takes the face, another takes a finger, and
another takes another finger, and so on, until finally the whore watch
is divided up, say among six hundred different people, every one of
whom says—"I have got the watch, and I can tell the time of day." Says
the watchmaker—"Do you think I am such a feel as to believe that any
of you can tell the time of day? A watch can not tell the time unless
it is combined and united together, every wheel and pivot in its
place, with the mainspring in good order. It takes the whole machine
to tell the time of day, and when a man says—'I have got the watch,'
and he has only got a wheel, a pivot, or a pin, the face, mainspring,
or case, he does not tell the truth, whether he knows it or not."

Vol. 17,  p.18
So it is, my young friends and brethren and sisters, in regard to the
Bible; every religious sect takes that part of it which suits them,
and they all say they believe in it, and they have got the plan of
salvation. For instance, one sect or party will take faith in Jesus
Christ, and say that is all that is necessary for the salvation of
man. Another sect will perhaps take baptism, and say that faith and
baptism are necessary for salvation, and throw away something else;
and thus you find the whole Christian world, although professing to
believe in the same Savior and in the same Bible, opposed to each
other. And then the "Mormons" come along and they say—"All these sects
are wrong and we are right." They say to the sects—"Why, you have not
got the watch, you have only got one of the wheels, one of the pins or
fingers, or you have only got the case, and there is nothing in it,
and it requires the case with all its contents properly arranged to
tell the time of day correctly; in other words, if you would teach the
people how to be saved in the kingdom of God, you must teach them to
obey every principle of the plan of salvation." That is precisely what
the Elders of this Church do, and that makes the grand distinction and
difference between them and the so-called religious teachers of the
day.

Vol. 17,  p.18
Now to illustrate this. You attend a church or a chapel, and you
perhaps hear a minister preach from the 16th chapter of St. Mark's
Gospel, where the Apostles are commanded to go and preach the Gospel
to every creature, with the promise that he that believeth and is
baptized shall be saved, &c. Some of our young people have not read
the Bible a great deal. It is true that many of them who attend Sunday
school do read it, but as a general thing the class I am referring
rode not attend Sunday school. They [p.19] consider that they are too
old, that they know too much, or that it is rather humiliating to
associate with children; and, with a few exceptions, those I mean are
not of the kind who have read the Bible; but you will find, no matter
how much it may chagrin us to admit it, that they would rather read
the Ledger, Bowbells, or some other book of that character, than the
Bible, and consequently when they hear a sectarian minister quote from
it, that he that believeth in Jesus shall be saved, they take it for
granted that he is reading the Bible, when, if they had read and
studied its pages for themselves, they would know that he only quotes
part of it. Is it not singular that sectarian ministers, as a general
thing, manage to forget that little word "baptism" when exhorting
sinners to repent and be saved? Is it not singular that the divines of
the day, as a general thing, although they have made the Bible their
study, and have gone to college on purpose to study how to explain its
contents, should stop short and say, "He that believeth shall be
saved," leaving out all about baptism?

Vol. 17,  p.19
What is the difference, in this respect, between the "Mormon" and the
sectarian teacher? The "Mormon" teacher reads the whole of it—the text
and the context, and he declares to the people that he that believeth
and is baptized shall be saved; and he that believeth not shall be
condemned. Is it not singular that men professing to be servants of
God and ministers of salvation, when they quote Scripture, should only
quote part of it? This is the course pursued by the ministers of
nearly every denomination in Christendom. One will take a pivot or a
wheel, and leave all the rest of the machinery; another will do the
same, and so on, and if we were to examine the whole, we should
perhaps find that all of the principles of the Gospel are scattered
amongst them, but all of them reject some portions of it.

Vol. 17,  p.19
On the day of Pentecost, when a large multitude of people where
assembled at Jerusalem, the Apostles of the Savior, who had been
endowed with power from on high, plainly and unmistakably declared
unto them the way of life and salvation. In answer to the earnest and
anxious inquiries of many on that occasion, Peter, the chief of the
Apostles, said—"Repent and be baptized, every one of you, for the
remission of your sins, and you shall receive the Holy Ghost," &c. But
how is this Scripture quoted by those who take only one wheel or
pivot? They say—"Repent and be saved;" or, Believe in Jesus and be
saved;" but somehow or other, either through a defective memory, or
from some other cause, they fail to quote the rest of it.

Vol. 17,  p.19
Here is the difference between the sectarians and us who are called
"Mormons." We take the whole chapter, we want the whole watch. We know
we can not tell the time correctly if we only take a part of it, and
we know we can not get full salvation in the celestial kingdom of God
unless we obey the whole Gospel, which is the power of God unto
salvation unto all who believe it enough to obey it.

Vol. 17,  p.19
The Apostle Paul, in writing to the Corinthians, lays down the
organization of the Church, as established by its founder, Christ. He
says that in the Church are placed Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists,
Pastors and Teachers. What for? For the work of the ministry, for the
edifying of the body of Christ, and for the perfecting of the Saints,
until [p.20] we all come to the unity of the faith. The Apostle also
says that there are in the Church a diversity of gifts, such as
tongues, the interpretation of tongues, healing, knowledge, faith,
wisdom, &c. Now, how much does a sectarian pick out of this when he
quotes it? He takes Pastors and Teachers, but he throws away Apostles,
Prophets, gifts, helps, tongues, healings, &c.; in fact, he claims to
have the whole watch, when, at the same time, he has but one little
pin or pivot, and throws away the principal part of the machinery.

Vol. 17,  p.20
Did you ever think of these things my brethren and sisters? If you
would read the Bible and New Testament you would get an understanding
of them just as we did. How was that? Most of us were trained to read
the Bible, and when we heard the Later-day Saints preach we
said,—"This is different from anything we ever heard before. The Bible
seems like a new book, we never knew there were such things in it. Our
ministers never taught us these principles, and when me mention them
to them they say they are done away, and no longer needed;" in other
words they say that a watch does not need a mainspring now; it was
necessary 1800 years ago for a watch to have a mainspring and a
variety of wheels and pins all united together in one case, but now it
is not necessary, for you can tell the time of day with one of the
fingers, or a pin, or with the empty case. We who had read the New
Testament, when we heard the Elders explain the organization of this
Church, could at once see that it was in accordance with the Scripture
pattern, and that it was different to the churches of Christendom; but
the reason that our young men and women are sometimes in a quandary
when they bear sectarians preach is because they have not read the
Scriptures, and hence when they hear a man in a pulpit make an
assertion, they are not able to tell whether he quotes the whole or
only a part of the passage, and hence the necessity for them to make
themselves more acquainted with the Bible.

Vol. 17,  p.20
When I was about seventeen years of age I first heard this Gospel
preached by Elder Orson Pratt. He quoted from the Acts of the
Apostles, and although I had another word of testimony within me that
what he said was correct, that he was a servant of God and that Joseph
Smith bad had the ministration of angels, when he quoted from the
Scriptures I could not say whether it was so or not, because I had
never read the Bible. I had never been allowed to read it, for reasons
which I stated this afternoon, but I went home directly and read the
Bible, and found that what he said was true. Then I went to another
place of worship and I heard a man quote the same chapter, but somehow
or other he failed to quote the whole passage, and quoted only a
little bit of it. This led some of us to investigate, and we did so
just as we would any other branch of knowledge. No young man would
think of reading Robinson Crusoe in order to make himself acquainted
with geography, neither would he read the history of Scotland in order
to master algebra; and no young man or young woman would think of
studying any branch of science or art by reading novels. But if they
really desired to acquire any branch of knowlege they would, of
course, procure works that treated on that subject, and make it a
matter of earnest study. I knew a man who did nothing but study
grammar from the time he was fifteen years old until he was
twenty-five. They used to call him "Old Syntax" for a by-name. [p.21]
So it is with our young—they must not expect to study "Mormonism" by
reading novels, but they must read the Bible, Book of Mormon, Doctrine
and Covenants, Millennial Star, Orson Pratt's Works, the Voice of
Warning and many others. These are the works our children must study
if they ever find out for themselves the truth of the principles of
"Mormonism." And besides doing this, they must also pray unto the
Almighty for the testimony of his Holy Spirit. How did we, now growing
old in the work, get a knowledge of its truth? Many of us, after
hearing the testimony of the servants of God, went into our closets,
and some of us labored for months with the Almighty before we obtained
that knowledge. We prayed "Lord, if the testimony of this man is true,
make it known unto us, by some means or another;" and we finally
received impressions which induced us to repent and be baptized, and
we had hands laid upon us for the gift of the Holy Ghost; and still we
labored, and prayed, and contended for the faith once delivered to the
Saints, until God in his mercy manifested himself unto us in such a
manner that we knew this was his work and kingdom.

Vol. 17,  p.21
Now, if a young man rises and bears testimony that he knows this is
the kingdom of God, perhaps some other young man may make fun and say,
"How do you know it?" Perhaps he cannot explain, for the revelations
of God to the mind and soul of man can not always be explained, any
more than Columbus could explain when he asserted there was a vast
continent that had not then been discovered, or than the philosopher
could explain to unbelievers that the globe was round and not flat;
they could not understand it without studying natural laws as he had
done. The testimony of the Holy Ghost and the Revelations of God give
knowledge to the mind of him upon whom they are conferred but he can
not explain their operations to others. In the Scriptures we are told
that the things of man are known by the spirit of man, and the things
of God only by the Spirit of God, and the promise to those Who obey
the Gospel is that they shall know for themselves of its truth, and
this is the only condition on which the fulfillment of this promise
can be obtained. Said Jesus—"Do my will and you shall know of the
doctrine, whether it is of God, or whether I speak of myself."

Vol. 17,  p.21
Our children were baptized when they were eight years old, but that
was more by our agency that theirs. The gift of the Holy Ghost was
conferred upon them, and that Spirit is within them, and if they
understood its whisperings and dictates I believe that they would
admit they know a great deal more than they now think they do; and if
they would heed its teachings it would lead them in the way of eternal
life. But there is a great difference between the "Mormons" and the
rest of the religious world when we come to the fundamental principles
of all religion, namely, belief in God. The sectarian world say that
the believe in God, but that he has neither body, parts nor passions,
and yet there are three persons in the godhead—Father, Son, and Holy
Ghost. If you were to attend the Sabbath schools of our friends who
are not of us, you would probably hear these principles taught. But
this is not in accordance with the Bible, for that teaches that God
made man in his own image. If you want to know what the Almighty looks
like, look at man, only he is in a fallen condition and clothed with
humanity. Jesus said that he was [p.22] the express image and likeness
of his Father. The "Mormons" believe this, but the sectarians believe
in a God without body, parts and passions; they believe in Jesus
sitting at the right hand of a God without body parts and passions;
they believe in a God who loves the righteous, and who is angry with
the wicked every day, but yet he has neither body, parts nor passions.
I am not saying this with a design to deride, or anything of the kind,
but I am simply stating facts as they are. The "Mormons" believe these
things just as the Bible tells them; they believe that God is a great
and exalted Being, filled with knowledge and understanding, that he
created this earth, but not out of nothing. One of the principles
taught by the religious world of Christendom, is that the earth was
made out of nothing, in six of our days. No wonder, as Brother Maeser
said the other Sunday evening, that people consider that science and
religion are opposed to each other. True science and true religion are
not opposed to each other; false religion and true science are opposed
to each other, and it is this very fact which has caused infidelity to
spread with such rapidity of late years. As men become acquainted with
the laws of nature, which are the laws of God, they are compelled to
lay false religion aside, and consequently they say religion is all
nonsense. For instance, the chemist finds that he can not bring one
particle of matter from nonentity neither can he annihilate one
particle, therefore he disbelieves in the world being created out of
nothing. When a man descends into the bowels of the earth and, through
science, becomes acquainted with the laws which govern the materials
there contained, he understands that the earth could not be made out
of nothing; he also understands that it could not be made in six of
our days, and consequently, rather than throw aside science, the truth
of which he can demonstrate, he throws religion to one side, the truth
of which he can not demonstrate. But if he were in possession of true
religion he would not have to throw it away, neither would he have to
abandon his science because they would harmonize.

Vol. 17,  p.22
We Latter-day Saints do not believe the world was created out of
nothing, but that it was created just upon the same principle that a
builder creates a house, that is, there is matter in existence and he
organizes it and changes its condition suitable to the circumstances
that he wishes to use it for; the builder changes the bricks, lumber
and other material into a house or other structure; the Almighty by
his power and wisdom takes existing matter and combines it and makes a
world; and he places the stars and the sun and moon in the firmament,
giving to each the laws by which its movements are governed. If we
understand it we should see that it was all done upon true scientific
principles. Scientific truth and God's truth are just the same, hence
when a man becomes acquainted with science or the laws of nature he
has to throw away his belief in a God without body, parts and
passions, and in the estimation of the religious world, he becomes an
infidel. But suppose he were to obey the Gospel as taught by the
Latter-day Saints, what would be the consequence then? His science and
religion would help and sustain each other, and would enable him to
bear testimony to the wonderworking hand of God, not only in revealing
the true principles of salvation, but also in revealing the laws of
nature or the principles of science, and he would embrace both as
emanations [p.23] from the same great Deity.

Vol. 17,  p.23
Here, my young, brethren and sisters, is another great distinction and
difference between the Latter-day Saints and the rest of the Religious
World, and if you were to study the Bible sometimes—I do not say it is
necessary to throw away every other book and study the Bible only—you
would come to an understanding of these principles for yourselves,
then you would know why your fathers and mothers declare that they
know "Mormonism" is true.

Vol. 17,  p.23
I have endeavoured to drop a few hints, to show the necessity of our
young people taking a course by which they may attain the same
realizing sense of the truth of the Gospel and work of God which their
seniors possess. If a son or a daughter belonging to any one of us
should say—"Father, I know you have always taught me to believe that
Joseph Smith was a true prophet, and you say that God has revealed it
to you, but he has not revealed it to me and I do not know it," shall
we get mad at them, and resort to coercion in order to make them
believe as we believe? No, we may be sorry to hear them make such an
avowal, but we must neither get mad nor use harsh language towards
them, for that might drive them to do that which we are so anxious to
prevent. We must treat them as men and women, or as rational,
intelligent beings, and reason with them, and labor with and pray for
them just as much as if we were sent to preach the Gospel to the
world. That is the Course I believe we, the fathers and mothers of
Israel, should pursue with the rising generation.

Vol. 17,  p.23
I have said all I desire to say on the present occasion. May God bless
us! May the spirit of the Gospel rest upon our young, that they may be
led to investigate its principles and come to an understanding thereof
for themselve, that they may be prepared for the responsibilities that
will rest upon those who will succeed us in carrying on the work of
the Lord, and be enabled to bear it off triumphantly is my prayer in
the name of Jesus. Amen.[p.24] 

Orson Pratt, April 6, 1874

The Kingdom not Organized By Man—Man Utterly 
Unable to Organize the Kingdom of God on the Earth 
Without Revelation—the Nephites and Lamanites 
Had All Things in Common—Consecration—the 
Danger of Pride—the United Order

Discourse By Elder Orson Pratt, Delivered at the Forty-Fourth 
Annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, 
in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Monday Morning, April 6, 1874.

(Reported by David W. Evans)

Vol. 17,  p.24
Forty-four years ago to day, the kingdom of God was organized on this
earth, for the last time, never to be broken up, never to be
confounded or thrown down, but to continue from that time, henceforth
and for ever, This kingdom was not organized by man, nor by the wisdom
of man, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ, he having guided and
directed, by revelation, everything in regard to its organization, and
bestowed authority upon his servants to perform the work, and they
being only agents or instruments in his hands.

Vol. 17,  p.24
All other Christian denominations for many long centuries, have been
organized without revelation. The organizers of these various
denominations did not even pretend that God had given them any
information from Heaven; they did not even pretend that there was one
sentence which had been received in their day from the Lord, in
relation to the organization of their institutions, In this respect
the Latter-day Saints differ widely from all Christian denominations!
it is an essential difference, a peculiar characteristic, and one of
the utmost importance. Every person with a little reflection, can see
that without divine information, man is utterly unable to organize the
Kingdom of God on the earth. He may organize kingdoms, empires,
republics and various kinds of civil government and a great variety of
governments in a religious capacity, and when he has organized them
they are without foundation and authority. The nord communicates
nothing to them, but they are compelled to ponder over that which had
been revealed in former ages, and get all the information they can
from what God spake formerly. But how impossible it is for people to
learn their duties from what God said formerly to somebody else. We
might as well, in the organization of a civil government, say, "the
canon of laws is sealed up, we need no legislators or Congressmen," If
the question be asked why we do not need them, the answer is, "Oh, we
depend upon the laws which were made by our fathers; they are
sufficient for our guide." Just fancy the People of this great
republic being governed by the laws enacted in the first Congress
after the revolutionary fathers framed the constitution. [p.25] Only
think of all the people now appealing to those ancient laws, made
before any of them were born, and having nothing further to govern
them!

Vol. 17,  p.25
This would just be as consistent as it would be to suppose that God
some eighteen hundred years ago, gave all the information that he ever
intended to give in relation to the government of His kingdom and His
affairs here on the earth. You know that in civil governments laws are
continually required, circumstances call them forth. Laws made last
year are not always suitable to the circumstances of this year, and
those made ten years ago, might be altogether unsuitable for events
now happening, and hence the necessity of something new, direct from
the law-making department. So in regard to the kingdom of God. God
spake to the ancients, but many of the words he spake then are not
binding upon the people now. Some few of the great moral principles
revealed to the ancients are binding for ever, but the great majority
of the revelations from Heaven were only suited to the individuals to
whom they were given. Take, for instance, the case of Abram He was
living in Chaldea, the land of his fathers. The Lord spake to him, and
commanded him to arise and leave his native country, and journey tea
strange land, which was promised to him for an inheritance. Now, I
ask, was any other people upon the face of the whole earth bound to
obey this divine law given to Abraham? No; it was suited to him and to
him only. If we were all under this ancient law, then every one of us
would have to go to Chaldea; and after we got there we should have to
leave that country and go to some land which we should expect to
receive for an inheritance, which would be the very height of
absurdity.

Vol. 17,  p.25
Again, when God led forth Abraham into the, land of palestine, we find
that he not only communicated laws to him, but that he also made
precious promises relating to him and his seed, which did not pertain
to all the nations and kingdoms of the earth. God commanded Abraham on
that occasion to arise, and to pass through the length and breadth of
the land, and to go out on to a certain high place and to cast his
eyes eastward and westward and northward and southward, for said the
Lord unto him, "All this land which thou seest shall be given to thee,
and to thy seed after thee for a possession." Under this law have I
been commanded to go to the land of Palestine and walk through the
length and breadth of the land? Never. Have you been commanded to do
it? Never. It is not a law that is binding upon us, neither was it
binding upon future generations after the days of Abraham.

Vol. 17,  p.25
Again, when God made the promise to Abraham that he should have that
land for a possession, and his literal seed after him, he did not mean
you nor me, nor the generations of the earth who are not the literal
descendants of Abraham.

Vol. 17,  p.25
Again, when God revealed himself to Moses, and told him to go down
into Egypt and deliver Israel from bondage, that was a law binding
upon Moses and Moses alone. The Latter-day Saints are not under that
law, neither are any other people. So we might continue to multiply
instances by thousands where God spake to individuals, and they, and
they alone, were the persons who were to give heed to his laws. Again,
where he spoke in some cases to the nation of Israel, Israel and
Israel alone could obey those laws. But sometimes he would reveal to
an individual or to a people certain great [p.26] moral principles
that were binding upon them and upon all people unto the ends of the
earth, when they were made manifest Unto them. Such laws are
everlasting in their nature. Sometimes God revealed ordinances as well
as commandments and laws. These ordinances were binding just as far as
God revealed them for the people to attend to. For instance, the law
of circumcision was binding upon Abraham and his seed, and was to be
continued for a certain season, but by and by it was to be superseded
by some other. God also revealed, in the days of the introduction of
the Gospel, many eternal laws, different from those that had been
revealed in former times. He revealed many things afresh and anew when
he came personally on the earth, which had also been revealed prior to
his day. For instance, we will take the law of faith, and repentance.
These principles were taught in every dispensation, and were binding
upon all people in the four quarters of the earth, and in all
generations before Jesus came; they were eternal principles, and were
to be continued forever. We will take, again, the law of baptism for
the remission of sins. Wherever the Gospel was preached this ordinance
was binding upon the people. Wherever men were sent forth with the
fullness of the plan of salvation to declare to the children of men,
the law of baptism accompanied that message, and all people, as well
as Israel, were required to obey that sacred ordinance.

Vol. 17,  p.26
In the latter days, when God establishes hie kingdom on the earth for
the last time, there will be thousands and tens of thousands of
precepts and commandments revealed to certain individuals, which will
be binding upon them alone. Then there will be other commandments that
will be adapted to all the Church, and they will be binding upon the
Church and upon the Church alone. Then there will be certain
commandments that will be binding upon all nations, people and
tongues, and blessed are they who give heed to the commandments and
institutions and ordinances which pertain to them and which are
adapted to their circumstances, and which are given for them to obey.
But we will return again to the Church and kingdom.

Vol. 17,  p.26
Forty-four years have rolled over our heads since God gave commandment
to a young man, a youth, to organize baptized believers into a Church,
which was called the kingdom of God, not organized in its fullness,
for there were not materials enough at that time to institute all the
officers that were needed in that kingdom. The kingdom needed
inspired, Apostles, Seventies, High Priests after the order of
Melchizedec; it needed the Priesthood of Aaron—the Levitical
Priesthood, which the ancient Prophet said should be restored in the
latter days. The kingdom needed all the appendages and blessings of
these two Priesthoods, and there were not a sufficient number then
baptized to make the organization perfect and complete; but so far as
there were individuals the organization was commenced, although there
were than only six members. Two of these were Apostles, called of God
to be Apostles; called by new revelation to be Apostles; called by the
ministration of angels to be Apostles; ordained by the laying on of
hands of immortal personages from the eternal worlds. Hence, being
ordained by this high authority, called by this high and holy calling,
and chosen to go forth and organize the kingdom, and to preach the
message of life and salvation among the children [p.27] of men, they
were obedient; and the other four individuals were organized in
connection with them, upon the foundation that had been laid by the
Lord himself, and not upon a creed that had been concocted in some
council of uninspired men; not upon some articles of faith that were
framed by uninspired men to guide and govern them; but what they
received was by direct revelation. Not one step was taken without
obtaining a revelation in regard to the manner of proceeding in
relation to the laying of this foundation.

Vol. 17,  p.27
How very different this from the Methodists, the Baptists, the
Presbyterians, the Church of England, and the various societies and
denominations that exist throughout all the Protestant world; not one
of them was organized in that way! Supposing that some of these
Christian denominations should happen to get the form pretty nearly
correct, and yet not have the authority, that would make all the
difference. The form with the authority is one thing, and the form
without the authority and divine appointment and ordination is another
thing. One has power, but the other has not; one is recognized by the
Lord Almighty, but the other is only recognized by man. I think we can
see the difference between man's churches and God's Churches, between
man's organization and God's organization. In the first place there
never were a people, since Adam was placed in the Garden of Eden to
the present day, who were acknowledged of God, unless they were
founded and directed and counseled by him; unless there were a
Priesthood having authority from him; unless God spake to them, and
sent his angels to them. There never was a people, in any age of the
world, whom God recognized as his people, without these
characteristics. Says one, "How very uncharitable you Latter-day
Saints are! You exclude the whole of us, you do not except one of our
churches or good Christian denominations, and there are very good,
moral people in them." We do not dispute but what they are a very
good, moral people; that is one thing, and a Christian Church is
another. Morality is good in its place, and it must be in the
Christian Church. Morality may exist outside of the Christian Church,
but both can not exist together without God organizes the Church.

Vol. 17,  p.27
Perhaps I have spoken sufficiently long upon the subject of the
organization of the Church. I might enter fully into the investigation
of these matters, and give you the particulars about the angels of God
who descended from heaven and conferred the authority upon chosen
vessels. I might tell you about the day which God set apart, and upon
which he commanded that his Church. should be organized, for the very
day was mentioned by revelation. I might also relate to you many
instructions that were given at that time to all the members of the
kingdom of God. But I have other subjects upon my mind that seem to
present themselves before me.

Vol. 17,  p.27
There have been probably scores of revelations given from time to time
during the last forty-four years, which are not binding now, neither
were they binding upon all the people at the time they were given. For
instance, God gave a revelation, through his servant Joseph, on the
14th day of November, 1830, to your humble servant who is now
speaking, commanding him to go forth and preach the Gospel among the
nations of the earth, preparing the way of the Lord for his second
coming, and to lift up his voice, both long and loud, and cry
repentance to this [p.28] crooked and perverse generation. I ask this
congregation if there is an individual present here, but your humble
servant who. is under this direct command? No. If you have been
commanded to do the same, you have been commanded by a distinct
revelation. The revelation given to me Was not given to any other
individual, and was not binding upon say other, So in regard to the
gathering up of the Saints. We were dwelling in the State of New York,
and on the second day of January 1831, God commanded that all the
Saints in that State, the State in which the Church was organized, and
all who were dwelling in all the regions round about, should gather up
to the State of Ohio. Is that a commandment binding upon any of this
congregation? Not one of them, it was only suited to the circumstances
that then extend, and when fulfilled it was no longer even binding
upon them. The Lord gave a commandment after we bad gathered up to the
land of Kirtland, that some of his servants should go forth, two by
two, preaching through Indiana, Ohio, Illinois and Missouri, that they
should meet together in general Conference on the western boundaries
of the State of Missouri, and that the Lord God would reveal unto them
the land which should be given unto them for an everlasting
inheritance. These persons were commanded to do this. This commandment
was binding upon them and them alone. They were the individuals who
were commanded to do this work—it was not required of the rest of the
Church. They fulfilled their appointment—as many as were faithful went
through, two by two, on different routes, preaching and calling upon
the people to repent and be baptized, confirming them by the water
side, and organizing Churches. Finally those persons thus commanded
assembled in August and September, on the western boundaries of the
State of Missouri, in Jackson County. Then the commandment was
fulfilled; and it was no longer binding upon those to whom it was
given. Thus you see that what is suitable for this mouth is not always
suitable for next month, and what is suitable for to-day is not always
suitable for tomorrow. It needs new revelation.

Vol. 17,  p.28
When these missionaries assembled in Jackson County, the Prophet
Joseph, being with them, inquired still further, and a commandment was
given on that occasion, before the Church had gathered, except one
small branch, called the Coalsville-Branch, and that commandment was
to be binding upon all the Latter-day Saints who should gather up to
that land. What was it? That all the people who should gather to
Jackson County, the land of their inheritance, should consecrate all
their property, everything they had—they were to withhold nothing.
Their gold and silver, their bedding, household furniture, their
wearing apparel and everything they possessed was to be consecrated.
That placed the people on a level, for when everything a people has is
consecrated they are all equally rich. There is not one poor and
another rich, for they all possess nothing. I do not know but you
might call that poor; but they have something in common, namely, that
which they have consecrated, and this brings me to an item which I
happened to think of just about half minute before I arose.

Vol. 17,  p.28
I will now read to you what took place on this American continent
thirty-six years after the birth of Christ. Jesus appeared here on
this continent and organized his Church. He chose twelve disciples and
commanded [p.29] them to go and preach the Gospel in both the land
south and the land north, and they did so. This extract gives us a
little information about the repentance of the people:—

Vol. 17,  p.29
And it came to pass in the thirty and sixth year, the people were all
converted unto the Lord, upon all the face of the land, both Nephites
and Lamanites, and there were no contentions and disputations among
them, and every man did deal justly one with another; and they had all
things common among them, therefore they were not rich and poor, bond
and free, but they were all made free, and partakers of the heavenly
gift."

Vol. 17,  p.29
Now, was not that a marvel? Perhaps you may ask how it was that they
were all so easily converted. That would be a very natural question to
arise in the minds of many, for they must have been a very different
people from those living now-a-days. We have preached, year after
year, and have only converted here and there one. But all those
millions, inhabiting both North and South America, were converted unto
the Lord. Was not float a wonderment? If I explain a little what took
place beforehand, it will clear up the wonderment a little.

Vol. 17,  p.29
Just before Christ was crucified in the land of Jerusalem, the people
on this land had become exceedingly wicked, and it was foretold to
them by their Prophets that, when Jesus, their Savior, should be
crucified in the land of their fathers, there should be great
destruction come upon those who were wicked in this land, and that
many of their cities should be destroyed—they should be sunk and
burned with fire, and God would visit them in great and terrible
judgments if they did not repent and prepare for the coming of their
Savior, for they expected him to appear afar his resurrection. The
wicked did not repent, and all those destructions came, just as the
Prophets foretold. Darkness covered the face of this land for three
days and three nights, while at Jerusalem it was only three hours.
Three days and three nights they suffered darkness upon all the face
of this land, and very many of their cities, which were great and
populous, were sunk, and lakes came up instead of them; a great many
were burned with fire, a great many were destroyed by terrible
tempests, and a great destruction came upon the wicked portions of the
people, who had stoned and put the Prophets to death, and only the
more righteous portion of the people were spared.

Vol. 17,  p.29
In the latter part of the year in which Jesus was put to death, he
descended among a certain portion of the people on this continent,
gathered in the northern part of what we term South America. He
descended from heaven and stood in their midst; and on the next day,
when a larger multitude were gathered together, he came a second time
and there were a great many thousands on that occasion. He often
appeared to them after that period, within the course of one or two
years, and he chose twelve disciples, and so great was the power made
manifest before those thousands, that when they went forth into the
north and south and preached the word, according to the commandments
of God, the more righteous portion of the people, who had been spared,
and who had humbled themselves and partially repented, but did not
understand the fullness of the Gospel, were easily converted, and that
is the reason why all the people in North and South America were
converted unto the Lord; and in the thirty-sixth year, reckoning from
the birth of Jesus, they were not [p.30] only all converted upon the
face of this whole land, but they were all organized upon a common
stock principle, and there were no poor among them, and they dealt
justly one with another.

Vol. 17,  p.30
Says one, "They did the same thing in the land of Jerusalem." Yes, but
they did not keep it up in the land of Palestine—they seem to have
failed, for we have no account that this common stock principle, as at
first organized, continued among the Saints on the Asiatic Continent.
Churches were built up in various parts of Asia and Europe, one in one
place, another in another, and they all seem to have had property of
their own; and I believe, myself, that they were unprepared, in their
scattered condition, to enter into this order of things. There was too
mush wickedness at Ephesus; in Galatia, at Corinth, and in the various
places where small branches were organized, to enter into this common
stock principle, and carry it out successfully. But on this continent
there Was a fine opportunity, for all the people, millions and
millions of them, were in the same faith. How easily, then, could they
be guided and directed, and put in their property, and organize it as
a common stock fund; and they did so, and were exceedingly blessed and
prospered in their operation. And I will tell you how long it
existed—about one-hundred and sixty-five years. But in the year two
hundred and one after the birth of Christ, the people began to be
lifted up, on this continent, in pride and popularity, and began to
withdraw their funds from this common stock, and take them into their
own hands, and call them their own, and they continued to do this,
until the great majority of the people had corrupted themselves and
withdrawn from this order. Then, after having broken up this common
fund in a great measure, only a few individuals here and there still
holding on to it, they became proud and highminded, and lifted up in
their hearts, and looked down upon those who were not so prosperous as
themselves, and in this way a distinction of classes was again
introduced, and the rich began to persecute the poor; and thus they
continued to apostatize, until, about three hundred and thirty-four
years after Christ, their began to have great and terrible wars among
themselves, which lasted about fifty years, during which millions of
them were destroyed. Finally, they became so utterly wicked, so fully
ripened for destruction, that one branch of the nation, called the
Nephites, gathered their entire people around the hill Cumorah, in the
State of New York, in Ontario County; and the Lamanites, the opposite
army, gathered by millions in the same region. The two nations were
four years in gathering their forces, during which no fighting took
place; but at the end of that time, having marshalled all their hosts,
the fighting commenced, the Lamanites coming upon the Nephites, and
destroying all of them, except a very few, who had previously deserted
over to the Lamanites.

Vol. 17,  p.30
Before this decisive battle the Nephites, who had kept records of
their nation, written on gold plates, hid them up in the hill Cumorah,
where they have lain from that day to this. Mormon committed a few
plates to his son Moroni, who was a Prophet and who survived the
nation of the Nephites about thirty-six years, and he kept these few
plates, while all the balance of them were hid up in that hill; and
then, Moroni, being commanded of God, hid up the few plates from which
the Book of Mormon was translated.[p.31] 

Vol. 17,  p.31
I make mention of these circumstances for the purpose of showing you
that, when people have been once enlightened as the Nephites were, and
have had all things common, and have been blessed with an abundance of
the riches of the earth, working together in harmony, until riches
were poured out upon them in vast abundance, and then withdraw
themselves from the order of God, they soon bring swift destruction
upon their heads. We see the Nephites, after taking this course,
descending lower and lower in their wickedness, going into idolatry,
offering up human sacrifices unto their idol gods, and committing
every species of abomination that they had ever known or heard of, all
because they had been once enlightened and had apostatized from the
truth, and withdrawn from the order of God, in which their forefathers
had had a long experience.

Vol. 17,  p.31
The Lord gave a caution to the Latter-day Saints, when he told them,
in a revelation, given in 1831, to enter into the same order
pertaining to our possessions in Jackson County. Prior to that, he
gave us a promise, saying, that if we would be faithful we should
become the richest of all people; but if we would not be faithful in
keeping his commandments, but should become lifted up in the pride of
our hearts, we should, perhaps, become like the Nephites of old.
"Beware of pride," says the Lord, in one of these revelations, "lest
you become like the Nephites of old."

Vol. 17,  p.31
I have no doubt that you Latter-day Saints are the best people on the
face of the earth. God has gathered you out from among the nations;
you were the only people, to whom the message of life and salvation
was sent, who received the missionaries of the Most High when they
came to your respective nations. You not only received the Gospel of
repentance and baptism, but you hearkened to those missionaries and
the counsels of God, and gathered to this land. Hence, you have done
better than all other people, and you have been blessed above all
other people. But there is danger, after having been made partakers of
the Holy Ghost, and having had the gifts of the Spirit, made manifest
more or less according to our faith, if we become lifted up in the
pride of our hearts and think, because we have gathered an abundance
of the wealth of this world, that we are a little better than our poor
brother who labors eight or ten hours a day at the hardest kind of
labor. Any person having the name of Latter-day Saint who feels that
he is better than, and distinguishes himself from, the poor and
supposes that he belongs to a little higher class than they, is in
danger. "Beware of pride. lest you become like unto the Nephites of
old."

Vol. 17,  p.31
In order that this pride may be done away, there must necessarily be
another order of things in regard to property.

Vol. 17,  p.31
Why does pride exist at all? Let us make a little inquiry about this.
Do you know the reason? It all arises out of the love of riches. This
is what generally constitutes pride. Now supposing you were all
brought on a level in regard to property by a full consecration of
everything that you have into a common stock fund, would there be
among that number one who should thus consecrate all that he had, who
would have anything to boast of above his neighbor? Not at all. He
might have the use of property, one man might have perhaps a hundred
times more than another, to use as a steward or agent for this general
fund; but when he has used it he has his [p.32] living out of it—his
food, his raiment, the necessaries and comforts of life, whether he
handles hundreds of thousands or merely a small stewardship, for the
man that takes charge of a great manufacturing establishment would
require more funds than he who has a small farm, but the funds would
not belong to him, he only has his food, raiment and the necessaries
and comforts of life. But here is another branch of business, just as
important, as far as it goes, as this large manufacturing
establishment. What is it? To make mortar, to lay up our buildings,
for without them we should soon suffer. The man who makes mortar,
then, is just as honorable as the man who takes charge of a large
establishment which requires five hundred thousand dollars to carry it
on. But in both cases, the surplus of their labor, after taking
therefrom the necessaries of life, goes to the common stock fund; and
the man who has had charge of the large establishment has nothing that
he can boast of over the man who makes mortar—one is just as rich as
the other.

Vol. 17,  p.32
But I know there are many Latter-day Saints who have formed an
erroneous idea or opinion in regard to this common stock fund. Some
for want of reflection, may suppose that every man and every woman
must have the same fashioned houses to live in, or there would not be
an equality; they must have the same amount of furniture, or there
would not be an equality. Some may suppose that all must have the same
kind of bedding and everything precisely alike or there would be no
equality. But this is not the way God manifests himself in all the
works of his hands. Go to the field, the pasture or meadow, and learn
wisdom. Search from one end of the pasture to the other and see if you
can find two blades of grass that are exactly alike. It can not be
done, there is a little deviation, a little variety, and hence we see
from this that God delights in variety. But because one blade of grass
might be formed a little more pleasing to the eye than another, would
the first have any right, if it could reason, to say, "I am above that
other?" Not at all. It was made for a certain purpose, and so in
regard to everything else. No two men upon the face of the earth have
the same features. We have the general characteristics of the human
form, and we do not look like the original of man according to
Darwin's idea; we do not look like the monkey or baboon, from which
Darwin says man originated. Men the world over, have many features
bearing a general resemblance, and their form is moulded in the image
of the Most High. But when you come to scan the features of man
minutely, you will see some deviation in the countenances of all men
throughout all creation. Now, are they not equal? Do those little
distinguishing characteristics in the features make them unequal? Not
in the least. Then, because it might fall to my lot to make mortar,
and to another man's to take charge of a great store of merchandize,
both of us being agents, that does not make the mercantile agent any
better than the man who makes the mortar, and I should not expect to
wear the same kind of apparel that the man did who was behind the
counter. If I was making mortar I should not want on broadcloth, silk,
or satin; I should want apparel adapted to the particular class of
labor I was engaged in. Hence, there will be a distinction in these
things.

Vol. 17,  p.32
Then again, do you suppose that when we come together it would be
pleasing in the sight of God for every [p.33] man and every woman to
have on a Quaker bonnet or dress, or to pattern after the Shaking
Quakers; that each of the ladies should have on a ribbon that should
come under the bonnet, and be of just the same length? Not at all. God
delights in variety; we see it throughout all the works of his hands,
in every department of creation. Therefore men and women will dress
according to their tastes, so far as they can get the means.

Vol. 17,  p.33
You draw your means from the common stock fund, and if you have
stewardships set apart to you to manage, and you make little in the
stewardships, the Bishops who take charge of these matters will not
begin to inquire of you, "Well, brother, what kind of a hat have you
worn? Was it straw, and was the straw just so fine or just so coarse,
or was it a palm leaf hat you wore? I should like to know what kind of
a hat band you have had? Was it a hat band having a bow knot, and, if
so, was it any longer than your neighbors?" No such questions as these
will be asked; but each man, each family in the stewardship, whatever
they make, can exercise their own judgment in regard to many of these
things, as they do now; and when you come together on Sunday, it is
not expected that every man's and every woman's tastes would be to
dress precisely like their neighbors, but have variety, and that out
of the means of your stewardship.

Vol. 17,  p.33
But when you come to render up an account of that stewardship to the
Bishop at the end of the year, there may be some prominent, leading
questions asked, but not about these little matters. It will be asked
if you have squandered your stewardship unnecessarily; have you been
very extravagant in things unnecessary, and neglected other things of
importance? If you have done these things, you will be counted an
unwise steward, and you will be reproved; and perhaps, if you have
gone too far, you may be removed out of your stewardship, and another
person more worthy may step into it, and you be dropped because of
doing wrong. But there never will be any Bishop, who has the Spirit of
the living God upon him, who will inquire whether you have the same
size stoves in your house, and the same kind of plates, knives, forks,
and spoons as your neighbor; but you will have to give an account of
those prominent items. That is the way I look at this common stock
operation.

Vol. 17,  p.33
Then again, I do not know that the common stock operation which God
commanded us to enter into in Jackson County, Mo., will be suitable in
the year 1874. I commenced my discourse by showing that what was
suitable one year was not always suitable the next. I do not know but
here in Utah it may be necessary to vary martially from the principles
that were commanded to be observed in Jackson County, Mo. I do not
know but we may be required here to not only consecrate all that we
have, but even ourselves as well as the property we possess, so that
we may be directed by the Bishops and their counselors, or whoever may
be appointed, in regard to all our daily avocations. I do not know how
it will be. I have not heard. Down in Jackson County they were not
thus directed. Every man got his stewardship, and he occupied it, and
rendered an account of the same from time to time. But I do not know
but it may be necessary here in Utah that we should be directed
oftener than once a year, it may be that we shall be told weekly, and
perhaps in some cases daily; and perhaps the Bishop or overseer may
[p.34] say to-day, "Here, brother, I would like you to do so and so
to-day," and to-morrow he comes along and says, "I would like you to
stop that now; we have something else on hand; come with me, I will
put in my hands as well as you, for, although you have selected me by
your own voice to take charge, I am no better than you are, therefore
I will take hold with you and do all I can in connection. with you,
and let us go at this business to-day." Tomorrow there may be
something else, and the next day something else, perhaps, according to
the judgment of the Bishop and those who are appointed with him. In
this way we could, perhaps, more effectually carry out the mind and
will of God here in this desert country, than we could if we tried to
imitate the pattern which was given to us in another country.

Vol. 17,  p.34
We can not work here as we could in Jackson County, Mo. In that
country we did not have to irrigate. We could settle on a piece of
rising ground there, and the rains of heaven Watered it. We could
settle in the valley, and there were no ditches to be made. We could
settle in any part of the county, or of the counties round about, and
the rains of heaven would descend and water our land. And furthermore,
there was timber all around, groves of timber, and we could go out
before breakfast and get a lead of wood, and in the course of a few
days split rails enough to fence considerable of a patch of ground.
Here we have to labor under other circumstances. Here we have not
timber so that every man can fence his little farmer stewardship; we
have not strength enough. If we happen to farm on some of these high
grounds, it is very difficult to dig canals and water-ditches to water
our little stewardships. What shall we do, then? Join in together, be
of one heart and one mind, and let there be a common stock fund, so
far as property is concerned, and so far as our own individual labor
is concerned. Consequently, we need not think, because we may not be
organized precisely according to the law that was adapted to Jackson
County, that this counseling is void of the Spirit of God. Do not let
any person begin to think this. You need to co-operate together in
your labors. This is necessary in fencing a great many of our farms.
You need to co-operate in getting out your water from your
water-ditches to water your land, and you need to do it in a great
many other respects.

Vol. 17,  p.34
For instance, these mountains, which rise so majestically on the east
and on the west, are full of rich minerals, this is one of the richest
countries in the world. Will not some of the Latter-day Saints
eventually be required to act in the department of mining as well as
in the department of agriculture? Yes. Can one individual do as well
as half a dozen, or as well as a hundred, at mining? It may require
the experience of a vast amount of labor in order to develop the
resources of these mountains, and in that case co-operation will be
absolutely necessary.

Vol. 17,  p.34
"But," says one, "the Gentiles have already done that." But very
little, I will assure you. Here and there they have opened a mine, but
not one thousandth nor one ten-thousandth of that which exists and
which will be developed hereafter. Now, in all these departments the
Latter-day Saints must learn to be united, and I am glad to see, I
rejoice exceedingly to hear, that the President has been moved upon,
not only before he left Salt Lake City to go down South, but while he
has been there, [p.35] to alter the order of things that has existed
for many years here in these mountains, among the Latter-day Saints.
In what respect? To bring about a united order of things in regard to
their property and labor, and the development of the resources of our
farming land; in regard to raising flocks and herds, building, and
developing the mineral resources of our mountains. In all these
respects the President has seen the necessity of beginning to bring
about, gradually, as the way may open, a different order of things
that will strike the axe at the root of this pride and distinction of
classes. I am glad; I rejoice in it. Several of the Branches of the
Church south have already entered into this order.

Vol. 17,  p.35
Inquires one, "What is it, what kind of an order is it? Tell us all
about it." I would tell you as much as I thought was wisdom, if I
understood it myself; but I do not; I have had but very little
information about it. Suffice to say that I know that the order of
things that could have been carried out successfully in Jackson County
cannot be carried out here, on the same principle, without a little
variation, It cannot be done—circumstances require different laws,
different counsel, an order of things suited to the condition, of this
desert country.

Vol. 17,  p.35
"Are all the people going directly into this thing at once." "Yes, if
they choose; but you may depend upon it that in all cases whenever God
has moved upon his servants to introduce anything for the good of the
people, it takes time for the people to receive it—they do not receive
it all in a moment. The Lord is long-suffering—he bears with the
weaknesses and traditions of the people for a long time. When, by the
mouths of his servants, he counsels the people to do this, that, or
the other, and they are a little backward about it, he does not come
out in judgment as he did to ancient Israel, and cut them off by
thousands and tens of thousands. He does not do that, but he bears
with them, waits year after year. How long he has borne with all of
us! Forty-three years ago we were commanded to become one in regard to
our property. Forty-three years we have been in disobedience.
Forty-three years have rolled over our heads, and we are far from
oneness still. God has not cut us off, as he did ancient Israel, but
he has borne with us. Oh, how patient and long-suffering he has been
with us, perhaps thinking, "Peradventure, they will, by and by,
return, reform, repent, and obey my commandments that I gave them in
the first rise of the Church. I will wait upon them, I will extend
forth my hand to them all the day long, and see whether they will be
obedient." That is the way the Lord feels towards us. Should we not
pattern after him? If this order of things should reach Salt Lake
City, if these different wards should begin to be organized in some
measure, and the people begin to be divided, some entering into the
order and others refusing, should we not bear with those who do not?
Yes, bear with them, just as the Lord has borne with us, and not begin
to think that we are better than our neighbors who have not entered
into the order, and flatter ourselves that we are alive them, and
revile and persecute them, and exercise our influence against them,
saying, "Oh, they do not belong to the united order of God, they are
outside of it, and consequently we have not much respect for them." We
must not do this, for perhaps, though we may think we are on a firm
foundation, it may slip from under us, and we also may be brought into
[p.36] straightened circumstances. If we exercise patience,
long-suffering, and forbearance with the people until they learn by
experience what God is doing in our midst, many of these rich people
may come into the order, who now say in their hearts, "We will wait
and see whether this thing will prosper." If they are honest in heart,
they will finally come to the conclusion that the people in the united
order are a happy people; they are not lifted up in pride one above
another, and they will say, "I think I will go there, with all I have;
I will become one of them;" and in a little while they will come
along, while others, perhaps, will apostatize entirely. However, if
they want to go, let them go, they are of no particular benefit if
they feel to apostatize from anything which God has established for
the benefit of the people. May God bless you. Amen.

Brigham Young, April 18, 1874

Cease to Bring in and Build Up Babylon—Separate 
Yourselves From Sinners and From Sin—Have not Come 
With Any New Doctrine—We Must Be One—Without Works It 
Cannot Be Proved that Faith Exists—the Time Come to Organize 
the Saints—the Time and Energies of the Saints All that is 
Wanted—Geological Researches of Prof. Marsh—Scientific 
Demonstration of the Truth of the Book of Mormon

Discourse By President Brigham Young, Delivered in the 
Meeting-House in Nephi City, Juab County, 
Saturday Morning, April 18, 1874.

(Reported by David W. Evans)

Vol. 17,  p.36
I am thankful that I enjoy the privilege of meeting with the Saints
here this morning. While I attempt to speak, I pray that I may have
the spirit of the holy Gospel, and have strength to proclaim its
teachings to my own and to your satisfaction. I also pray that you may
give strict attention. This prayer is offered to you, my brethren and
sisters. Pray for the Spirit to open your minds, enlighten your
understandings, strengthen me, and so help me, that I may speak the
words of truth to you, and that your hearts may be prepared to receive
them.

Vol. 17,  p.36
My remarks this morning I design as a text for my brethren and sisters
to speak and act upon. We have not come to you with any new doctrine,
nor with a new Bible, not by any means. Yet the doctrine we are now
preaching, in order to bring about a union among the Saints, seems to
be about as new to them [p.37] as the preaching by the Elders when
they first came to their several neighborhoods and called upon them to
hear and obey the first principles of the Gospel of Christ. I can say,
with all thankfulness and gratitude, that we have never seen the day,
from the time we first became acquainted with Joseph and the Church
and kingdom of God upon the earth, when the hearts of the people were
So well prepared to receive the greater blessings of the kingdom as
they are now. We are happy in saying this, for it is true; this is
encouraging, and fills me with hope and consolation, that, after
laboring and toiling with Joseph, and since his death, to unite the
Latter-day Saints, this is the first time that we have seen that we
can bring their hearts into a union. This should be encouraging to
each and every Latter-day Saint, and should teach us that the Lord is
merciful to us, that he still remembers us, that he is still feeling
after us, and that he is sending forth his voice—the voice of his
Spirit, into the hearts of his people, crying unto them—"Stop! Stop
your course! Cease to bring in and build up Babylon in your midst." It
is the duty of each and every one of us to reflect upon the office and
calling we possess, and see whether we are doing the will of the Lord,
and, if we are not, we should stop and begin anew to establish the
kingdom of God upon the earth.

Vol. 17,  p.37
I will now read a portion of Scripture from the 14th chapter of the
Revelations of John, beginning at the 6th verse: "And I saw another
angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting Gospel to
preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and
kindred, and tongue, and people, saying with a loud voice, Fear God,
and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come; and
worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the
fountains of waters." I will also read from the 18th chapter of
Revelation, commencing at the 4th verse: "And I heard another voice
from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not
partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues. For her
sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her
iniquities."

Vol. 17,  p.37
I will ask the Latter-day Saints, Do we, as a people, believe that the
angel referred to in the 6th verse of the 14th chapter of John's
revelation, has flown through the midst of heaven, that he has been to
earth, called upon Joseph, delivered the revelations of the Lord,
restored the Priesthood, &c.? Dowe, as Latter-day Saints, believe that
this angel has been to earth, and that he has committed the Gospel
unto the children of men? We certainly should not be here today, if we
did not believe this, and that, too, with all our hearts. This is the
answer given, for himself and herself, by every Latter-day Saint, "We
believe, most firmly, that the Gospel has been revealed in these last
days unto and through Joseph Smith the Prophet; that the Priesthood
and its keys were bestowed upon him, and through him upon others; and
that the proclamation has gone forth to the nations of the earth—"Come
out of her, my people," &c., as mentioned in that portion of Scripture
contained in Revelations, 18th chap. and 4th verse.

Vol. 17,  p.37
Has this proclamation been heard by any of the inhabitants of the
earth? Yes, the Latter-day Saints most assuredly believe that this
Scripture was fulfilled in the rise of the Church of Jesus Ohrist of
Latter-day Saints. By and by the cry will be, as prophesied by John
the Revelator, [p.38] "Babylon is fallen." This is in the future; but
this people believe that the voice of the angel has been heard,
calling upon the honest in heart in every nation, to come out from
confusion and discord, and from the transgressions of the children of
men. The cry has come to them—"Separate yourselves from sinners and
from sin." If we, as a people, had not believed this, we should not
have been here this day. "Be not partakers of her sins, lest ye
receive of her plagues, for her sins have reached unto heaven, and God
hath remembered her iniquities." This we believe, consequently I have
to say to the people, we have not come with any new doctrine; we have
believed this ever since we were baptized for the remission of sins.
Have the people come out from. the nations? Yes. Have we separated
ourselves from the nations?Yes. And what else have we done? Ask
ourselves the question. Have we not brought Babylon with us? Are we
not promoting Babylon here in our midst? Are we not fostering the
spirit of Babylon that is now abroad on the face of the whole earth? I
ask myself this question, and I answer, Yes, yes, to some extent and
there is not a Latter-day Saint but what feels that we have too much
of Babylon in our midst. The spirit of Babylon is too prevalent here.
What is it? Confusion, discord, strife, animosity, vexation, pride,
arrogance, selfwill and the spirit of the world. Are these things in
the midst of those called Latter-day Saints? Yes, and we feel this.

Vol. 17,  p.38
I now ask my brethren and sisters who enjoy the Spirit of the Lord, if
we have not traveled as far as we should travel on this road—the high
road to destruction, the great highway, the broad gate through which
so many pass? The gate is wide the way is broad, and many there be
that go in thereat; and many calling themselves Latter-day Saints are
scrambling to see how quick they can get in. The spirit of confusion
is in the midst of this people, and we have traveled this road just as
far as we can travel it and be Saints. Is this the experience of the
Latter-day Saints? I can answer that it is; and now, that the Lord is
moving upon his servants to bring the Saints to a oneness, there is a
spirit resting upon them, and if you talk with them, they will say,
at. once, "Yes, this is right, we must be one. This is the doctrine
that Joseph taught, and the revelations that were first given through.
Joseph were for the Church to gather together. We were then commanded
to come out from the wicked and to consecrate what we had, lay it at
the feet of the Bishops, receive our inheritance, improve thereupon,
and be one—be as the family of heaven upon earth." This is the spirit
of the people, and they say: "Thank the Lord, I have prayed for this
for years and years. I have looked for and expected it, and I am
exceedingly thankful it has come."

Vol. 17,  p.38
I will now quote another portion of Scripture, which I think you are
pretty well acquainted with, if you read the Bible. it is one of the
last petitions that the Savior presented to his Father in heaven,
while he was upon the earth—a short prayer which he made on behalf of
his disciples. He had but very few, for, notwithstanding his many
miracles and wonderful works, very few seemed to cling to and have
confidence in him at all times and under all circumstances; but there
were a few who wished to and who did remain with him until his death,
that is, they stood a little way off; they said—"We are going to  see
what they are [p.39] going to do with him." But before Peter denied
him, and before he was taken by the soldiers, he offered a brief,
simple prayer to his Father He had been talking with and exhorting his
brethren, and showing them the necessity of living according to the
faith that he had taught them, and he offered up this
petition—"Father, make these my disciples one, as we are one, I in
thou, thou in me, and I in them, that we may all be one; and I pray
not for these only, but for all who believe on me through their
testimony." This is a simple prayer. Did he who offered it mean
anything, or did he not? If he meant anything, what did he mean? How
much did he mean, and how did he calculate his disciples to construe
this short prayer in their lives, in their walk, faith and practice
after he was taken from them? How far, how much and wherein did he
want them to be one? Can any of you show to us exactly what he meant?
If you say he meant that every one who believed on him should be one
in their belief, that is sectarianism. Take the mother Church—the
"Holy Catholic Church"—and the prayer of its members is that all may
be Catholics: "Father, I pray thee to make the people all holy
Catholics." This is the faith and prayer of the Catholics, and the
meaning they give to the petition of Jesus. The same with the
Calvinists; and when they present themselves before the throne of
grace, the burden of their petition is—"I pray thee, Father, make
these people one as we are one; influence them to leave the Catholic
Church, to revolt and come out from that wicked mother, that wicked
harlot, that wicked Church, and declare themselves believers in that
pure and holy doctrine that God has decreed all things that take
place." Go to those who believe in the doctrine of freewill, which,
you know, comprehends many of the so-called Christian societies of the
world, and they come up with a double and twisted storm,—"God
Almighty, make them all Methodists! Yes, lets all be Methodists." I
pray thee, Father, to take away the vail from the minds of this
people, that they may see it is free grace and free will! God be
praised, let's all be Methodists." This is how the sectarians explain
and define the meaning of that memorable prayer of the Savior that his
followers might be one; and you will excuse me for my manner of
illustrating it—I did this to illustrate facts just as they are.

Vol. 17,  p.39
Did Jesus mean this, or did he not? Had he any allusion whatever to
one here on the right, and to another on the left, each crying—"Lo!
here is Christ, and lo! there is Christ, He is not yonder? And another
one pointing this way, and another that way, and so on to every point
of the compass? What does all this portray before the mind of the
rational being, the philosopher, one who has the spirit of revelation,
and who understands the words of life and has the keys of life to the
people; and to all who believe in the revelations of the Lord Jesus in
the latter days? Confusion upon confusion, discord, strife, animosity,
vexation, perplexity, warring to the knife and slaying each other. Oh,
the number of Christian wars there have been upon the face of the
earth! We can very readily and truthfully say that true Christians—the
members of the true Church of Christ on the earth—never take the sword
unless to defend themselves.

Vol. 17,  p.39
Brethren and sisters, we want to understand what the Savior meant when
he prayed that his disciples might be one. One in faith? Yes. One in
doctrine? Yes. One in practice?[p.40] Yes. One in interests? Yes. One
in hope? Yes, and all concentrated in the kingdom of God on the earth
and the establishment thereof, the fulfilment of the Scriptures, the
gathering of the Saints, and the salvation of the inhabitants of the
earth. This is the oneness and the union the Savior meant. Let me here
ask the question, Did the Savior design that we should be one with
regard to faith in him, repentance of sin, baptism for the remission
thereof, the imposition of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost, the
gifts and graces of the Spirit of the Lord, that there might be in the
Church first Apostles, then Prophets, pastors, teachers, helps,
governments, diversities of tongues, the gift of prophecy, the gift of
discernment of spirits; also the gift, of faith, so that if poison be
administered it should not hurt the believer; and if there should be a
necessity to take up serpents, it should be done without danger? Yes,
all this is included in the oneness prayed for by the Savior; and some
of the gifts I have enumerated have been witnessed by most of us. I
myself have seen rattlesnakes handled as you would handle a piece of
rope. I remember one night, when going to Missouri, in the year 1834,
I was spreading our blankets on the tall prairie grass, which was
pretty thick and heavy, that a rattle-snake was under my hands and
warned me of his presence by his rattles. I called to one of the
brethren who was helping, and turning back the blanket said to
him—"Take this snake and carry it off and tell it not to come back
again; and to say to its neighbors do not come into our camp tonight,
lest some one might kill you." He took up the snake and carried it off
several reds from the camp, and told it to stay away, and to tell its
neighbors not to come into the camp, for they might get killed if they
did. Many such circumstances have transpired in the experience of the
Elders of this Church; but we need not stop to relate them, for it is
well known that the gifts of the Gospel are in this Church, such as
healing, faith, speaking with tongues, discerning spirits, prophecy,
&c., and I need not dwell upon them now.

Vol. 17,  p.40
I will now ask the question, where is the individual who can draw the
line and show us that, when Jesus prayed that his disciples might be
one, he meant a oneness only in spiritual things, and that it was not
to extend to temporal affairs? Will any of you draw the line and tell
us? For I am certain that I flare not wisdom enough to define the line
between spiritual and temporal things. I know notching about faith in
the Lord, without works corresponding therewith; they must go
together, for without works you can not prove that faith exists. We
might cry out, until the day of our death, that we love the Savior,
but if we neglected to observe his sayings he would not believe us. We
have his own words to prove this. There were a great many who
pretended to think considerable of him while he was here in the flesh;
but he said to his disciples—"If you love me, keep my commandments."
This was the proof he demanded, then works and faith went together.
The same principle holds good with parents and children. If any of you
have a child which says—"I love you, mamma, Oh, I love you dearly;"
you, to test the sincerity of the child's professions, say: "Well,
then, my child, you will desist from doing that which displeases me.
Come here, and I will give you a little work to do;" or, "I wish you
to sit down on that chair, and let that crockery alone;" or, "Do not
tear up that cloth, my [p.41] daughter; if you love me, come and sit
down by my side." "Oh, I love you dearly," says the little girl, but
she keeps tearing up the cloth, or sticking pins and needles into the
flesh of the other children. "Mamma, I love you most dearly." "Well,
then," says mamma, "you must not afflict or give pain to your sister,
or your brother; you are naughty to do so, and you must stop this
mischief." But the child continues her naughtiness, still declaring
that she loves her mother, though she will not do one thing her mother
wishes her to do. Such a child needs chastisement; if soft words will
not answer, severity must. Is not this a fact? You have older children
who profess to be very fond of you; they will say: "Father, I think
everything of you," and yet they will take a course that is grievous,
annoying and disagreeable, and quite contrary to your feelings and
wishes. Will a father believe the professions of such children? Not
much, I think. To use another comparison: Suppose a young lady dearly
loves a young gentleman, who states to others that he is equally as
fond of her, and would be very glad to express to her his feelings,
but he never calls to see her; now though he may declare to others how
much he loves her, the young lady will say—"I do not believe a word of
it, for I know that he would make it known to me, if he did." He might
declare until doomsday, that he loved her, but, unless he told her so
and proved it by his works, she would say—"That is all folly, he does
not mean what he says." Neither will you or I believe that anybody
loves us and wishes to promote our joy and comfort, so long as that
person acts contrary thereto; neither will Jesus. And unless these
Latter-day Saints stop now, and go to work and prove by their acts
that they are the disciples of the Lord Jesus, He will spew them out.

Vol. 17,  p.41
We have gone just as far as we can be permitted to go in the road on
which we are now traveling. One man has his eye on a gold mine,
another is for a silver mine, another is for marketing his flour or
his wheat, another for selling his cattle, another to raise cattle,
another to get a farm, or building here and there, and trading and
trafficking with each other, just like Babylon, taking advantage
wherever we can, and all going just as the rest of the world. Babylon
is here, and we are following in the footsteps of the inhabitants of
the earth, who are in a perfect sea of confusion. Do you know this?
You ought to, for there are none of you but what see it daily; it is a
daily spectacle before your eyes and mine, to see the Latter-day
Saints trying to take advantage of their brethren. There are Elders in
this Church who would take the widow's last cow, for five dollars, and
then kneel down and thank God for the fine bargain they had made.

Vol. 17,  p.41
I have come to this conclusion, which I have preached for years and
years and years, and Joseph preached it up to the time of his death,
that the people must leave Babylon and confusion behind them, and be
the servants and handmaidens of the Lord; they must be His family.
They have gathered out from Babylon, and they must prepare themselves
to stand in holy places, preparatory to the coming of the Son of Man.
I have been watching and waiting, just as steadily, and as earnestly
and faithfully as ever a mother watched over an infant child, to see
when this people would be ready to receive the doctrine, or the first
lessons or revelations given when the center stake of Zion was first
located to consecrate [p.42] their property, and be indeed the
servants and handmaidens of the Lord, and labor with all, their hearts
to do His will and build up His kingdom on the earth; and I have never
seen the time when we could organize one little society, or one little
ward; but, thank God, the time has come, the Spirit of the Lord is
upon the people.

Vol. 17,  p.42
Is it a new doctrine to us that God's people should and must be one in
everything? It is an old doctrine; shall I say it is as old as the
hills, as old as the mountains, as old as this world? Yes, I can say
it is as old as my Father in heaven; it is an eternal doctrine; it is
from eternity to eternity. Ask yourselves the question, Do you expect
to go to heaven when you depart this life? "Yes, yes, I am going to
the Paradise of God;" I am going to dwell with the Saints of the Most
High in the presence of the Father and the Son." How many interests
will there be there? How many locations, or central places of deposit
for the affections, labors and wealth of all who dwell there? All in
one, all for God, all for his glory and his kingdom, and the extension
of his dominions through the immensity of space, kingdoms on kingdoms,
every heart and every breath, every voice and every eye, and every
feeling for the glory of God. Then ask ourselves,—Is the Lord going to
have a Church upon the earth? Is the Lord going to have a kingdom on
the earth? Certainly, Daniel saw this in the days of Nebuchadnezzar,
and gave a description, or rather a hint, in regard to the
establishment of that kingdom, when the kingdoms of this world would
be handed over to the Saints of the Most High, and they would possess
the kingdom and the greatness of the kingdom for ever and ever.

Vol. 17,  p.42
Are we going to enter into the kingdom? Are we going to be prepared
for the coming of the Son of Man? Are we going to be prepared to enter
into the fullness of the glory of the Father and the Son? Not so long
as we live according to the principles of Babylon. Now we are, every
man for himself. One says: "This is my property, and I am for
increasing it." Another says; "This is mine," Another: "I will do as I
please; I will go where I please and when I please; I will do this,
that, or the other; and if I have a mind to raise grain here and take
it to market and give it away, it is none of your business." It will
be said to all such persons, who profess to be Latter-day Saints:—"I
never knew you; you never were Saints."

Vol. 17,  p.42
Now I wish to give you a little of our late experience with regard to
the Savior and his doctrines. We have organized in this United Order,
commencing at St. George. A thousand thoughts rise in my mind, looking
at the subject generally. "St. George! Are you going to send me down
to St. George? Why, it is like sending me out of the world!" But I
must not talk about this: suffice it to say that St. George is one of
the most beautiful places on this little farm—this world that we
occupy—this little farm of the Lord's, one of the choicest places on
the face of the earth. I see more wealth in that small place than in
any other location, of its size, in this Territory, or in these
mountains; and I always have.

Vol. 17,  p.42
We have organized a small Branch there, or, rather, I may say a
tolerably large one. I preached a good deal in St. George. It seemed
to be the only place we could begin our work; they were the only
people we could organize; but we did organize there. God designs to
make the [p.43] people of one heart and one mind from Monday morning
to Monday morning again, and that everything they do on the earth
shall promote His cause and kingdom, and the happiness and salvation
of the human family. "Well," said they, "we do not understand; we
believe we ought to be one, and that we ought to go into the order of
Enoch. We understand very well that Enoch was so pure and holy that
his city was taken, and the saying went abroad that Zion is fled. This
we believe as firmly as you can." Then some others would say, "There
will not be one ward organized after the brethren go over the rim of
the basin." We organized every ward or town south of the rim of the
basin, and left them in tolerably good working order, so far as they
had advanced. The only trouble with them was, "they did not
understand." They would say, "It is right, and the Scriptures tell us
about it; but we do not understand the mode of its operation." One man
came to me, an old "Mormon," whom I have known over forty-two years,
just as we were organizing. and said—"Brother Brigham, I have preached
for you all the time. I did the same for brother Joseph. Brother
Joseph preached this doctrine; is it not strange that the people do
not see it?" "Then," said I, "you are ready to put down your name?"
His answer was—"I will think about it." You do not fully understand
your own faith, nor the doctrines you preach to the people, if you do
not understand this doctrine; and are not as ready to enter it as you
would be to lay down this mortal body and enter heaven if God should
call you, or to do any other duty. Suffice it to say, God will
establish this order on the face of the earth, and if we do not help
Him, others will, and they will enjoy the benefits of it.

Vol. 17,  p.43
When we came this side the rim of the basin, we found the people more
willing than south of the rim of the basin to come forward and
organize, for they felt that we have traveled as far as we can on our
present road, without going to destruction. One Bishop wrote to
me—"Please come and organize us. I am glad you are coming this way, we
want to be organized. I know that we have to consecrate to somebody,
and I would rather consecrate to the Lord than to the devil. We have
to consecrate to one or the other, and very soon too." He is a very
good Bishop; he is full of the spirit of this work, and can not keep
from talking about it.

Vol. 17,  p.43
We now want to organize the Latter-day Saints, every man, woman and
child among them, who has a desire to be organized, into this holy
order. You may call it the Order of Enoch, you may call it
co-partnership, or just what you please. It is the United Order of the
Kingdom of God on the earth; but we say the Order of Enoch off the
same principle you find in the revelation concerning the Priesthood,
which, to avoid the too frequent repetition of the name of the Deity,
is called the Priesthood after the order of Melchisedec. This order is
the order of heaven, the family of heaven on the earth; it is the
children of our Father here upon the earth organized into one body or
one family, to operate together.

Vol. 17,  p.43
As individuals we do not want your farms, we do not want your houses
and city lots, we do not want your horses and your cattle, we do not
want your gold and your silver, nor anything of the kind. "Well, then,
what do you want?" We want the time of this people called Latter-day
Saints, that we can organize this time systematically, and make [p.44]
this people the richest people on the face of the earth. If we are the
people of God, we are to be the richest people on the earth, and these
riches are to be held in God, not in the devil. God tells us how we
may accomplish this, as plainly and as surely as he told Joshua and
the people of Israel how to cause the downfall of the walls of
Jericho. They were to march around the walls once a day for seven
days, then seven times in one day, and the last time they went round
the walls they blew their horns with all their might, and down fell
the walls of Jericho. We do not understand all about this, if we did,
we should understand that it was as simple as any of the acts of the
Lord: as simple as being baptized for the remission of sins. We want
now to organize the people. Says one—"Don't you want my money and my
goods?" We want you to put them into the kingdom of God, into the
vaults that are prepared, into the archives, the safe, the
institution, to help to increase means for the kingdom of God on the
earth. And what are we to have when we enter this order? What we need
to eat, drink and wear, and strict obedience to the requirements of
those whom the Lord sets to guide and direct; that our sisters,
instead of teasing their husbands for a dollar, five dollars,
twenty-five dollars, for a fine dress, bonnet, or artificials for
themselves or their daughters, may go to work and learn how to make
all these things for themselves, being organized into societies or
classes for that purpose. And the brethren will be organized to do
their farming, herding and raising cattle, sheep, fruit, grain and
vegetables; and when they have raised these products, every particle
be gathered into a storehouse or storehouses, and every one have what
is needed to sustain him. But the people will stop going here, there,
and yonder, and saying—"I am after the gold," "I am after the silver,"
or this, that and the other. They will stop this folly and nonsense,
for they have already impoverished themselves too much by taking so
unwise a course. Looking at matters in a temporal point of view, and
in the light of strict economy, I am ashamed to see the poverty that
exists among the Latter-day Saints. They ought to be worth millions
and millions, and millions on millions, where they are not worth a
dollar. Should they spend their means in folly and nonsense? No, not a
dollar of it, but put all into the general fund for the benefit of the
kingdom. Organize the brethren and sisters, and let each and every one
have their duties to perform. Where they are destitute of houses, and
it is convenient, the most economical plan that can be adopted is to
have buildings erected large enough to accommodate a number of
families. For instance, we will say there are a hundred families in
this place who have not houses fit to live in. We will erect a
building large enough to accommodate them all comfortably, with every
convenience for cooking, washing, ironing, &c.; and then, instead of
each one of a hundred women getting up in the morning to cook
breakfast for father and the large boys, that they may go to their
labor, while the little children are crying and needing attention,
breakfast for the whole can be prepared by five or ten women, with a
man or two to help. Some may say—"This would be confusion." Not at
all, it would do away with it. Another one says—"It will be a great
trial to my feelings, if I am obliged to go and breakfast with all
these men and women. I am faint and sick, and do not eat much, and I
[p.45] want my breakfast prepared in peace." Then build side rooms by
the dozen or score, where you can eat by yourselves; and if you wish
to invite three or four to eat with you, have your table, and
everything you call for is sent to you. "Well, but I do not like this
confusion of children." Let the children have their dining room to
themselves, and let a certain number of the sisters be appointed to
take charge of the nursery and see that they have proper food, in
proper quantities and at proper times, so as to preserve system and
good order as far as possible, that a love of order may be established
in their youthful minds, and they learn how to conduct themselves.
Then let there be good teachers in the school rooms; and have
beautiful gardens, and take the little folks out and show them the
beautiful flowers, and teach them in their childhood the names and
properties of every flower and plant, teaching them to understand
which are astringent, which cathartic; this is useful for coloring,
that is celebrated for its combination of beautiful colors, &c. Teach
them lessons of beauty and usefulness while they are young, instead of
letting them play in the dirt, making mud balls, and drawing the mud
in their hats, and soiling their dresses, and cultivate their mental
powers from childhood up. When they are old enough, place within their
reach the advantages and benefits of a scientific education. Let them
study the formation of the earth, the organization of the human
system, and other sciences; such a system of mental culture and
discipline in early years is of incalculable benefit to its possessor
in mature years. Take, for instance, the young ladies now before me,
as well as the young men, and form a class in geology, in chemistry or
mineralogy; and do not confine their studies to theory only, but let
them put in practice what they learn from books, by defining the
nature of the soil, the composition or decomposition of a rock, how
the earth was formed, its probable age, and so forth. All these are
problems which science attempts to solve, although some of the views
of our great scholars are undoubtedly very speculative. In the study
of the sciences I have named, our young folks will learn how it is
that, in traveling in our mountains, we frequently see sea
shells—shells of the oyster, clam, &c. Ask our boys and girls now to
explain these things, and they are not able to do so; but establish
classes for the study of the sciences, and they will become acquainted
with the various facts they furnish in regard to the condition of the
earth. It is the duty of the Latter-day Saints, according to the
revelations, to give their children the best education that can be
procured, both from the books of the world and the revelations of the
Lord. If our young men will study the sciences, they will stop riding
fast horses through the streets, and other folly and nonsense which
they are now guilty of, and they will become useful and honorable
members of the community.

Vol. 17,  p.45
I have been very much interested of late with regard to the studies
and researches of the geologists who have been investigating the
geological character of the Rocky Mountain country. Professor Marsh,
of Yale College, with a class of his students, has spent, I think,
four summers in succession in the practical study of geology in these
mountain regions. What is the result of his researches? There is one
result, so far, that particularly pleases me. There are some here who
know a man by the name of John Hyde, from London, formerly [p.46] a
member of this Church, who apostatized and went back; and his great
argument against the Book of Mormon was, that it stated that the old
Jaredites and, perhaps, the Nephites, who formerly lived on this
continent, had horses, while it is well known that horses were unknown
to the aboriginal inhabitants of America when it was discovered by
Columbus, and that there were no horses here until they were imported
from Europe. Now, since Professor Marsh and his class began their
investigations, they have found among the fossil remains of the
extinct animals of America no less than fourteen different kinds of
horses, varying in height from three to nine feet. These discoveries
made Professor Marsh's students feel almost as though they could eat
up these mountains, and their enthusiasm for studying the geology of
the regions around Bridger's Fort was raised to the highest pitch. In
their researches among these mountains they have formed the opinion
that there was once a large inland sea here, and they think they have
discovered the outlet where the water broke forth and formed Green
River. Here in these valleys and in these ranges of mountains we can
follow the ancient water line. This discovery of Professor Marsh is
particularly pleasing to us "Mormons," because he has so far
scientifically demonstrated the Book of Mormon to be true.

Vol. 17,  p.46
Here is the kingdom of God; do you want to enter into it, or not? Do
you want the future blessings of this kingdom, or do you not? Have
your choice; but whomsoever you list to obey, his servants you will
be, whether it is Jesus or the devil; please yourselves, have your
choice. But all know we can not serve two masters acceptably; if we
love one, we shall hate the other, and if we hold on to one, we shall
despise the other. We must either be for the kingdom of God, or not.
But we shall organize this holy order here before we leave. We give
the invitation to all of you to come and get organized. Let us be one;
let us carry out the order that God has established for the family of
heaven.

Vol. 17,  p.47
God bless you.[p.47] 

John Taylor, April 19, 1874

The United Order—We Want the Most Perfect Union—the 
Working of the Order to Be Such that All Honest 
Men Can Sustain It—Home Manufacture

Discourse By Elder John Taylor, Delivered in the Meeting-House, 
at Nephi, Juab County, Sunday Morning April 19, 1874.

(Reported by David W. Evans)

Vol. 17,  p.47
We have heard a good deal since we have assembled, in relation to what
is called the Order of Enoch, the New Order, the United Order, or
whatever name we may give to it. It is new and then it is old, for it
is everlasting as I understand it. I am asked sometimes—"Do you
understand it?" Yes, I do, no, I do not, yes I do, no, I don't, and
both are true; we know that such an order must be introduced, but are
not informed in relation to the details, and I guess it is about the
same with most of you. We have been talking about an order that is to
be introduced and established among the Saints of God for the last
forty-two years, but we have very little information given us
concerning it, either in the Scriptures or in the Book of Mormon. The
fullest detail that we have of it is in the Book of Doctrine and
Covenants, and that is the case with almost everything pertaining to
the kingdom of God on the earth; and hence I have said, and say now,
that I believe that Joseph Smith revealed more in relation to the
kingdom of God, and was a greater Prophet than perhaps any other man
who ever lived except Jesus. I do not know how far Enoch and perhaps
some others on this continent went; if we had further records from the
Book of Mormon they might throw more light on subjects with which we
are not at present very well acquainted.

Vol. 17,  p.47
We occupy a very remarkable position; we are living in a peculiar day
and age of the world, in the dispensation of the fullness of times.
When the President communicated with us a little before starting from
the south, about this new order, I really did not know what shape it
would assume or how it would be introduced, but it had got to come;
and then, on the other hand, I do not know that we need have very much
anxiety in relation to the matter, for if it be of God, it must be
right, and its introduction is only a question of time. As to the
modus operandi, that is another question. I have sometimes thought, to
tell the truth, that we might have different orders, perhaps the
patriarchal order, perhaps the order of Enoch, and perhaps an
all-things-in-common order, all operating under one head; but I do not
know anything definitely about it, and it is not my business. I have
had reflections of that kind running through my mind, inasmuch as it
[p.48] is "the dispensation of the fullness of times when God will
gather together all things in one." The greatest embarrassment that we
have to contend with at the present time is not in knowing what to do,
but knowing how to do it, and the circumstances with which we are
surrounded, not so much among our own people as outsiders, and then
again among our own people, for we find all kinds of persons amongst
us now, as we always have done. Some will start right into anything of
this kind, perhaps with a determination to do right, or at least half
right; but when they get started in the operation, something or other
comes up and they back up, break the traces and play the devil
generally. I expect there will be a good deal of the same kind of
thing associated with this, as there has been with other things that
have been started. I do not expect that every one that is loud-mouthed
and seemingly very anxious that this thing should be introduced is
going to stick by it for ever and ever, any more than many others have
done in other things. At the same time I think it is very proper that
the servants of God should be brought under an influence which
emanates from him, and that that influence should govern them in all
things, temporal as well as spiritual. For my part, I can not see why
it is that men should be so much attached to the things of this world,
and why they are so extremely desirous to have their own way in
relation to them; that is a thing I never could understand. We like
freedom, God has put it in our bosoms; and as I said to President
George A., the other day, in talking about this matter, in organizing
the Order of Enoch, as it may be called, we want on the one hand the
most perfect union; and on the other hand the most extended personal
liberty that it is possible for men to enjoy consonant with carrying
out the principles of unity. Not the liberty to trample on other
people's rights; not the liberty to take from people that which
belongs to them; not the liberty to infringe upon public interests or
the public benefit, but personal liberty so far as we can enjoy it.
These are my ideas and feelings in relation to these matters, based
upon the principles of truth and, as it is said,—"If the truth shall
make you free, then shall you be free indeed, sons of God without
rebuke in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation."

Vol. 17,  p.48
In relation to religious matters I would not have a religion that I
could not sustain, and that God would not sustain me in; I do not want
it, nor to have anything to do with it. One thing I have always felt
proud of, and that is, that the principles of the Gospel of Jesus
Christ were so plain, clear, pointed, definite and incontrovertible
that they defied the whole world, and so far as I have gone, and the
servants of God around me, no man has ever been able to successfully
gainsay one solitary principle connected with the Church and kingdom
of God upon the earth, that is, in regard to what we term sometimes
spiritual things. I want to see the same principle established in
relation to our temporal matters, and I believe, from what little
conversation I have had with the brethren, that that is their feeling.
In relation to these matters I do not want to see one solitary
principle flint an honest, honorable man cannot sustain; but let
everything be so that it can be dragged right forth to the daylight,
and turned over and over and over and examined all sides up, and
inside out, and see that it is [p.49] true, good, honorable, upright
and honest in every particular. That is the kind of thing we want, as
honest men, and we want to get at things in that kind of a way; and if
they will not bear investigation of that kind, I should have just the
same opinion of them as I have about unsound religious matters, and I
should not want anything to do with them. I do not want anything that
cannot be sustained in the face of open day, and in the face of God,
angels, men and devils.

Vol. 17,  p.49
It is asked—"Well, what is the Order?" We do not know exactly, we know
it in part; it is just as Paul said in his day—"We see in part, end we
prophecy in part" &c. But to begin with, unless some change does take
place in relation to our temporal matters, our situation is anything
but pleasant. The fact of the matter is, we are all of us on the
highway to financial or temporal ruin. The world is going to the devil
just as fast as it can go. Corruption, fraud, chicanery, deception,
evil and iniquity of every kind prevail, so that you cannot trust a
man in any place, you can not rely upon his word, you can not rely
upon any instrument of writing that he gets up, and there is nothing
you can rely upon. Every day's news brings accounts of defalcations,
frauds, infamies, rottenness and corruptions of every kind, enough to
sink a nation from the presence of God and all honorably beings. And
this is not only so in the United States, but other nations, in ours
especially.

Vol. 17,  p.49
We, as a people, have come out from Babylon, but we have brought a
great amount of these infernal principles with us, and we have been
grabbing, grasping, pinching, squeezing, hauling, horning and hooking
on every side, and it seems as though every man was for himself and
the devil for us all. That is about the position we are in to-day. We
want a change in these things. We have come to Zion. What to do? Why
to do the will of God, to accomplish his purposes, to save ourselves,
our progenitors and our posterity, and we have come because the Spirit
of God led us here through the instrumentality of the holy Priesthood
of God. Jesus Says—"My sheep hear my voice, and they know me and they
will follow me, and a stranger they will not follow, because they know
not the voice of a stranger." We who have gathered here have been
going in a curious, crooked kind of a way, but we have nevertheless
started to build up the kingdom of God and to establish correct
principles upon the earth and to help to redeem it. Can we accomplish
this by continuing in the course we have hitherto pursued? No, verily,
no. But I will tell you how I have always felt, both in Joseph's day
and since then, whenever the Lord has wrought upon the man who stands
at the head of his people to introduce anything for the welfare of his
kingdom, it is time to look out, and to carry out the counsels that
are given; and yesterday, after I arrived here, and had seen President
Young, and conversed with him, and then heard him and others speak on
these principles, I said to him, "The old fiddle is in tune, the
sacred fire is glowing and burning;" and I think so still. The old
fiddle is in tune, the right feeling, spirit and influence are
operating, and we all feel them.

Vol. 17,  p.49
A great deal has been said about the evils that exist, end we might
talk for days about the necessity of something being introduced for
the welfare and happiness of the Saints of God here in Zion. I
suppose, on a reasonable calculation, that there are ten thousand men
out of employment [p.50] in this Territory, perhaps for five months in
a year. Now, if they were at work, and only got one dollar a day,
there would be ten thousand dollars a day earned, which in five months
would make a very large sum, one million three hundred thousand
dollars I think. We are bringing in here all kinds of things that we
ought to make ourselves. What are our broom makers and coopers doing?
What are you doing with your molasses mills, and where do you get your
cloth, shoes, hats, shirts and things of this kind from? It takes
quite an amount to supply them, they must come from somewhere, and the
question is, where do they all come from? At a Bishops' meeting in
Salt Lake City I said I wanted to get a well bucket, but I could not
tell where to get it, and I wished some of them would tell me where;
but they could not tell me, although there were a good many Bishops
present. This is a pretty state of things It is true that we have made
some advances in some branches of manufacture. There is a big factory
in Provo, some near Salt Lake City, one at Ogden, one at Box-Elder and
one in the South. It has required great efforts on the part of
President Young and others to establish these institutions, and when
we get them we do not want the cloth. We do no not want our shoes made
here—we would rather send off our hides, and get somebody east to make
them, they can make shoes so much better there than here. Then we do
not want leather shoes here, we must send off and get a lot of paper
things, with heels high enough to put anybody's ankles out of joint.

Vol. 17,  p.50
Well, my opinion is, that with home labor properly directed and
applied, we shall have all the bread, butter, cheese, shoes, cloth,
hats, bonnets, shawls and everything that we need, and I think, as the
President has said, if we behave ourselves, we shall get pretty rich.
That is all right enough, though riches are only a little thing, in
comparison to the great principles of eternal lives and exaltation in
the kingdom of God, the riches of eternity. But my time has expired
and I must close. Amen.[p.51] 

Brigham Young, May 3, 1874

The Things of God Known By the Spirit of God—the Light and 
Intelligence of God Without Money and Price—Now 
True Religion Without Science—All Will Be 
Saved Except the Sons of Perdition

Discourse By President Brigham Young, Delivered in the 
New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Sunday Afternoon, May 3, 1874.

(Reported by David W. Evans)

Vol. 17,  p.51
It is nearly time to close this meeting, but I desire to speak a few
words. I have very much that I wish to convey to the Latter-day
Saints, but I can only say, in as few words as possible, a little at a
time, upon a few subjects which I wish to lay before the Saints.
First, looking upon the Latter-day Saints, the inquiry within myself
is—Do you know whether I am leading you right or not? Do you know
whether I dictate you right or not? Do you know whether the wisdom and
the mind of the Lord are dispensed to you correctly or not? These are
questions which I will answer by quoting a little Scripture, and
saying to the Latter-day Saints what was said to the Saints in former
times, "No man knoweth the things of God, but by the Spirit of God."
That was said in the days of the Savior and the Apostles, and it was
no, more true then than it is now, or than it was in the days of the
Prophets, Moses, Abraham, Noah, leech, Adam, or in any and every age
of the world. It requires the same manifestations in one age as in
another, to enable men to understand the things of God. I have a
request to make of each and every Latter-day Saint, or those who
profess to be, to so live that the Spirit of the Lord will whisper to
them and teach them the truth, and define to their understanding the
difference between truth and error, light and darkness, the things of
God and the things that are not of God. In this there is safety;
without this there is danger, imminent danger; and my exhortation to
the Latter-day Saints is—Live your religion.

Vol. 17,  p.51
Among all intelligent beings upon the earth there is a great mistake
in regard to dispensing to others the knowledge they possess. In the
political world, right here, and through our government and other
governments, there is a great desire in each and every one, who is
prominent and influential, to manage their political affairs by and
with their friends, and to keep their enemies from knowing anything
about them, which creates a party feeling, and parties promote
distrust and jealousy, which lead to discord and strife. Such is also
the [p.52] case in the financial world. In our trading and trafficking
we wish to confine the knowledge of our business in as small a limit
as possible, that others may not know what we are doing, lest we
should lose our good bargains and fail in our schemes.

Vol. 17,  p.52
It is more or less the same in the religious world. We wish to know a
great deal, and do not want our neighbors to know as much as we do,
but wish them to believe that we know it all. This trait of character
is very common, both here and through the whole world. We all wish to
know something that our neighbors do not know. With scientific men you
will often find the same trait of character: "My studies and my
researches are beyond those of my neighbors; I know more than they
know; I treasure this up to myself, and I am looked upon as a superior
being, and that delights me."

Vol. 17,  p.52
I say to the Latter-day Saints, and to all the world, this is all
wrong. We are here upon this earth as the children of our heavenly
Father, who is filled with light and intelligence, and he dispenses
that to his children as they can receive and profit by it, without
money and without price. Is not this a fact? It is. Go to every
department of life, to the mechanics, to the manufacturers, to those
learned in all the arts and sciences, throughout the world, and not
one of them possesses an item of knowledge or wisdom but what has come
from God, the fountain of all wisdom and knowledge. The idea that the
religion of Christ is one thing, and science is another, is a mistaken
idea, for there is no true religion without true science, and
consequently there is no true science without true religion. The
fountain of knowledge dwells with God, and he dispenses it to his
children as he pleases, and as they are prepared to receive it,
consequently it swallows up and circumscribes all. This is the great
plan of salvation; this is the "bugaboo" that the Christian world hoot
at so much, and which they call "Mormonism"—it is the Gospel of life
and salvation.

Vol. 17,  p.52
Confidence is lost in the hearts of the nations of the earth.
Confidence is lost one towards another, among the religious sects of
the day; confidence is lost in the scientific and mechanical world; in
the financial and in the political world, and it must be restored. I
make this statement, and there is not a scientist or divine on the
earth who can truthfully controvert it.

Vol. 17,  p.52
There is a great deal being said and rumored about what we are
teaching the people at the present time with regard to being one in
our temporal affairs as we are one in the doctrine that we have
embraced for our salvation. I will say to you that, erroneous
traditions at once begin to present themselves. Why we have received
these traditions, those who reflect, read and understand can pass
their own decision. You can not find a sect anywhere that strictly
believes in the New Testament. Read over the sayings of the Savior to
his disciples, those of the disciples one to another, and of the
people, with regard to being one; and then bring up the fact that they
believed in this doctrine, and that they taught and practiced it so
far that the believers sold their possessions and laid the proceeds at
the Apostles' feet. Now, what is the tradition on this point? To sell
your houses, your farms, your stores, your cattle, [p.53] and bring
the means and lay it down at the feet of the Apostles, and then live,
eat, drink and wear until it is all gone, and then what? Do without?
Yes, or be beggars. Our traditions lead us to this point, and that
throws us into a dilemma, out of which we know not how to extricate
ourselves. To the Latter-day Saints, I say, all this is a mistake;
these are false ideas, false conclusions. I am here to tell you how
things are, and, as far as necessary, to tell you how they were, and
then to tell you how they should be, and how they will be. To begin
with, we will unitedly labor to sustain the kingdom of God upon the
earth. Shall we sell our possessions, have all things in common, live
upon the means until it is gone, and then bag through the country? No,
no. Sell nothing of our possessions. True, the earth is at present in
possession of the great enemy of the Savior, but he does not own a
foot of it; he never did, but he has possession of it, and they say
that possession is nine points of the law, and it seems to be so.
Well, if I have a foot of land that I have dedicated and devoted to my
heavenly Father for his kingdom on the earth, I never dispose of that.
I have owned a great deal of land, and I now own a great deal of land
in the United States, and I have never yet sold a foot of it. I say to
the Latter. day Saints, keep your land, dedicate it to God, preserve
it in truth, in purity, in holiness; pray that the Spirit of the Lord
may brood over it, that whoever walks over that land, may feel the
influence of that Spirit; pray that the Spirit of the Lord may cover
our possessions, then gather around us the necessaries of life.
Dispose of nothing that we should keep, but continue to laver, praying
the Lord to bless the soil, the atmosphere and the water. Then we have
our crops, our fruit, our flocks and herds to live upon, to improve
upon, and then go on and make our clothing, build houses, improve our
streets, our cities and all our surroundings and make them beautiful;
beautify every place with the workmanship of our own hands. Keep what
is necessary, dispose of what we may have to dispose of. To whom? To
those who are operating in our mines to develop the resources in our
mountains, and to all who have need. By such a course the wasting of
our substance, as has been too much the case, will be stopped; and
when we labor, let our labor count something for our benefit. We ask
concerning the rich, Do we want your gold and your silver? No, we do
not. Do we want your houses and lands? We do not. What do we want? We
want obedience to the requirements of wisdom, to direct the labors of
every man and every woman in this kingdom to the best possible
advantage, that we may feed and clothe ourselves, build our houses and
gather around us the comforts of life, without wasting so much time,
means, and energy. And instead of saying that I shall give up my
carriage for the poor to ride in, we will direct the poor so that
every man may have his carriage, if he will be obedient to the
requirements of the Almighty. Every family will have all that they can
reasonably desire. When we learn and practice fair dealing in all our
intercourse and transactions, then confidence, now so far lost, but so
much needed, will be restored; and we will be enabled to effectually
carry out our operations for the friendly and profitable cooperation
of money and labor, now so generally and so injuriously
antagonistic.[p.54] 

Vol. 17,  p.54
It has been said that, a few evenings ago, in the 20th Ward, I made
use of the expression that the cooperative stores would be used up or
spoiled; if I did use such an expression, it must have been in
connection with others to qualify it. The question was asked, "What
are you going to do with the co-operative stores?" "Why, use them up,"
and some of the brethren got the idea that the destruction of these
stores was intended, because, to many, the idea of using a thing up,
is to destroy it; but this was not the meaning I wished to convey. But
I say swallow them up, or circumscribe them or incorporate them, from
time to time, in more extensive co-operative plans. By way of
comparison, suppose a rope with seven strands, and some one is
suspicious of its strength and we add a thousand strands, to it, who
then can suspect its strength? Now, comparing our present mercantile
and stock-raising institutions, our, factories and every thing else we
have in co-operation, instead of weakening this cord of seven strands,
we throw around it a thousand other strands, and weave them in to
strengthen it, is not the first cord swallowed up? Yes, it is, in one
sense, used up, we cannot see anything, of it; and so we shall make
our additions of thousands of strands to every co-operative
institution we have established, and, instead of having a few of the
people sustain this parent co-operative store, or the ward store, we
will have the support of the whole people. That is the difference; can
you understand it? How careful we should be in the use of language, to
prevent, so far as possible the drawing of false conclusions, and the
going abroad of erroneous impressions.

Vol. 17,  p.54
This is a comparison with regard to our co-operative stores and every
co-operative institution we have; we expect that the whole people will
support them and give them their influence; that the whole people will
work for the whole, and that all will be for the kingdom of God on the
earth. All that I have is in that kingdom. I have nothing, only what
the Lord has put in my possession. It is his; I am his, and all I ask
is for him to tell me what to do with my time, my talents and the
means that he puts in my possession. It is to be devoted to his
kingdom. Let every other man and woman do the same, and all the
surplus we make is in one great amount for accomplishing the purposes
of the Lord. He says, "I will make you the richest people on the
earth." Now, go to work, Latter-day Saints, and make yourselves one,
and all needed blessings will follow.

Vol. 17,  p.54
I will now briefly notice a trait in the Christian world in regard to
their continually misrepresenting us, which they most emphatically do.
Wherever we go they misrepresent us. They do not stop to reason, or
for the introduction of good sound logic. They do not stop to know
their own minds, and to ask themselves questions with regard to facts
as they exist, but are wholly uninfluenced by their erroneous
traditions. We Christians are divided and subdivided, but we all
believe that there are good people among all the sects of the day. As
a "Mormon" or Latter-day Saint, I believe this just as much as any
sectarian believes it, but I do not believe it as the sectarians
believe it. We all believe that good people do live and have lived
among the Christian sects. Says one, "My father was a good man; or, My
mother or my sister was a good woman, my brother was a good man, my
neighbor was a good person; they lived and died [p.55] believing in
their several faiths; some of them holy Catholics, who died shouting
and rejoicing that the time had come for them to be released from this
tenement of clay. Others were good Protestants, and they rejoiced and
were exceeding glad when the time came for them to lie down and rest
their weary bodies, and they were happy." Now, I, speaking as one of
the Christian world, when a man says to me, "Unless you are born of
the water and of the spirit you can not enter the kingdom of heaven,"
reply, "My dear friend, my father and my mother were just as good
Christians as ever lived on the face of the earth, and they died as
happy as they could be, and their souls were full of glory. Tell me
that they have not gone to heaven! It is all nonsence, it is folly; I
do not believe a word of it; you must be one of those deceivers theft
the Savior taught should come in the latter days." This erroneous
tradition is planted in the bosoms of the Christian world, and from
this they take the liberty of saying that the doctrine preached by the
Latter-day Saints can not be true, for if it is their fathers and
mothers are not saved. Would you not like to know the truth on this
point, O Christian world? Yes, yes, the honest ones would; I can not
say so much for the bread and butter Christians; but when you meet an
honest person, he says—"I wish I knew the truth about this. Our
beloved brother and father in the Gospel, the father of the Methodist
Episcopal Church, John Wesley, was he not a good man? Tell me that he
is not saved!" The Christian world can not endure such an idea. "John
Knox not saved! and thousands of others not saved!" They can not
endure the thought. I can say to them of a truth, but it will need
explanation, there is not one of these men who lived according to the
light that he received, and up to every blessing God bestowed upon
him, but what is happier to-day than he ever expected that he could
be. But the Christian world imbibe the idea that, if these good men,
who have died, have not gone into the presence of the Father and the
Son, and are not in the kingdom of heaven, they must be in the depths
of hell. This is folly in the extreme; but the Christians do not know
how to comprehend this, how to understand the words of life. I can say
this for all good people, I do not care where they lived and died,
they will be far happier hereafter than they ever conceived of while
here. Do you think that the good Chinaman and Hindo will be saved?
Yes, as much as the Methodist. But erroneous tradition prevents the
Christian world from seeing and understanding this. They ought to stop
and reflect, and ask the question—"Do we understand the Scriptures
when we read them?" I say that they do not, if they did they would see
that we have the words of eternal life, and would receive our
teachings with joy. I have not time to fully explain this, but I can
say that thins erroneous tradition palliates, in a measure, the
conduct and views of the Christian world when their prejudices arise
like towering mountains against these poor Latter-day Saints.

Vol. 17,  p.55
We shall labor and go forward, as long as we live, to redeem the world
of mankind. This is the labor the Savior has undertaken. The earth was
committed to him by the Father, who said, "My Son, go and redeem the
world and all things upon it; pay this debt, and your brethren, who
believe on you and who are one, as the Father and [p.56] the Son are
one, will be co-workers in this great and eternal work, until all the
sons and daughters of Adam and Eve, that can be saved, will be sated
in a kingdom of glory," and all will be saved, except the sons of
perdition.

Vol. 17,  p.56
Can the Christian world understand this? No. There is not a priest in
the pulpit, nor a deacon that sits under the pulpit, but what, if he
knew the facts as they are, would give glory to God in the highest,
that he lived in this day and age of the world, and thank the Father
that he has revealed his will from the heavens.

Vol. 17,  p.56
I thank you for your attention, brethren and sisters. I have detained
you a little longer than I intended to do. God bless you.

Brigham Young, May 7, 1874

The United Order—a System of Oneness—Economy and 
Wisdom in Becoming Self-Sustaining

Remarks By President Brigham Young, at the Opening 
of the Adjourned General Conference, Held in the New 
Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, May 7, 1874.

(Reported by David W. Evans)

Vol. 17,  p.56
I do not expect to be able to speak much during this Conference, but I
make a request of my brethren who may speak, to give us their
instructions and views for or against this general co-operative
system, which we, with propriety, may call the United Order. If any
choose to give it any other name that will be applicable to the nature
of it, they can do so. A system of oneness among any people, whether
former-day Saints, middle-day Saints, eleventh hour of the day Saints,
last hour of the day Saints, or no Saints at all, is beneficial; but I
wish the brethren to give us their views for and against union in a
family, whether that family consists of the parents and ten children,
or the parents, ten children, fifty grandchildren, or a hundred and
fifty great-grandchildren, and so on until you get to a nation. I ask
of my brethren who may address the congregations, to give us their
views for and against union, peace, good order; laboring for the
benefit of ourselves, and in connection with each other for the
welfare and happiness of all, whether in the capacity of a family,
neighborhood, city, state, nation, or the world.

Vol. 17,  p.56
We see the inhabitants of the earth, as individuals and nations,
struggling, striving, laboring and toiling, every one for himself and
nobody else; all are anxious to bless [p.57] their own dear selves. If
you will permit me I will quote an anecdote in illustration of this
trait of character among the human family. A man, in asking a blessing
upon his food, prayed, "O Lord, bless me and my wife, my son John and
his wife, we four, and no more. Amen." If we have generosity of
feeling sufficient to pray for blessings upon a fifth person, or upon
a whole family, neighborhood or community, all the better.

Vol. 17,  p.57
We are not entering into any new system, order or doctrine. There are
numbers of organizations of a similar character, as far as they go, in
our own country and in other countries. Our object is to labor for the
benefit of the whole, to retrench in our expenditures; to be prudent
and economical; to study well the necessities of the community, and to
pass by its many uselss wants; to study to secure life, health,
wealth, and union, which is power and influence to any community; and
I ask my brethren, while addressing the people during this Conference,
to take up these items of every-day life. It seems to be objectionable
to some, for the Latter-day Saints to enter into a self-sustaining
system, and the probability of our doing so causes a great deal of
talk. If we were infidels, any other sect of Christians, or neither
Christians nor infidels, but mere worldlings, seeking only to amass
the wealth of this world, nothing would be thought or said against it.
But for the Latter-day Saints to make a move to the right or to the
left, to the front or to the rear, a suspicion arises directly in the
minds of the people. I will say to the inhabitants of the whole earth,
that the Latter-day Saints are going to work to sustain themselves, to
do good to themselves, to their neighbors and to the whole human
family; they are going to labor to establish peace and good order on
the earth, just as far and as fast as they can, and to prepare them
for a happier world than this.

Vol. 17,  p.57
Talk about it, cry, about it, deride it, point the finger of scorn at
it, we care not, we are the servants and handmaids of the Lord, and
our business is to build up his kingdom upon the earth, and let all
the world say what they please, it matters not to us. It is for us to
do our duty.

Vol. 17,  p.57
Now let me present one little matter. Here are brethren from all parts
of the Territory, to represent the different branches of the Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We find our brethren in various
parts of the Territory are in possession of a little land; take a man,
for instance, who has got a five acre lot. He wants his team, he must
have his horses, harness, wagon, plow, harrow and farming utensils to
cultivate that five acres, just as though he was farming a hundred
acres. And when harvest comes; he is not accommodated by his neighbors
with a reaping machine, and he says—"Another year, I will buy one,"
and this to harvest five acres of grain. Take the article of wagons
among this people, we have five where we should not have more than
two; and the money that is spent needlessly by our people for wagons
Would make a small community rich. Again, take mowing and reaping
machines, and we have probably twice or three times as many in this
Territory as the people need. They stand in the sun and they dry up
and spoil, and this entails a heavy waste of property. We may take
also the article of harness for horses. If this community would be
united, and work cattle instead of horses,[p.58] they might save
themselves from two to five hundred thousand dollars yearly. Is this
economy or wisdom? A few years ago we raised our own sweet; but when
the railroad came it brought sugar to us very cheap, and where is our
sorghum now? There is hardly any raised in the whole Territory. The
people say—"The sugar is so cheap." Suppose sugar was only one penny a
pound, and you had not that penny and could not get it, what good
would it do you? None at all. If cotton cloth can be bought for
fifteen, ten, or six cents a yard, what does it profit a people if
they hard not the money to buy it? It does them no good. When they
have the ground to raise the cotton, and the machinery to work this
cotton up and make the fabrics they need, they can do it, money or no
money. And so we go on from one thing to another, and we would be glad
if our brethren, in their remarks, will give us their views and
instructions on these points, and the bearing they have had upon the
people in the past, and how they will affect them in connection with
the United Order which we are now seeking to introduce.

Vol. 17,  p.58
If any man, merchant, business man, or anybody else has anything to
bring forward to show, as they think, that the United Order will
militate against the interests of the community, we invite them to
speak it freely, and give us both sides of the question. We are for
the best, we are for the right, for that which will accomplish the
greatest good to the greatest number. I shall now give place for
others to speak.

George A. Smith, May 7, 1874

Zion to Be Redeemed Through the Law of Consecration—
Persecutions of the Saints—a Oneness Among the Saints 
Necessary—the Hearts of The Fathers to Be Turned 
to the Children, and the Children to the Fathers

Discourse By President George A. Smith, Delivered at the 
Adjourned General Conference, Held in the New 
Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, May 7, 1874.

(Reported by David W. Evans)

Vol. 17,  p.58
"Behold I will send you Elijah the Prophet, before the coming of the
great and dreadful day of the Lord, and he shall turn the heart of the
fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their
fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse." This passage
will be found in the 5th and 6th verses of the 4th chapter of the
Prophet Malachi.[p.59] 

Vol. 17,  p.59
The Latter-day Saints were driven from their homes in Jackson County,
Missouri, about forty-one years ago. A portion of the mob commenced
the outbreak in June or July, and among their first deeds of violence
was the destruction of the printing office, plundering the storehouse,
and the tarring and feathering of Edward Partridge, the Bishop. This
was followed by whipping and killing the people and burning their
houses, and finally culminated, on the 13th of October, in driving
some fifteen hundred persons from their homes, on the public lands
which they had purchased and received titles for from the United
States. The people thus driven went into different parts of the State,
the great body of them, however, taking shelter in the County of Clay.

Vol. 17,  p.59
The settlements in Jackson County were commenced on the principle of
the law of consecration. If you read the revelations that were given,
and the manner in which they were acted upon, you will find that the
brethren brought, before the Bishop and his counselors, their property
and consecrated it, and with the money and means thus consecrated
lands were purchased, and inheritances and stewardships distributed
among the people, all of whom regarded their property as the property
of the Lord. There were, however, at that period, professed Latter-day
Saints, who did not see proper to abide by this law of consecration;
they thought it was their privilege to look after "number one," and
some of them, believing that Zion was to become a very great city, and
that being the centre stake of it, they purchased tracts of land in
the vicinity with the intention of keeping them until Zion became the
beauty and joy of the whole earth, when they thought they could sell
their lands and make themselves very rich. It was probably owing to
this, in part, that the Lord suffered the enemies of Zion to rise
against her.

Vol. 17,  p.59
The members of the Church at that period were very industrious,
frugal, and law-abiding, and there was no possibility of framing any
charges or claims against them by legal means, and the published
manifesto, upon which the mob was collected, boldly asserted that the
civil law did not afford a guarantee against this people, consequently
they formed themselves into a combination, a lawless mob, pledging to
each other "their lives, their property and their sacred honors" to
drive the "Mormons" from their midst. From that hour the heart of
every Latter-day Saint has been occasionally warmed with the
feeling—may I be permitted to live until the day when the Saints shall
again go to Jackson County, when they shall build the Temple, the
ground for which was dedicated, and when the Order of Zion, as it was
then revealed, shall be carried out! And it has been generally
understood among us that the redemption of Zion would not occur upon
any other principle than upon that of the law of consecration.

Vol. 17,  p.59
Forty years and more have passed away since these events took place.
We have been driven five times from our homes; five times we have been
robbed of our inheritances. Our leaders and presiding officers have
been killed, and not in a single instance, in any State or Territory
where we have lived, has the law been magnified in the protection of
the Latter-day Saints, until we were driven into these mountains. In
1834, Daniel Dunklin, the Governor of Missouri, said the laws were
ample, and the Constitution was ample, but the prejudices of the
people were [p.60] so great that he and the other authorities of the
State were powerless to execute the law for the protection of the
Mormons. We have had one protector—our Father in heaven, to depend
upon; but governors, judges, rulers, officers of any kind, high or
low, have utterly failed to extend protection to the Latter-day
Saints. God alone has been our protector, and we acknowledge his hand
in every deliverance we have hitherto experienced.

Vol. 17,  p.60
Several times the Church has made advances to organize the Order of
Enoch as it was revealed in the Book of Covenants in part, and in the
ancient history of the Zion of Enoch; these advances, however, the
Saints did not seem prepared to receive. We have been gathered from
many nations, and we have brought many notions and traditions with us,
and it has seemed that with these notions and traditions we could not
dispense. In 1838, an attempt was made in Caldwell County, Mo., the
Latter-day Saints owning all the lands in the county, or all that were
considered of any value. They organized Big Field United Firms, by
which they intended to consolidate their property and to regard it as
the property of the Lord, and themselves only as stewards; but they
had not advanced so far in this matter as to perfect their system
before they were broken up and driven from the State. I understand
that three hundred and eighteen thousand dollars in money was paid by
the Saints to the United States for lands in the State of Missouri,
not one acre of which any one of us has been permitted to enjoy or to
live upon since the year 1838, or the Spring of 1839; though at the
time of the expulsion, the Commanding General, John W. Clarke,
informed the people that if they would renounce their religious faith
they could remain on their lands. He said that they were skillful
mechanics, industrious and orderly, and had made more improvements in
three years than the other inhabitants had in fifteen, and if they
would renounce their faith they could remain. But they must hold no
more meetings, prayer meetings, prayer circles or councils, and they
must have no more Bishops or Presidents; and in view of their refusal
to comply with these conditions, the edict of banishment, issued by
the Governor of the State, was executed by this general with an army
at his heels, and the Latter-day Saints were driven from their happy
homes, and thousands of them scattered to the four winds of heaven.

Vol. 17,  p.60
Since our arrival in these valleys, sermons have been preached from
year to year, to illustrate to us the principles of oneness. We find
that we are one, generally, in faith. We believe on the Lord Jesus
Christ; we believe in the first principles of the Gospel—the doctrines
of repentance, and baptism for the remission of sins, the laying on of
hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost and the resurrection of the dead;
we readily receive, by the power of the Holy Spirit, manifested to us
through the Prophets, the doctrine of baptism for the dead, the holy
anointing and the law of celestial marriage. This principle came in
opposition to all our prejudices, yet when God revealed it, his Spirit
bore testimony of its truth, and the Latter-day Saints received it
almost en masse. In order to make a step in the right direction, and
to prepare the people to return to Jackson County, the principles of
co-operation were taught and their practice entered into; and for the
purpose of instructing and encouraging the minds of the people [p.61]
upon the benefits of united action, from the earliest settlement of
this Territory to the present time, the presiding Elders of the Church
have, every Conference, endeavored to impress upon their minds the
necessity of making themselves self-supporting. We have looked forward
to the day when Babylon would fall, when we could not draw our
supplies from her midst, and when our own ingenuity, talent, and skill
must supply our wants. The effect of all this instruction is, that we
have made some progress in many directions, but not so much as could
have been desired.

Vol. 17,  p.61
The cultivation of cotton was in. troduced in the South.
Sheep-breeding has been extensively adopted, numerous factories have
been erected to manufacture both the wool and the cotton produced.
Several extensive tanneries have also been established for the
manufacture of hides into leather, and various other kinds of business
have been introduced with a view to making ourselves self-supporting.

Vol. 17,  p.61
Within a few years the railroad has been constructed through our
Territory, and the expense of freighting has been greatly reduced.
Mines which, before the railroad was built, were perfectly worthless,
have been developed and made to pay, and the minds of many of the
people seem to have been impressed with the idea that we may expect
some regular, general business to grow out of the production of the
mines, and a great many have been led to neglect home manufactures,
and to depend upon purchasing from abroad. Some settlements have,
however, exerted themselves considerably to produce clothing, and many
articles within themselves. These circumstances are all clear before
us. You go through Utah County, to-day, and say to a farmer, "Have you
got any sorgum to sell?" "No, haven't raised any for two or three
years; sugar got so cheap, we could not sell it." "I suppose you have
plenty of sugar?" "No, we are out of sugar, we haven't any money to
buy it with." This is the position which our course of life has led us
to, and which we already begin to feel.

Vol. 17,  p.61
There is another principle connected with this matter which we should
consider, and that is, when we as a community, in the valleys of the
mountains, provide for our own wants, we are not subject to the
fluctuations and difficulties that result from a money panic, or an
interruption in the currency. When we came to this Conference a great
many of us came with the determination to take such measures as should
place us as a people on an independent footing, and hence we propose
through our brethren, to go to work and organize a united order. Them
is at present a deficiency in our organization so far as our business
relations are concerned. Of course, in every settlement, there are
many industrious men, then there's some who are schemers; and as each
man looks out for himself, that good principle which the Savior taught
so strongly, that a man should love the Lord his God with all his
heart, and his neighbor as himself, is in a great measure forgotten,
and a few gather up the property, while many of the laboring men, who
do most of the work, come out at the end of the year behind, without a
full supply of the necessaries of life. To avoid this, a United Order
would organize a community so that all the ingenuity, talent, skill,
and energy it possessed would inure to the good of the whole. This is
the object and design in the establishment of these organizations. It
is [p.62] perfectly certain that there is in every community a
sufficient amount of skill and energy and labor to supply its wants,
and put all its members in possession of every necessary and comfort
of life, if all this skill and energy be rightly directed. We propose
to take measures to direct aright the labor that we have in our
possession, and lay a foundation for comfort, happiness, plenty and
the blessings of life within ourselves.

Vol. 17,  p.62
We, further, do not believe that Latter-day Saints, in the service of
the Most High, can enjoy that high degree of respect in the presence
of the Almighty to which they are entitled, when they are biting,
devouring, shaving, skinning, and manoeuvering, and out-manoeuvering
and getting the advantage of each other in little petty deals. We want
to see these things cease entirely, for we know that we can never be
prepared for the coming of the Savior only by uniting and becoming
one, in temporal as well as in spiritual things, and being prepared to
enjoy the blessings of exaltation.

Vol. 17,  p.62
The principles of life, which we now present for the consideration of
the Latter-day Saints were carried out in times past, as we read in
the Book of Mormon, among the Nephites and Lamanites, who each enjoyed
over a hundred years of unity, peace, happiness and plenty, as the
result of adopting this system of unity; and if we will unite in one,
acting in good faith, every man esteeming his brother as himself,
regarding not what he possesses as his own, but the Lord's, all
carrying out these principles, the result is certain—it is the
enjoyment of the Spirit of the Lord, it is the light of eternity, it
is the abundance of the things of this earth; it is an opportunity to
provide education for our children, amusement and interest for
ourselves, a knowledge of the things of the kingdom of God, and all
sciences which are embraced therein, and an advance in the work of the
last days, preparatory to the redemption of the centre stake of Zion.

Vol. 17,  p.62
Brethren and sisters, think of these things, and as the spirit, of the
Almighty was in your hearts when you received the laying on of hands
and the baptism of the Holy Spirit, bearing testimony that the Gospel
of Jesus Christ was true, seek with all your hearts, and know, by the
same spirit, that the establishment of the United Order, is another
step towards the triumph of that great and glorious work for which we
are continually laboring, namely the dawning of the Millennium and the
commencement of the reign of Christ on the earth.

Vol. 17,  p.62
This is the Work of the Almighty. These principles are from God; they
are for our salvation, and unless we remember and abide in them our
progress will be slow. If we are slow to learn and progress, but try
to carry out the purposes of God, He will not cast us off. He has been
very patient with us these forty years, and he may continue to be so.
But understand that the hearts of the fathers must be turned to the
children and the hearts of the children to the fathers. A entry must
exist, thee Latter-day Saints must love one another, they must cease
to worship this world's goods, they must lay a foundation to build up
Zion and to be one, in order that they may be prepared for the great
day that shall burn as an oven.

Vol. 17,  p.62
I bear my testimony to you of the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ,
of the Book of Mormon, of [p.63] the ministry of Joseph Smith and of
his servants the Elders that were called of the Lord by him, Brigham
Young and the Apostles and Elders who have borne these testimonies to
the nations of the earth, and I say, brethren, give diligent heed to
these things, lest by any means we should let them slip and come short
of entering into rest.

Vol. 17,  p.63
May the blessings of Israel's God be upon you for ever. Amen.

John Taylor, May 7, 1874

The Position the Saints Have Occupied Has Been a Peculiar 
One—the Unity of the Saints—Home Manufacture Preferable to 
Importation—Organization Necessary to Self-Sustenance

Discourse By Elder John Taylor, Delivered at the Adjourned 
General Conference, Held in the New Tabernacle, 
Salt Lake City, May 7, 1874.

(Reported by David W. Evans)

Vol. 17,  p.63
Those things which we have been listening to are of very great
importance to the Latter-day Saints. Situated as we are, entertaining
the views that we do, in possession of the light and intelligence that
have been communicated unto us, we stand, in these respects, in an
entirely different position from that of the world with which we are
surrounded; and, as has already been stated, it is necessary that we
begin to reflect a little upon that which has been revealed to us,
that we may understand our position and relationship to each other,
the duties and responsibilities that devolve upon us as fathers, as
mothers, as children, as Elders of Israel, and in all the various
relationships of life, and that we may comprehend the requirements
made of us by our heavenly Father. Some of those things which have
been presented before us are obvious to every reflecting mind, there
is nothing strange, anomalous or peculiar about them; they are things
which have been more or less advocated by different statesmen among
the various nations of the earth, and, according to circumstances,
they have been adopted, more or less, by a great many people, and we,
the Latter-day Saints, have approached nearer to them than many of us
seem to have any idea of. There would not be time, at present, to
enter into an elaborate detail of the various plans, ideas and
workings involved in the principles which have been presented before
us this morning; but in taking a cursory view of our position, we
shall find that it is very different [p.64] from that of any other
people. We have already carried out a great many of those things which
have been referred to, that is, a great many of us have; not all. The
position that we have occupied in this nation, in the States of
Missouri and Illinois, and in the various countries of those States,
and the history of this people has been a very peculiar one. It is
true, as has been said that if we would give up our religion, and act
and feel as others act and feel, we should be hail fellows well met
with the world, and we could have the fellowship of the devil and all
his imps. We could have this all the time if we would conform our
ideas to theirs. But what are their ideas? Who can describe them? They
are simply a babel of contrarities, contradictions, confusion,
ignorance, darkness, speculation, mystery, folly, vanity, crime,
iniquity and every kind of evil that man can think of, and if we were
willing to join in with this it would be all right, and we should be
hail fellows well met. But we do not propose to do that. God has
spoken from the heavens; the light and intelligence which exist in the
eternal worlds have been communicated, the heavens have been opened
and the revelations of God given to man, and we have participated in
them in part, and the light thus received has enabled us to look at
the world as it is; it has opened to our view the visions of eternity;
it has made us acquainted with our God, with the principles of truth,
and we would not barter that for all the world has to give us. We
rejoice, therefore, and thank God for the light and intelligence that
he has communicates to us, and so far we have measurably been one, and
we could not have helped ourselves and prevented it, if we had desired
to, for the world was determined to make us one, or make hypocrites of
us, like themselves; one of the two. We had either got to be one, or
deny the principles that God has implanted in every honest man's soul,
and we would not do that. No man will barter his independence, no man
will barter his convictions, no man, who is intelligent and honorable,
will barter his religion or his politics at the caprice of any other
man. God has implanted certain principles in man, and as long as
manhood is retained they can not be obliterated, they are written
there as in letters of living fire, and there they will remain so long
as we retain our manhood and standing before God. What has been the
result of this, so far as it has gone? Why, when the people in
Missouri proposed that we should live among them in peace if we would
leave our religion, did we do it? Not quite. What did we do? We clung
to our religion. And what did those honest, generous, gentle,
intelligent, Christian people do? Robbed us of nearly all we
possessed, and with the balance we agreed to help one another to get
to some place where men could worship God according to the dictates of
their conscience, if such a place could be found in republican
America. Well, we left. Did we unite? Yes, we did; and every man that
had a team, a wagon, two, three or four horses, two, three, four, five
or six yoke of cattle, or bread, money or clothing, distributed among
his brethren, and we helped one another out until every man who wanted
to leave had left. There might have been a few miserable "skeezeks,"
such as we have among us here, a few miserable hounds left, but what
of them? Why, nothing at all, they did not think anything of
themselves, and nobody thought anything of them.[p.65] 

Vol. 17,  p.65
We commenced again in Illinois, just on the same principle. There we
built a Temple, end performed the ordinances of God in his house;
there we attended to our sacraments, entered into our covenants, and
commenced anew to worship God according to the dictates of our own
consciences, and there again we found a lot of Christians, just the
same as in Missouri, who did not like our religion. Said
they—"Gentlemen, we do not like your religion; but if you will be like
us, you can live among us; if you do not believe and worship God as we
do, you can not stay here." Well, we could not quite come it then, any
more than we did before; and they killed Joseph Smith and Hyrum Smith,
burnt our houses, destroyed our property, and let loose mobs upon us,
and deprived us of the rights of American citizens; and finally we had
to leave the States and come out among the red men of the desert, that
we might find that protection among the savages that Christendom
denied us. How did we get here? We helped one another. In the Temple
that we had erected, and dedicated to the Most High God, we lifted up
our hands before God, and covenanted before him that we would help one
another to leave that land, so long as there was one left in it who
desired to leave. Did we keep this covenant? We did. Why? Because we
felt an interest in the welfare of our brethren; we believed in our
religion, in building up the kingdom of God, and in carrying out his
purposes and designs. The Christians object to all this? Of course
they do, but who cares about them? I do not, not one straw; we have
had so much of their tender mercies, that they take no effect now upon
us. Again, we pay oar Tithing. Some may inquire—"Do not the Priesthood
rob you?" I do not know, I do not think we are robbed very much, or
that we are very much injured. We do not do enough of it to be injured
very much, we are something like what the boy said of his father. A
man asked a boy—"Are you a Mormon?" "Yes." "Is your father a Mormon?"
Said the boy—"Yes, but he don't potter much at it." There are a great
many of us who do not potter much at it, but still we make the
attempt.

Vol. 17,  p.65
What have we done since we came here? Before the railroad was made we
sent from here, year after year, as many as five hundred teams to help
the poor who were unable to help themselves. Hence you see that a good
deal of this unity of action has been carried out among us, but we
have only pottered a little at it, we have not got right into the
matter, only in part.

Vol. 17,  p.65
Our Ladies' Relief and other societies and organizations have done a
good deal of this kind of thing, and they are looking after the
interests of the poor, the widow and the fatherless. What is the
business of our Bishops? Why, to attend to these things. Do they do
it? They do. And then, if there is any enterprise, or anything
required, the people are ready to take hold and do it, independent,
say, of these covenants we have heard spoken of. A short time ago, in
St. George, they commenced to build a Temple. Men were called upon
from different parts, some from this city, a great many from Sanpete
County, and from the different settlements, to go and assist down in
that locality in building the Temple. Did they do it? Yes. Was there
much grunting about it? I have not heard that there was. I happened to
be in a meeting a short time ago, and it was said they wanted a little
means to help to clothe these [p.66] men, and to furnish them certain
things, and in a very little while there were some ten or twelve
hundred dollars subscribed, without any grunting. There is a feeling
of sympathy in the hearts of Latter-day Saints towards one another,
and for the upbuilding and advancement of the kingdom of God. But yet
some of us are a little startled when we hear about uniting our
properties, &c. I am amused sometimes to see the manifestation of
feeling by some on this subject. We have been praying a long while
that we might go back to Jackson County, and build up the Centre Stake
of Zion; that we might enter into the United Order of God, and be one
in both temporal and spiritual things, in fact in everything; yet when
it comes along it startles us, we are confused and hardly know what to
think of it. This reminds me of an anecdote, which I will relate to
you. Among the passengers on a steamer crossing the Atlantic, was a
very zealous minister who was all the time preaching to those on board
about, the glory and happiness of heaven, and how happy they would all
be when they got there. During the voyage a very heavy storm arose,
and the vessel was drifted from her course and was in great danger of
striking on a reef of rocks. The captain went to examine his chart,
and after a while returned with a very sorrowful face, and
said—"Ladies and gentlemen, in twenty minutes from this time we shall
all be in heaven." "God forbid!" said the minister. Many of us are a
good deal like this minister; for years we have been talking about a
new order of things, about union and happiness, and about going back
to Jackson County, but the moment it is presented to us we say—"God
forbid." But then on sober, second thought, another feeling seems to
inspire us, and wherever we go a spirit seems to rest upon the people
which leads them almost unanimously to embark in these things; and
when we reflect, saying nothing about our religion, an extended system
of co-operation seems to agree with every principle of good common
sense. Is there anything extraordinary or new in the doctrine that it
is well for a community to be self-sustaining? Why, the Whigs, you
know, of this country, have contended on that principle from the time
of the organization of the government, and they have sanctioned it and
plead in its behalf before Congress, in political caucusses, and
before the people up to the present time. There is nothing new in the
doctrine of a people being self-sustaining. The first Napoleon
introduced into France what is known as the "Continental system,"
which encouraged the production of all necessary articles at home, and
it is the results of this system which today gives stability to
France, and has enabled her, after the severe trials of the late war,
to pay off her indebtedness and stand independent among the nations.

Vol. 17,  p.66
Now, for instance, we require a great many things in connection with
human existence. We need boots and shoes, stockings, pants, vests,
coats, hats, handkerchiefs, shirts, we need cloth of various kinds,
and dresses, shawls, bonnets, &c., and in every reflecting mind, the
question naturally arises, Is it better for us to make these things
ourselves at home, or to have somebody abroad make them for us? Is it
better for each man to labor separately, as we do now, or to be
organized so as to make the most of our labor? We have a large number
of hides here in this Territory, what do we do with them generally?
Send them to the [p.67] States. We raise a large amount of wool here,
what do we do with it? We export a great deal of it to the States. We
have got a large amount of excellent timber here, what do we do for
our furniture? We send to the States for a great deal of it. Where do
we get our pails and our washtubs, and all our cooper ware from? We
send to the States for it. Where do we get our brooms from? From the
States; and so on all the way through the catalogue, and millions on
millions of dollars are sent out of the Territory every year, for the
purchase of articles, most of which we could manufacture and raise at
home. This is certainly very poor economy, for we have thousands and
thousands of men who are desirous to get some kind of employment, and
they cannot get it. Why? Because other people are making our shoes,
hats, clothing, bonnets, silks, artificial flowers, and many other
things that we need. This may do very well for a while in an
artificial state of society; but the moment any reverse comes that
kind of thing is upset, and all our calculations are destroyed.

Vol. 17,  p.67
I believe in organizing the tanners and having the bides tanned at
home. When the hides are tanned I believe in organizing the
shoemakers, and manufacturing our own shoes and boots, I believe in
keeping our wool at home, and in having it manufactured in our own
factories, and we have got as good factories here as anywhere. They
should work up all the wool in the country, and if there is not enough
raised to keep them running, import more. Then I believe in organizing
men to take care of our stock—our cattle and sheep, and increasing the
clip of wool, that we may have enough to meet the demands of the whole
community. Then, when our cloth is made, I believe in organizing
tailors' companies to manufacture that cloth into clothing—pants,
coats, vests, and everything of the kind that we need. Then for our
furniture, I believe in going into the mountains and cutting down the
timber, framing it into proper shape, and then manufacturing the
various articles of furniture that we need; if we require another kind
of timber, import that, but make the furniture here, When we talk
about co-operation, we have entered but very little into it, and it
has been almost exclusively confined to the purchase of goods. There
is not much in that. I wish we would learn how to produce them instead
of purchasing them. I wish we could concentrate our energies, and
organize all hands, old, middle-aged and young, male and female, and
put them under proper directions, with proper materials to manufacture
everything we need to wear and use. We have forgotten even how to make
sorghum molasses, and our memories are getting short on other points.
We can hardly make a hat or coat, or a pair of boots and shoos, but we
have to send to the States and import these paper ones, which last a
very short time and then drop to pieces, and you have your hands
continually in your pockets to supply these wants, and by and by your
pockets are empty. It is therefore necessary that we right about face,
and begin to turn the other end to, and be self-sustaining.

Vol. 17,  p.67
The President said he would like the Elders to give both sides of the
question; but there is only one side to this question, and that is
union in all our operations, in everything we engage in. They started
a little thing like this in Box Elder County some time ago, and I was
vary much pleased to see the way things west there. I have spoken
about it once [p.68] or twice in public. They have got their
co-operative store, it is true; but that is only a small part of it.
Sometime ago I asked them—"You have a factory here, haven't you?"
"Yes." "Well, do you sell your wool, send it to the States to mix up
with shoddy and get an inferior article, or do you make it up
yourselves?" "We make it up ourselves." "Then you don't sell your
wool, and keep your factory standing idle?" "No, we don't, our factory
has never stood idle a day for want of wool since it was organized."
Said I—"That looks right. What do you do with your hides? Do you send
them off?" "No, we have got a very good tannery and we tan them, and
make them into leather for shoes, and for harness and for other
purposes." "Oh, indeed? "Yes, that is the way it is." "Well, then,
what next?" "Why, when we get our shoes made, we have a saddlers'
organization, and they make all the saddlery and harness we want?"
"And what do you do with your cows? Do you let them run on the plains,
and live or die, just as it happens, without making any cheese or
butter?" "No, we have a co-operative dairy, and we have our cows in
that, and we receive so much from them all the time regularly."
"Well," said I, "that looks right. And are you all interested in
this?" "Well, about two-thirds or three-fourths of us are all engaged
in these matters." "How about your store, does it run away with the
best part of it?" "No." "Does the factory get the cream of it?" "No."
"Does some keen financial man get his fingers in and grab it?" "No, we
are all mutually interested in everything, the profits as well as the
losses." I have learned, since I was there, that they have made it a
great success.

Vol. 17,  p.68
Now, then, if you can organize one little thing in that way,
everything can be done in the same way. I was talking with President
Lorenzo Snow, and he told me that they pay their men every Saturday
night; they have a money of their own, and they pay their hands with
it, and that is good for everything they require. And they make their
arrangements unitedly, and they operate together for the general good.
Said I—"How do they feel about this United Order?" "Oh," I was told,
"They are ready for anything that God may send along." That is the
feeling among the Saints, I believe, generally. I was, I think, at the
biggest meeting I ever attended in Ogden City, along with some of the
Presidency and Twelve and others, and I never saw more unanimity among
the people on any question than on this one. That big Tabernacle was
full, and the aisles were full, and everything was jammed to
overflowing, and when a vote was called, nearly every hand went up. I
thank God that his Spirit is operating upon the Latter-day Saints, and
is leading them to a union in regard to these things.

Vol. 17,  p.69
May God help us, and lead us in the right path, in the name of Jesus,
Amen.[p.69] 

Wilford Woodruff, May 8, 1874

Union is Strength—United Order Will Bring About 
Temporal Salvation—the Time Has Come to Favor Zion—
the Judgments of God Are at the Door of this Generation

Discourse By Elder Wilford Woodruff, Delivered at the Adjourned 
General Conference, Held in the New Tabernacle, Salt 
Lake City Friday Morning, May 8, 1874.

(Reported by David W. Evans)

Vol. 17,  p.69
We had a request given to us, at the opening of the Conference,
yesterday morning, by President Young, to give evidences for and
against the United Order of Zion. I do not know that I should be a
very able advocate against it. I have been looking over in my own
mind, the arguments which might be brought against it, and there are a
few things I wail name. If we were to undertake to unite according to
the spirit and letter of this order it would, in one sense of the
word, deprive us of having half a dozen candidates at elections, as is
the custom generally in the Christian world. It would, in a I measure,
deprive these candidates of the opportunity of spending a month or two
stump-speeching to get the votes of the people; then, when the
election came, of paying for two or three barrels of bad whiskey to
treat those who are going to vote for them. Then it might deprive
Alderman Clinton, or some other justice of the peace, of the chance of
collecting two or three hundred dollars as fines from those who had
committed a breach of the peace. It might deprive the Benedicts and
other surgeons of the opportunity of collecting five hundred or a
thousand dollars for mending broken arms and legs got in free fights.
Probably it would deprive the people of the opportunity of spending
fifty or a hundred thousand dollars a year in importing mustard into
this Territory, and require the farmers to collect and use that which
is now a nuisance on their fields. It might also deprive us of the
privilege of paying a hundred thousand dollars for imported brooms,
and require us to plant two or three hundred acres of broom corn.
These are about the only objections that I can think of against the
order, though you might carry it out in detail, perhaps, a good deal
further; but with regard to the benefits arising from it, they are so
numerous that it would take a long time to enumerate them. I do not
think it requires a great deal of argument to prove to us that union
is strength, and that a united people have power which a divided
people do not possess.

Vol. 17,  p.69
I am very glad that I have lived long enough to see a day when the
hearts of the people can be united so as to carry out these things,
while they also act upon their own agency in receiving and obeying
them. We [p.70] have been a good many years preaching up the necessity
of the Latter-day Saints being one in temporal as well as in spiritual
things, and I have felt, for a long time, in my own mind, that there
must be a change among us. The way we have been drifting, has not
seemed to have a tendency, as a general thing, to carry out the
purposes of the Lord, and to prepare us, as a people, for those events
which await us.

Vol. 17,  p.70
In our spiritual labors we have been united in a measure, and in some
things perhaps in a temporal point of view. Now, for instance, the
case I referred to in regard to our elections. I do not think that,
for the twenty-four years we have resided in these valleys, any man
has ever paid a sixpence in order to obtain any office to which he has
been elected by the votes of the people, whether as Delegate to the
Congress of the United States, Governor of the Territory, member of
the legislature, probate judge, or any other office. I do not think
that any man who has been in office has ever even asked for it in any
shape or manner. So far as this is concerned we have been united, and
we have one consolation in regard to our officers, I do not believe
there has ever been a single defaulter among them in the whole
Territory, so far as dollars and cents are concerned, in any office.
In this respect then we see the advantage of being united.

Vol. 17,  p.70
There are very many advantages that will accrue to Us if we unite our
hearts, feelings, labors, interests, property, and everything that we
are made stewards over, One thing is certain, we can not continue in
the course that we have pursued in regard to temporal matters. It is
suicidal for any people to import ten dollars' worth of products While
they export only one, and it is a miracle and a wonder to me that we
have lived as long as we have under this order of things. We have sent
millions of dollars out of the Territory every year, for articles for
our home consumption, while we have exported but very little; hence I
say that the establishment and success of this new order among us will
bring about our temporal salvation.

Vol. 17,  p.70
We occupy a different position from the rest of the world. We believe
in the revelations of Jesus Christ contained in the Bible as well as
in the record or stick of Joseph in the hands of Ephraim,—the Book of
Mormon, which gives a history of the ancient inhabitants of this
continent, We also believe in the Book of Revelations, which were
given through the mouth of Joseph Smith, the Prophet, to the
Latter-day Saints and to the inhabitants of the earth. Inasmuch, then,
as we believe these things, we, if we carry out our faith, must of
necessity go to and prepare ourselves for the fulfillment of the
revelations of God. When we are in possession of the Spirit of God, we
understand that there is a change at the door, not only for us but for
all the world. There are certain events awaiting the nations of the
earth as well as Zion; and when these events overtake us we will be
preserved if we take the counsel that is given us and unite ours time,
labor and means, and produce what we need for our own use; but without
this we shall not be prepared to sustain ourselves and we shall suffer
loss and inconvenience thereby. I am satisfied that as a people,
pursuing the course we have pursued hitherto, we are not prepared for
the Zion of Enoch or the kingdom of God. Them was an order carried out
anciently by the people of this continent and by the people of the
city of Enoch, wherever that was located, which was [p.71] very
different from the practice which has prevailed among the Saints of
latter days; and as far as such a system being any injury to us I can
see none in the world. I can see no injury that can overtake the
Latter-day Saints, by their uniting together, according to the law of
God, and producing from the elements that which they need to eat,
drink and wear, and I feel as though the time has come for such an
order to be instituted; and the readiness with which the people
receive the teachings of the servants of God in regard to this matter
is a testimony that the time has come to favor Zion. The Spirit of God
bears witness to the congregations of the Saints of the importance of
the principles which have been given unto us, and hence their
readiness to receive them.

Vol. 17,  p.71
From the commencement of this work to the present day, the labor has
been harder with the servants of God to get the people prepared in
their hearts to let the Lord govern and control them in their temporal
labor and means than in regard to matters pertaining to their eternal
salvation. It was hard work for Joseph Smith to get the minds of the
people prepared even to receive the Gospel in his day. But the Lord
opened the way, the Gospel was preached and the Church was organized
in its purity and in the order in which it existed in the days of
Jesus Christ and the Apostles, and wherever the Gospel has been sent
the ears of the people have been more or less opened and a portion of
them have been ready to receive it. This Gospel has been preached in
every Christian nation under heaven where the laws would permit, and
people from these various nations have overcome their traditions so
far as to obey it; but, as I remarked before, it has been hard work
for the Latter-day Saints to bring themselves to such a state of mind
as to be willing for the Lord to govern them in their temporal labors.
There is something strange about this, but I think, probably, it is in
consequence of the position that we occupy. There is a vail between
man and eternal things; if that vail was taken away and we were able
to see eternal things as they are before the Lord, no man would be
tried with regard to gold, silver or this world's goods, and no man,
on their account, would be unwilling to let the Lord control him. But
here we have an agency, and we are in a probation, and there is a vail
between us and eternal things, between us and our heavenly Father and
the spirit world; and this for a wise and proper purpose in the Lord
our God, to prove whether the children of men will abide in his law or
not in the situation in which they are placed here. Latter-day Saints,
reflect upon these things. We have been willing, with every feeling of
our hearts, that Joseph Smith, President Young, and the leaders of the
people should guide and direct us in regard to our eternal interests;
and the blessings sealed upon us by their authority reach the other
side of the vail and are in force after death, and they affect our
destiny to the endless ages of eternity. Men, in the days of Abraham,
Isaac and Jacob, and of Jesus and the Apostles, had blessings sealed
upon them, kingdoms, thrones, principalities and powers, with all the
blessings of the New and Everlasting Covenant. The question may be
asked, are these eternal blessings of interest to us? They are, or
should be. Are these blessings worth our earthly wealth, whether we
have little or much? Is salvation, is eternal life worth a yoke of
cattle, a house, a hundred acres of land, or anything that we [p.72]
possess here in the flesh? If it is, we certainly ought to be as ready
to permit the Lord to govern and control us in all our temporal labors
as we are in our spiritual labors.

Vol. 17,  p.72
Again, when a man dies he can not take his cattle, horses, houses or
lands with him; he goes to the grave—the resting place of all flesh.
No man escapes it, the law of death rests upon all. In Adam all die,
while in Christ all are made alive. We all understand that death has
passed upon all men, but we none of us know when our turn will come,
though we know it will not be a great while before we shall be called
to follow the generations who have preceded us. When we reflect upon
these things I think we all should be willing to let the Lord guide us
in temporal matters. In the Book of Mormon we learn that the ancient
Nephites, who dwelt on this continent, entered into, and continued in,
this order for nearly two hundred years. They were wealthy and happy
and the Lord blessed them. They had no poor among them. They were
united in heart and in spirit, and the blessings of the Lord rested
upon them. It is true they occupied a different position in one sense
to what we do. They entered into this order just after the Lord had
brought judgment upon the whole nation on account of their wickedness,
and many of the wicked had been destroyed: their cities had also been
destroyed, and it was while humbled by these judgments that they
entered the United Order. But a reign of peace and prosperity rested
upon them and continued until they broke the order and began to go,
every man for himself and the devil for them all, then utter
destruction soon overtook them.

Vol. 17,  p.72
It is different with us. We are entering this order before the wicked
are destroyed. We commence it to prepare us for the great events which
are at the door, for if the judgments of God ever were at the door of
any generation it is this. The whole volume of Scripture points these
things out to us in plain language, and all the unbelief of the
inhabitants of the earth will not alter the fact, it will not change
the hand of God nor stay his judgments, which are at the door of Great
Babylon. She will come in remembrance before God, and he will hold a
controversy with the nations; his sword is unsheathed and it will fall
on Idumea, the world, and who can stay his hand? These things have
been proclaimed by almost every Prophet who has ever spoken since the
world began. They point to our day, and their words must have their
fulfillment.

Vol. 17,  p.72
Over forty years the Gospel of Christ has been proclaimed to this
generation and to the whole Christian world as far as we have had
opportunity. Light has come into the world, but men have rejected it
because their deeds are evil, hence the judgments of God will rest
upon the nations of the earth in fulfillment of his word through the
Prophets. The Lord has called upon us to unite together and take hold
of this work, and to prepare ourselves for the great events which are
at hand, that when the destroying angels go forth to reap the earth,
beginning at the sanctuary, they need not destroy any man upon whom is
the mark set by the writer with the inkhorn, who cried and mourned
because of the abominations done among men. The Prophet, in seeing the
vision of these things in the last days, saw that the earth was
reaped, and the reapers began at the sanctuary, and the wicked were
cut off by the judgments of God.

Vol. 17,  p.73
The world now do not believe this any more than they believed in the
[p.73] days of Noah and Lot, and they are no more prepared for it, and
they are growing wickeder and wickeder every day of their lives.
Wickedness is increasing, for the devil has great dominion over the
hearts of the children of men. The Lord is trying to direct and
dictate his Saints and I feel that it is our duty, as a people, to
unite our interests together, also our time, talents, labor, and all
that we are stewards over, that as men who have faith in God, we may
be prepared for those things which await us, and for the coming of the
Son of Man. We are observing the signs of the times, and we can
readily understand the necessity of entering into this order. I think
we can all see this if we enjoy any portion of the spirit of our
religion and the work of the Lord, which we profess to be engaged in.
I can see everything in favor but nothing against the United Order.
These teachings are of the Lord; the servants of God have been moved
to call upon the people, and the Lord has moved upon the people, and
their hearts are being touched by the light of the Holy Spirit, and
they are entering into this organization; and my feeling is that if
you and I, who profess to be the friends of God, and have entered into
a covenant with him, withdraw our hearts from him that we do not see
the necessity of uniting ourselves according to this law of God, we
shall begin to dry up, and what little life, light, or spirit we have
will leave us and we shall go down and we shall not walk in the light
of the Lord. I view it as a day of decision to the Latter-day Saints
throughout the whole Church and kingdom of God, and we shall find it
to our advantage to decide rightly, and to walk in the path marked out
for us by the servants of the Lord.

Vol. 17,  p.73
I feel to say God bless the Latter-day Saints and the honest in heart
and meek of the earth throughout the whole world, and I pray that the
nations may be prepared for that which is to come, for as God lives
there is a change at the door, and what the ancient patriarchs and
Prophets said will be fulfilled; and if I were to express my feelings
as the spirit reveals to me it would be a good deal as Daniel said,
that all who will not prepare themselves for the coming of Christ must
get out of the way, for the little stone that was cut out of the
mountains without hands will shortly grind them to powder, and they
will be cast away as the chaff of the summer threshing floor. The
kingdom of God, which Daniel saw, the Zion of God in embryo, is on the
earth, and is here in these mountains; and it will rise and rise,
until it is clothed with the glory of God.

Vol. 17,  p.73
May God help us to prepare for his coming and kingdom, for Christ's
sake. Amen.[p.74] 

Erastus Snow, May 8. 1874

The United Order of Zion Affords the Utmost Freedom and 
Liberty—Brotherly Love and Goodwill to Man—True Riches 
Relate to Eternity—Establish Confidence in Our Hearts With God

Discourse By Elder Erastus Snow, Delivered at the Adjourned 
General Conference, Held in the New Tabernacle, Salt 
Lake City, Friday Morning, May 8, 1874.

(Reported by David W. Evans)

Vol. 17,  p.74
The United Order of Zion, proposed for our consideration, as will be
seen from the remarks that have been made by former speakers, and from
the articles which were read yesterday afternoon, is a grand,
comprehensive, co-operative system, designed to improve us who enter
into it, financially, socially, morally and religiously; it will aid
us, as Latter-day Saints, in living our religion, and in building up
Zion, and help us, by a combined effort, to cultivate every virtue, to
put from us every vice, to conduct ourselves and our children
sensibly, and to dispense with childish follies; it will enable us to
adopt sensible and discreet fashions and habits of life and style of
dress and manners; all of which can be effected by combined efforts,
but not easily in our individual capacities. For what man, however
good be his desires, can control himself and his family in their
habits and manners of life and fashions, without the aid of the
surrounding community? What sensible man can hold me or my brethren
responsible, in all respects, either for ourselves or our households,
unaided by the community and while the community are all working
against us? But when the community learn to work together, and are
agreed in a common purpose, what is it that they can not accomplish?
Union is strength, and a combination of labor and capital will give us
power at home and abroad. Our former cooperative systems in this
Territory have accomplished very great good for us, but they have been
only combinations of capital; the proposed system embraces labor as
well as capital, and it designs to make the interests of capital and
labor identical. True, there is one feature in the articles read
yesterday which may require a little modification; it is at least a
good subject for mature reflection and consideration before their
final adoption; and these articles are presented before the people for
this purpose.

Vol. 17,  p.75
The combination of labor and capital in this order will enable us
[p.75] to promote all branches of industry which shall appear, in the
judgment of the common Order, to be for the general good. At present,
capitalists are loth to engage in any enterprise which does not
vouchsafe to them profitable returns. It has been said by some among
us that the best argument in favor of co-operation, was large
dividends; but this is an argument that appeals only to cupidity and
avarice, and is especially acceptable to the man who sees nothing but
the God of this world to worship. Large dividends corrupt the morals
of a community, just as large speculations and the profit resulting
therefrom; for however desirable in a financial point of view to those
engaged in them, their tendency is always to intoxicate the brain, and
lead those engaged therein to further follies, until they overreach
and ruin themselves. Moderation is as valuable in financial affairs as
in social ethics, moderation in all speculation and in all business,
fair profits for labor, fair dividends for capital, and the use of
that capital and labor to promote the greatest good of the greatest
number, and not for my own dear self. The selfishness that is limited
to our own persons savors of the lower instincts of our natures, and
comes not from above.

Vol. 17,  p.75
Objections arise in the minds of some. "Shall we not by entering into
this order, surrender our manhood, our personal liberty, and those
rights so dear to every human being?" I answer, no, not in the least.
We do no more than what all people do in the formation of government,
of every kind, or associations for any purpose, whether charitable,
religious or social. All organizations, corporations, and business
firms agree to surrender certain personal privileges in order to
secure mutual advantages. All governments, societies, corporations and
firms are founded upon the principle of mutual concessions to secure
mutual advantages. Without this there could be no government, no power
to arrest and punish criminals and protect the rights of the citizen
and the sanctity of home.

Vol. 17,  p.75
The Order proposed before us affords the utmost freedom and liberty.
All things shall be done by common consent, and all the Branches of
the Order, throughout all the land, are to be organized by the
selection of the wisest, best and most experienced persons in their
midst, to form their councils, and to direct their business affairs
and the labors of the community, for the best possible good of the
whole, and not to the individual advantage of a few, who may be
schemers or who may have acquired an education by which they are
enabled to over-reach their fellow-men financially.

Vol. 17,  p.75
The grand principle upon which the Gospel of life and salvation is
founded and on which Zion is to be built, is brotherly love and good
will to man. This was the theme of the angels of God in announcing the
birth of the Savior. Hitherto, under our old systems, it has been
"every man for himself, and the devil for us all;" but the principle
which the Lord proposes is that we should square our lives by a higher
and holier one, namely, every one for the whole and God for us all.

Vol. 17,  p.75
Will this Order benefit the rich? Yes, it will afford security for
themselves and families and their capital. It is a mutual insurance
institution. Will it afford security and protection to the poor and
the honest laborer? Yes, it will lay a foundation for wealth and
comfort for them, and their families after them. Is it a free school
system? It is a mutual education system. Free? Not to the lazy,[p.76]
vicious and wicked, but it is a mutual education system for the good
and industrious, who abide in the Order and fulfill the obligations
thereof. Who shall be heirs of the common property? Every child who is
born in the Order. Heirs to the whole of it. No, nobody will be heir
to the whole of it. To what portion of it will they be heirs? Just
what they need. Who shall be the judges? Themselves, if they judge
correctly; and if they do not, somebody will judge more correctly for
them. "Well, shall I surrender my judgment to anybody else?" Of
course, you will; we all agree to that, if it must needs be. But he
who judges for himself correctly shall not be judged, but he ,who is
unable to judge himself, but covets everything that he sees, and
wishes to scatter and destroy what others are seeking to accumulate
and preserve, must have a bit put in his mouth and nome, who are more
sensible, must handle the reins. This is no agrarian doctrine, to
level those who are exalted, down to the mean level of those who are
in the mire, but it is the Godlike doctrine of raising those who are
of low estate and placing them in a better condition, by teaching them
economy, and prudence; it is for the strong to foster and bear the
infirmities of the weak, for those who possess skill and ability to
accumulate and preserve this world's goods, to use them for the common
good, and not merely for their own persons, children and relatives, so
as to exalt themselves in pride and vanity over their fellow-men, and
sink themselves to ruin by worshiping the God of this world. This is
beneath the character of those who profess to be the people of God. We
have done that long enough, but the word of God to us is to change our
front, and to learn to love our neighbor as ourselves and so cultivate
the spirit of the Gospel.

Vol. 17,  p.76
As to the minutae of the workings of the various Branches of this
Order, the details of the business and the relations of life, one
meeting of this kind would not suffice to tell, nor could the people
comprehend it if we were able to tell it; but it will be revealed to
us as we pass along, line upon line, precept upon precept, here a
little and there a little, and everything necessary will appear in its
time and place, and none need be over-anxious to pass over the bridge
before they reach it. God does not reveal to us everything at once,
for our minds are not prepared to comprehend it. Like children we must
have experience as we pass along. One thing is sufficient for us to
understand, and that is that this Order has made all nations and
peoples who have entered into and practiced it prosperous.

Vol. 17,  p.76
If any one doubts for a moment the success and final triumph of these
principles, that doubt is founded only in his own weakness, and in the
weaknesses of his fellow-men around him, and the selfishness that is
in our natures. If we are determined to make it a success there is no
power beneath the heavens that can make it a failure. If we engage in
it with full purpose of heart, with faith towards God, and seeking to
cultivate confidence towards one another, and are outspoken and frank
in all our business relations and intercourse with each other, and do
all things by common consent, with a just and honest purpose of soul,
there is no power that can hinder our succeeding in our undertaking.
But if we are determined to be selfish, and seek to build ourselves up
on the weaknesses of our [p.77] fellows, instead of building up the
kingdom of our God, we ought to go down, and the sooner the better.
For the last dozen years many of this people have been going on in the
way that our fathers and the world generally walk in; and instead of
building up Zion, have been after their personal and individual
interests. Forty years have passed over us as a people during which we
have been trying a little to carry on the work of God; but we have
been like the wary trout in the stream, we have been nibbling around
the hook, but we have never swallowed the bait. Now the hook is placed
before us naked, and we are simply asked the question, "Will you take
it or not?" "What, are we going to be caught?" Yes, this is the
fear—"We are going to be caught by the wily fisherman—we are going to
be enslaved. Has not somebody got an eye on our property? Does not
somebody wish to have our horses and carriages, our fine houses, our
substance, and the property we have gathered together?" Yes, the Lord
has an eye on all this, for it belongs to him. Which of us has
anything that does not belong to him? Where have we got that which we
possess? Who has given us ability to accumulate and preserve? To whom
are we accountable for our talents and gifts, as well as our
substance? The Lord has his eye upon all this. Is he anxious about our
property? No. This anxiety is in our own breasts, and if we have any
idols the sooner we put them away the better. The Lord cares nothing
about our houses and lands, our goods and chattels, our gold, silver
or raiment, for all upon the earth belongs to him, and at the best it
is only something that perishes with the using. He requires us to be
faithful in the use of it, for he has said, "He that is not faithful
with the unrighteous mammon, who shall commit to him the true riches?"
True riches relate to eternity; the riches that relate to this life
all perish with the using. Our houses, horses, carriages, clothing,
and our gold and silver perish with the using, together with our
tabernacles. We look to a glorious resurrection, to a new and enduring
earth, to riches that are immortal, to the habitations that shall not
pass away, to a glory that is beyond the grave, as the only true
riches, which the Gospel enjoins us to look after. "Seek ye first the
kingdom of God and its righteousness, and all things else shall be
added unto you." They will be added in God's own way, and he wishes to
show us a better way, and, in order to deal with us as a kind father
does with his children, he proposes to enlighten and instruct us, and
he will impart to all of his people who will obey his voice the wisdom
that is necessary to make them the richest people on the earth. This
is the purpose of the Lord concerning Zion and his people—they are to
possess this world's goods in abundance, not to be foolish with them
and to destroy themselves and their children, but that they may
preserve themselves and their children from falling into the vices and
follies of great Babylon. He will rise up in their midst wise
counselors to provide for the welfare of the whole.

Vol. 17,  p.77
Will our trading and trafficking with the outside world cease? Of
course not. As long as we are in the world, gathering Saints,
preaching to the nations and building up Zion, Zion will be as a city
set on a hill, which can not be hid. But the Lord proposes to preserve
his people as far as possible from the influences of Babylon, and the
[p.78] transactions outside of the Order will be carried on through
the Council of the Order; agents will be appointed by the voice of the
Order, that what we bring, from abroad may be bought from first hands
and in the lowest market, that we may derive the benefits of it,
instead of giving the profits to middlemen who are not of us; and what
we have for sale we will sell in the best markets, and so enjoy the
benefits of our labor, and not by interior competition and
underbidding and underselling each other "scatter our ways to
strangers," as we have done in times past. By this combined effort we
shall be able to obtain the full market value of our products—the
products of the farm, dairy, orchard, vineyard, the products of the
woolen and cotton factory, of our shoe shops, and every mechanical
appliance, to enable us to procure all labor-saving machinery, by our
combined efforts, which men in their individual capacity are not able
to do. We shall also be enabled to start new enterprises, and if they
do not pay at first, they are bound to pay in the end, if they are
necessary adjuncts to the prosperity of society. Our common fund will
nourish these infant establishments, instead of individuals failing
and breaking down in their vain efforts to build up new enterprises in
a new country, as is often the case now. And if funds are needed from
abroad to aid us in any general enterprise, we shall have the combined
property and credit of the community as a guarantee to capitalists
abroad, instead of individuals mortgaging their inheritances to
procure money to carry on individual "wild-cat" speculations by which
thousands are ruined. If they were operating in a United Order and
would submit their enterprises to the candid decision of that Order,
many an enterprising man would be saved from foolish ventures and from
ruin, and the wise and prudent would receive the necessary
encouragement and financial aid, to make their undertakings a success
for the benefit of the whole.

Vol. 17,  p.78
Will our merchants be worse off? No, our merchants, those who belong
to this Order, will be just as well off as any of the rest of the
Order· They will work where they are appointed, go on missions when
called, or tan leather, or make hats or wooden shoes, if they are
better adapted for that than for standing behind the counter; but if
they are best suited to handle the products of the people and to carry
on mutual exchanges among ourselves within the Order and with branch
Orders and with the outside world, we will appoint them to this labor
and service, and hold them to an account of their stewardships, and
the results of their transactions go into the common fund. Then they
will not be stimulated to avarice, overreaching, lying and deception,
to put what they call an honest, but what I call a very dishonest,
penny into their pockets. We will endeavor thus, by a union of effort,
to take away temptations from our midst to be dishonest, and let the
dishonest share the fate of Ananias and Sapphira; but let the
virtuous, upright and good be frank and outspoken, and give their
sentiments, the witness of the word of truth in their hearts, for the
good of the whole. Those who lack business capacity and experience
will labor where they can be useful, that the ability of all may be
available for the general good.

Vol. 17,  p.78
These are the principles embraced in the instrument we heard read
yesterday afternoon. As to these little personal objections that arise
[p.79] in the mind, we shall find that they exist only in the
imaginations of our own hearts, arising from our ignorance or a want
of proper understanding, and partly from knowing each other too well,
and comprehending each other's selfishness and weaknesses; because of
this we are afraid to trust each other. The remedy for this is for
every one to set himself to work to better his own condition, first
establishing confidence in his own heart between himself and his God,
and so deporting himself that he can command the respect and
confidence of his brethren and sisters. Every man and every woman
should set themselves to do this, and should enter into this Order
with a firm determination to do this. Confidence will then soon be
restored in our midst. Then every man and every woman will speak the
honest sentiments of their hearts, and vote as they feel to do on
every question, in the selection of officers and in the transaction of
all business, and we will do whatever we do for the general good,
according to the light that is in us. Such a people are bound to draw
down from the heavens above the revelations of light and truth; they
will tap the clouds from above; every man will be a lightning rod to
draw electricity from the clouds, in other words, the revelations of
light and truth, into their own hearts and minds; they will possess a
combined intelligence that will accomplish all they undertake in
righteousness, and they will prevail before the Lord and before the
world, and will command the respect and honor of the virtuous and
good, at home and abroad. Those who refuse to engage in these
enterprizes, and to eater into the holy Order, will become the
unpopular ones; and after we have once succeeded in this effort, we
shall marvel and wonder that we did not enter into it before.

Vol. 17,  p.79
We have been over forty years trying to learn these lessons, and all
the time putting them off to a future day, waiting for our children to
carry them out; but we shall marvel that we did not rise up and carry
them out before. Thousands of Saints have been anxiously waiting and
might, perhaps, have entered into this before now; but we have been
continually throwing new clay into the machine, drawing new materials
from abroad and raising new elements at home, and the elements brought
from Babylon has brought Babylon with it, and our habits, customs,
notions and individuality have been so prominent, that we could not
see the benefits of mutual concessions to secure the mutual advantages
and benefits of combined labor.

Vol. 17,  p.79
I am aware that some capitalists will object to the idea of drawing
only fifty per cent. of what remains to their credit, if they should
conclude to withdraw from the Order. Be this as it may, I can see no
principle appertaining to the Gospel and to the building up of Zion,
no principle of justice between man and man, which would permit the
capitalist to-day to bring his capital into the Order and surrender it
to the custody and care of stout hearts and strong arms to protect and
preserve it and to increase it by the erection of factories and
machinery and buildings and improvements, by the combined labor of the
people, and then all the original capital, together with all the
dividends, to be left at the disposal of the few capitalists
originally composing the firm, and their be permitted, fifty years
hence, to get up and walk off with the whole of it, leaving the great
mass of the community, that have grown up from infancy, and preserved
and insured [p.80] and made it valuable, without anything but their
daily wages, which they have eaten up as they passed along in
supporting themselves and their growing families. I say I see no
justice in allowing a few capitalists to draw the whole of their
original deposits, together with the whole of the dividends and
profits which have been made by the labor of the whole community, and
I consider the provision which limits that withdrawal to half the
original amount and half the dividends both wise and necessary. It is
a question in my mind whether we should, in this Order, recognize the
right of capital as above that of labor. This is a point which wild
bear criticism. But I will pass that over now.

Vol. 17,  p.80
There are many objections which will arise in the minds of the people.
The enemy will endeavor to throw every possible objection before our
minds; but the more we scan it, and the more we seek to understand the
principles of this Order, as set before us in this instrument, the
more we shall see the wisdom of God manifest therein, and the
revelations of light and truth; the more this spirit goes abroad among
the people, the more will their hearts be opened and prepared to
receive it. I praise God that he has moved upon the heart of his
servant Brigham to call this people to "right about face," that they
may enter in at the strait gate, which may God grant we may be able to
do in the name of Jesus. Amen.

George A. Smith, May 9, 1874

The Blessings of Eternal Life Attained at the 
Sacrifice of All Things—Tithing—Economy Necessary to 
Self-Sustenance—Home Manufacture

Discourse By President George A. Smith, Delivered at the 
Adjourned General Conference, Held in the New Tabernacle, 
Salt Lake City, Sunday Afternoon, May 9, 1874.

(Reported by David W. Evans)

Vol. 17,  p.80
The principles which we have presented before us in the plan of
salvation require of us an effort, for we are told that if we would
have the blessings of exaltation, we must continue unto the end; and,
in the Lectures on Faith, contained in the Book of Doctrine and
Covenants, we are informed that if we would attain to the blessings of
eternal life, we do it at a sacrifice of all things. The principles
connected with this law call upon us to study our acts, designs and
intentions in life.

Vol. 17,  p.80
We came into the Church in different parts of the world, under the
influence of the Spirit of the Almighty, and we gathered here by the
[p.81] aid of our brethren, or by our own efforts. We came to this
land to learn the ways of the Lord and to walk in his paths; but we
fail to understand or appreciate, altogether, the importance of a
strict attention to our faith, and we become negligent and
thoughtless, we are anxious to obtain wealth, and there arises among
us a scramble, a kind of emulation one with the other, to obtain a
greater amount of this world's goods than our neighbors. On this
account many of us neglect to pay our Tithing, notwithstanding we are
very anxious to receive the ordinances which are administered in a
Temple. The real time to pay Tithing is when we have the means. When
we receive money, merchandize or property, if we, in the first
instance, go to Bishop Hunter and pay the tenth, making our record
square with our faith, we can then use the remainder with a conscience
void of offence, and we shall be blessed therein.

Vol. 17,  p.81
Men may commence reasoning on this subject, and say, "We will figure
all the year, and if at the end of it we find that we have saved
anything, we will pay some Tithing; but if we do not save anything, we
think the Bishops ought to pay us something." The spirit which prompts
this feeling is entirely wrong, and those who come to this conclusion
will, in the end, feel that if they lose a crop any year they ought to
keep back their Tithing for several years after to make up that loss;
but the fact is that a Tithing of what we receive from the Lord is due
to him, and the residue we are entitled to use according to our best
wisdom. The Prophet Malachi says—"Will a man rob God? Yet ye have
robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and
offerings. Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even
this whole nation. Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that
there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the
Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour
you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive
it." Jesus said, he that gives a cap of cold water, in the name of a
disciple, to one of these little ones, shall in no wise lose his
reward; but in order to have the blessing of faith connected with the
payment of Tithing, it is necessary to realize the importance of the
commandment of God concerning it, for no man can attain to the faith
necessary to salvation and eternal life without a sacrifice of all
things. Now, if we prefer the things of this world and the pleasures
of life to the things of the kingdom of God, we can have our own
choice, but, so far as the comparison is concerned, "eye hath not
seen, nor ear heard, nor yet hath it entered into the heart of man to
conceive," the glory that is in store for those who keep the
commandments of God, and live in accordance with his requirements. If
we are to adopt the order of Zion now, it should become in our hearts
a cherished desire, an earnest and determined purpose that, in all our
actions, we will seek to love our neighbor as ourselves, that we will
labor for the good of Zion, and put away selfishness, corruption and
false principles.

Vol. 17,  p.81
We have been instructed upon the necessity of economy, of living
within ourselves, and of sustaining ourselves by the production of our
own hands, yet we carelessly drift in another direction. How often we
have been counseled to avoid getting into debt. When the Order of
Enoch was organized in Kirtland the brethren were commanded, in the
laws, not to get into debt to their enemies, and on a [p.82] certain
occasion it was commanded that we should make it our object to pay all
our debts and liabilities, and that we should take measures to avoid
the necessity of incurring more. One of the earliest things I can
remember in my boyhood was an answer to the question—How to get rich?
The answer was—"Live on half your income, and live a great while." We
know how easy it is to live beyond our income, and to go on the credit
system. Credit is a shadow, and debt is bondage, and I advise the
brethren to realize that the balloon system of credit so general in
our country and among ourselves is dangerous in its nature, and it is
our duty, at the earliest time in our power, to close up all our
liabilities, pay all our debts, and commence living as we go. I would
rather walk the streets in a pair of wooden soles that I own and owe
no man for, than in the finest morocco that some merchant was
presenting a bill to me to pay for; I should, in my estimation, be
more of a gentleman and more of an independent man with the wooden
soles than with the fine boots, and I would advise our brethren, if
necessity requires, to adopt the wooden sole leather in preference to
being in debt.

Vol. 17,  p.82
I visited the land where my ancestors lived in America, the graves of
three or four generations of them, and I saw on the old farm, still
occupied by some distant kinsmen, a shoe shop. Said I—"What are you
doing here?" Said they—"Here is where we make our money, we work the
farm in the summer, and in the winter we sit down here and earn three
or four hundred dollars making shoes." "Where do you sell them?" "We
make them for some houses in Salem and Lynn, that send them to
California and the western Territories and sell them there." Now,
brethren, think of this, a man can learn to make a shoe very quick it
he has any ingenuity, and many of us spend our time in partial
idleness through the winter, and we buy our shoes from manufacturers
in the East, when we could just as well make them ourselves. Another
bad feature connected with imported shoes is, that when we put them on
and walk into the streets, if the weather is wet, our feet are damp
very quick, and I believe, as a matter of health as well as economy,
that if, in wet weather, we were to adopt the wooden sole, it would
save our children from much sickness, and a great many of us from
rheumatism, sore throats and coughs, for much of the imported sole
leather is spongy, and that holds the water and makes the feet damp
and cold, producing sickness; and I am inclined to believe the
statement made by the agricultural societies of Europe, that the use
of wooden soles for shoes has a tendency to prevent a great many
diseases which are incident to the use of leather. But if we are
determined to wear leather, if we set ourselves to the work with a
will, we can produce as fine leather of every variety, and as fine
shoes and almost every other necessary within ourselves as we import,
and a great deal better. But we must stop sending away our hides by
the car lead and must tan them ourselves. We have plenty of workmen
who understand the business, and more can be trained, and we shall
then not be compelled to ship car-loads of hair from the States for
the use of our plasterers, in mixing the lime to finish our walls.
This is true political economy.

Vol. 17,  p.82
When I went to St. George last fall, I had a very good pair of boots,
made of nice States sole leather, under my feet. The soil of St.
George has a cold mineral in it, and although [p.83] it may be dry and
pleasant to walk about, a man wants a thick sole under his feet. I
have bled a great many years from a rupture of the left lung which I
got while preaching in the streets of London it, 1840, and I have
suffered a great deal from it, and the moment I would go out to walk
on the streets of St. George, a shock, almost like electricity, would
strike, through the spongy leather of my boot, from the hollow of my
foot to this lung and cause a pain there. I went and got an extra sole
put on and a thickness of wax cloth put between the soles, and in this
way I wore, all winter, a boot just as stiff in the sole as a clog,
and had no rheumatism and escaped cold. This set me to reflecting why
I should pay two dollars for those soles, brought from the States,
when a piece of cottonwood was just as good, and would answer my
purpose just as well. Says one—"Why not wear overshoes?" Who wants the
air kept from their feet by wearing a coat of india-rubber, which
sweats them and makes them tender? They keep the feet dry, it is true,
but for my own part it is not convenient to wear overshoes, and never
has been, and on this account I have been compelled to go without. I
also observe that some of those who do wear them, if they are not very
careful, or if they should happen to forget and step out into the wet
without them are almost sure to take cold, and have an attack of
rheumatism, especially if they have delicate health. But with us
throughout the Territory, I believe it has become almost a financial
necessity that we economize our shoe bills. Think of these things and
remember that it is within our power to manufacture just as good
leather and as much of it, and as good and handsome shoes here as
anywhere else, only let us take the time necessary to do it.

Vol. 17,  p.83
The same thing may be said in relation to hats and clothing, and in
fact about nine out of every ten articles that we import. One car-load
of black walnut brought here from the States, and paid for as a lower
class of freight, will probably make half a dozen car loads of
furniture, and we have the mechanics who know how to make it up; and
if we lack the necessary machinery we can procure it. If we please we
can also bring lumber for every variety of furniture that we want,
that our mountain lumber will not make. The same rule will also apply
to wagons, carriages and agricultural implements. This course will be
much better than wasting ourselves by being slaves to others, and
paying out hundreds of thousands of dollars for furniture of a not
very durable quality, and other articles that we can manufacture
ourselves.

Vol. 17,  p.83
With me this is a very important item of religion, and it is time for
us to cease importing shoes, clothing, wagons and so many other
things, and that we manufacture them at home. This will reduce instead
of increasing our expenses. When a man buys imported articles for the
use of his family he helps to create difficulties for himself, for by
and by the bills begin to come, and bonds and mortgages and all this
sort of thing have to be met, and then he begins to worry and stew;
but if he used home-made products the means is kept in the Territory,
and he has a chance of working at some branch of trade which will in a
short time bring it back to him again; whereas if it is sent out of
the Territory it helps to impoverish all. Why not retrench? Says
one—"I want to wear as good clothes and as fine shoes as anybody else,
and I think I should be laughed at if I were to put clogs[p.84] on."
Well, if they did laugh they could not do a more foolish thing. Why
not feel proud and independent of our own high character, that what we
have is our own, and we are slaves to nobody? That is my feeling about
it. By continually importing we run into debt and cast our ways to
strangers, when it is perfectly in our power, if we will do it, to be
independent, comfortable and happy, and owe no man anything.

George A. Smith, May 10, 1874

Education of Children—the Necessity of Supporting Home 
Publications—Ladies' Relief Societies—St. George 
and Salt Lake Temples—Sabbath Schools

Discourse By President George A. Smith, Delivered at the 
Adjourned General Conference, Held in the New Tabernacle, 
Salt Lake City, Sunday Afternoon, May 10, 1874.

(Reported by David W. Evans)

Vol. 17,  p.84
I rise on the present occasion, desiring the faith and prayers of the
brethren and sisters that I may be able to address them by the majesty
of the Spirit of the Almighty. When we come before the Lord to partake
of the Sacrament, in memory of his death and suffering, we witness
unto him that we do remember him, that we love one another, and that
we are willing to endeavor to do all in our power to fulfill our
several duties on the earth.

Vol. 17,  p.84
One of the first and most responsible duties that rest upon us is the
education, training and cultivation of the minds of our children. A
child learns from us by our examples, the actions or examples of the
parents being ever remembered by the children. A pious old deacon who
may, by the way, have been a hypocrite, and had two half bushel
measures, one to buy, and the other to soil with, may be very sure
that his children will be dishonest. So it may be with our children if
we do not act before them as becometh Saints; our precepts may be very
good, but their effect will not be very powerful unless our examples
correspond.

Vol. 17,  p.84
We are more or less careless as to the observance of the Sabbath; and,
in consequence of the neglect of the Latter-day Saints in this
respect, I feel anxious to stir them up to diligence in attending
meetings on the Sabbath and on fast days, and in having their children
do the same. I have visited a number of Sunday schools, and I have
found that there was a good deal of interest manifested in them, and
that much benefit to the rising generation is resulting from spending
a couple of hours on [p.85] the Sabbath in giving them religious or
such other instruction as may be necessary to cultivate their minds;
and, I wish the Bishops and presiding Elders, on their return to their
several Branches, to stir up the minds of the brethren and sisters to
the necessity of encouraging the Sunday schools, that they may be
interesting and agreeable as well as instructive. Stir up the parents,
too, that they may be alive and awake in getting the children ready
for school in season, and that punctuality in attendance be
encouraged. Endeavor also to induce parents and other elder members of
families who can do so, to attend the Sunday schools, that there may
be no lack of teachers, for one of the most useful callings for
persons who can possibly or reasonably attend to it, is to teach the
youth in Sunday schools.

Vol. 17,  p.85
I also advise that the "Juvenile Instructor" be circulated extensively
among our children. It is a work calculated to inform their minds on
the principles of the Gospel; from its pages they may also gain a
knowledge of the history of the Church, as well as a variety of other
useful and entertaining information. It is a very useful publication,
and the benefits it is capable of conferring upon our young people are
numerous and great. While speaking on this subject, I will refer to
other papers published by our brethren in these valleys—the "Deseret
News," the "Salt Lake Herald," "Ogden Junction," "Provo Times," and
the "Beaver" and "St. George Enterprise," all of which contain a good
deal of information about our home affairs specially, and of events in
the world generally. I hope that, in all the Stakes of Zion, the
people will manifest a spirit and determination to support papers
which are published for their benefit. The "Deseret News," daily,
semi-weekly, and weekly, besides the general news of the world, also
contains many of the sermons of President Young and others of the
Church authorities, and it should be widely circulated in all the
settlements of the Saints. The mails now run to all parts of the
Territory, and though we can not boast a great deal about the
punctuality of some of them, yet in nearly every settlement a mail
comes along once in a while bringing the "Deseret News," and a man is
pretty safe on the main thoroughfares in taking the weekly, and in
many locallities the semi-weekly or daily may be ventured upon.

Vol. 17,  p.85
We must do something more in relation to printing. The Women's Relief
Society are publishing a paper called the "Woman's Exponent," which is
a very ably edited sheet, and one containing a great deal of
information. I am surprised that all the gentlemen in the Territory do
not take it. I invite all the Elders, Bishops and presiding officers
in the Stakes of Zion, on their return home, setting the example
themselves, to solicit all their brethren, and especially the sisters,
to become subsribers to this little sheet, for I am sure that they
will be interested in the instruction and information it contains. I
will say that. we expect in a short time, through the patronage of the
brethren and sisters, that the ladies will be able to enlarge this
paper, and to extend its influence far and wide.

Vol. 17,  p.85
It has been my privilege to make visits to, and to become acquainted
with the Ladies' Relief Societies in many of the settlements in the
Territory, and I am convinced that great good results from the labors
of these organizations; and I feel certain that unless the ladies take
hold of any movement designed to forward the [p.86] work of the Lord
in the last days, its progress will be tardy. In all parts of the
world, when nations are at war, unless the women take an interest in
the matter, the war goes on very heavily. I am of the opinion that in
the next war between France and Germany, the French will get the best
of it. Not but what I have a great opinion of German skill, energy and
pluck, but I am satisfied, from traveling and personal observation,
that the women of France are thoroughly aroused, and that in the next
war between those two nations, the Prussians will have to fight the
women of France, and then France will be likely to win.

Vol. 17,  p.86
I say to our sisters of the Relief Societies, be encouraged, meet
together and discuss all questions that are calculated to interest or
benefit the community, as you have the ability; and as no man can be
elected to office in this Territory without the vote of the ladies,
make yourselves thoroughly acquainted, not only with the politics of
the country, but with every principle of local government that may be
advanced, and then, whatever is calculated to benefit the people in
their private or domestic circles, you will be enabled to vote
intelligently, and to carry it through without difficulty.

Vol. 17,  p.86
We spend a great deal of money in following vain fashions, and in
purchasing a great many articles that are useless. These societies, if
they choose, can make their own fashions and they can make them
according to wisdom, and so as to promote health; a great many of the
fashions of the world are calculated to destroy health. A hundred
questions connected with domestic economy—housekeeping, cooking,
making bread and kindred subjects, that are of importance to the
stomach, health and longevity of every man and woman in the Territory
may be properly discussed in these Relief Societies, and useful
information disseminated. A great many of the women in these valleys
have not had good opportunities to become acquainted with the art of
cooking, and that is an art which has something to do with every
person's happiness. The example of the ladies, and the influence which
they exercise, have a tendency, above all things else, to maintain,
create, and preserve good morals. Men are apt to behave themselves in
the society of women, and if women act wisely and prudently in guiding
and controlling the course and conduct of each other, they will be
able, to a great extent, to guide, control, and regulate the morals
and the conduct of men. We think, however, that the policy of the
Christian world, in throwing the responsibility, so far as morality is
concerned, entirely upon the heads of women, is a blunder; the men
should be held responsible for their own acts, and when they are
guilty of that which is corrupt, low or degrading, they should be
looked upon as transgressors and cast aside until, by repentance and
uprightness, they prove that they are worthy of confidence.

Vol. 17,  p.86
I have been, from the commencement of the formation of this Territory,
more or less identified with its politics. I was a member of the
Legislature of Deseret, before Utah Territory was organized, and while
it was a provisional government. I was a member of the first
Legislature of the Territory, and served twenty years. During that
period I was brought in contact with five different sets of federal
officers, and I had a pretty good knowledge of some forty-eight or
forty-nine judges. They were men sent here, from different parts of
the country, to administer the law. They had a general knowledge
[p.87] of politics, and of the law as administered in their own
immediate localities. But few of them were of high minds and noble
sentiments, and many of them were incapable of occupying, with honor,
the high positions they were selected to fill. Our people here in
these mountains did not take much pains to acquaint themselves with
the politics of the country. We had been five times robbed of all we
possesed. Our leaders had been murdered and we had been expatriated
and driven from the United States into these valleys, then a portion
of the republic of Mexico, but afterwards acquired by the United
States. We were a great way from any other settlement. It took a
month, generally, to get a mail, and for about twelve years we had
about seven mails a year; and in the latter part of October or about
the first of November, portions of the mails for the winter before
would be brought in here with ox teams. This was our condition in
early days. We did not pay a great deal of attention to politics; we
were not very much divided and hence we cared very little about our
elections, and did not pay much attention to them; and a good many who
came from abroad were so careless that they did not obtain their
naturalization papers, although, from time to time, we advised them to
attend to this matter; and I now call upon the Bishops and presiding
Elders, when they return home, to recommend the foreign brethren who
are not naturalized to see to this; and in all localities or districts
which are favored with judges who have more respect for the law than
for religious bigotry, let the brethren take all pains to get
naturalized, that they may have the benefits of the laws of our
country, and be permitted to perform any duty required thereby, and be
faithful to do so in all cases; and never let an election go by, or
any other occasion in which it is important for us to take part,
without paying attention to it. This advice is for the ladies as well
as for the gentlemen, for every lady of twenty-one years of age, who
is a citizen of the United States, or whose husband or father is a
citizen of the United States, has a right, under the laws of Utah to
vote; and no one need hope to hold office in Utah if the ladies say
no.

Vol. 17,  p.87
I wish to call your attention to the Saint George Temple. We have got
the foundation of that Temple up to the water table, about eighteen
feet from the ground, and a very nice foundation it is. The building
is about one hundred and forty-one feet long and about ninety-three
feet wide, and when the walls are up they will be about ninety feet
high. We have a very fine draught and design. The building is in a
nice locality and in a very fine climate, where, all winter, and in
fact the whole year, there is almost perpetual spring and summer
weather; and when the Temple is completed there will be an opportunity
to go there and spend the winter and attend to religious ordinances or
enjoy yourselves; and if you want to go there through the summer you
can eat as delicious fruits as ever grew out of the earth in any
country I believe. As far as I have traveled I have never seen
anything in the way of fruit that I thought was superior to that which
is produced in St. George. We invite a hundred and fifty of the
brethren to volunteer to go down there this summer to put up this
building, and to find themselves while they are doing it. We shall
call upon the Bishops, presiding Elders, teachers and others from the
various stakes of Zion to take this matter in hand when they [p.88]
reach home, and find brethren, if they can, who are willing to go and
do this work, so that by Christmas the building may be ready for the
roof, that we may, in a very short time, have the font dedicated and
the ordinances of the holy Priesthood performed in that place. We
appeal to our brethren and sisters in behalf of this St. George
Temple. Our brethren in that vicinity are doing all they can to push
forward the work, but five or six months' help from a hundred or a
hundred and fifty men is very desirable.

Vol. 17,  p.88
I will invite all the brethren and sisters from the settlements who
may visit Salt Lake City this summer to step on to the Temple Block
and see what we are doing for the Temple here. See the beautiful
stones that have been quarried in the Cottonwood and brought here,
every one cut and numbered for its place. And it is the duty of the
brethren to call upon the Lord for his blessing upon the work and upon
the workmen. I also call upon the Bishops and teachers in all the
stakes of Zion, to be on hand and to see that, in the building of this
Temple, in the centre stake of Zion in the mountains, we are not under
the necessity of involving ourselves in disagreeable liabilities in
order to move the work forward. For the last year we have had from
sixty to ninety men engaged in cutting stone on this block, and a
number of other mechanics to supply them with tools and other
necessaries; last summer we had a considerable force of men laying
these stones on the walls. In Little Cottonwood canyon we have
continually at work a force of from twenty-five to sixty men quarrying
granite, and every day, Sundays excepted, two or three car loads of
this granite, from ten to twelve tons each load, are brought from the
quarry to the Temple Block. It is really a delightful thing, to a
person who has never seen it, to go on to the block and see the
skillful manner in which our architects and workmen pick up these big
stones and pass them all over the building, and lay them in their
place to a hair's breadth. It shows what can be done with a little
management, skill and ingenuity.

Vol. 17,  p.88
We earnestly appeal to all Saints, Tithe payers, to donate liberally
and punctually for the prosecution of this work. While we employ so
many skilled mechanics and other laborers, their families constantly
require a supply of not only home products, but of money, and
merchandize which costs money, and unless the brethren furnish the
means to supply these necessities, we shall be obliged to dismiss many
of the workmen. We have already incurred liabilities which press upon
us, and we call upon the brethren to supply the means necessary to
enable us to maintain our credit and continue the work.

Vol. 17,  p.88
It is the design of the teachers and superintendents of Sunday
schools, to get up a children's musical jubilee. Some songs have been
composed, and they are being learned and practiced, and they calculate
to assemble some eight or ten thousand children in this building and
have a general time of grand musical song. The enterprise is a very
laudable one. We do not know when the festival will take place but
brother Goddard, the Assistant Superintendent, and a number of others
who are interested in Sunday schools are doing all they can, and we
ask the co-operation of the Bishops, presidents, teachers and brethren
and sisters in the several Stakes of Zion to take a part in it, and
make it one of the finest festivals of the kind ever held. The
progress of our Sabbath schools will be encouraged, and the elevating
tendency [p.89] of music may be appreciated by all who participate
therein. We ask our brethren to act wisely and prudently in carrying
this matter out, that it may be done in such a manner as shall be
satisfactory; and if a little means is necessary on the part of
parents or friends let it not be wanting. In the course of my year's
travel I visited schools in various parts of the world, but I found
none superior to our own. I think that ours compare favorably with
them, and in many respects they are superior to most that I visited,
and I hope that a spirit to encourage them will be developed.

Vol. 17,  p.89
I wish to see the common school system encouraged as far as possible.
The brethren in many settlements are forming Branches of the United
Order, and as soon as they get fairly to work they will be able to
introduce improved systems of teaching. I notice, in visiting our
settlements, more or less carelessness in relation to schools. Very
little pains will make a school-room quite comfortable, and I wish to
stir up parents to the importance of visiting the schools and seeing
what their children are doing, and what the teachers are doing, find
out whether the little fellows are sitting on comfortable seats;
whether they put a tall boy on a low seat, or a boy with short legs on
a high seat, making him humpbacked. The happiness and prosperity of
the whole life of a child may be a good deal impaired while attending
school through a blockhead of a teacher not knowing enough to get a
saw and sawing the legs of the seats his pupils sit upon, an as to
make them comfortable. It is the duty of the people to look after the
comfort of their children while at school, and also to procure proper
books for them; and to see that the schools are provided with fuel,
that in the cold weather they may be warm and comfortable. In a new
country I know there are a good many disadvantages to contend with,
but I feel anxious that nothing, within our power to promote the
welfare of our children, should be neglected. There is no need,
however, to send to the States to buy school benches. There is plenty
of timber in these mountains, and a few days' work properly applied
will seat any school room perfectly comfortable, for we can make just
as good benches in this country as anywhere else, it is only a
question of time and attention. Of course if we can do no better, send
and buy; but in order that we may have means to buy what we are forced
to buy, it is necessary that we exercise prudence and economy and
supply our own wants as far as possible. The wholesale Co-operative
Store here imports probably five million dollars' worth of goods per
annum. One half of these goods could be produced at home with our own
labor; it is only a question of time and management to do it. If we
were to produce one-half of these goods we should be in easy
circumstances all the time, and should have plenty to buy everything
we wanted to buy. We could also produce many things to sell; but by
purchasing, in such immense quantities, articles that we can make
ourselves, we impoverish ourselves all the time, hence we advise our
brethren and sisters, in all their councils, meetings, orders,
associations, and relief and retrenchment societies, to take into
account every question where economy can be exercised and prudence
observed, and where we can save a dollar instead of spending one let
us do it, for by taking this course we can lay a foundation for
permanent comfort at home, and this will prevent us from being
dependent upon abroad. This is a part of my religion and this I shall
[p.90] continue to preach.

Vol. 17,  p.90
In relation to this United Order, I will say to those who are entering
it, if questions arise that trouble you and that you wish to have
explained; or if anything should arise upon which you wish for advice
or counsel, it you will write your queries and send them along here to
the President's office, we will answer them, and show you that the
whole affair can be carried out with perfect ease. Only let this
people act with one heart and one mind, as the Nephites did, and
success is certain; and in a short time a great many will wonder, as
some in the southern settlements have already expressed it, "Why did
we not unite before?" I feel satisfied that the spirit which has been
manifested here and elsewhere on this subject, is the same spirit
which bore testimony to you, when you went down into the waters of
baptism, that this was the work of God; and when we have this spirit
in our hearts we can move forward with joy and thanksgiving, and can
accomplish that which is required of us.

Vol. 17,  p.90
I wish to return my thanks to our musicians—those who direct and all
who have participated in the musical exercises of our Conference. I
have enjoyed them. I have visited many parts of the world, and have
been to see their organs and to hear their music; but I have heard
none with which I am so well pleased as with our own. There is
something sweet and lovely here, and I feel that the Spirit of the
Lord has warmed the hearts and inspired the souls of those who have
made melody for us during the Conference. I pray that God may bless
them, that he may enlighten their minds, enliven their souls, and make
their songs songs of glory for ever. Amen.

George A. Smith, May 24, 1874

General Doniphan's Connection With the Early History of the 
Church—Persecutions of the Saints—Mormon Battalion—Hardships 
Experienced in the Settlement of Utah—Plurality of Wives

Discourse By President George A. Smith, Delivered in the 
New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Sunday Afternoon, May 24, 1874.

(Reported by David W. Evans)

Vol. 17,  p.90
About two days since the daily papers announced the arrival, in this
city, of General A. W. Doniphan, of Liberty, Clay County, Missouri.
This circumstance brought to my mind incidents thirty-six years passed
[p.91] by, to which I shall briefly refer on the present occasion.
There are few men whose names have been identified with the history of
our Church, with more pleasant feelings to its members, than General
Doniphan. During a long career of persecution, abuse and oppression
characters occasionally present themselves like stars of the first
magnitude in defence of right, who are willing, notwithstanding the
unpopularity that may attach to it, to stand up and protest against
mob violence, murder, abuse, or the destruction of property and
constitutional rights, even if the parties who are being thus abused,
robbed, murdered or trampled under foot have the unpopular name of
"Mormons." The incident of General Doniphan exercising his influence
by which means he prevented the murder of Joseph and Hyrum Smith and
some other Elders, who bad had a mock trial by court-martial, in the
State of Missouri, some thirty-six years ago, is familiar to the minds
of all the Latter-day Saints who are acquainted with the history of
that period, and there is one man in the Territory who was present on
the occasion, that is Timothy B. Foote, of Nephi, who witnessed the
court-martial. It was represented to Joseph Smith, by a man known
among our people as Colonel Hinkle, that Major General Lucas and
certain other parties wished to have an interview with him. In the
vicinity of the town of Far West there was at that time a large body
of armed men, under the orders of the Governor of Missouri, but
temporarily under the command of General Lucas, of Jackson County,
Mo., who was the ranking officer. It is understood by us that Hinkle
had deceived Joseph Smith and the brethren with the idea that the
interview was to be of a peaceful and consultory character; but when
they came, as they supposed, to hold the interview, they were taken
prisoners, tried by a court-martial and sentenced to be shot; the
execution, however, was prevented by the protest of General Doniphan,
who, at that time, was commander of a brigade, composed, I believe, of
the militia of the County of Clay, and who declared that the execution
of that sentence would be cold blooded murder.

Vol. 17,  p.91
It was not long after this that General Clark, who had been appointed
by the Governor to this command, arrived and took command of this
militia. General Atchison was the ranking officer, being the general
of a division on the north side of the river, commanding a division
containing, I think, six counties, but he was superseded by the
appointment of Clark. If I remember right there were as many as
thirteen thousand men ordered out, and there were probably five or six
thousand collected together on the ground, their object being to expel
the Latter-day Saints from the State of Missouri.

Vol. 17,  p.91
The number of Latter-day Saints at that period is not accurately
known, but there were, I suppose, in the neighborhood of ten or twelve
thousand. The settlements had been rapidly formed. They had occupied
the County of Caldwell when there were only seven families in it. A
party of Elders visited Caldwell County to look for a location. On
their arrival they fell in with these seven families, who were living
in log cabins and had made very little improvements. They said the
country was a worthless, naked prairie, there was very little timber
in it, and, their business being bee-hunting, they had hunted all the
bees out of the woods, and they wanted to go somewhere else, as they
learned there was better bee-hunting and more honey to be obtained
[p.92] up Grand River; and within an hour after the arrival of the
first of these Elders, every one of the seven men had sold their
places and received their pay, congratulating themselves on their good
fortune in leaving a country where the taking of wild honey had ceased
to be a paying business, and there was not a family, other than
Latter-day Saints, residing in the county. A good many of our people
were settled in Ray County, a few in Clay, and some in Livingstone,
Davies, Clinton and Carroll. I understand that three hundred and
eighteen thousand dollars had been paid to the United States for lands
in the State of Missouri, the titles of which were held by Latter-day
Saints. The Order of Governor Boggs exterminated these people from the
State. To be sure they owned their lands, and they were industrious
and law-abiding. They were increasing rapidly and making vast
improvements. The city of Far West had several hundred houses, and
other towns and villages were springing up. United firms were being
organized, which were putting into cultivation very extensive tracts
of land in addition to the large amount already brought under
improvement.

Vol. 17,  p.92
In consequence of the influence exerted by General Doniphan, General
Lucas hesitated to execute the sentence of his court-martial, and he
delivered Joseph Smith and his associates into the charge of General
Moses Wilson, who was instructed to take them to Jackson County and
there put them to death. I heard General Wilson, some years after,
speaking of this circumstance. He was telling some gentlemen about
having Joseph Smith a prisoner in chains in his possession, and said
he—"He was a very remarkable man. I carried him into my house, a
prisoner in chains and in less than two hours my wife loved him better
than she did me." At any rate Mrs. Wilson became deeply interested in
preserving the life of Joseph Smith and the other prisoners, and this
interest on her part, which probably arose from a spirit of humanity,
did not end with that circumstance, for, a number of years afterwards,
after the family had moved to Texas, General Wilson became interested
in raising a mob to do violence to some of the Latter-day Saint Elders
who were going to preach in the neigborhood, and this coming to the
ears of Mrs. Wilson, although then an aged lady, she mounted her horse
and rode thirty miles to give the Elders the information. Year before
last when I was in California, attending the State Fair, I met with a
son of Mr. Wilson: he was president of an agricultural society, and
was attending the fair, and I named this circumstance to him. He told
me that his mother deeply deprecated the difficulties with the
Mormons, and did all she could to prevent them.

Vol. 17,  p.92
You can readily see from what I have said that our community, at that
time, was very handsomely situated. the poorest man in it, apparently,
owned his forty acres of land, while some of the richer had several
sections. Farms had been opened, and prosperity seemed to smile upon
the people everywhere. Mills were built, machinery was being
constructed, and everything seemed to be going on that could be
desired to make a community prosperous, wealthy and happy, when
suddenly, in consequence of the exterminating order issued by Lilburn
W. Boggs, and executed by General Clark, and those under his command,
the people were driven from the State. If we would renounce our faith
we could have the privilege of remaining, but [p.93] we were told
pointedly that we must hold no prayer meetings, no prayer circles, no
conferences, and that we must have neither Bishops nor Presidents, and
that if we indulged in any of these forbidden luxuries the citizens
would be upon us and destroy us. A very few accepted the conditions
and remained, and I believe that, to this day, one or two families
occupy their inheritances who then renounced their faith.

Vol. 17,  p.93
This people landed in Illinois destitute. Most of their animals had
been plundered from them during the difficulties, and, to use a
comparative expression, they arrived in that State almost naked and
barefoot. They were, however, a very industrious people, and they
immediately went to work; anywhere and everywhere that they could find
anything to do their hands laid hold upon it, and prosperity very soon
began to smile upon them. Joseph Smith was kept in prison during the
winter, but in the spring he and several of his fellow prisoners,
among then Bishop Alexander McRae of the 11th Ward, escaped and made
their way to the State of Illinois.

Vol. 17,  p.93
Our people had a very singular idea of justice and right; they
supposed, having paid their money to the United States for their
lands, having actually purchased and received titles for them, that it
was the business of the United States to protect them thereon; having
little acquaintance with law they entertained the somewhat wild idea
that that was no more than justice on the part of the Government. Of
course, the government could only be expected to protect them against
any adverse titles that might arise; but so far as protecting them
from mobs or from illegal violence from the State in which they lived,
from oppression from those in authority, or from marauders who might
burn their houses, or murder them and ravish their wives, this was no
part of the business of the United States; but in their lack of
knowledge on these subjects they fancied that the United States should
protect them on their lands, hence Joseph Smith and several of his
brethren went directly to Washington, carrying the applications of
some ten thousand persons, and asked the Government to protect them in
the possession of their lands and in their rights, and to restore them
to their homes. They had an interview on the subject with Mr. Van
Buren, at that time President of the United States, and the answer
that he gave has become almost a house. hold word. Said he—"Gentlemen,
your cause is just, but we can do nothing for you." Joseph accordingly
returned to his friends in the western border of Illinois, and they
commenced purchasing lands in the vicinity of Nauvoo, and they laid
out and built a city and remained there.

Vol. 17,  p.93
This occurred in the Spring of 1839, and Joseph remained there until
the Summer of 1844, during which time he had several very grevious
law-suits, which arose out of attempts on the part of the authorities
of Missouri to carry him back to that State. He was arrested several
times, and had one trial, and was discharged on habeas corpus in the
circuit court, before Judge Stephen A. Douglas; one trial, and
discharged on habeas corpus before Judge Pope, United States judge in
the district of Illinois; and one trial before the municipal court of
Nauvoo. These several trials cost a great deal of money and a great
deal of time, and were a very discouraging feature in the progress of
the settlements in that vicinity, though the industry and enterprise
of the people were [p.94] such that they purchased a large portion of
the lands in that county and in adjoining counties. They laid out and
built the city of Nauvoo, containing some twelve thousand inhabitants,
and they were building a Temple and making other improvements, when
Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum were murdered, which took place on
the twenty-seventh of June, 1844.

Vol. 17,  p.94
I will say in relation to the progress of the work, that missionaries,
among them the Twelve Apostles, had been sent abroad to preach, and a
great many people had received the Gospel. The Apostles took their
departure directly from the re-commencing of the foundation of the
Temple in the city of Far West, on the 26th of April, 1839. They went
on a mission to Europe for about two years, baptizing some seven
thousand persons, and laying a foundation for the gathering from the
old world, which has continued up to the present time. The
circumstances connected with the death of Joseph and Hyrum Smith were
such as to impress upon their enemies even, the disgrace inflicted
upon the State by their murder, and upon the world the importance, of
their mission. The governor of the State pledged himself, when they
gave themselves up, that they should be protected and have a fair
trial, but he placed them in the hands of men, who, he was assured by
many, were their enemies, and who would murder them if they had the
power. Joseph Smith had been brought before legal tribunals
forty-seven times, and had in every instance been acquitted.
Everything in the shape of a vexatious law suit that could be trumped
up against him had been, and in this instance he was arrested on the
affidavit of a man, whose word would not have been taken at a saloon
in Carthage for a glass of grog, who swore that he was guilty of
treason, and he was thrown into prison, and murdered while being
detained waiting for an examination. The governor, in a communication
to the Elders in Nauvoo, said that the people felt that it was very
wrong that he should be murdered in that way, but the great mass of
them was very glad that he was dead; and I have reason to believe that
this feeling was caused by religious prejudice, which arose from the
fact that he came preachingwhat was considered a new doctrine, which
attacked all the hireling priests and religious crafts, and offered
free, to all people, a religion, plain and simple and in accordance
with the Bible, and which, if accepted, would have a tendency to throw
a large portion of the hireling clergy of the age out of employment,
or compel them to do as the Apostles did in the days of Jesus—preach
the Gospel without purse and scrip. Vexatious law-suits, mob violence,
tar and feathers, and finally, bloodshed were successively adopted in
hopes of stopping this religion, and it was believed by those who
regarded "Mormonism" as a wild theory, that the death of Joseph would
scatter the people and destroy their faith in the work. They did not
realize that he had laid the foundation of a living, truthful
organization, which would be likely to increase the faster the more it
was persecuted. But so it was, for the people continued to gather, and
the public buildings—Temple and Nauvoo House—were being pushed forward
more rapidly than ever, and when this was ascertained, there was an
organization formed which expelled the people from the State.

Vol. 17,  p.94
The authorities of the Church at Nauvoo being aware of this
combination, petitions were sent to the [p.95] government of the
United States, and also to the governer of every State in the Union,
asking each one to give us an asylum in his State. The governor of
Arkansas gave us a respectful answer, all the rest treated our
petition with silent contempt.

Vol. 17,  p.95
In September, 1845, the mob commenced burning houses, and they
continued burning in different parts of the settlements, mostly in
Hancock County, until they burned one hundred and seventy-five houses.
The governor and authorities of the State were notified, and finally
the sheriff of the County took a posse, mostly Latter-day Saints, and
stopped the house-burning. The instant this was done the people of the
nine adjoining counties rose up and said—"You 'Mormons' must leave the
county or you 'Mormons' must die." They then made an agreement that we
should have time to move away and dispose of our property, and that
vexatious law-suits and mob violence should cease. This we kept most
faithfully, but so far as they were concerned the agreement was never
observed, mob violence continued, house burnings and murders occurred
occasionally, vexatious law-suits were renewed; and before the remnant
of the people were permitted to get out of the county they were
surrounded by armed mobs, as many as eighteen hundred in a single
body, and cannonaded out of their houses.

Vol. 17,  p.95
The people thus driven commenced a journey to seek the home where we
now reside. The white settlements extended sixty or seventy miles west
of the Missouri River, Keosauqua was the most western one. From that
place we made the roads, and bridged the streams, some thirty in
number, across Iowa, to Council Bluffs, arriving there in June, 1846.
The people who started on this journey started under the most forlorn
circumstances. They left their houses, lands, crops, and everything
they had if they could get a yoke of cattle, wagons without iron
tires, carts, or anything of which they could make an outfit, and
commenced a journey to hunt a home somewhere where so-called
Christians would not be able to deprive them of the right to worship
God according to the dictates of their consciences, a right which is
actually more dear than life itself.

Vol. 17,  p.95
I think between thirteen and fourteen hundred miles of road were made,
though we occasionally followed trappers' trails, and on the 24th of
July, 1847. President Young led the pioneer party—numbering one
hundred and forty three men—on to this ground, then a portion of
Mexican Territory and one of the most desolate, barren looking spots
in the world, and dedicated it to the Most High, that we might once
more find an asylum where liberty could be enjoyed. We should most
probably have reached this place before we did, but the United States,
the year before, invited our camps to send five hundred men to aid
them in the war with Mexico, which they did, and they were mustered
into service on the 16th of July, 1846, and made the route through
from New Mexico to the Pacific coast.

Vol. 17,  p.95
It is a remarkable fact in history, that while these five hundred
Latter-day Saints, mustered into service at Council Bluffs, were
bearing the American flag across the desert, from New Mexico to the
Pacific Coast, a march of infantry characterized by General Cook as
unparalleled in military annals, the remnant of their families in
Nauvoo were surrounded by eighteen hundred armed men and cannonaded,
and driven across the river into the wilderness, without shelter, food
or protection, in consequence of which very many of them [p.96] lost
their lives.

Vol. 17,  p.96
Our friends pass through here and they say—"What a beautiful city you
have got! What beautiful shade trees! What magnificent fruit trees,
what grand orchards and wheat fields! What a splendid place you have
got!" When the pioneers came here there was nothing of the kind, and a
more dry and barren spot of ground than this was then could hardly be
found. Still the little streams were running from the mountains to the
Lake. We knew nothing, then, about irrigation, but the streams were
soon diverted from their course, to irrigate the soil. For the first
three years we had but little to eat. We brought what provisions we
could with us, and we eked them out as well as we could by hunting
over the hills for wild segoes and thistle roots. There was very
little game in the mountains, and but few fish in the streams, and
hence we had but a short allowance of food, and for three years after
our arrival there was scarcely a family which dared to eat a full
meal. This was the condition in which this settlement was commenced.
There was no intercourse except with Western Missouri, and it was ten
hundred and thirty-four miles to the Missouri river, if we struck it
at the mouth of the Platte, where Omaha is now; and our supplies,
which were generally brought, by way of that place, were all purchased
in Western Missouri.

Vol. 17,  p.96
In 1850 a sufficient crop was raised here to supply the inhabitants
with food, but previous to that time we had divided our scanty
supplies with hundreds and thousands of emigrants, who drifted in here
in a state of starvation while on their way to California, for the
discovery of the gold mines there had set the world almost crazy. Many
people started on the Plains without knowing how to outfit or what to
do to preserve their supplies, and by the time they reached here their
outfits would be completely exhausted. We saved the lives of thousands
who arrived here in that condition, many of them our bitter enemies,
and we aided them on their way in the best possible manner that we
could.

Vol. 17,  p.96
There are several incidents which occurred here in early times which,
to us, were miraculous. The first year after our arrival the crickets
in immense numbers came down from the mountains and destroyed much of
the crops. The people undertook to destroy them, and after having done
everything they could to accomplish this object, they gave it up for a
bad job; then the gulls came in immense numbers from the lakes and
devoured the crickets, until they were all destroyed, and thus, by the
direct and miraculous intervention of Providence, the colony was saved
from destruction.

Vol. 17,  p.96
While crossing the Plains we had to form in companies of sufficient
size to protect ourselves against the Indians, there being from fifty
to a hundred men in each company. In these companies existed our
religious organization, and we also had a civil organization, by which
all the difficulties that arose in the companies were settled; and
then a militia organization, composed of ablebodied men, whose duty it
was to guard the camps from attacks by Indians, and from accidents. We
had our meetings every Sabbath, at which the Sacrament was
administered; we had days also set apart for washing, and occasionally
we had a dance, and our travels were so regulated that the
cultivation, enjoyment and associations of society were experienced
almost as much as when living together in a settled and well regulated
community.[p.97] 

Vol. 17,  p.97
When we started on our journey we knew very little about Indians, but
we exercised towards them such a spirit of justice, and such vigilant
watchfulness, that we lost very little, and suffered very little on
account of difficulties with them during the many years that we were
crossing these plains.

Vol. 17,  p.97
Before we left Nauvoo we had covenanted, within the walls of our
Temple, that we would, with one heart and one mind, abide by each
other, and aid one another to escape from the oppressions with which
we were surrounded, to the extent of our influence and property, and
just as soon as the brethren were able they formed a perpetual
emigration fund in Salt Lake City, and in 1849 Bishop Hunter, with
five thousand dollars in gold, was sent back with instructions to use
that and what other means he could gather in helping those to come
here who were not able to come before; and from year to year this work
has continued, being a grand system of brotherly love and united
co-operation. In a few years after reaching here we sent a hundred
teams back to the frontiers, each team being a wagon and four yoke of
oxen or six mules or horses; and as we increased in strength, we sent
annually two hundred, three hundred, four hundred, five hundred, and
finally six hundred, to bring home those who wished to settle in these
valleys; and even at the present time, our system of emigration has
been extended across the sea, to gather all who wish to gather with
the Saints. There are many thousands of people in these valleys who,
had it not been for the organization of the Latter-day Saints and the
kind and fatherly care of President Brigham Young, would never have
owned a foot of land, or any other property, but they would have been
dependent all their lives upon the will of a master for very
precarious subsistence.

Vol. 17,  p.97
Our plan of settlement here was entirely different from that we had
adopted in any other country in which we had ever lived. The first
thing, in locating a town, was to build a dam and make a water ditch;
the next thing to build a school house, and these schoolhouses
generally answered the purpose of meeting houses. You may pass through
all the settlements, from north to south, and you will find the
history of them to be just about the same—the dam, the water ditch,
then the school house and the meeting house. Crops were put in, trees
were planted, cabins were built, mills were erected, fields were
enclosed, and improvements were made step by step. This Territory is
so thoroughly a desert that unless men irrigate their land by
artificial means they would raise comparatively nothing. The
settlements at the present time stretch some five or six hundred
miles, extending into Arizona on the south and into Idaho on the
north.

Vol. 17,  p.97
We have had some difficulty with the Indians, resulting principally
from the interference of outsiders. Those of you who have read the
history of John C. Fremont's journey through Western Arizona, may
remember that he gives an account of some of his party killing several
of the native Plate Indians. From that time the war seems to have
commenced between the Indians and the whites. Some of you may also
remember the declaration, in regard to the Indians, made by Mr.
Calhoun, one of the early governors of New Mexico. He informed the
government that the true policy in regard to the Digger and Plate
tribes, in the western part of the Territory, which then embraced
Arizona and portions of Utah, was to exterminate them,[p.98] that it
was utterly useless ever to attempt to civilize them, or to do
anything else but exterminate them. This was the policy adopted by a
great many travelers who passed through, and when they saw an Indian,
the feeling was to shoot him. This was especially the case in the
district of country now comprised in the southern portions of this
Territory and the western part of Arizona.

Vol. 17,  p.98
When we came into the country our motive was to promote peace with the
Indians, to deal justly with them and to act towards them as though
they were human beings, and so long as we were permitted to carry out
our own policy with them we were enabled to maintain peace, and there
were but few instances in which difficulties occurred. A band of men,
rowdies, from Western Missouri, on the way to the mines, shot some
Snake squaws and took their horses, up here on the Malad. This aroused
the spirit of vengeance in the Indians, and they fell upon and killed
the first whites they found, and they happened to be "Mormons" who
were engaged in building a mill on the northern frontier, just above
Ogden. This difficulty, of course, had to be arranged, and a good many
circumstances of this kind, at various times, have made it difficult
to get long without having a muss with the indians.

Vol. 17,  p.98
Again, we had people among us who were reckless in their feelings, and
who were not willing always to be controlled and to act wisely and
prudently. All these things considered, when we realize that we always
had four frontiers, and that we were about thousand miles from any
white settlement in any direction, that the Indians were on every side
of us, and many of them very wild and savage, it is perfectly
wonderful that we have had as little difficulty with them as we have.
But the United States, in sending agents here, have frequently been
not altogether fortunate in their selection, and in some instances
have not sent very good men. Some who have been sent have been very
good men, but they were totally ignorant of the business of dealing
with, controlling or promoting peace with the Indians. This, of
course, has been more or less detrimental to the settlements, and it
has cost them a great deal to supply the natives with food and to aid
them in getting along, for it is much cheaper to feed the Indians than
to fight them. But the general feeling among the Indians is, that as
far as the "Mormons" are concerned, they desire to deal with them in a
spirit of justice and friendship. There is now little difficulty
except from distant Indians, and we sometimes think that white men,
perhaps, have employed Indians to plunder ranches and drive off cattle
four or five hundred miles and sell them. Some instances of this kind
may have occurred, but we have got along wonderfully well.

Vol. 17,  p.98
The people here have shown a vast amount of enterprise in the
construction of the roads through the Territory. Strangers who come
here run down to this city, go down to Provo and up to Logan, and to
various other places on the little branches of our railroad system;
but if they were to travel through these mountains and extend their
investigations into the valleys, which are well worthy the attention
of any traveler for their beauty, they would find that in many places
they are so rugged that it is almost · wonder there were ever men
enough in the country to make the roads. Then the telegraph wires have
been extended some twelve hundred miles through a number of the
settlements, north and south;[p.99] these wires have sometimes been
used to prevent the plunder of the ranches by the Indians. From year
to year we are extending our railroad system. We have had no
encouragement from the General Government in relation to railroads; we
have never been permitted even to have the right of way, by act of
Congress, over a foot of ground, until we have occupied it with a
railroad for a year or two, and sometimes not then; and we are
extending our railroad system without any aid from Congress or any
other source, but our own ingenuity and means, and that of our
friends.

Vol. 17,  p.99
We are doing all we can to unite our brethren to co-operate in the
building of factories, in the construction and establishment of
machinery of various kinds, in commercial operations, in the building
of railroads, the enclosing of farms, and in every branch of business
possible we are, endeavoring to unite the people in order to save
labor, economize, and produce within ourselves as many articles as we
possibly can that we need to consume, and some to sell, for our
history for the past few years has proved that we have traded too
much—we have bought more merchandize than the products of the country
would justify, and a system of manufacturing is very important, and
our people have constructed some very fine mills for the manufacture
of woolen and other goods.

Vol. 17,  p.99
While we are tracing, for the consideration of our friends, our
progress, we here say that we have had very little encouragement from
the outside. Our mines were worthless in this country until the
railroad was built. In 1852, we presented to Congress, by our
Delegate, Dr. Bernhisal, a petition for a railroad across the
continent. Members of Congress then ridiculed the idea as being a
hundred years ahead of the ago. Our Delegate invited his friends to
come and see him when the road was constructed, and some of them have
done so. The memorial was presented six or eight times, being repeated
session after session, before any steps were taken by Congress towards
the construction of the road, and it was finally completed much
earlier than it would have been had it not been for the co-operation
of the people of this Territory, who made the road-bed for four
hundred miles over the worst part of the route, and, also furnished a
good deal of business for the road to do when it was finished.

Vol. 17,  p.99
As soon as the railroad was completed mines here, containing lead,
with a small per cent. of silver, became valuable. They were not
worked before. Of course we worked them a little when we wanted a
little lead, but the silver mines, as they are termed now, were not
worth a dollar then. But as soon as the great railroad and our branch
lines were completed the mining property of the country became
valuable. It would have seemed that a wise government would have
encouraged such enterprises, but this has not been the policy of the
General Government towards Utah. They have seemed to think that all
that was necessary was to send governors and judges, and to pick the
most bigoted men they could find to fill these positions; though I
must say that, during the twenty-four years that we have been a
Territory, we have had many very excellent men sent here, including
very good governors, and very good judges, and some who, I think,
would have been better employed in other callings. It is really an
unfortunate circumstance to pick up men and send them to any country,
to occupy important offices, who are [p.100] totally unacquainted with
the country and who have no interest in it, and whose prejudices are
against the people· The better policy is the one announced in the
Declaration of Independence, that, in relation to these United States,
the consent of the governed should be had. This would be a better
policy, more republican and more agreeable, but we seem to be a
special people, and, of course, acts have to be performed for our
special case.

Vol. 17,  p.100
There is one ground of complaint that is alleged against us here, and
that is, we believe in a plurality of wives. A great many men and
women have practiced this principle rigidly, in all good faith; and
until we can find some man who can show us a single passage in either
the Old or New Testament, that actually prohibits it, we feel
justified in following the examples of Prophets, Patriarchs, and holy
men, fathers of the faithful, believing that if it were right in their
case it can not be wrong in ours. We are told that the Old Testament
sets forth such an example, but that the New Testament condemns it,
for that the Savior did it away. The only question I would ask in
reference to this subject is—If the Savior did away with plural
marriage, why didn't he say so? If the Apostles put it down why did
they not tell us of it? In the last two chapters of the Bible we have
an account of the Holy City, the New Jerusalem, the gates of which we
are told are to be named after the twelve sons of four wives by one
father; and if we enter the gates of that city we face this polygamy,
and if we can not face this polygamy we cannot enter the gates into
the city. So we understand the New Testament. On account of our belief
in and practice of this Scriptural doctrine, extraordinary legislation
has been asked against us, that our lives, liberty, property and
pursuit of happiness may be at the control of four or five
individuals. This is the extreme of folly.

Vol. 17,  p.100
In considering this subject, let us ask where, in all the world, has a
Territory been settled under as many disadvantages as this? Where have
a hundred and fifty thousand people been collected together and
exhibited more order, and given proof of more industry and prosperity
under the circumstances than we have? Nowhere. Brigham Young, as
President of the Church and leader of the people, from the death of
Joseph Smith to the present time, through the influence that he has
exercised with his brethren and friends throughout the world, has been
able to bring thousands of people from America and other nations, and
to locate them in these valleys and put them in possession of happy
homes, and to make thriving, flourishing and prosperous communities.
"By their fruits ye shall know them." Then, the true policy is to
leave men to the enjoyment of their religion, to the enjoyment of the
holy Gospel as they may receive it, extending liberty, peace, good
order and happiness to all. I believe to-day there is no Territory so
lightly taxed and, with all the drawbacks, none so well governed as
this. It is true that since the railroad has come here there has
drifted in a population in favor of sustaining grog-shops. I notice
that in the last week a petition has been signed by four thousand
ladies, asking the City Council to shut up the drinking hells. These
institutions are a portion of civilization that has followed the
railroad, and that would have caused astonishment here a few years
ago. I wish the City Council would grant the petition of the ladies; I
suppose they may be restrained by [p.101] a decision of a court which
claims to question their jurisdiction; but I have no doubt the City
Council will shut up these hells if it is in their power, consistent
with the relations that exist between the Territorial authorities and
those of the United States. But I am ashamed of our Congressmen, I am
ashamed of our judges, I am ashamed of our federal authorities for
fastening upon a people such a system of drunkenness, licentiousness
and debauchery, while they are making such a terrible howl over a man
who may have two wives, and who labors hard for their support, and for
the education of their children, and acknowledges them honorably
before the world. Everybody to his taste.

Vol. 17,  p.101
When Mr. Morrill, of Vermont, the author of what is termed the
anti-polygamy bill of 1862, told me that he would not care anything
about plurality of wives if it were not in the United States, and he
was afraid that Vermont was partly responsible for it, I told him that
they had a system of licensing prostitution in Vermont. I, however,
should raise no objection to that, but I felt myself disgraced and
ashamed because I was associated with a State that licensed such a
system as that; and that if I could put up with Vermont, he could put
up with Utah, that was no more than fair, it was shake for shake.

Vol. 17,  p.101
I heard it stated, or read, not long since, that a hundred thousand
infanticides annually occur on Manhattan Island. That is a most
horrible state of affairs if it is half true, or quarter true. Can
nothing be done to change this system? I will refer my friends to the
pamphlet published by a very learned minister, Rev. Doctor Tood, of
Pittsfield, Mass., showing the spirit of death, corruption,
licentiousness, and murder that exists, even in the churches among
professing Christians in Massachusetts and other parts of New England.
I felt not a little surprised to go back into the neighborhood where I
was raised, where they used to have fifty scholars annually, to find
that they were borrowing one or two from another neighborhood to make
out fifteen, so that they could draw the public money. There were as
many houses in the neighborhood as formerly, and a few more, new ones,
had been built; there were also more families in the neighborhood, but
they had stopped having children. I, as an American citizen, feel
myself disgraced to be associated with any community who have adopted
these expedients, at the same time I do not expect, under any
circumstances, ever to undertake to interfere with their local
regulations, and I simply ask my fellow men to give us the same
opportunity.

Vol. 17,  p.101
The Lord has blessed us with many children, and there is no Latter-day
Saint, who has an abiding faith in the Gospel and in the great command
which God first gave to the children of men, to multiply and replenish
the earth, but what rejoices in them, and regards them as a blessing
from on high; and nobody in the mountains that I know of has ever
complained of the number of children, except some of our friends up
here in Idaho. When they ran the southern line of Idaho, it was found
that several settlements and parts of three counties, before then
supposed to be in Utah, were in that Territory. The people of Idaho
have a school law and a school fund, and the most that had been done
before with this fund was to give it to the officers; but with the
addition of the "Mormon" settlements to the Territory, there was an
addition of several thousand "Mormon" children, and [p.102] they were
included in the school report. The officers said—"This cannot be, this
must be a humbug, there cannot be anything like this number of
children;" but when they carne to investigate and count noses they
found it verily true, and there were "Mormon" people raising hearty,
hale little fellows to walk over these mountains and make them blossom
like the rose.

Vol. 17,  p.102
I remember once, in traveling through the State of Indiana,
encountering a gentleman who called himself Professor Jones, connected
with a university there. He asked me a great many questions about our
system in the mountains, and wanted to know how we did this and how we
did that. I explained it to him as correctly as I could. I traveled
with him a day or two, and he kept asking questions and making notes.
When we parted he said he was very much surprised, he had supposed
that our system was one of immorality, but he had learned to the
contrary. He did not pretend to say anything about its justness and
correctness; of course he did not sympathize with it, but one thing
was sure, said he, "If you continue the course you are now pursuing,
you will produce a set of men in those mountains who will be able to
walk the rest of mankind under their feet." I suppose, like enough, he
may be one of the men who would like to proscribe us now. I know this,
if the reports of learned men are true, the course now being pursued
by a great many of our Christian friends in the East, will, in a few
generations, wipe out the race of '76 and give the country into the
hands of strangers. It is time that somebody was fulfilling the great
command of God, to multiply and replenish the earth, and put away
licentiousness, and labor for the up-building and welfare of the human
race.

Vol. 17,  p.102
Men take up "Mormonism," and they say it is a humbug. There is where
they make a mistake. My friends, the Gospel, as preached by the
Latter-day Saints, is true. "Mormonism" is no humbug. Joseph Smith was
a true Prophet; he revealed a true religion, and all attempts to
destroy it will prove vain. I bear this testimony, I know this to be
true, and I warn my fellow-men to receive this faith, and to repent
and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Repent of your sins and be
baptized for their remission, and receive the laying on of hands, that
you may enjoy the gift of the Holy Ghost, for that Spirit will rest
upon you if you receive and obey this Gospel with full purpose of
heart. Then add to your faith virtue, to your virtue knowledge, to
your knowledge temperance, to your temperance patience, to your
patience godliness, to your godliness brotherly kindness, to your
brotherly kindness charity, and if these things be and abound in you,
you will neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord
and Savior. Jesus Christ. You will know these things for yourselves,
and you will testify, as I testify, that you know this work is the
work of God.

Vol. 17,  p.103
May God enable us to do so, is my prayer in the name of Jesus.
Amen.[p.103] 

Orson Pratt, June 14, 1874

Interest Manifested Relating to Temporal Affairs—
Revelations Pertaining to Being One in Temporal, As in Spiritual
Things—Consecration—Stewardship—Jackson County—Sanctification

Discourse By Elder Orson Pratt, Delivered in the New 
Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Sunday Afternoon, June 14, 1874.

(Reported by David W. Evans)

Vol. 17,  p.103
There seems to be at the present time a great deal of interest
manifested among the Latter-day Saints, and even among those who are
connected with our Church, in regard to some instructions that have
been imparted to the Latter-day Saints in relation to their temporal
affairs. The instructions which have been imparted, and which the
people are, in some measure, receiving, are comparatively new in their
estimation, that is, it is supposed they are new, and something which
we, in times past, have not practiced. But if we appeal to the
revelations of God, we shall find that no new thing has been required
of us. It is generally termed, however, by Latter-day Saints, the New
Order. You hear of it in all parts of the Territory. What is meant by
the New Order? Is it really new in the revelations of God, or is it
something new for us to practice it? We have been required, in the
year 1874, to come back again to an old order, as taught in ancient
Mormonism. What I mean by ancient Mormonism is Mormonism as it was
taught some forty-three or forty-four years ago. There is a generation
now living on the earth who seem to be comparatively ignorant of the
doctrines which were taught some forty years ago to men who are now
old and have grey heads and gray beards. Since that time a new
generation has arisen; and they begin to think that something new,
something that will turn things upside down, is being introduced into
Mormonism. I will say to all who have such ideas, you are entirely
mistaken, it is not so; we are trying to get the people to come back
again to the old principles of Mormonism, to that which God revealed
in the early rise of this Church.

Vol. 17,  p.103
Every man, whether he is or is not a Latter-day Saint, when he comes
to study our written works, the written revelations which God has
given, will acknowledge that the Latter-day Saints cannot be the
people they profess to be, they cannot be consistent with the
revelations they profess to believe in and live as they now live; they
have got to, come into the system which the Saints call the New Order,
otherwise they cannot comply with the revelations of God.

Vol. 17,  p.103
I believe that I will quote a few revelations this morning, in order
to show you what God said in relation [p.104] to property or temporal
things, in the early rise of this Church. The first revelation that
now occurs to my mind will be found in the Book of Doctrine and
Covenants, on page 217; it was given in March, 1831, forty-three years
ago last March. In the third paragraph of this revelation we read
these words:

Vol. 17,  p.104
"For, behold, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the air, and
that which cometh of the earth, is ordained for the use of man for
food and for raiment, and that he might have in abundance; but it is
not given that one man should possess that which is above another,
wherefore the world lieth in sin."

Vol. 17,  p.104
Do you believe this revelation, Latter-day Saints? "Oh, yes," says
one—"we believe Joseph Smith was a Prophet." Have you practiced it?
Oh, that is another thing. How, then, are we to know that you believe
this revelation if you do not practice it? How are the world to know
you are sincere in your belief, if you have a revelation which you
profess to believe in, and yet give no heed to it. I do not wonder
that the world say that the Latter-day Saints do not believe their own
revelations. Why? Because we do not practice them. "It is not given
that one man should possess that which is above another, wherefore the
world lieth in sin." There may be some strangers here, and they do not
believe this book, but I will tell you what they would say as men of
reason, they would say that if you Latter-day Saints call this your
book of faith, and doctrines, and covenants, to be consistent you
ought to comply with it. That is what they would say, and it is really
a true saying, and consistent and reasonable. If we believe this, let
us practice it; if we do not believe in it, why profess to believe in
it?

Vol. 17,  p.104
I will now refer you to a revelation given on the second day of
January, 1831, it is on page 120 of the Book of Doctrine and
Covenants. I will tell you how this revelation was given, for I was
present at the time it was given. The Church, then, was about nine
months old. The Prophet Joseph, who received all the revelations
contained in this book, was then living in the State of New York, in
the town of Fayette, Seneca County. He called together the various
branches of the Church that had been organized during the nine months
previous in that State, and they assembled together in the house in
which this Church was organized, namely, Father Whitmer's house. You
will recollect, in reading the Book of Mormon, that the sons of Father
Whitmer, young men, are noted as witnesses of the Book of Mormon,
David Whitmer having seen the angel, and the plates in the hands of
tee angel, and heard him speak, and the hand of the angel was placed
on his head, and he said unto him—"Blessed be the Lord and they that
keep his commandments." And he heard the voice of the Lord in
connection with three other persons testifying out of the heavens, at
the same time that the angel was administering, that the Book of
Mormon had been translated correctly by the gift and power of God, and
commanding him to bear witness of it to all people, nations and
tongues, in connection with the other three that were with him. These
were some of the individuals also who saw the plates and handled them,
and saw the engravings upon them, and who gave their testimony to that
effect in the Book of Mormon. It was in their father's house where
this Church was organized, on the 6th of April, 1830; it was in their
father's house where this little Conference was convened [p.105] on
the 2nd of January, 1831, and this Conference requested the Prophet
Joseph Smith to inquire of the Lord concerning their duties. He did
so. He sat down in the midst of the Conference, of less than one
hundred, I do not know exactly the number, and a scribe wrote this
revelation from his mouth. One item contained therein, in the fifth
paragraph, reads thus:—

Vol. 17,  p.105
"And let every man esteem his brother as himself, and practice virtue
and holiness before me. And again I say unto you, let every man esteem
his brother as himself; for what man among you having twelve sons, and
is no respecter of them and they serve him obediently, and he saith
unto the one, Be thou clothed in robes and sit thou here; and to the
other, Be thou clothed in rags and sit thou there, and looketh upon
his sons and saith, I am just. "Behold this have I given unto you a
parable, and it is even as I am: I say unto you, be one; and if ye are
not one ye are not mine."

Vol. 17,  p.105
Perhaps the Saints may think that this has reference to spiritual
things alone, and means to be one in doctrine, principle, ordinances,
faith, belief, and so on, and that it has no reference whatever to
temporal things; but in order to show you that this has reference to
temporal as well as to spiritual things, let me quote that which God
said a few months after this in another revelation. I have not time to
turn to all these revelations, but I will quote them. The Lord
says—"Except ye are equal in the bonds (or bands) of earthly things,
how can you be made equal in the bands of heavenly things?" Here was a
question put to us: How can you be made equal in the bands of heavenly
things, unless you are equal in the bands of earthly? Surely enough,
we can not be made equal. If we are unequal in this life, and are not
one, can we be entrusted with the true riches, the riches of eternity?
I believe I will read to you a small portion of another revelation
that was given on stewardships. The Lord commanded certain ones among
his Servants to take charge of these revelations when they were in
manuscript, before they were published, that they might be printed and
sent forth among the people, and he also gave them charge concerning
the Book of Mormon, and made them stewards over these revelations and
the avails arising from them. And the Lord said—"Wherefore, hearken
and hear, for thus saith the Lord unto them, I, the Lord, have
appointed them and ordained them to be stewards over the revelations
and commandments which I have given unto them, and which I shall
hereafter give unto them; and an account of this stewardship will I
require of them in the day of judgment; wherefore I have appointed
unto them, and this is their business in the Church, to manage teem
and the concerns thereof, and the benefits thereof, wherefore a
commandment give I unto them that they shall not give these things
unto the Church, neither unto the world, nevertheless, inasmuch as
they receive more than is needful for their necessities and their
wants, it shall be given into my storehouse and the benefits shall be
consecrated unto the inhabitants of Zion, and unto their generations,
inasmuch as they become heirs according to the laws of the kingdom.

Vol. 17,  p.105
Now, you notice here, the Lord did not intend those individuals whom
he named to become rich out of the avails of the sale of the Book of
Mormon and the Book of Doctrine and Covenants, and other revelations
and the literary concerns of his Church, he never intended that they
should become rich while others were [p.106] poor, that was not the
order; but inasmuch as they received more than was needful for their
support what should they do with it? Should they aggrandize themselves
while their poor brethren were destitute? No, not at all; they were to
give all the surplus, over and above what was really necessary to
support them, into the Lord's store-house, and it was to be for the
benefit of all the people of Zion, not only the living but for their
generations after them, inasmuch as they became heirs according to the
laws of the kingdom of God.

Vol. 17,  p.106
There was a certain way to become heirs according to the laws of the
kingdom of God. Heirs of what? Heirs of the avails arising from the
sale of the revelations which all the inhabitants of Zion were to be
benefited by. Says one—"But perhaps that was limited to these six
individuals who are here named, and did not mean the whole Church."
Wait, let us read the next sentence—"Behold, this is what the Lord
requires of every man in his stewardship, even as I the Lord have
appointed or shall hereafter appoint." From this we learn that all the
stewards which the Lord bad appointed; and all that he should appoint,
in a future time, to stewardships, were to hand over all their
surplus—all that was not necessary to feed and clothe them—into the
Lord's store house. None who belonged to the Church of the living God
are exempt from this law. Does that law include us? It includes all
who belong to the Church, not one is exempt from it. Have we been
doing this, Latter-day Saints, for the last forty-three years, since
this revelation was given? Have we been complying with the order we
undertook in the year 1831, to enter into? This old order is not a new
order that you talk so much about.

Vol. 17,  p.106
In the year 1831, we commenced emigrating to the western part of the
State of Missouri, to a county, quite new then, called Jackson County;
most of the land at that time was Government land. When we commenced
emigrating there the Lord gave many revelations. The Prophet Joseph
went up among some of the earliest to that county, and God gave many
revelations contained in the Book of Doctrine and Covenants, in
relation to how the people should conduct their affairs. Among the
revelations then given was the commandment that every man who should
come up to that land should lay all things which he possessed before
the Bishop of his Church. Another revelation, given before we went up
to that land, speaking of a land which the Lord, at some future time,
would give us for an inheritance, commanded that we should consecrate
all our property into his store-house. If we had wagons, horses,
mules, oxen, cows, sheep, farming utensils, house, hold furniture,
gold and silver, jewelry, wearing apparel, it mattered not what it
was, the Lord said, in a revelation given in February, 1831, that it
should all be laid before the Bishop of his Church, and that it should
be consecrated to the Lord's store-house. This reduced us all on a
level. If a man had a million dollars when he gathered up to Jackson
County, if he complied with the law, he would be just as rich as the
man who had not one farthing. Why? Because he consecrated all he had,
and the poor man could not do any more than that, hence all who
complied with the law were equally poor or equally rich.

Vol. 17,  p.106
What was the next step after this consecration? In those days we had
but one Bishop—his name was Edward Partridge, and he was called by
revelation—and the next step after this general consecration, the Lord
[p.107] commanded the Bishop and his two counselors to purchase all
the land in Jackson County, and in the counties round about, that
could conveniently be got, the general price being one dollar and a
quarter an acre. And what next? After purchasing these lands as far as
they had the means to do so, every man that had consecrated his
property was to receive an inheritance. Now recollect, none except
those who consecrated, none who disobeyed that law, were to receive an
inheritance or stewardship; but all who consecrated their properties
according to this law were to receive their stewardship.

Vol. 17,  p.107
What is the meaning of a stewardship? A steward is one who is
accountable to somebody for the property that he manages, and that is
his stewardship, whether it be landed property, farming utensils,
wagons, cows, oxen, horses, harness, or whatever may be committed to
him. To whom were the brethren in Jackson County accountable for the
stewardship committed to them? To the Bishop. The Bishop was called in
these revelations a common judge in Zion, ecclesiastically speaking,
not according to the civil laws; so far as our ecclesiastical laws
were concerned he was to be a common judge, and each person was to
render an account of the stewardship which he had to the Bishop. I do
net know how often; perhaps once a year, perhaps longer than that,
perhaps oftener. I do not know that there was any specified time given
in these revelations about how often these accounts should be rendered
up. But how were the people to live out of the avails of the
stewardship committed to their charge? They were to have food and
raiment, and the necessary comforts of life. Well, of course, a wise
and faithful steward, having health and strength, and perhaps a good
deal of talent, might so take charge of a stewardship that he might
gain more than he and his family needed, and keeping an account of all
these things, and rendering the same when required, some of them would
have a considerable surplus above that which they and their families
needed. What was to be done with that? Why, as stewards, they would
have to consecrate it into the Lord's storehouse, the Lord being the
owner of the property and we only his stewards.

Vol. 17,  p.107
There were some men who were entrusted with a larger stewardship than
others. For instance, here was a man who knew nothing about farming
particularly, but he might be a master spirit as far as some other
branch of business wail concerned. He might understand how to carry,
on a great cloth manufactory and everything in the clothing line
necessary for the inhabitants of Zion. Such a man would require a
greater stewardship than the man who cultivated a small farm, and had
only himself and a wife and two or three children to support. But
would the fact of one man having a greater stewardship than another
make one richer than another? No. Why not? Because, if one received
fifty or a hundred thousand dollars to build and stock a large
manufactory for the purpose of manufacturing various kinds of fabrics
for clothing, although he might have a surplus of several thousand
dollars at the end of the year, he would not be any richer than the
farmer with his few acres of land, and let me show you how they would
be equal. The manufacturer does not own the building, the machinery,
the cotton or the flax, as the case may be, he is only a steward, like
the farmer, and if, at the end of the year, he has five, ten, or fifty
thousand dollars surplus, does that [p.108] make him a rich man? By no
means, it goes into the Lord's storehouse at the end of each year, or
as often as may be required, thus leaving him on the same platform of
equality with the farmer and his small stewardship. Do you not see the
equality of the thing? In temporal matters it is not given that one
man shall possess that which is above another, saith the Lord.

Vol. 17,  p.108
Now did the people really enter into this, or was it mere theory? I
answer that, in the year 1831, we did try to enter into this order of
things, but the hearts of the people had been so accustomed to holding
property individually, that it was a very difficult matter to get them
to comply with, this law of the Lord. Many of them were quite wealthy,
and they saw that on that land a great city called Zion, or the New
Jerusalem, was to be built; they understood that from the revelations,
and they said in their hearts—"What a fine chance this will be for us
to get rich. We have moans and money, and if we consecrate according
to the law of God we can not get rich; but we know that people by
thousands and tens of thousands will gather up here, and these lands
will become very valuable. We can now get them at the government
price, a dollar and a quarter an acre, and if we lay out a few
thousands in land, we can sell it out to the brethren when they come
along at a thousand per cent. profit, and perhaps in some cases at ten
thousand per cent., and make ourselves wealthy, so we will not
consecrate, but we will go ahead for ourselves individually, and we
will buy up the lands to speculate upon." These were the feelings of
some who went up to that country; but others were willing to comply
with the word of God, and did just as the revelation required, and
they laid everything they had before the Bishop, and received their
stewardship.

Vol. 17,  p.108
After he had organized these things, Joseph the Prophet, in August of
the year 1831, went back to Kirtland, about a thousand miles east, and
while there the Lord revealed to him that the inhabitants of Jackson
County were not complying with his word; hence Joseph sent letters up
to them containing the word of the Lord, chastening them because of
their disobedience and rebellion against the law of heaven. He did
this on several occasions, and one occasion, especially, as you will
find recorded in the history published in some of our periodicals. I
think you will find it in the fifteenth volume of the Millennial Star,
in language something like this—"If the people will not comply with my
law, which I have given them concerning the consecration of their
property, the land shall not be a land of Zion unto them, but their
names shall be blotted out, and the names of their children and their
children's children, so long as they will not comply with my laws, and
their names shall not be found written in the book of the law of the
Lord."

Vol. 17,  p.108
In another revelation, published in the Book of Doctrine and
Covenants, the Lord says—"The rebellious are not of the blood of
Ephraim, wherefore they shall be plucked up and shall be sent away out
of the land." When this revelation was given all was peace in Jackson
County. We had no enemies there any more than we had elsewhere,
wherever the Church might be located; all was comparative peace. But
the Lord said that the rebellious should be plucked up and sent away
out of the land. The people thought there was no prospect whatever of
that revelation being fulfilled. All was peace, [p.109] and to say
that they were to be plucked up and driven out of the land was out of
the question. They did not repent, that is all of them, but continued
in their disobedience, neglecting to consecrate their properties,
according to the requirements of the law of the Lord; and hence, when
they had been there about two years and five months from the time of
their first settlement or location, they were literally plucked up and
cast away out of the land. You have the history before you. Their
enemies arose upon them and began to tear down their houses, and they
burned two hundred and three of the dwellings our people had built in
that land. They burned down their grain stacks, hay stacks and fences,
and chased the Latter-day Saints around from one part of the county to
another, sometimes tying them up to trees and whipping them, in some
instances until their bowels gushed out. They tore down the printing
office and destroyed it, also one of our dry goods stores, and
scattered the goods through the streets; they went into houses and,
taking therefrom the bedding and furniture, piled them up in the
streets and set fire to them, and thus they continued their
persecutions until, finally, they succeeded in driving the Latter-day
Saints from the county, and thus the word of the Lord was fulfilled
which said—"I will pluck them up and send them away out of the land,
for none but the obedient shall eat of the good of the land of latter
Zion in these latter days."

Vol. 17,  p.109
Another revelation God gave, to warn the people, in which he told them
to remember the Book of Mormon, and the new covenant which he had
revealed, and which, if they did not observe, he said—"Behold, I the
Lord have a scourge and a judgment which shall be poured out upon your
heads." This was given between one and two years before we were driven
out of that county, in Kirtland, Ohio, through the Prophet Joseph, and
sent up to them to warn them. Another revelation said if the people
did not do thus and so, they should be persecuted from city to city,
and from synagogue to synagogue, and but few should stand to receive
an inheritance—meaning those who had gone into that county.

Vol. 17,  p.109
Now go through this Territory, from one end thereof to the other, hunt
up the greyheaded and grey-bearded men and the old ladies, who were
once in Jackson County, and see how many you can find who lived there
then, and you can judge whether the word of the Lord has been
fulfilled or not. I guess that you will find but very few if you hunt,
all through the Territory.

Vol. 17,  p.109
Let us read a little further in the revelations, and see whether God
has cast us entirely offer not. In one of the revelations, given after
we were driven out across the Missouri River into Clay County, and
into the surrounding counties, the Lord said, concerning the people
who were scattered and driven—"Behold, I have suffered these things to
come upon them because of their sins and wickedness; but
notwithstanding all these afflictions which have come upon my people,
I will be merciful unto them, and in the day of wrath I will remember
mercy, wherefore I, the Lord, will not utterly cast them off." Though
but few should stand to receive an inheritance, the Lord said he would
not utterly cast them off.

Vol. 17,  p.109
What next? He gives an inferior law, called the law of Tithing, suited
and adapted to us. After we had been driven for neglecting to comply
with the greater law of consecration of all we had, he thought he
would [p.110] not leave us without a law, but he gave us an inferior
law, namely, that we should give in one-tenth part of our annual
income. This law was given in May, 1838, I do not remember the exact
date, and I believe that we have tried to comply with it; but it has
been almost an impossibility to get the people universally to comply
with it.

Vol. 17,  p.110
There is another item connected with this law of Tithing that has but
seldom been complied with, namely, the consecration of all surplus
property. Now go round among the Saints, among the emigrants who have
gathered up from time to time, and there has been only now and then a
mare who had any surpus property, let him be the judge. If a man had
fifty or a hundred thousand dollars, he said in his own heart—"I
really need all this, I want to speculate, I want to buy a great deal
of land to sell again when the price of land shall rise; I want to set
up a great store in which to sell merchandise to the people, and if I
consecrate any of this it will curtail my operations, because it will
diminish my capital, and I cannot speculate to the extent I should if
I retained it all, and I shall therefore consider that I have no
surplus property. Now an honest-hearted individual would have a little
surplus property, and he would put it in; but from that day until the
present time I presume that the tenth of their annual income has Been
paid by the majority of the people. I do not really know in relation
to this matter, at any rate the Lord has not utterly forsaken us,
hence I think we have kept his law in some measure, or in all
probability he would have east us off altogether.

Vol. 17,  p.110
But how is it that we have been smitten, driven, cast out and
persecuted, and the lives of our Prophet and Patriarch and hundreds of
others destroyed by rifle, cannon, and sword in the hands of our
enemies? How is it that such things have been permitted in this free
republic? "Oh," says one, "It is because you practiced polygamy." I
answer that we did not practice polygamy in the days of the
persecutions which I have named, they came upon us before we began
that practice, for the revelation on polygamy was not given until some
thirteen years after the rise of this Church, and that was after we
had been driven and smitten and scattered to and fro, here and there
by the hands of our enemies, hence, it was not for that that we were
persecuted. But if we take the printed circulars written by our
enemies, we can give you their reasons for persecuting us. One of
their reasons was that we believed in ancient Christianity, namely,
speaking in tongues, interpretation of tongues, healing the sick,
etc.; and our enemies did not believe in having a community in their
midst who claimed to have Apostles and Prophets and to enjoy the gifts
of the Gospel the same as the ancient Saints. Our enemies said they
would not have such a people in their society, and if we did not
renounce these things they would drive us from our homes. You can read
this with the names of the mob attached to it, in connection with a
great many priests and ministers of different denominations. The Rev.
Isaac M'Coy and the Rev. Mr. Bogard, and many others who might be
named, were among the leaders of the mob who persecuted the Latter-day
Saints.

Vol. 17,  p.110
Now, why is it, Latter-day Saints, that we have been tossed to and fro
and smitten and persecuted for these many years? It is because we have
disobeyed the law of heaven, we have not kept the commandments of the
[p.111] Most High God, we have not fulfilled his law; we have
disobeyed the word which he gave through his servant Joseph, and hence
the Lord has suffered us to be smitten and afflicted under the hands
of our enemies.

Vol. 17,  p.111
Shall we ever return to the law of God? Yes. When? Why, when we will.
We are agents; we can abide his law or reject it, just as long as we
please, for God has not taken away your agency nor mine. But I will
try to give you some information in regard to the time. God said, in
the year 1832, before we were driven out of Jackson County, in a
revelation which you will find here in this book, that before that
generation should all pass away, a house of the Lord should be built
in that county, (Jackson County), "upon the consecrated spot, as I
have appointed; and the glory of God, even a cloud by day and a pillar
of flaming fire by night shall rest upon the same." In another place,
in the same revelation, speaking of the priesthood, he says that the
sons of Moses and the sons of Aaron, those who had received the two
priesthoods, should be filled with the glory of God upon Mount Zion,
in the Lord's house, and should receive a renewing of their bodies,
and the blessings of the Most High should be poured out upon them in
great abundance.

Vol. 17,  p.111
This was given forty-two years ago. The generation then living was not
only to commence a house of God in Jackson County, Missouri, but was
actually to complete the same, and when it is completed the glory of
God should rest upon it.

Vol. 17,  p.111
Now, do you Latter-day Saints believe that? I do, and if you believe
in these revelations you just as much expect the fulfillment of that
revelation as of any one that God has ever given in these latter
times, or in former ages. We look, just as much for this to take
place, according to the word of the Lord, as the Jews look to return
to Palestine, and to re-build Jerusalem upon the place where it
formerly stood. They expect to build a Temple there, and that the
glory of God will enter into it; so likewise do we Latter-day Saints
expect to return to Jackson County and to build a Temple there before
the generation that was living forty-two years ago has all passed
away. Well, then, the time must be pretty near when we shall begin
that work. Now, can we be permitted to return and build up the waste
places of Zion, establish the great central city of Zion in Jackson
County, Mo., and build a Temple on which the glory of God will abide
by day and by night, unless we return, not to the "new order," but to
that law which was given in the beginning of this work? Let me answer
the question by quoting one of these revelations again, a revelation
given in 1834. The Lord, speaking of the return of his people, and
referring to those who were driven from Jackson County, says—"They
that remain shall return, they and their children with them to receive
their inheritances in the land of Zion, with songs of everlasting joy
upon their heads." There will be a few that the Lord will spare to go
back there, because they were not all transgressors. There were only
two that the Lord spared among Israel during their forty years
travel—Caleb and Joshua. They were all that were spared, out of some
twenty-five hundred thousand people, from twenty years old and
upwards, to go into the land of promise. Them may be three in our day,
or a half dozen or a dozen spared that were once on that land who will
be permitted to return with their children, grand-children, and
great-grand-children unto the waste places of Zion and build them
[p.112] up with songs of everlasting joy.

Vol. 17,  p.112
But will they return after the old order of things that exists among
the Gentiles—every man for himself, this individualism in regard to
property? No, never, never while the world stands. If you would have
these revelations fulfilled you must comply with the conditions
thereof. The Lord said, concerning the building up of Zion when we do
return—"Except Zion be built according to the law of the celestial
kingdom, I can not receive her unto myself." If we should be
permitted, this present year, 1874, to go back to that county, and
should undertake to build up a city of Zion upon the consecrated spot,
after the order that we have been living in during the last forty
years, we should be cast out again, the Lord would not acknowledge us
as his people, neither would he acknowledge the works of our hands in
the building of a city. If we would go back then, we must comply with
the celestial law, the law of consecration, the law of oneness, which
the Lord has spoken of from the beginning. Except you are one you are
not mine. Query, if we are not the Lord's who in the world or out of
the world do we belong to? Here is a question for us all to consider.
There is no other way for us to become one but by keeping the law of
heaven, and when we do this we shall become sanctified before God, and
never before.

Vol. 17,  p.112
Talk about sanctification, we do not believe in the kind of
sanctification taught by the sectarian religion—that they were
sanctified at such a minute and such an hour and at such a place while
they were praying in secret. We believe in the sanctification that
comes by continued obedience to the law of heaven. I do not know of
any other sanctification that the Scriptures tell about, of any other
sanctification that is worth the consideration of rational beings. If
we would be sanctified then, we must begin to-day, or whenever the
Lord points out, to obey his laws just as tar as we possibly can; and
by obedience to these laws we continually gain more and more favor
from heaven, more and more of the Spirit of God, and thus will be
fulfilled a revelation given in 1834, which says that before Zion is
redeemed, let the armies of Israel become very great, let them become
sanctified before me, that they may be as fair as the sun, clear as
the moon, and that their banners may be terrible unto all the nations
of the earth. Not terrible by reason of numbers, but terrible because
of the sanctification they will receive through obedience to the law
of God. Why was Enoch, and why were the inhabitants of the Zion built
up before the flood terrible to all the nations around about? It was
because, through a long number of years, they observed the law of God,
and when their enemies came up to fight against them, Enoch, being
filled with the power of the Holy Ghost, and speaking the word of God
in power and in faith, the very heavens trembled and shook, and the
earth quaked, and mountains were thrown down, rivers of water were
turned out of their course, and all nations feared greatly because of
the power of God, and the terror of his might that were upon his
people.

Vol. 17,  p.112
We have this account of ancient Zion in one of the revelations that
God has given. What was it that made their banners terrible to the
nations? It was not their numbers. If, then Zion must become great it
will be because of her sanctification. When shall we begin, Latter-day
Saints, to carry out the law of God, and enter upon the process
necessary to our sanctification? We are told by the [p.113] highest
authority that God has upon the earth that now is the accepted time
and now is the day of salvation, so far as entering into this order
which God has pointed out is concerned. Shall we do it? Or shall we
say no? Shall there be division among the people, those who are on the
Lord's side come out and those who are against the law of God come
out? I hope this division will not be at present. I hope that we shall
take hold with one heart and with one mind. The time of the division
will come soon enough. It will be in the great day of the Lord's
power, when his face shall be unveiled in yonder heavens, and when he
shall come in his glory and in his might. Then the heavens will be
shaken and the earth will reel to and fro like a drunken man. "Then,"
saith the Lord, "I will send forth mine angels to gather out of my
kingdom all things that offend and that do iniquity." That will be
time enough for this great division. Let us not be divided now,
Latter-day Saints, but let us manifest our willingness to comply with
the word and law of the Most High, and be prepared for the blessings
which he has in store for us.

Brigham Young, June 26, 1874

The Calling of the Priesthood, to Preach the Gospel and 
Proceed With the Organization of the Kingdom of God, Preparatory 
to the Coming of the Son of Man—All Good is of the Lord—Salvation 
and Life Everlasting Are Before Us

Discourse By President Brigham Young, Delivered in the 
Bowery, at Brigham City, Saturday Morning, June 26, 1874.

(Reported by David W. Evans)

Vol. 17,  p.113
A few of us have come to talk to the people in this place upon the
things of the kingdom of God, as our calling is to preach the Gospel,
initiate people into, and proceed with, the organization of the
kingdom of God as far as we can, preparatory to the coming of the Son
of Man. We have commenced to organize, I will say partially, in the
Holy Order that God has established for his people in all ages of the
world when he has had a kingdom upon the earth. We may call it the
Order of Enoch, the Order of Joseph, the Order of Peter, or Abraham,
or Moses, and then go back to Noah, and then step to our own position
here, and say that we will organize as far as we have the privilege,
taking into consideration and acting under the laws of the land. Many
branches of industry [p.114] have been organized here to help to
sustain each other, to labor for the good of all, and to establish
cooperation in the midst of the Church in this place.

Vol. 17,  p.114
In most of the business transactions of this Church and people, as far
as I have directed, I have waited for business to be presented, and
endeavored to so live that the Lord will dictate according to his own
mind and pleasure, and, at the very time it is necessary, have that
knowledge which will enable us to perform every labor acceptably to
God and to the heavens, and to discharge our duties one to another,
and to accomplish in every particular the work which our Father in
heaven has given us to do. I am a minute-man. It is very seldom that I
take thought what I shall say or what I shall do. When we meet in the
capacity of a Conference, the business matters are presented, and I
generally know what to do, and I do not know but what I understand the
workings of the kingdom of God upon the earth, by the manifestations
of the Spirit at the moment, as well as I should if I had studied them
for months; and I can truly say that I have fulfilled one of the
sayings of the Savior tolerably well—to take no thought what ye shall
say, for in the very hour or moment when you need it, it shall be
given to you.

Vol. 17,  p.114
I hope that, during our meetings here, the people will be edified and
comforted, and that the system of laboring together for each other's
good will be wisely and satisfactorily laid before them, and that each
and every one of us, with ready minds and willing hearts, will proceed
to do the things that are required of us by our heavenly Father.

Vol. 17,  p.114
Much can be said upon the doctrine of life and salvation, but I will
say this to the Saints in this place concerning the workings of the
kingdom of God upon the earth—all good comes from heaven, all good is
of the Lord; whatever promotes the happiness of mankind and the glory
of God, whatever increases peace and righteousness upon the earth, and
leads the people in the way of godliness, comfort, contentment and
enjoyment, and tends to increase health and wealth, and life here and
hereafter, is of God; and, in laboring for each other's welfare and
happiness, if we can not do all that we want to do, let us do what we
can, and leave the event with the Lord, and wait for the time when we
can fully enter into the organization of the kingdom of God upon the
earth, and fully upon those initiatory steps which will hasten the
perfection of the Saints, and prepare them to enter lute the joy of
their Lord. When we are permitted to do in part, we will step forward
and do in part, go as far as we can, and do as much as we can to
perfect ourselves and prepare for the building up of the Centre Stake
of Zion.

Vol. 17,  p.114
We hope and pray that all who may speak during our meetings here will
be filled with the Spirit of the Lord, and that those who pray, sing
and hear may be filled with the same Spirit, that we may increase in
knowledge and wisdom, and grow in the things of God. This is what we
desire and what we pray for, and we hope that our meetings will be
profitable to all.

Vol. 17,  p.114
This is a hard place to speak in, and we request the brethren and
sisters to be as still as they conveniently can, so that they can hear
what is said. Let all be quiet, and every heart be lifted to God, that
we may learn his mind and will concerning us; then ask for power to do
his will, for a disposition to give us victory over every passion and
slothful feeling, that we may be awake to righteousness.[p.115] 

Vol. 17,  p.115
Salvation and life everlasting are before us; it is our business to
secure them in the kingdom of our God, and to prepare for the
restoration of the inhabitants of the earth who have slept without the
Gospel. Let us do what we can to bless ourselves, our posterity and
our progenitors, and to save the human family, and so fulfill the
mission which the Lord has given us.

Brigham Young, June 28, 1874

The Belief of The Saints in the Mission of the Savior—Pertaining 
to Inheritances Upon the Earth that Shall Be Everlasting—It 
Takes a Higher Power Than a Bill of Divorce to 
Take a Woman From a Good Man

Discourse By President Brigham Young, Delivered in the 
Bowery, Brigham City, Sunday Afternoon, June 28, 1874.

(Reported by David W. Evans)

Vol. 17,  p.115
I should like the people to keep as quiet as possible, I have a few
words to say to them concerning the inheritances of the Saints. I will
talk to those who are believers in the Old and New Testaments, as this
book which lies before me is called—the Bible, and in the mission of
the Savior. I will ask the Latter-day Saints if they believe that the
man Christ Jesus, who was crucified at Jerusalem, over eighteen
hundred years ago, was the Savior of the world, and that he paid the
debt contracted by our first parents, and redeemed the children of men
from the fall? Of coure, they will answer in the affirmative. You
believe, then, in the mission of the Savior to the earth? "Of course
we do," is the answer. Do we believe that the Savior is heir to this
earth. I will answer for all Saints end all believers in the Savior
and say we do. Do we believe that this man Christ Jesus has received
his inheritance; has he finished the work which he came into the world
and was manifested in the flesh to accomplish? I will answer for all
Christians and say he has not, as yet, finished his work or received
the kingdom. As for the proof of this you can go to the Bible and all
the other revelations that we have in our possession, and you will
find it there. Are we co-workers with the Savior to redeem the
children of men and all things pertaining to the earth? I will answer
for the Saints and say that we most assuredly believe we are. All who,
while in the flesh, received and were faithful to the Priesthood,
labored with the Savior while they [p.116] remained here, and when
they passed into the spirit world their labors did not cease, but they
passed into the prison, and, to this day, they are preaching to the
spirits there, and laboring for the salvation of the human family and
for the earth and all things pertaining to it.

Vol. 17,  p.116
Have these men, who have lived upon the earth and enjoyed the
blessings of the holy Priesthood, received their inheritances? I take
the liberty of answering for all Saints in the negative. They have not
received their inheritances, but they have received promises like
Abraham of old when he was shown the land of Canaan, and it was
promised to him that it should be his inheritance, and that of his
seed after him forever and ever. To this day they have not inherited
the land according to the promises that were made to Abraham. So it is
with all others. Have any of us, in the latter-days, received
inheritances upon the time of this earth that shall be everlasting?
No, we are not prepared to receive them, and they are not prepared for
us. I am telling you these things that you may know and understand
that, when we talk about property, or anything else that we seem to
possess, we have not yet received anything for an everlasting
inheritance. If we are faithful we shall receive after a long time,
that is, it may seem long to us who reckon time by years, months,
weeks, days, minutes and seconds. I should like to have the Latter-day
Saints understand what their labor is, and to have each one understand
his duty, and then understand the reward of obedience to that duty.

Vol. 17,  p.116
We get a great many good gifts here—we enjoy a great deal that the
Lord gives us; gifts that we will say are inherent natural gifts. What
a beautiful gift the power of the eye is for a man to enjoy! What a
beautiful gift the power of hearing is to the people, and all our
senses—tasting, smelling, &c., and the passions when they are governed
and controlled, how beautiful they are! Shall we inherit them for ever
and ever, or shall we take a course that they shall be taken from us?

Vol. 17,  p.116
We are talking now to the brethren about being one, operating
together, submitting all to the kingdom of God. What for? Am I to give
what I have? "Why, this is my house, this is my farm, these are my
cattle!" We only seem to have them, they are only in our possession
for the present. "This is my wife, these are my wives, here are my
children!" We seem to possess them, but whether we shall possess them
forever depends entirely upon our future course. How long will this
state of things last? Until we have passed the ordeals allotted to
finite, intelligent beings, and have passed from one degree and state
to another; until the work is completed by the Savior, pertaining to
this earth, and our eternal salvation is sealed to us. While we live
here in the flesh we are subject to turn to the right and to the left,
and we have the vanities and allurements of the world to contend with;
and we see Latter-day Saints, after traveling five, ten, twenty, and
even forty years, faithful in the kingdom of God, turn away from the
holy commandments. They will be lost, and all that they have had, and
all that they think they have will be taken from them and given to
those who are faithful; and those who are faithful will not receive
their inheritances, so that they can say they are their own, until
they have passed all these ordeals, and until the Savior has completed
the work of redemption. He is now trying to get the people to avail
themselves of the advantages of his [p.117] atonement, and we,
professedly, are enjoying these advantages, but how slow and slothful
we are! What trifling, frivolous shadows, I may say vain ideas, will
turn the hearts and the affections and judgment and will of man from
the principles of truth! I want you to understand that you have not
your eternal inheritances, although you may have an inheritance here
in this city.

Vol. 17,  p.117
By and by the centre stake of Zion may be redeemed. We may go there,
and Zion may be built up and spread abroad and we receive our
inheritances; and if we are faithful we shall receive all that has
been promised to us. But suppose that we turn away from our covenants,
all will be taken from us and given to others.

Vol. 17,  p.117
When shall we receive our inheritances so that we can say they are our
own? When the Savior has completed the work, when the faithful Saints
have preached the Gospel to the last of the spirits who have lived
here and who are designed to come to this earth; when the thousand
years of rest shall come and thousands and thousands of Temples shall
be built, and the servants and handmaids of the Lord shall have
entered therein and officiated for themselves, and for their dead
friends back to the days of Adam; when the last of the spirits in
prison who will receive the Gospel has received it; when the Savior
comes and receives his ready bride, and all who can be are saved in
the various kingdoms of God—celestial, terrestrial and telestial,
according to their several capacities and opportunities; when sin and
iniquity are driven from the earth, and the spirits that now float in
this atmosphere are driven into the place prepared for them; and when
the earth is sanctified from the effects of the fall, and baptized,
cleansed, and purified by fire, and returns to its paradisiacal state,
and has become like a sea of glass, a urim and thummim; when all this
is done, and the Savior has presented the earth to his Father, and it
is placed in the cluster of the celestial kingdoms, and the Son and
all his faithful brethren and sisters have received the welcome
plaudit—"Enter ye into the joy of your Lord," and the Savior is
crowned, then and not till then, will the Saints receive their
everlasting inheritances. I want you to understand this. We seem to
have something now, but how long shall we keep it?

Vol. 17,  p.117
The Latter-day Saints are believers in the atonement of the Savior,
and I would like to have the Elders of Israel understand as far as
they can all the points of doctrine in regard to the redemption of the
human family, that they may know how to talk about and explain them.
No one who believes in the Bible and in the mission of the Savior
believes that the wicked are going to possess this earth; but they
believe that when it is prepared it will be given to the Saints and
they will inherit it. The Savior has requested us and all of his
disciples to remember him as oft as we meet together, and to break
bread in remembrance of his body which was broken for us, and to drink
from the cup in remembrance of the blood that was shed for us. We
meet, as we are doing to day, and partake of the bread and the water
in compliance with this request of the Redeemer. We have a great work
before us; and that portion of it we are now trying to inaugurate is
not new. The doctrine of uniting together in our temporal labors, and
all working for the good of all is from the beginning, from
everlasting, and it will be for ever and ever. No one supposes for one
moment that in heaven the angels are speculating, that they are
building railroads and [p.118] factories, taking advantage one of
another, gathering up the substance there is in heaven to aggrandize
themselves, and that they live on the same principle that we are in
the habit of doing. No Christian, no sectarian Christian, in the world
believes this; they believe that the inhabitants of heaven live as a
family, that their faith, interests and pursuits have one end in
view—the glory of God and their own salvation, that they may receive
more and more,—go on from perfection to perfection, receiving, and
then dispensing to others; they are ready to go, and ready to come,
and willing to do whatever is required of them and to work for the
interest of the whole community, for the good of all. We all believe
this, and suppose we go to work and imitate them as far as we can.
Would it be anything derogatory to the character of a gentleman or a
lady? I think not. As far as I understand true principle the title of
gentleman should not be applied to any man on the earth unless he is a
good man. No gentleman takes the flame of the Deity in vain. Some who
do take his name in vain may be called gentleman, but it is a mistake,
they are not gentlemen. A gentleman carries himself respectfully
before the inhabitants of the earth at all times, in all places and
under all circumstances, and his life is worthy of imitation. She who
is worthy of the title of lady adorns her mind with the rich things of
the kingdom of God; she is modest in her attire and manners; she is
prudent, discreet and faithful, and full of all goodness, charity,
love, and kindness, with the love of God in her heart. Such a woman
has a right to the title of lady, and I do not consider that any
others have, whether they are elect or not.

Vol. 17,  p.118
We will try to imitate in some small degree, the family that lives in
heaven, and prepare ourselves for the society that wilt dwell upon the
earth when it is purified and glorified and comes into the presence of
the Father.

Vol. 17,  p.118
For us to think that we have an inheritance on the earth is folly,
unless God has declared, and sealed it upon us, by revelation, that we
shall never fall, never doubt, never come short of glorifying him or
of doing his will in all things. No person, unless he is in the
possession of this blessing, has the least right to suppose that he
has an inheritance on the earth. For the time being we have our wives,
children, farms and other possessions, but unless we prove ourselves
worthy, what we seem to have will be taken from us and given to those
who are worthy, consequently we need not worry with regard to the
defects of one another. I say to the brethren, you need not have the
least concern in the world about meeting a man in the celestial
kingdom that you, if you are worthy and are so happy as to get into
the celestial kingdom, can not fellowship; and if you should happen to
be the one that is in fault and you cannot pass the sentinel, and your
neighbor or brother does, he will not see you there, you need not be
concerned in the least about being joined to any person by the holy
sealing power, that will not do right in the next world. I say to my
sisters in the kingdom, who are sealed to men, and who say, "We do not
wang this man in eternity if he is going to conduct himself there as
he does here"—there is not the least danger in the world of your ever
seeing him in eternity or of his seeing you there if he proves himself
unworthy here. But if he honors his Priesthood, and you are to blame
and come short of doing your duty, and prove yourself [p.119] unworthy
of celestial glory, it will be left to him to do what he pleases with
you. You will be very glad to get to him if you find the fault was in
yourself and not in him. But if you are not at fault, be not troubled
about being joined to him there, for no man will have the privilege of
gathering his wives and children around him there unless he proves
himself worthy of them.

Vol. 17,  p.119
I have said a number of times, and I will say again, to you ladies who
want to get a bill of divorce from your husbands, because they do not
treat you right, or because you do not exactly like their ways, there
is a principle upon which a woman can leave a man, but if the man
honors his Priesthood, it will be pretty hard work for you to get away
from him. If he is just and right, serves God and is full of justice,
love, mercy and truth, he will have the power that is sealed upon him,
and will do what he pleases with you. When you want to get a bill of
divorce, you had better wait and find out whether the Lord is willing
to give you one or not, and not come to me. I tell the brethren and
Sisters, when they come to me and want a bill of divorce, that I am
ready to seal people and administer in the ordinances, and they are
welcome to my services, but when they undertake to break the
commandments and tear to pieces the doings of the Lord, I make them
give me something. I tell a man he has to give me ten dollars if he
wants a divorce. For what? My services? No, for his foolishness. If
you want a bill of divorce give me ten dollars, so that I can put it
down in the book that such a man and such a woman have dissolved
partnership. Do you think you have done so when you have obtained a
bill of divorce? No, nor ever can if you are faithful to the covenants
you have made. It takes a higher power than a bill of divorce to take
a woman from a man who is a good man and honors his Priesthood—it must
be a man who possesses a higher power in the Priesthood, or else the
woman is bound to her husband, and will be forever and ever. You might
as well ask me for a piece of blank paper for a divorce, as to have a
little writing on it, saying—"We mutually agree to dissolve
partnership and keep ourselves apart from each other," &c. It is all
nonsense and folly; there is no such thing in the ordinances of the
house of God; you cannot find any such law. It is true Jesus told the
people that a man could put away his wife for fornication, but for
nothing short of this. There is a law for you to be obedient, and
humble and faithful.

Vol. 17,  p.119
Now, brethren, the man that honors his Priesthood, the woman that
honors her Priesthood, will receive an everlasting inheritance in the
kingdom of God; but it will not be until this earth is purified and
sanctified, and ready to be offered up to the Father. But we can go to
work now and live as near as we can like the family of heaven, that we
may secure to ourselves the blessings of heaven and of earth, of time
and of eternity, and life everlasting in the presence of the Father
and the Son. This is what we want to do. Remember it, brethren and
sisters, and try to live worthy of the vocation of your high calling.
You are called to be Saints—just think of and realize it, for the
greatest honor and privilege that can he conferred upon a human being
is to have the privilege of being a Saint. The honor of the kings and
queens of the earth fades into insignificance when compared with the
title of a Saint. You may possess earthly power, and rule with an iron
hand, but that power is nothing, it will [p.120] soon be broken and
pass away; but the power of those who live and honor the Priesthood
will increase forever and ever.

Vol. 17,  p.120
Now I am going to yield for my brethren to talk to you. I have said a
few things. Remember the exhortation I gave you this morning. Live
according to the faith of our religion. Let contention, all contention
cease; cease finding fault with and casting reflections upon those who
are not exactly with us. Let us show by our daily walk and doings that
we have something better than they have. I will say to you who enter
this Order, with regard to your temporal affairs, cease your
extravagance. The Lord has said he would make the Latter-day Saints
the richest people on the earth; but all he will do is to give us the
ability and place means in our possession, · and we must go to work
and organize this means and make ourselves rich; and the first step is
to stop our extravagance, cease this needless expense, learn to make
that which we wear, raise that which we eat, live within ourselves,
accumulate the good things of life, and so make ourselves wealthy.

Vol. 17,  p.120
I pray the Lord our God to bless you and to inspire every heart to
faithfulness, that we may be prepared for a better place than this—for
this world when it shall be sanctified and glorified, that we may then
enjoy the society of each other without sin and without these
annoyances.

George Q. Cannon, July 12, 1874

God Has Created Us to Be Happy—Experience As Delegate 
From Utah in Congress—There is Nothing Like 
Communion With the Holy Spirit

Discourse By Elder George Q. Cannon, Delivered in The 
New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Sunday Afternoon, July 12, 1874.

(Reported by David W. Evans)

Vol. 17,  p.120
I rejoice, to-day, in the opportunity which I have of meeting with my
brethren and sisters, but it would give me much greater satisfaction
to sit and look upon their faces, and to listen to the voice or voices
of others, than to occupy the time myself. I am thankful, however,
that I am in your midst, and that circumstances are so favorable with
us as they are.

Vol. 17,  p.120
I expect, from all I have heard that this past season has been one of
some degree of anxiety on the part of the Latter-day Saints in the
Territory of Utah. But I do not believe that your happiness has been
much interfered with, if I am to judge of your feelings by my own. We
have had so many things to contend with all the days that we have been
associated [p.121] with this work, and we made calculations when we
espoused it upon the character of the opposition to be contended with,
that when we meet it there is no disappointment. In this respect the
Latter-day Saints differ from every other people with whom I have met.
If any other people in this government were assailed as the Latter-day
Saints have been, and were to have so many intolerant and sweeping
measures suggested for legislation by the Congress of the United
States, real estate would he of very little value, and all kinds of
business would be unsettled and ruined. But I cannot perceive that
values, business, or your faith in the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ
has been in the least disturbed.

Vol. 17,  p.121
I have been questioned a good many times since I returned, as to my
feelings during my absence. My reply has been that I never felt better
in my life than during the past eight months. I have been absent from
home a good many times, and I have traveled in a good many lands, and
mingled with many people under a variety of circumstances, but I can
say truly this day, that at no period in any of my travels, or under
the different circumstances in which I have been placed, have I ever
felt better than I have during my recent absence from home.

Vol. 17,  p.121
This may surprise some who are not acquainted with this work, and, in
fact, it may excite some degree of surprise in the breasts of those
who are familiar with it; but my theory is that when a man is
conscious, or a people are conscious, that he or they are in the path
of duty, doing that which is right in the sight of God, they should
always be happy, no matter what the circumstances may be which
surround them. I think that God has created us to be happy, and my
belief is that he has placed happiness within the reach of all, and it
is man's own fault if he is not happy and does not enjoy himself every
day of his life. This is one of my reasons for liking my religion,
this system called "Mormonism," because it bestows full happiness and
joy upon its believers. They can he happy in the midst of the most
adverse circumstances; they can rejoice when surrounded with enemies,
and when their lives are imperilled. During my absence my feeling has
been that God was with his people; I also felt that the faith of the
Latter-day Saints was greatly exerted in my behalf, and that it was
sustaining and strengthening me.

Vol. 17,  p.121
In some respects my position as delegate from this Territory was not
an enviable one, and from the time that I reached Washington until the
close of Congress there was one paper, at least, which poured out
unlimited abuse upon myself and upon my constituents. Scarcely a day
passed that some falsehood was not circulated or some vile slander or
charge published about the people in these mountains, or about myself.
Appeals of every imaginable character were made to the Congress of the
United States, that is, to the House particularly, to take instant
measures to expel me, and when, as these writers thought, a
disposition was manifested not to comply with their demands, recourse
was had to the charge of bribery—that we were spending money, and that
members of Congress were paid to prevent their action upon my case. In
this respect the condition of a delegate might be considered an
unenviable one, but I felt a strength, I felt a power, I had an
influence, or thought I had, at least, that no other member of the
House of Representatives possessed. For instance, the members of the
House generally were [p.122] constantly harassed with the thought as
to what their constituents would think of them, how they would view
their action, how they would like their votes, &c., whether they would
be displeased with such and such a measure, &c. Their future election,
they knew, depended upon their having a popular record, and to secure
this required considerable thought and ingenuity upon the part of
many. I was divested of this fear, I had no thought as to what my
constituents would think of me, it never cost me a single moment's
reflection, because I knew that I had the entire confidence of the
people whom I represented; and I knew that whatever I did, so long as
I did the best I could, I should be sustained in doing it by you and
by all the people throughout these valleys, and in this respect I had
a strength which no other one had. I often told members, when it was
convenient and appropriate to speak in this strain, that I had the
faith of the entire people, and that they were praying for me. This
would amuse a good many, but I have never failed, during my absence,
to convey, whenever I could, the idea that we were a people who
believed in and prayed to God, and that we had faith in our prayers.
One of the great lessons that we have to teach the world to-day is
faith in God, and though a member of Congress, dealing with political
questions and matters which are considered foreign to religion by the
great majority of men, I have not thought that religion was like a
Sunday garment, to be worn on Sunday in the meeting house, tabernacle,
chapel or church, and to be laid aside again on Monday morning. I have
never had that idea of religion, I do not have it now.

Vol. 17,  p.122
There is at the present time an almost entire absence of faith in God
among men. I have been struck with this more than any other feature
that I have witnessed during my absence. Converse with well meaning,
intelligent men, men of good moral character, and you will be
surprised at the extent of the unbelief there is in the world. There
seems to be an idea that God our Eternal Father resides in some remote
place so far removed from us that he takes no special cognizance of us
or of our actions, that he governs the universe and the affairs of men
by great natural and unalterable laws, that there are no special
providences in favor of men, but that man prospers according to his
wisdom, strengh and talent, and that weak men and a weak people stand
no chance in opposition to the strong; hence the remark was made to
me, I may say, hundreds of times during my absence—"You people must
conform to the ideas of the rest of the world, or you will go to the
wall." "You people must abandon your strange ideas and your peculiar
views, or you will inevitably be overthrown." On such occasions I
would not fail to give the ideas that we believed in God, that we
believed this was God's work, that God had sustained and delivered us
in the past, that we were still willing to trust him for the future,
and that he would provide a way of escape. But while men would listen
patiently and kindly to such remarks, you could see incredulity on
every lineament of their countenance, a sort of pitying incredulity,
as though they looked upon you as very well-meaning, but in this
respect a very much mistaken person. The idea that prevails is that
God or Providence is on the side of the strongest artillery, and that
if we are weak and are warred against we must go down because of our
weakness.

Vol. 17,  p.123
Of course, where this idea prevails [p.123] there can be but little
faith in God's special providences. If this were a correct idea, there
would be little use in prayer, in supplicating God, in entreating him
for his blessing and his power to be bestowed upon us. But we have
proved the efficacy of prayer so often ourselves, that there is no
need for us as a people to be fortified upon this point, or to have
arguments urged upon us. My own life is full of incidents—as is the
life, doubtless, of every individual present who has faith in
God—which are evidences of his interposition in answer of prayer, and
my feeling is that one of the great duties devolving upon us is to
teach the world that there is a God, and that he has power to save
to-day, as much as in ancient days, those who are willing to trust
him. It is this peculiar feature that makes everything connected with
this work so incomprehensible to men. Those of you who have kept
posted in relation to affairs, know how wonderfully matters have been
arranged for our good. When I look back at the seven or eight months
that are past and see what has been done, I am amazed, knowing how
thorough have been the measures and the efforts to strip us of every
right and to bring us into bondage. No less than eight or nine bills
were introduced into Congress early in the session, for the express
purpose of reaching the "Mormon" case. These bills were referred to
various committees, and arguments had to be made upon them before
these committees; but there was a determination on the part of a great
many members to vote upon any bill, no matter what its features might
be, that might be introduced into the House from a committee. You
cannot judge, however, in every instance, of the private feelings of
men by heir votes. A great many members of Congress would rather not
cast their votes against us if they could have their way; but the
timidity of members upon the "Mormon" question is the strength of the
enemies of the people of Utah, and they count upon that as a means of
insuring the success of their schemes of villainy. They are well aware
that there is a feeling of reluctance on the part of public men to
place themselves on the record in favor of anything that would look
like sustaining or giving countenance to what is called "Mormonism."
Our enemies counted upon this last session. In the beginning of the
session they depended upon that as the means by which they would
prevent me from taking my seat in the House of Representatives.
Disappointed in that, they then commenced operations before the
committee on elections and, as you are doubtless well aware, did
everything in their power to precipitate that question upon the House.
I need not rehearse to you how these attempts have been overruled. To
my mind the hand of God is as plainly manifest in all these
circumstances. as is this light, or these objects which I see before
me in the light of this day.

Vol. 17,  p.123
When the bills against Utah were introduced, they were referred, as I
have said, to committees. They were principally copies of the bill
that passed the Senate in the last session of the forty-second
Congress, called the Frelinghuysen bill. One of these was introduced
by the chairman of the Committee on Territories and was called the
McKee bill. This bill was argued at great length before the Committee
on Territories, and it was reported to the House.

Vol. 17,  p.123
To the astonishment of its reputed author, a point of order was raised
upon it for which he was not prepared, and, before he scarcely knew
it, the [p.124] bill was taken out of his hands and referred to the
committee of the whole and virtually defeated for that session. Of
course, our enemies were not suited with that arrangement, they wanted
some other bill passed, and hoping that the Poland bill would be the
least objectionable and would pass the easiest, they brought that
forward and urged its passage before the Judiciary Committee. A number
of meetings were held, arguments were made for and against the bill,
and finally, through laboring hard with prominent members of that
committee a modification was obtained in one important section of the
bill, namely, that referring to the selection of jurors. As the bill
originally stood it possessed the same feature that all the rest did,
giving to the Judge of the District Court, his clerk and the U.S.
Marshal, the right to select all our jurors. This section was fought
earnestly, and finally Judge Poland was induced to modify it
sufficiently to have three commissioners appointed, who should have
the selection of jurors. Eventually another change was made in that
section, and the feature that now stands in the law as it passed was
introduced giving the right to select jurors to the Probate Judge of
each county and the clerk of the District Court, each to select
alternately a juror from lists already prepared. I felt that this,
itself, was a very great triumph, because as the bill originally stood
it virtually left us, our lives, our liberties and all our property,
at the mercy of three individals who, judging by past experience in
this Territory, would pack juries upon us without any scruples; and I
felt that it was a great advantage to us that the infamous raid bad
been made upon us two years ago by the Judge of this district and
those associated with him, for it gave me an opportunity of setting
forth what had been done in the past when there was no law to sustain
such operations, and to argue what we might expect if there were a law
to sustain them.

Vol. 17,  p.124
When the Poland bill was brought before the House there seemed to be a
forgetfulness on the part of its sponsor—not its author but its
sponsor—Judge Poland, that there was a rule in operation requiring
every bill that contemplated an appropriation from the federal
treasury to be referred to the committee of the whole. He had
forgotten the point that had been made on the McKee bill, and when his
reputed bill was introduced that point was again made, and sustained
by the Speaker. Judge Poland saw that he could not carry it over the
decision of the Speaker and the decision of the best parliamentarians
in the House and, to save his bill from being referred to the
committee of the whole, he withdrew it. At this point a man who had
been down there, very anxious to get legislation, and urging it with
his might, met me on the floor of the House, and said—"Mr. Cannon,
before you left Salt Lake you told me that God was on your side, and
I'll be d—d if I don't begin to believe it." I told him He was, and
was on the point of telling him that he would be damned if he did not
believe it, when we separated. For the moment, his fears being alive,
I suppose he thought there was some power with us, as this was the
second bill that had been so nearly killed for that session. Judge
Poland succeeded afterwards in getting the privilege of reporting the
bill to the House and having it there considered as in committee of
the whole, and this saved the point of order.

Vol. 17,  p.124
As I have told you, the strength of our enemies did not consist in the
justice or rightfulness of their cause;[p.125] it did not consist in
the strength of their arguments; it did not consist, in fact, in
anything of this character that could be brought before members; but
their principal reliance was upon the circulation of abominable
falsehoods and slanders and the unreasoning prejudices which existed
against the people of this Territory, which made members timid in
dealing fairly with our question. A people who profess the
characteristics of many of the residents of this Territory, and who
have shown such willingness to suffer all things for what they
consider the right, have difficulty in comprehending how men in power
can be timid where principle is involved. But the power of members of
Congress is very ephemeral. The tenure of office of many is frequently
based upon slight grounds. Some have to struggle hard to get to
Congress, and they struggle still harder to keep there. Viewed from
their stand point such reason in this wise: I follow politics as a
profession; I expect to live by that profession; I reach Congress with
difficulty, for my district is closely contested. I must vote in a way
not to lessen my majority in my district, or to decrease my influence.
There is a prejudice against the Mormons, and if I seem to favor them,
my opponents would use it against me on the stump in the next
campaign, even if I should succeed in getting a nomination from the
convention of my party.

Vol. 17,  p.125
As you know, the Poland bill passed the House and was sent to the
Senate. It was expected that it would pass the Senate almost
instantaneously; that it would be referred, as a matter of form, to
the Committee on the Judiciary and be instantly reported back for
passage. But the members of the Judiciary Committee in the Senate,
although the Frelinghuysen bill had passed during the previous
Congress, were not disposed to pass this hastily through. There had
been considerable said, a good many arguments made, and conversations
held with Senators, and the true state of affairs, as far as possible,
had been represented to them, and they had this fear—that this whole
attempt at legislation was merely a pretext by which a raid could be
made on the property of the "Mormons" in Utah Territory.

Vol. 17,  p.125
There were two very powerful aids that I had in Washington. One, that
idea to which I have just referred, that all this was a scheme on the
part of certain interested parties for the purpose of getting up a
raid under cover of polygamy and "Mormonism" to rob the people of
their hard-earned possessions. Many Senators and members had been to
Utah and were aware of the increased value of property through the
discovery of mines. They had no faith in carpet-buggers, hence there
was a reluctance on the part of considerate men to lend themselves to
anything like a scheme of this character.

Vol. 17,  p.125
The other great aid I had were the looks of the men who were urging
legislation. All I had to do was to point to these men and ask
Senators and members how they would like to have power put in the
hands of such persons if they resided in Utah Territory? The argument
was a conclusive one if they had the opportunity of seeing the persons
who were urging legislation at that time. I do not exaggerate when I
say that those who went down there to contest my seat and urge
legislation were the best aids that could have been furnished me. Some
have thought I ought to have had some help, but I tell you truly that
they were the best helps that could be sent. I have [p.126] been asked
repeatedly what we paid one of them at least to be there. The first
time the question was put to me I was a little surprised at it, and
could not help expressing my surprise, not understanding exactly its
drift. I said—"We pay him nothing, what do you mean?" "Well," said the
gentleman who asked the question, "if you do not pay him you certainly
can afford to pay him to keep him here." These were strong reasons on
our side, and they contributed materially to help our cause. 

Vol. 17,  p.126
When the bill, as I have said, came from the Judiciary Committee to
the Senate, it came in its original form except the striking out of
one section which extended the common law over this Territory. But
there was a disposition to so modify the bill that it could not be
used in the way that it was designed by its originators, and you know
how it has been pruned. To me, as I have said respecting this other
matter, so I can say concerning it, that the hand of God was very
visible to me, and I felt that he was laboring on our side, and that
he would help us and deliver us as he had delivered others in other
times and in past ages; and the Lord did soften the hearts of men,
cause them to feel favorable to us and to feel favorably disposed to
our cause. 

Vol. 17,  p.126
It has been said as an explanation of this, so I have understood, that
we have used money at Washington to defeat legislation. I have not
rosen these statements myself, for I made it a point never to read
books or papas which villify this people. I really have too little
time to read the works and papers which are instructive and pleasant
to me, and with which I ought to be familiar, to spend one moment of
time in reading abusive, lying and slanderous writings concerning this
people or myself. While I was absent, there was a paper published in
Washington that had almost daily, as I have remaked, articles against
you and myself. I made it a point never to read one of them. I did not
want to be disturbed in my feelings.' "Where ignorance is bliss," the
poet says, "'tis folly to be wise." I thought the scheme was a
blackmailing one; I knew the influences which were put in operation to
keep up this abuse and I was determined it should not annoy me.
Whenever the use of money has been alluded to in the hearing of
President Young he has stated, emphatically, that so far as he was
concerned he would not spend one cent of money to preserve our rights,
or to obtain extended liberties for us as a people. This has been his
emphatic declaration, his expressed determination. His views on this
subject have been accepted as every way correct.

Vol. 17,  p.126
I want to say to you here, to-day, my brethren and sisters, that not
one cent of money has been spent with any man for the purpose of
influencing him. I believe my word can be relied upon by this people;
you have known me all my life, and when I say this you can put
implicit and perfect reliance in what I say. We have had no aid of
this kind, we have used no means of this character, we have had no
lobbyist. That which has been done has been fairly and above board,
and it has been the blessing of God upon us in answer to the united
faith and prayers of this people that has produced the results that we
have witnessed. I am thankful that we have been enabled to take this
course and that we can trust in God and rely upon him, for he will
save to the very uttermost.

Vol. 17,  p.126
I recollect writing home a letter some weeks ago, some weeks in fact
before the adjournment, in which I said that so far as the sight of
the eye, the hearing of the ear, and natural [p.127] judgment were
concerned men might be justified in thinking there would be
legislation that would be very severe, and that I would lose my seat.
And yet I can truly say that from the day of my election up to the
time that I left Washington I never had a single doubt, not a shadow
of a doubt as to my keeping my seat—it never cost me one moment's
thought. I knew when I left here that I would be admitted to my seat;
I knew when the attempt was made to expel me that it would be
unsuccessful; I knew farther, that every attempt to get legislation
such as was contemplated would be defeated, and if a bill did pass it
would be in a comparatively mild form. Of course, having these ideas,
I have felt, as I stated in the commencement of my remarks, very
happy. I have had joy all the time, I have had peace all the time, and
I have had good cause to be thankful to God our heavenly Father for
his blessings upon me.

Vol. 17,  p.127
That I was not expelled from my seat, however, was not due to the
absence of effort on the part of the person who wanted it. It was
really amusing to hear the pathetic manner in which the poor creature
and his confederates alluded to the technical and legal reply which I
made, (and which was published in this city,) to his charges against
me in his notice of contest for the place of delegate. He had piled
charge upon charge against me, nothing being too false, vile or
malignant to embody in these accusations, and because I acknowledged
nothing, but threw the onus of the proof upon him, he murmured
considerably. It would doubtless have been very gratifying to him to
have had his case completed for him. As it was, recourse was had to
the most despicable methods to obtain such evidence as was thought
necessary. Spies pryed into my domestic affairs, and from them and
apostates cooked affidavits were obtained with which it was hoped the
desired end would be achieved. If vile slanders, base falsehoods,
false affidavits or atrocious attacks could have had the desired
effect I would not have kept my seat in Congress. If grossly libelous
newspaper articles, if shameless and indecent lectures, if frantic
appeals to popular prejudice, or the secret circulation of documents
signed by perjured affiants could have influenced Congress to take
hasty and ill-considered action, the place of delegate from Utah might
lave been declared vacant. My opponents attacked me for being a
"Mormon" of the most ultra and pronounced type; their great efforts
were to prove that in the enunciation and practice of every feature of
my religion I was bold though shrewd and not a whit behind the
foremost, and because of this should not have a seat in Congress. This
endorsement, if it had been worth anything, would have pleased me. But
it did not always suit to give me this character. For circulation
here, another plan was adopted. I was accused of not standing up to my
principles. This charge was false but did not displease me, any more
than the others pleased me. I am thankful to say that I have learned
to view all such charges with complete indifference. Conscious of the
propriety of my own course and that I had the confidence of my
constituents, my enemies' attacks gave me no concern. Indeed, I
accepted them as compliments. I was quite willing to be investigated.
I had tried to live so that I had no fear of a microscopic
investigation of the acts of my life. At the same time I never
conceded that Congress had the right to investigate my domestic
affairs,[p.128] I have no idea that, I shall ever be convinced that it
has that right.

Vol. 17,  p.128
So far as my personal treatment has been concerned, I have been
treated with respect and consideration. A few individuals, a few
members, have sought to do us injury; a few men can make a great
disturbance on a question upon which men ale so tender as this
question of "Mormonism." But by the great majority, by ninety-nine
hundredths of the men with whom I have been brought in contact, as
members of the House, as senators, as heads of departments, I could
not ask any better treatment than I have received, I could not expect
it. I have endeavored to deport myself as a gentleman in all the
relations of life, to treat everybody with the consideration and
respect that were due to them, and I have, in return, been treated in
the same manner. I take pleasure in bearing this testimony, because
one might imagine, from reports that have reached here, that I have
been in a constant war and difficulty. It has been a constant war, but
it has been a war that has been confined to fighting and counteracting
the lies, the machinations, the slanders and the miserable schemes of
those who have been plotting against us. And I wish to bear testimony
to you this afternoon, that if you will put your trust in God he will
never desert you. I never felt for a moment concerned about our
affairs but once, and that was when I heard of the divisions in our
elections here; that gave me concern. If these Latter-day Saints are
only united, if they will keep the commandments of God and do his
will, let me say to you that there is no power on earth or in hell
that can injure us or retard the onward progress of this work. I know
this as well as I know I stand here. But you be divided, you lose your
faith, you array yourselves one against another, and then where is
your strength? You are no better than any other people, and God will
visit you with scourges and with disaster, and you will be punished
and your enemies will have power over you. I hear of men being in
doubt concerning their faith in the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. I
am astonished at it. It seems to me that every evidence that is
necessary to convince people of the divinity of this work, people who
examine it carefully and prayerfully, has been given unto us as a
people.

Vol. 17,  p.128
I thought I knew something, before I left here, concerning the power
of God; I thought I knew something of the providences of God our
heavenly Father; but I never had such an experience in my life as I
have had while I have been absent. I know that God is with this
people. I know that God has chosen Brigham Young to be his servant,
and to preside over his Church on the earth. I know this as well as I
know that I live, and I might as well doubt my own existence, doubt
the existence of the heavens above my head, or the earth on which I
stand, as to doubt this, and I know that those who follow his counsel
will be blessed and will be delivered, while those who reject his
counsel will have to suffer therefor.

Vol. 17,  p.128
This may sound strange that a man should have this power given to him
in these days, but it is consistent with the plan of salvation as
revealed in ancient days. Recollect the power that Jesus gave to
Peters that he should bind on earth and it should be bound in heaven,
and that ha should loose on earth and it should be loosed in heaven.
What great power this was to give to one man, Jesus said to him, "And
I will give unto thee the key of the kingdom of [p.129] heaven, and
whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and
whatsoever thou shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

Vol. 17,  p.129
When God chooses a man to be his servant, he expects all his children
to honor that man when they became acquainted with the character of
his mission, and those who honor him He will honor, and they who
despise him He will despise, and I know that the Latter-day Saints
have prospered, it has been the experience of my entire life, from my
boyhood up to this day, in obeying the counsel of God's servant.
During the days of Joseph, when the Latter-day Saints obeyed his
counsel they were prospered; and since his death, for thirty years
now, when they have obeyed the counsel of Brigham they have been
blessed and prospered. And there is this evidence, which I consider
one of the greatest evidences that we can have—whenever we do that
which is required of us we have peace in our hearts, and when we
oppose it we are disturbed in our spirits. I look upon this as one of
the best guides to judge of the character of a spirit by which we may
be assailed, or which may present itself for admission to our hearts.
Whenever a spirit presents itself that produces disturbance of
feeling, agitation, pain, darkness or doubt, we can know if we will
judge as we should do, that it is not of God; but a spirit that
produces peace, a spirit that produces joy, light and happiness, comes
from God, and as a people we should be able to judge between these two
classes of influences.

Vol. 17,  p.129
I said, in the commencement, that it is the privilege, in my opinion,
of avery man, every human being on the face of the earth to be happy,
if he will seek happiness in the right direction. The heathen who
lives up to the light God has given him can be a happy man. The
idolater, no matter what his condition or belief, if he lives up to
the light God has given him, can be happy if he will observe those
laws which God has made plain unto all of us. Now, my brethren and
sisters, there are lying spirits gone forth in the world who seek to
deceive. The spirit of falsehood reigns to-day in the midst of the
earth. Men delight in slander and in that which is false. You have
proved this sufficiently, and if you are not careful you will be
assailed by this spirit and partake of it before you are aware of it.
How can you know a good spirit from a bad spirit? By the effect it
produces upon your minds. I know that there are some who think that
unless a man doubts he cannot acquire knowledge. This to me is great
folly. I do not think it at all necessary to doubt or to hold
controversies with the devil in order to acquire knowledge. I never
saw a man who pursued that course who was not disturbed in his mind
and darkened in his understanding. Seek for that which produces a good
effect upon your minds; if we follow that it will bring us back to
God. We need never be deceived by any spirit or influence, and we may
always know the truth when we hear it. We have a guide within
ourselves, which all of us carry, and that is the power to detect
truth from error, right from wrong, good from evil, the spirit of
light from the spirit of darkness. I want no spirit within me that
produces any unhappy feeling. I want no spirit to enter into my heart
that produces darkness and doubt. I want a spirit that produces peace
and joy, and that will cause me to rejoice in the midst of my enemies
and when threatened by danger; or if I have to walk that narrow and
[p.130] dreadful path that leads to death because of my faith, or any
other terrible consequence, that I can walk it and have the Spirit of
God, the spirit of peace, joy and resignation therein, without doubt
or darkness assailing me. That is the spirit that we as a people
should seek for. And when you are disturbed in your feelings and
assailed with doubt and do not feel happy, withdraw yourselves from
the world, leave the cares that press you, lay them aside, withdraw to
your secret chamber, and bow yourselves down before your God and
entreat him, in the name of Jesus, to give you his Spirit, and do not
leave your chamber until you are, as it, were, baptized in the Spirit
of God and full of peace and joy, all your cares and troubles
dissipated and dismissed. This is the course we should take as
Latter-day Saints, and this will be far more profitable to us than
anything else we can do during that period. There is nothing like
communion with the Holy Spirit, there is no blessing to equal it. I
have proved it abundantly during my absence, and I rejoice that I can
bear this testimony to you to-day.

Vol. 17,  p.130
I expect it sounds strange for a man who has been occupied as I have
been to talk in this strain; but there is nothing of greater
importance to me, according to my understanding, than the salvation of
the human family, temporally and spiritually, in the kingdom of God
our heavenly Father; nothing of greater importance than teaching men
and women how to live so as to be always in the enjoyment of light and
wisdom and the peaceful Spirit of God our heavenly Father.

Vol. 17,  p.130
That God may bless you, that God may preserve you, that God may unite
your hearts and make you one, and make you a people who shall prove to
the inhabitants of the earth that God still lives and that he is
unchanged, that he is the same today that he was yesterday, and that
he will be the same forever, is my prayer in the name of Jesus. Amen.

John Taylor, July 19, 1874

It is of Little Import How We Leave this World, so that We 
are Prepared to Live or Die—God Has Ordained that All Must Die

Discourse By Elder John Taylor, Delivered An the Funeral 
Services of Elder Thomas Williams, in the Fourteenth Ward 
Assembly Rooms, Salt Lake City, Sunday Morning, July 19, 1874.

(Reported by David W. Evans)

Vol. 17,  p.130
We are met this morning to attend to one of those ceremonies that are
intimately connected with human existence. People generally feel
reflective on sorrowful occasions like the present, and there is
something [p.131] about the manner in which this, our beloved brother,
was taken from us, that rather tends to increase this feeling of
commiseration, not for the departed, but for his family, friends and
associates. Taken away in the bloom of life and health, without a
moment's warning, snatched off in the face of his family and ushered,
as it were, immediately from this world into another state of
existence, it produces feelings that are more easily imagined than
described. However, my ideas in relation to this matter are that so
long as we are prepared to live or to die, so long as we are living in
the fear and favor of the Almighty, no long as we are fulfilling the
various obligations, duties and responsibilities that devolve upon us,
it is a matter of very little importance how or in what manner we
leave this world and go into another. It is appointed for man once to
die, and we can not evade the fiat which fate has decreed. No persons
have yet been able to avoid the operations and summons of the grim
monster whenever his call has been made. And when we reflect upon the
position that we occupy upon the earth it is analogous, in this
respect, to that of myriads of human beings who have existed before.
In various paris of the world there have been a variety of opinions
about the resurrection and about the state of man after death; but
there has been very little difference of opinion about death itself.
The myriads of human beings who have lived upon this earth have all
gone in the same way, that is more or less. Some have died peaceably
and quietly in their beds; others have been submerged in the ocean,
and drowned far from friends and homes, some in the violent struggles
of the battle-field, and some have departed this life after enduring
the agony and pain of lingering disease. There are phases associated
with human existence and the departure of humanity from this world
that are more pleasant than others, and we should like generally, if
we could have our way, to make all preparations, have everything
arranged, and to leave this world, bidding adieu to our friends and
companions as quietly and easily as practicable. We should all like
this if we could have our own way about it. But we do not have our
choice. "God moves in a mysterious way," we are told, and the
dispensations of Providence are inscrutable. Nor is it a matter of
very much moment, according to my ideas, how, or in what way, we leave
this world; the great object is and the great questions for us to
solve are, are we prepared? Have we formed a union with God our
heavenly Father? Have we obtained the forgiveness of our sins? Are we
living our religion? Are we keeping the commandments of God? Have we
made arrangements for our everlasting associations with beings in the
eternal worlds? If we have, if this is our position, it matters but
little how or when we leave this world, that must be left for the
Almighty to regulate and to decide upon.

Vol. 17,  p.131
God, in his eternal decrees, has ordained that all men must die, but
as to the mode and manner of our exit, as I said before, it matters
very little. As part of the household and family of God, as beings
associated with eternity as well as time, it behooves us to reflect,
and that calmly and deliberately, upon our present position, and our
relationship and standing before God our heavenly Father. These are
important questions for us to solve, and if we can solve them
satisfactorily, then all is right.[p.132] 

Vol. 17,  p.132
These events that are continually transpiring around and among us
convince us of the fallacy of all earthly enjoyments as associated
merely with this life. No matter what our acquirements—no matter what
our talents or abilities, no matter what our wealth, position or
circumstances in life, we all have to submit to the same grim monster,
hence the question naturally comes to our minds, why are we thus
situated? We seem attached more or less, to this world. We are
struggling, and striving, and grappling and grasping to possess the
things of this world. Of what use are they now to this brother whose
lifeless remains lie before us? And yet our whole lives, and thoughts,
and energy, and talent are generally bent on their acquisition. In a
short time, the body now lying here, with whose face we have been
familiar, and whose company we have enjoyed, will be lying up there,
enclosed in mother earth. Dust to dust, ashes to ashes, the worms
preying upon his system, and his spirit gone into another state of
existence. That which we see here to-day, will be our case in a short
time. Myriads who have lived before us have gone the same way. Where
are the statesmen, warriors, orators, princes, potentates, emperors,
philosophers, and great men whose names are found upon the pages of
history? They have gone! gone! gone! and we are all sliding down the
plane of time and hurrying into eternity. This is the position of all
men that ever have lived on the face of the earth. Is this our abiding
place then? Is this the land of our immortal, eternal inheritance? Not
until a change takes place. And what of the affairs of the earth—the
baubles, tinsel, glitter and show, the empty name and appearance of
earthly things? Why, just as a great and very sensible man expressed
himself: Said he, "When I am gone you will build a monument over me,
and you will write upon it—

Vol. 17,  p.132
"Here lies the great;—

Vol. 17,  p.132
but if I could rise from the tomb, and could again speak, I would say—

Vol. 17,  p.132
"False marble, where? 
Nothing but poor and sordid dust lies there!"

Vol. 17,  p.132
So it will be with all of us, with me with you, we shall soon all be
in that position. I do not care what our hopes, aspirations or
position in life may be, we have all got to go through the dark valley
of the shadow of death. We have all got to appear before the tribunal
of a just God to give an account of the deeds done in the body,
whether those deeds have been good or evil.

Vol. 17,  p.132
And in the various changes that have taken place, in the cycles of
time as they have rolled forward, and as they will continue to take
place, what of the earth, what of the men who have lived and died and
live again, and what of us? What are our position, ideas and
prospects? We believe that God has spoken; we believe that light has
emanated from the eternal worlds; we believe that God has given us
revelation for our guide in time, and to prepare us for an eternal
inheritance. For this the Gospel has been preached; for this the
Elders of the Church and kingdom of God have gone abroad; for this we
have gathered from distant lands; for this we build our Temples and
our Tabernacles; for this we preach and pray daily that God may
inspire our hearts with the spirit of revelation that emanates from
him, and that the Holy Ghost, the Spirit of truth, may rest upon and
dwell within us, that when we get through with this time, we may be
prepared,[p.133] with our progenitors and our posterity, to inherit an
eternal exaltation in the celestial kingdom of our God. And what is
anything withoutthis? Do I mourn over that man? No, I do not, I feel
sorry for his family, I do not mourn over him, not a particle. I would
not shed a tear over him. He was a good man, a man who feared God,
loved his religion, kept the commandments of God and walked humbly
before him; he was a man who was honored and respected by the good,
respected and honored of God and of  holy angels, and it is all right
with him. Do I mourn that he is taken away? No, we would like to have
our good men stay among us, but perhaps they have something to do in
another sphere. Perhaps the services of brother Williams are required
somewhere else. There are other positions for men to occupy besides
this earth. We had an existence before we came here. We came here to
do a certain work. He has done his and gone. Perhaps God required him
and has taken him away. All right, we will say, it is the Lord, let
him do what seems him good.

Vol. 17,  p.133
In regard to ourselves, that is another thing that we have
individually and personally to do with. It is all right with him, how
is it with us? I talk to the living, to those who are in existence,
who have their volition, who have the power of action and their
reasoning faculties, and I say unto them, look where you will be in a
short time, and ask yourselves are you prepared, like him, to meet
your God, and to have an inheritance in the celestial kingdom of God?
These are the questions that I would ask, and I would say that no
matter what your position, what your wealth, what your prospects or
ideas pertaining to this world, they are none of them worth anything
except sanctified by God and appropriated for the building up of his
kingdom and the establishment of righteousness upon the earth. 

Vol. 17,  p.133
But the question is, are we the friends of God? Is God our friend? Are
we living and walking in the light of his countenance? Do we feel that
our spirits, feelings and consciences are right before him, that we
have consciences void of offence towards God and towards man? These
are some of the thoughts and reflections that we have to do with, and
it is for us to think seriously, calmly and deliberately upon these
things, and to act as wise, prudent, intelligent beings, that we may
keep the commandments of God, live our religion and obtain an
inheritance in the celestial kingdom of God when we shall have got
through with the affairs of time, with which we are surrounded.

Vol. 17,  p.133
May God help us to be faithful and keep his commandments, in the name
of Jesus, Amen.[p.134] 

George Q. Cannon, July 19, 1874

Faith of the Latter-Day Saints in Relation to the Resurrection

Discourse By Elder George Q. Cannon, Delivered at the Funeral Services

of Elder Thomas Williams, in the Fourteenth Ward Assembly Rooms, 
Salt Lake City, Sunday Morning, July 19, 1874.

(Reported by David W. Evans)

Vol. 17,  p.134
While Elder Taylor was speaking of the future condition of the
departed, the words of a writer in the Book of Mormon came to my mind,
and I think that, probably, reading it will be as appropriate on the
present occasion, to refresh the minds of the Saints in relation to
their faith, and if there should be strangers present, it will give
them an idea of the faith of the Latter-day Saints in relation to the
resurrection. I think, I say, it would be as appropriate as anything I
could say. They are the words of Jacob, the brother of Nephi, and are
recorded in the second book of Nephi and sixth chapter. Speaking to a
people who were there, Jacob says—

Vol. 17,  p.134
"Behold, my beloved brethren, I speak unto you these things that ye
may rejoice, and lift up your heads forever, because of the blessings
which the Lord God shall bestow upon your children. For I know that ye
have searched much, many of you, to know of things to come; wherefore
I know that ye know that our flesh must waste away and die;
nevertheless, in our bodies we shall see God. Yea, I know that ye
know, that in the body he shall show himself unto those at Jerusalem,
from whence we came; for it is expedient that it should be among them;
for it behoveth the great Creator that he suffereth himself to become
subject unto man, in the flesh, and die for all men, that all men
might become subject unto him. For as death hath passed upon. all men,
to fulfill the merciful plan of the great Creator, there must needs be
a power of resurrection, and the resurrection must needs come unto man
by reason of the fall; and the fall came by reason of transgression;
and because man became fallen, they were cut off from the presence of
the Lord; wherefore it must needs be an infinite atonement; save it
should be an infinite atonement, this corruption could not put on
incorruption. Wherefore, the first judgment which came upon man, must
needs have remained to an endless duration. And if so, this flesh must
have laid down to rot and to crumble to its mother earth, to rise no
more.

Vol. 17,  p.134
"O the wisdom of God! his mercy and grace! For behold, if the flesh
should rise no more, our spirits must become subject to that angel who
fell from before the presence of the eternal God, and became the
devil, to rise no more. And our spirits must have become like unto
him, and we become devils, angels to a devil, to be shut out from the
presence of our God, and to remain with the father [p.135] of lies, in
misery, like unto himself; yea, to that being who beguiled our first
parents: who transformeth himself nigh unto an angel of light, and
stirreth up the children of men unto secret combinations of murder,
and all manner of secret works of darkness.

Vol. 17,  p.135
"O how great the goodness of our God, who prepareth a way for our
escape from the grasp of this awful monster; yea; that monster, death
and hell, which I call the death of the body, and also the death of
the spirit. And because of the way of the deliverance of our God, the
Holy One of Israel, this death of which I have spoken, which is the
temporal, shall deliver up its death; which death is the grave. And
this death of which I have spoken, Which is the spiritual death, shall
deliver up its dead; which spiritual death is hell; wherefore, death
and hell must deliver up their dead, and hell must deliver up its
captive spirits, and the grave must deliver up its captive bodies, and
the bodies and the spirits of men will be restored one to the other;
and it is by the power of the resurrection of the Holy One of Israel.

Vol. 17,  p.135
"O how great the plan of our God! For on the other hand, the paradise
of God must deliver up the spirits of the righteous, and the grave
deliver up the body of the righteous; and the spirit and the body is
restored to itself again, and all men become incorruptible, and
immortal, and they are living souls, having a perfect knowledge like
unto us in the flesh; save it be that our knowledge shall be perfect;
wherefore, we shall have a perfect knowledge of all our guilt, and our
uncleanness, and our nakedness; and the righteous shall have a perfect
knowledge of their enjoyment, and their righteousness, being clothed
with purity, yea, even with the robe of righteousness.

Vol. 17,  p.135
"And it shall come to pass, that when all men shall have passed from
this first death unto life, insomuch an they have become immortal,
they must appear before the judgment seat of the Holy One of Israel;
and then cometh the judgment, and then must they be judged according
to the holy judgment of God. And assuredly, as the Lord liveth, for
the Lord God hath spoken it, and it is his eternal word, which cannot
pass away, that they who are righteous, shall be righteous still, and
they who are filthy, shall be filthy still, wherefore, they who are
filthy, are the devil and his angels; and they shall go away into
everlasting fire, prepared for them; and their torment is as a lake of
fire and brimstone, whose flame ascendeth up for ever and ever, and
has no end.

Vol. 17,  p.135
"O the greatness and the justness of our God! For he executeth all his
words, and they have gone forth out of his mouth, and his law must be
fulfilled. But, behold, the righteous, the Saints of the Holy One of
Israel, they who have believed in the Holy One of Israel, they who
have endured the crosses of the world, and despised the shame of it;
they shall inherit the kingdom of God, which was prepared for them
from the foundation of the world, and their joy shall be full forever.

Vol. 17,  p.135
"O the greatness of the mercy of our God; the Holy One of Israel! For
he delivereth his Saints from that awful monster the devil, and death,
and hell, and that lake of fire and brimstone, which is endless
torment.

Vol. 17,  p.135
"O how great the holiness of our God! For be knoweth all things, and
there is not anything, save he knows it. And he cometh into the world
that he may save all men, if they will hearken unto his voice; for
[p.136] behold, he suffereth the pains of all men; yea, the pains of
every living creature, both men, women, and children, who belong to
the family of Adam. And he suffereth this, that the resurrection might
pass upon all men, that all might stand before him at the great and
judgment day. And he commandeth all men that they must repent, and be
baptized in his name, having perfect faith in the Holy One of Israel;
or they cannot be saved in the kingdom of God. And if they will not
repent and believe in his name, and be baptized in his name, and
endure to the end, they must be damned; for the Lord God, the Holy One
of Israel, has spoken it; wherefore he has given a law; and where
there is no law given, there is no punishment; and where there is no
punishment, there is no condemnation; and where there is no
condemnation, the mercies of the Holy One of Israel have claim upon
them, because of the atonement; for they are delivered by the power of
him; for the atonement satisfieth the demands of his justice upon all
those who have not the law given to them, that they are delivered from
that awful monster death and hell, and the devil, and the lake of fire
and brimstone, which is endless torment; and they are restored to that
God who gave them breath, which is the Holy One of Israel."

Vol. 17,  p.136
There is much more in this chapter of a similar character, very
instructive to those who read and have faith to believe the testimony
of this man.

Vol. 17,  p.136
In speaking to you, my brethren and sisters, who are familiar with the
life of him whose remains are in our midst this morning, I need not
say to you scarcely what our views and hopes are concerning him. We
know when a man dies, inasmuch as he dies faithful to the truth,
having kept the commandments of God and obeyed the ordinances of the
house of God as far as they have been revealed and as he has had an
opportunity, that he is secure, that his future is assured. He goes,
as we are taught, to the Paradise of God, there to await the morning
of the first resurrection. We know that his body will be called forth
from the dust and from the tomb, and that his spirit will re-animate
it, and he enter upon that glorious condition of existence concerning
which so many promises have been made. In this respect the faith of
the Latter-day Saints is not a chimera, it is something tangible.

Vol. 17,  p.136
While I sat here and listened to the words of our brother the
reflection came across my mind—how often we are called upon to
participate in sad scenes like the present, and yet throughout all
this Territory, among all the Latter-day Saints, there is this
peculiarity, which was not witnessed in the case of our brother
because of the suddenness of his taking off; but I have never yet
found, in any instance where people have been summoned hence by death,
that there were death and sorrow, and feelings of pain and anguish,
and dread concerning the future as I have witnessed elsewhere. In the
early days of this Church God promised unto the Latter-day Saints that
their deaths should be peaceful, and that the dread of death should be
taken away from them, and after forty-four years' experience we,
today, and in all the years that are passed, have realized the truth
of this promise.

Vol. 17,  p.136
There is something tangible about the faith which God has revealed. If
I go forth believing in the Lord Jesus Christ, and am baptized for the
remission of my sins, and receive the Holy Ghost, I know that [p.137]
I have done that which God requires at my hands, and if I should die
at such a time what have I to fear? If the Holy Ghost has descended
upon me it is a witness and evidence to me that I have received a
remission of my sins, and that the promise of God has been fulfilled
to me, and that the man who administered that holy ordinance to me was
an authorized servant of Jesus Christ.

Vol. 17,  p.137
That was the case with brother Williams. His testimonies were of the
most remarkable character. I have heard him speak about the evidences
of its truthfulness he had when he joined this Church, and I have been
almost overpowered with joy that I lived in a day and age of the world
when God revealed his mind and will unto man as he did in ancient
days. A more powerful testimony, probably, could not be heard than has
been borne so repeatedly by our deceased brother. And then what? Why
the Spirit of God rested upon him and impelled him to leave his
friends and his former home and associations and gather with the
Saints. Did he do this because some "Mormon" Elder told him it was
right to do it? No, he did this because the Spirit and power of God
rested upon him and impelled him to do it. He was filled with joy and
peace in obeying this commandment of God, and it was so after he came
here in all the works that devolved upon him. Only the day before he
died we had a long conversation about these things together, and I
trust I shall never forget the spirit that rested upon him and myself
while talking. Speaking about the unfaithfulness of men, he did not
say in these exact words, but he conveyed the idea to me that he would
rather die, rather lay down his life than prove recreant to the
principles of the Gospel which he had espoused, he valued them so
highly, more than life and everything else on the face of the earth.
He has done all that he could do. That power which God promised, or
which Jesus rather gave unto Peter, when he said that he should have
the power to bind on earth and it should be bound in heaven, and the
power to loose on earth and it should be loosed in heaven, has been
exercised in behalf of our deceased brother. He took a wife and she
was sealed to him by the power of the holy Priesthood, and he entered
into this holy ordinance and obeyed celestial marriage as it was
revealed to him in the fullness of his faith, although it was a trial
to him. But he was impelled to do so by the power which rested down
upon him, and he knew he did that which was right. He went forward in
obedience to the commandments, putting his trust in God, and I know,
as he knew and still knows, though gone behind the vail, that he has
secured to himself, so far as his own works could secure, through the
grace and atonement of Jesus Christ, his eternal exaltation in the
presence of God our heavenly Father.

Vol. 17,  p.137
It is not a strong assurance or hope that the Latter-day Saints have,
that they will receive these blessings in the eternal worlds; but when
the promise is sealed upon their heads that they shall come forth in
the morning of the first resurrection and be crowned with glory,
immortality and eternal lives, there is a testimony from God, our
eternal Father in the heavens above, which rests down upon them and
confirms the truth of these words upon the soul of a faithful man or
woman, and they know, when words are pronounced upon them by a man who
has the authority, sealing upon them blessings, keys, thrones,
principalities, powers and exaltations in [p.138] the eternal kingdoms
of God our Father, I say they know, by the testimony. of the Spirit of
God which rests down upon them at such times, that these words are not
the words of men, but that they are the words of the Spirit of God
inspiring that man, and that God takes a record of that ordinance in
the heavens, and that it is sealed upon them and upon their children,
and that they will actually come forth in the morning of the first
resurrection, according to the promise, hence, there is no fear of
death in the minds of the Latter-day Saints. If the stake was standing
before us, prepared for our execution—if we had that faith that we
should have, and which animated the Saints of God in ancient days, we
would walk as calmly to that stake and be bound to it as we would walk
to eat a meal of victuals, knowing that God, our heavenly Father, will
bestow all the blessings that have been sealed upon us.

Vol. 17,  p.138
This was the faith which animated the ancients and sustained them in
the midst of persecutions, and this is the faith that we should
cherish and cultivate as a people and as individuals. Woe to the man
who has lost that faith! Dreadful is his condition if he has not that
faith living within him. Woe to that man, for his condition is far
worse than his first condition, that is before he had these blessings
sealed upon him.

Vol. 17,  p.138
My associations with our brother who has gone have been of the most
tender character. I have known him as I have known a brother. Our
associations have been very intimate from the day I first made his
acquaintance, on the Missouri river, in 1860, until the present time.
I have watched his course, and have been pleased with his
faithfulness. A more amiable, more kind-spirited or more loving man I
scarcely ever met. I do not know that I ever met one more so. He has
been beloved by all who have known him. A modest, unobtrusive man,
never setting himself forward, but faithful and diligent, performing
the labors assigned to him without any parade but with the greatest
devotion and zeal.

Vol. 17,  p.138
That God may bless his wives and his children, and pour out upon them
the spirit of consolation, that he may preserve his little ones, that
they may grow up in the truth, and tread the straight and narrow path
which he has trodden to the end, and like him be crowned with glory,
is my prayer in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.[p.139] 

Brigham Young, July 19, 1874

Nothing Strange or New to Live and Die—Must Die in 
Order to Be Qickened—the World of Mankind Ignorant of 
Immortality—the Righteous Should Live to Enjoy the 
Light of the Spirit—All People Are the Children of 
God—They Learn By Contrast—Worlds to Be 
Organized and Peopled in Future Existence

Discourse By President Brigham Young, Delivered at the Funeral 
Services of Elder Thomas Williams, in the Fourteenth Ward 
Assembly Rooms, Salt Lake City, Sunday Morning, July 19, 1874.

(Reported by David W. Evans)

Vol. 17,  p.139
I do not wish to detain the congregation, for I realize that it is
very warm and uncomfortable; but on this occasion I feel to offer a
few reflections, and pray that they may be instructive to the living,
and encourage us in the faith of the holy Gospel, strengthen us in the
little faith that we now possess, and open up to our minds the future
prospects and blessings that the Lord has in reserve for the faithful.

Vol. 17,  p.139
We call this a solemn occasion, for we have met together to pay our
last respects to one who has lived with us, and with whom we have
associated, and we delight to show our respect to the mortal remains
of those who, in life, have been near and dear to us. But for me to
address a lifeless lump of clay would be useless, while to address the
living, who have ears to hear and hearts to understand, may be
profitable. I requested the brethren to speak who have already
addressed you, and there are more here who would like to speak on the
present occasion.

Vol. 17,  p.139
The testimony that has been borne concerning the character of our
beloved brother, whose body is now a lifeless mass of clay before us,
is true, and more we can say than what has been said.

Vol. 17,  p.139
The scene that we are now called to witness is painful to near and
dear friends—it is a scene calculated to wring the very heart—the
inmost heart. Such scenes are always painful, still we witness them
day by day, and when we contemplate the vast number of souls that come
into existence and inhabit bodies here on this earth, and the vast
number that are departing, almost every moment, it is nothing strange
or new. Except this plant die it cannot be quickened; except this
mortality is put off it can not put on immortality; except this body
that we have received from the earth returns to mother earth, it can
not be brought forth in the morning of the resurrection. This we know
and understand; yet how strange it is, and yet we may say it is not
strange, that [p.140] the living, with all that they witness
concerning the departure of the living to another state of existence,
how few there are who lay it to heart, how few there are who profit by
it, how few there are who seek ante God for wisdom, knowledge and
understanding to enable them to acquit themselves well here
preparatory to this change. There are some who do, but very few, and
though we mourn at the loss of our friends, when our natural feelings
have passed away, and our hearts have ceased to mourn, cheerfulness
takes the place of these mournful feelings, and we think no more of
it. This is the common condition of the children of men, those who
profess to be Christians, and to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ as
the Savior of the world. They have made many inquiries with regard to
this passing from one state of existence to another. It seems to be a
great mystery to them. A great deal has been said and a great deal has
been written, and there have been many reflections—more than has been
spoken or written, and yet it is one eternal mystery to the world.
Why? Because they have not eyes to see, nor ears to hear, and they do
not understand the providences of God; and if they read the word of
the Lord—the revelations that he has given concerning the living and
the dead—they do not understand them, and so the world is left in
darkness, to grope their way like the blind man by the wall. Thus it
is with the children of men, taking the whole of the Christian world.

Vol. 17,  p.140
It is true the Latter-day Saints have received a little more—they have
received something beyond the imagination of the heart. We have facts
before us, we have experience that is satisfactory, and we can rejoice
in the hope that God has given us. But if we will be prepared, as this
our beloved brother was prepared, to go at a moment's warning; if we
live in this way, we live just as we should live. No person who
believes on the Lord Jesus Christ has a right to spend a day, an hour,
or a minute of his life or her life in a manner unbecoming the
profession of a Saint; they should be ready to depart this life any
moment. I say that those who understand the things of God have no
right, neither have they any wish, to live only so that they may enjoy
the light of his Spirit, enjoy communion with God, with his son Jesus
Christ and with the Holy Ghost, so that they may be instructed day by
day how to walk in the path that lies before them, the path that leads
to life everlasting. But how easy it is for those who profess to be
Saints, to be of the earth, earthy, and to seek after and love the
world, and fall into the spirit of the world. How easy it is for them
to receive the spirit of the world, and to forget the spirit of
salvation that has been in their hearts. If we could keep constantly
in our minds and before us what we really know, what the Lord has
taught us, what we have read and what we have received by the
whisperings of the Spirit, this would be satisfactory; but many do not
retain these things, they pass from them, and when they have passed
away doubt seizes their minds, and they are at a loss to determine
whether they ever understood anything or not.

Vol. 17,  p.140
In the great providences of God, in bringing forth worlds into
existence, as he has this, which worlds are continually coming into
existence and passing from one state to another, inhabitants come
forth; every living creature that we have any knowledge of God sends
forth upon the earth that he frames, there to [p.141] live and to
enjoy, or to endure all that his providences bring forth upon the
earth, that they may have an experience, that they may be prepared for
another change. These changes are taking place continually, and have
been from the beginning. In the vegetable and in the mineral kingdoms,
as well as in the animal kingdom, these changes are continually going
on. Man comes on to this stage of action, and he is continually
undergoing a change until the time of his departure. He comes here—he
knows not how. We know we are here; but who is it understands how we
came, and the design and purpose of our Heavenly Father in sending us
here? Here is the mystery to the Christian and scientific world; they
do not understand it. "Would that we could" say the inhabitants of the
earth, and especially those who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. "How
glad I should be to know where Jesus lives!" "How glad I should be to
know whether I am going to him when I leave this world! But it is a
mystery." Why should it be a mystery? Because the curtain is shut down
before us, and the vision of our minds is closed up for a trial for
us, for us to prove ourselves, and to show whether, while passing
through darkness and affliction, in ignorance and with clouds of
unbelief over us, after being made acquainted with the things of God,
we will persevere and be firm to our faith, and so prove ourselves
worthy to receive a glorious resurrection, a change to a more exalted
state of being than we can possess and enjoy here on this earth.

Vol. 17,  p.141
We are made expressly to dwell with those who continue to learn, and
who receive knowledge on knowledge, wisdom on wisdom; we belong to the
family of heaven. I am looking now upon a body of divinity. Every face
that I see sheds forth a certain amount of the divinity I worship—my
Father in heaven. Here we are, we are God's children, and we are
brought forth to give us an experience, that we may know good from
evil, light from darkness; that we may know how to serve God; that we
may know why and wherefore we should refuse the evil and choose the
good. I ask the philosophers—and I think it is probable there are some
here to-day—how do you prove facts? By their contrast. How do you know
this or that? By its contrast. We know and prove things by their
opposite; we understand the evil because the good is present with us,
and the Lord sends forth his intelligent children on the face of the
earth to prove whether they are worthy to dwell with him in eternity.

Vol. 17,  p.141
How frequently the question arises in the minds of the people—"I wish
I knew where I was going!" Can you find out? Well, you will go into
the spirit world, where brother Thomas now is. He has now entered upon
a higher state of being, that is, his spirit has, than when in this
body. "Why cannot I see him? Why cannot I converse with his spirit? I
wish I could see my husband or my father and converse with him!" It is
not reasonable that you should, it is not right that you should;
perhaps you would miss the very object of your pursuit if you had this
privilege, and there would be the same trial of faith to exercise you,
not so severe a path of affliction for you to walk in, not so great a
battle to fight, nor so great a victory to win, and you would miss the
very object you are in pursuit of. It is right just as it is, that
this veil should he closed down; that we do not see God, that we do
not see angels, that we do not converse with them except through
strict [p.142] obedience to his requirements, and faith in Jesus
Christ. When we contemplate the condition of man here upon the earth,
and understand that we are brought forth for the express purpose of
preparing ourselves through our faithfulness to inherit eternal life,
we ask ourselves where we are going, what will be our condition, what
will be the nature of our pursuits in a state of being in which we
shall possess more vigor and a higher degree of intelligence than we
possess here? Shall we have labor? Shall we have enjoyment in our
labor? Shall we have any object of pursuit, or shall we sit and sing
ourselves away to everlasting bliss? These are questions that arise in
the minds of people, and they many times feel anxious to know
something about hereafter. What a dark valley and a shadow it is that
we call death! To pass from this state of existence as far as the
mortal body is concerned, into a state of inanition, how strange it
is! How dark this valley is! How mysterious is this road, and we have
got to travel it alone. I would like to say to you, my friends and
brethren, if we could see things as they are, and as we shall see and
understand them, this dark shadow and valley is so trifling that we
shall turn round and look upon it and think, when we have crossed it,
why this is the greatest advantage of my whole existence, for I have
passed from a state of sorrow, grief, mourning, woe, misery, pain,
anguish and disappointment into a state of existence, where I can
enjoy life to the fullest extent as far as that can be done without a
body. My spirit is set free, I thirst no more, I want to sleep no
more, I hunger no more, I fire no more, I run, I walk, I labor, I go,
I come, I do this, I do that, whatever is required of me, nothing like
pain or weariness, I am full of life, fall of vigor, and I enjoy the
presence of my heavenly Father, by the power of his Spirit. I want to
say to my friends, if you will live your religion, live so as to be
full of the faith of God, that the light of eternity will shine upon
you, you can see and understand these things for yourselves, that when
you close your eyes upon mortality you wake up right in the presence
of the Father and the Son if they are disposed to withdraw the vail,
they can do as they please with regard to this; but you are in the
spirit world and in a state of bliss and happiness, though we may call
it Hades or hell. It is the world of spirits, it is where Jesus went,
and where all go, both good and bad. The spirits of the living that
depart this life go into the world of spirits, and if the Lord
withdraws the vail it is much easier for us then to behold the face of
our Father who is in heaven than when we are clothed upon with this
mortality. I have not time at present to follow these reflections
further.

Vol. 17,  p.142
Then we should be encouraged, we should strengthen our faith by our
hope, we should seek unto the Lord until our hope is made perfect,
that we may have power to bear like Saints all the afflictions we meet
with here on the earth. If we do this, when we have crossed the dark
valley of the shadow of death it will be so easy to turn round and
behold the path that we have walked, wherein we have had the
privilege, the same as the Gods, of learning the difference between
good and evil.

Vol. 17,  p.142
You recollect that it was said in ancient days, to her that we call
Mother, "Your eyes will be opened if you will eat of this fruit, and
you will know as the Gods know, good from evil." This probation is
given us that we may learn this lesson, and if we are faithful in it
we shall learn [p.143] how to succor those who are tempted and tried
as we are, when we have the power to rescue them from the ravages of
the enemy.

Vol. 17,  p.143
This earth is our home, it was framed expressly for the habitation of
those who are faithful to God, and who prove themselves worthy to
inherit the earth when the Lord shall have sanctified, purified and
glorified it and brought it back into his presence, from which it fell
far into space. Ask the astronomer how far we are from the nearest of
those heavenly bodies that are called the fixed stars. Can he count
the miles? It would be a task for him to tell us the distance. When
the earth was framed and brought into existence and man was placed
upon it, it was near the throne of our Father in heaven. And when man
fell—though that was designed in the economy, there was nothing about
it mysterious or unknown to the Gods, they understood it all, it was
all planned—but when man fell, the earth fell into space, and took up
its abode in this planetary system, and the sun became our light. When
the Lord said—"Let there be light," there was light, for the earth was
brought near the sun that it might, reflect upon it so as to give us
light by day, and the moon to give us light by night. This is the
glory the earth came from, and when it is glorified it will return
again unto the presence of the Father, and it will dwell there, and
these intelligent beings that I am looking at, if they live worthy of
it, will dwell upon this earth.

Vol. 17,  p.143
As for their labor and pursuits in eternity I have not time to talk
upon that subject; but we shall have plenty to do. We shall not be
idle. We shall go on from one step to another, reaching forth into the
eternities until we become like the Gods, and shall be able to frame
for ourselves, by the behest and command of the Almighty. All those
who are counted worthy to be exalted and to become Gods, even the sons
of God, will go forth and have earths and worlds like those who framed
this and millions on millions of others. This is our home, built
expressly for us by the Father of our spirits, who is the Father,
maker, framer and producer of these mortal bodies that we now inherit,
and which go back to mother earth. When the spirit leaves them they
are lifeless; and when the mother feels life come to her infant it is
the spirit entering the body preparatory to the immortal existence.
But suppose an accident occurs and the spirit has to leave this body
prematurely, what then? All that the physician says is—"it is a still
birth," and that is all they know about it; but whether the spirit
remains in the body a minute, an hour, a day, a year, or lives there
until the body has reached a good old age, it is certain that the time
will come when they will be separated, and the body will return to
mother earth, there to sleep upon that mother's bosom. That is all
there is about death.

Vol. 17,  p.143
Brother Thomas Williams is no more dead than he was a week ago. His
clay is simply dead; and inasmuch as he honored this tabernacle that
lies before us, it will take a sleep in the dust, to come forth
immortal in the day of the first resurrection.

Vol. 17,  p.143
This will be the case with us all; if we honor our being here. This is
our path, and our great object should be to honor our calling here. We
have bodies which, in infancy, childhood and youth, are just as pure
as the angels, and if we honor these bodies, and preserve them in
chastity, purity and holiness, they are just as good as the bodies of
those that dwell in endless life, and they will be prepared to come
forth in the glorious [p.144] resurrection, and be crowned with glory,
immortality and eternal lives. This is the privilege of all, and the
work that the Savior has undertaken is to save all that will come unto
him; none will be eternally lost except the sons of perdition; and the
great work that God has brought forth in the latter-days in restoring
the Priesthood is for the living and for the dead, to bring them up
that they may enjoy a glorious resurrection.

Vol. 17,  p.144
Brother Thomas has honored his body here, and he now goes into his
glory, that is, as far as he can in the spirit world. He goes where he
can do more good. He has gone where he can preach to those who have
lived and died on the earth without the Gospel, that they may have the
privilege of receiving and obeying it, that they may be judged
according to men in the flesh, and have the privilege of a glorious
resurrection.

Vol. 17,  p.144
This is the work of the Latter-day Saints, and if we are hated for
anything, it is for trying to save the people; if we are persecuted it
is for trying to do good to those who are living and those who are
dead. I say, then, to the Saints, pursue your course, live your
religion and be ready at a moment's warning. Brother Thomas Williams,
while he sat at table eating his dinner, had not the privilege of
speaking a word. A blood vessel broke, and his mouth and throat were
instantly filled with blood to that degree that he could not speak a
Word. He tried to swallow a little salt and water, and probably he got
a little down, but I doubt it very much. The blood gushed most
probably from both stomach and lungs. The vessels were ripe and
prepared to break, and the blood within him gushed out so copiously
that he never spoke another word. How could he repent of his sins if
he had not been prepared? What kind of a confession could he have made
if he had wished to? None at all. He could not ask a Priest to pray
for him if he had wanted to do so; no, he was prepared to go; he never
spoke a word, but committed his soul to God without a moment's
warning. I try to so live that my work is always done; I have done
everything that can be done up to the moment, just as he did it. I
wish our business men would take pattern by him who lies before us. He
was our paymaster in the Parent Branch of Z.C.M.I., and attended to
this Branch of the financial business of the Institution, and there
was not an order that was to be paid or filed, but what he had written
a description of it and pinned it on to that order before he went to
his dinner. In all his business there was not one scratch of the pen
wanted to be done by other clerks, but every iota was done just as
much as though he had known that he was going to breathe his last in
twenty minutes.

Vol. 17,  p.144
Saints, I wish you would take pattern by this man, and live your lives
as he lived his life. I pray you in Christ's stead live your religion.
If you want to know whether I live mine judge by my works, judge from
my daily walk and conversation. You have the right to judge, but you
be sure and live so that you will know whether I do or not. I live so
that I know whether you do or not, exactly. Latter-day Saints live
your religion and honor your God.

Vol. 17,  p.144
I say to this family, the wives and children of brother Williams, God
bless you and comfort your hearts; and I say, will you please live
your religion so that you may be prepared to meet him? If you do not
live so as to honor your Priesthood, you will come short of meeting
him in the resurrection, I assure you. Now live your religion. God is
not to [p.145] be mocked, the laws of God are to be honored, and all
of his ordinances and requirements are to be filled and fulfilled. He
requires strict obedience of his children, and if we are not obedient
we shall come short of that glory that we anticipate now.

Vol. 17,  p.145
I hope and pray that the Lord will bless you all. Amen.

Orson Pratt, July 19, 1874

All Nations Believe in a Future State of Existence—All Inherit the 
Curse in the Death of the Body—the Zion of Enoch Taken to the 
Bosom of God—Celestial, Terrestrial and Telestial Spheres—
Baptism in Water Essential to Salvation—Divine 
Authority—Eternal Marriage Ordained of God

Discourse By Elder Orson Pratt, Delivered in the Old Tabernacle, 
Salt Lake City, Sunday Afternoon, July 19, 1874.

(Reported by David W. Evans)

Vol. 17,  p.145
I hope the congregation will give their attention and pray for the
Holy Spirit to be shed forth upon all those who are upright in heart,
that we may be edified and instructed by the inspiration and power
thereof, for this is one of the objects which we have in view in
assembling ourselves together, from Sabbath to Sabbath, to be
instructed in the things pertaining to the kingdom, and also to
partake of the emblems of the death and sufferings of our Lord and
Savior Jesus Christ.

Vol. 17,  p.145
We find ourselves here, upon this creation, intelligent beings, and
questions no doubt arise in the minds of almost every man and every
woman in relation to the future destiny of the human family, and what
is the object of our being placed here on this earth for a Short
season and then passing away. It is a question not only asked by
intelligent beings who believe in divine revelation, but the heathen
and semi-barbarous nations, in fact all people reflect, more or less,
concerning the object of their existence here, and what awaits them in
the future. Mankind gain very little light on this subject unless
through the medium of divine revelation, hence we and among all people
a great variety of views in relation to this matter. Our American
Indians have some ideas of a future state of existence—they cannot
persuade themselves to believe that man is destined, when he lays
aside this mortal tabernacle, to be annihilated, but they, look
forward to a future state, and the pleasures they will hereafter enjoy
in their happy hunting grounds. Some people believe [p.146] one
principle and some another in relation to this matter, and the only
way man can be satisfied on a subject of so great importance is by
receiving revelation from that order of beings—far in advance of
us—who have a knowledge of the future state and condition of man.

Vol. 17,  p.146
We find rocorded in the revelations of the Most High, called the
Bible, as well as in the Book of Mormon and the various modern
revelations which God has given, that man is destined to live forever.
God having revealed this fact to ancients and to moderns, raised up
witnesses to bear testimony to the children of men that they are
immortal beings, and that this change which comes upon them,
denominated death, is not an annihilation of their being or an end of
their existence, but it is merely a casting off or laying aside of the
mortal tabernacle; that man lives in the eternal world even after he
appears to be dead, and that, if a righteous man, he has joy and
happiness, but if a wicked man, he has the gnawing of conscience, and
misery, and wretchedness; and that he expects, according to divine
revelation, to receive again, in due time, the tabernacle that he has
thrown off for a moment. It is sown in weakness, says the Apostle
Paul, it is raised in power; it is laid down as a mortal body, it is
raised up as an immortal body.

Vol. 17,  p.146
If we, by study or research, could discover some method or principle
by which we could remain in this world and live in this tabernacle
forever, we should be willing to do so with all the inconveniences of
the present order of things, and still be joyful in our hearts. If any
man could by research or learning discover some kind of a way, or
means or medicine that would give immortality to the children of men,
even in their present state, he would be considerded one of the
greatest men that ever lived, and the one who had bestowed the
greatest blessing upon his fellow-creatures; he would be lauded to the
very skies, and his name would be handed down among all people and
nations as one of the greatest benefactors of mankind; so earnestly do
we feel to cling to life and desire to live, that we would be very
willing to put up with the inconveniences of the present state if we
could only remain and the monster death have no power over us. But it
is in the order of God that man should die. Man brought this upon
himself by transgressing the laws of heaven. By putting forth his hand
and partaking of that which God had forbidden, he brought, this great
evil into the world. Death not only came upon our first parents, who
committed the first great transgression, but the curse has been
inherited by all their generations. None can escape the curse so far
as the mortal body is concerned.

Vol. 17,  p.146
I think, perhaps, this broad assertion may be contradicted in the
minds of some. They may tell us of Enoch, who was translated to
heaven; they may speak of Elijah, who was caught up in a chariot of
fire, and say, "Here, at least, are two exceptions to the general
rule." But what do we know concerning translation? What has God
revealed in all the revelations contained in the Old and New
Testaments in relation to a translated being? Are we assured that such
beings never will have to undergo a change equivalent to that of
death?

Vol. 17,  p.146
Our new revelations that we have received inform us of a great many
individuals that were translated before the flood. We read that a
great and mighty Prophet of the Most High God was sent forth in the
days [p.147] of Adam, namely Enoch, the seventh generation from Adam,
who lived contemporary with his ancestor Adam; that in his days a
great number of people heard the plan of salvation preached to them by
the power of the Holy Ghost that rested upon Enoch and those who were
called with him; that they received this plan of salvation and
gathered themselves out from among the various nations of the earth
where they had obeyed the Gospel; that they were instructed, after
they assembled in one, in righteousness, for three hundred and
sixty-five years; that they learned the laws of the kingdom, and
concerning God and every principle of righteousness that was necessary
to enable them to enter into the fullness of the glory of heaven; they
were instructed to build up a city, and it was called a city of
holiness, for God came down and dwelt with that people; he was in
their midst, they beheld his glory, they saw his face, and he
condescended to dwell among them for many long years, during which
time they were instructed and taught in all of his ways, and among
other things they learned the great doctrine and principle of
translation, for that is a doctrine the same as the doctrine of the
resurrection of the dead, which is among the first principles of the
plan of salvation; and we may also say that the doctrine of
translation, which is intimately connected with that of the
resurrection, is also one of the first principles of the doctrine of
Christ. They were instructed in relation to this government, the
object of it, &c.

Vol. 17,  p.147
According to the light and knowledge which the Latter-day Saints have
upon this subject, revealed in the revelations given through Joseph
Smith, we find that those people, when they were fully prepared,
having learned the doctrine of translation, were caught up into the
heavens, the whole city, the people and their habitations. How much of
the earth was taken up in connection with their habitations we are not
informed. It, might have been a large region. You may ask—"Where was
this city of Zion built in ancient days?" According to new revelation
it was built upon this great western hemisphere. When I speak of this
western hemisphere I speak of it as it now exists. In those days the
land was united; the eastern and the western hemispheres were one; but
they dwelt in that portion of our globe that is now called the western
hemisphere, and they were taken up from this portion of the globe. No
doubt all the region of country occupied by them was translated, or
taken away from the earth.

Vol. 17,  p.147
Does this prove that they were immortal beings from the time of their
translation? No; it does not prove any such thing. How are we to know
anything about it? We can not learn anything in relation to it, except
by revelation. God has revealed to us that they are held in reserve,
in some part or portion of space; their location is not revealed, but
they are held in reserve to be revealed in the latter times, to return
to their ancient mother earth; all the inhabitants that were then
taken away are to return to the earth.

Vol. 17,  p.147
Some five thousand years have passed away since they were caught up to
the heavens. What has boon their condition during that time? Have they
been free from death? They have been held in reserve in answer to
their prayers. What were their prayers? Enoch and his people prayed
that a day of righteousness might be brought about during their day;
they sought, for it with all their hearts; they looked abroad over the
face of the earth and saw the corruptions [p.148] that had been
introduced by the various nations, the descendants of Adam, and their
hearts melted within them, and they groaned before the Lord with pain
and sorrow, because of the wickedness of the children of men, and they
sought for a day of rest, they sought that righteousness might be
revealed, that wickedness might be swept away and that the earth might
rest for a season. God gave them visions, portrayed to them the future
of the world, showed unto them that this earth must fulfill the
measure of its creation; that generation after generation must be born
and pass away, and that, after a certain period of time, the earth
would rest from wickedness, that the wicked would be swept away, and
the earth would be cleansed and sanctified and be prepared for a
righteous people. "Until that day," saith the Lord, "you and your
people shall rest, Zion shall be taken up into my own bosom." Ancient
Zion should be held in reserve until the day of rest should come,
"then," said the Lord to Enoch, "thou and all thy city shall descend
upon the earth, and your prayers shall be answered."

Vol. 17,  p.148
They have been gone, as I have already stated, about five thousand
years. What have they been doing? All that we know concerning this
subject is what has been revealed through the great and mighty Prophet
of the last days, Joseph Smith—that unlearned youth whom God raised up
to bring forth the Book of Mormon and to establish this latter-day
Church. He has told us that they have been ministering angels during
all that time. To whom? To those of the terrestrial order, if you can
understand that expression. God gave them the desires of their hearts,
the same as he gave to the three Nephites, to whom he gave the
privilege, according to their request, of remaining and bringing souls
unto Christ while the world should stand. Even so, he granted to the
people of Enoch their desire to become ministering spirits unto those
of the terrestrial order until the earth should rest and they should
again return to it.

Vol. 17,  p.148
Joseph inquired concerning their condition, whether they were subject
to death during that period, and was informed, as you will find in the
history of this Church, as printed in the Miillenial Star and other
publications thereof, that these personages have to pass through a
change equivalent to that of death; notwithstanding their translation
Lorn the earth, a certain change has to be wrought upon them that is
equivalent, to death, and probably equivalent also to the resurrection
of the dead. But before that change comes they minister in their
office unto those of another order, that is the terrestrial order.
Strangers will not understand perhaps what we mean by the terrestrial
order. If they will take the opportunity of reading the doctrines of
this Church, as laid down in the revelations given through Joseph
Smith, they will learn what our views are in relation to this matter.
God revealed by vision the different orders of being in the eternal
worlds. One class, the highest of all, is called the celestial;
another class, the next to the celestial in glory, power, might and
dominion, is called the terrestrial; another class, still lower than
the terrestrial in glory and exaltation, is called the telestial. This
middle class, whose glory is typified by the glory of our moon in the
firmament of the heavens as compared with the sun, are those who once
dwelt on this or some other creation and, if they have had the Gospel
laid before them they have not had a full opportunity of receiving it;
or they have not [p.149] heard it all, and have died without having
the privilege. In the resurrection they come forth with terrestrial
bodies. They must be administered to says the vision, and God has
appointed agents or messengers to minister to these terrestrial
beings, for their good, blessing, exaltation, glory and honor in the
eternal worlds.

Vol. 17,  p.149
Enoch and his people understanding this principle sought that they,
before receiving the fullness of their celestial glory, might be the
instruments in the hands of God of doing much good among beings of the
terrestrial order.

Vol. 17,  p.149
We read in the New Testament concerning certain angels that are in the
eternal worlds, and the question is asked by the Apostle Paul—"Are
they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for those who
shall be heirs of salvation?"—not for those who were already heirs of
salvation, but for those who shall be—those who were to be redeemed,
that were to be brought forth and exalted. Enoch and his people were
appointed to this ministry, holding the Priesthood thereof, with poser
and authority to administer in order that those beings may be exalted
and brought up, and inherit all the glory that they are desirous to
receive.

Vol. 17,  p.149
Much might be said concerning these different orders of glory, but we
feel to pass on, and we will speak a few words now concerning the
resurrection from the dead of those who have fully prepared themselves
for the highest glory, the glory of the celestial kingdom, the highest
of all, the holiest of all, the kingdom where God the Father sits
enthroned in glory and in power, ruling and governing all things.
There is a certain law, which God ordained before the foundation of
the world, an irrevocable decree that those who would obey that law
should have this great and most glorious of all the resurrections, be
raised to celestial power, thrones and exaltations, where they could
dwell in the presence of their Father and their God, throughout all
the future ages of eternity.

Vol. 17,  p.149
Do you enquire what this law is which God revealed, and which was
fore-ordained in the counsels of eternity, to be made manifest unto
the sons and daughters of men for their exaltation to this highest
heaven? Do you desire to know the road, the ordinances, the
principles, by which we may attain to that highest of all exaltations?
I will begin and say to all, that every individual that ever attains
to the fullness of that glory, I mean those who have come to the years
of understanding and maturity not referring at all to little
children—must be born of the water and of the Spirit in order to be
prepared to enter that highest glory of all. No one gets there upon
any other principle. No ordinances, principles, laws or institutions
laid down by the children of men that vary from that principle, will
ever bring us into the celestial kingdom. We have the words of Jesus
on this subject, when speaking to Nicodemus—"Verily, verily, I say
unto you, except a man be born of the water and of the Spirit, he can
in no wise enter into the kingdom of heaven." It is an impossibility,
because the word of the great Jehovah has gone forth, and will not be
revoked, and unless we are born of the water and of the Spirit, we
cannot enter there.

Vol. 17,  p.149
What do we understand by being born of the water? What we understand,
what God has revealed to us, as well as to the ancients, is, that we
must be laid under the water and be brought forth out of the water,
typical of birth, for this is a birth of the water. Who is a fit
subject for this birth of the water? None [p.150] but those who truly
believe in the Lord Jesus Christ as the Savior of the world; those who
believe that he died to redeem the world and that he shed his blood to
atone for the sins of the world; those who believe this and truly
repent of all their sins are the only subjects who are justified
before God in going down into the waters of baptism, being immersed in
the water and brought forth again out of the water, which is the new
birth of the water. It will do no person any good to be baptized a
hundred times if his baptism is not connected with true faith in God
and in Jesus Christ, and in his revelations and commandments; and
unless he sincerely and truly repents of his sins, reforms his life
and enters into a covenant with God to serve him in all righteousness,
humility, meekness and lowliness of heart, his baptism would be good
for nothing, it would not be acknowledged in heaven, it would not be
recorded in the archives of eternity to his justification in the great
judgment day. Let me go still further, and say, that if we have
repented of and been baptized for the remission of our sins, if we do
not seek after the birth of the spirit also, our baptism will avail us
nothing; they must go hand in hand—the birth of the water first and
then the birth of the spirit.

Vol. 17,  p.150
What do we understand by the birth of the spirit? I answer, that there
is a birth of the spirit, in other words, those persons who receive
the Holy Ghost are filled with it, are immersed within it, they are
clothed upon therewith, and consequently are born anew of it, and they
are without desires to do evil, their desires to do that which is
wrong are taken away, and they become new creatures in Christ Jesus,
being born of the spirit, as well as being born of the water. Here
then are certain laws, ordinances or principles, as a beginning or
starting point, by which we may gain an entrance into that highest
glory of which I have been speaking.

Vol. 17,  p.150
Another thing to be considered in receiving these ordinances—I may be
ever so sincere and humble and ever so willing to repent of my sins; I
may have ever so much faith in God and in his Son Jesus Christ, and
yet if I am not baptized by a man holding divine authority from God,
having the right to baptize me in the name of the Father and of the
Son and of the Holy Ghost, my baptism will not be legal, it will not
be the new birth, and I cannot enter into the kingdom of God,
according to the words of Jesus. What then does it require to
constitute a man having divine authority? Can any one by a mere
impression upon his mind consider that he has divine authority to
baptize his fellows? No; it needs a call from heaven, it needs a new
revelation cotemporary with the individuals that act, a revelation
from God calling the persons by name, setting them apart, ordaining
them and calling them to officiate, commanding them to administer. Any
other person who attempts to administer baptism will not be
acknowledged in heaven. But a man holding the right by virtue of his
divine calling and ordination, and by virtue of the power that God has
bestowed upon him and the commandment that God has revealed to him,
can go down and administer the baptism of water, and it will be
recognized in heaven; it will not only be recorded on earth among the
Saints in the Church hers on the earth, but it will be recorded in the
books of eternity, the records that are kept on high, and in that day,
when all men shall be judged out of the books that are written, it
will be found that the books kept [p.151] here on earth will accord
with those books that are kept in heaven, and by these books will
parties be justified, and by these books will the legal ordinances
that have been administered be acknowledged and recognized in heaven.

Vol. 17,  p.151
This calls forth another query by the world—"Why is it that you
Latter-day Saints are so exclusive in the administration of the
ordinances that you will not admit me, a Baptist, to join your society
on my old baptism? I have been immersed," says the Baptist; "I was
sincere, I repented of my sins, and yet you Latter-day Saints will not
receive me into your communion and to become a member of your Church
unless I am baptized by one of your authorities." The answer is, we do
not recognize, as I have already stated, the authority of the
Baptists, Presbyterians, Methodists, Roman Catholics, nor of any
Christian society upon the whole face of our globe to administer in
the sacred ordinances, unless God has called them by new revelation,
even as Aaron was called in ancient days. Have they been thus called?
Ask them, and they will tell you no. Ask them if there has been any
later revelation than the Old and New Testament, and all these
societies will tell you that God has nut given any revelation, raised
up any Prophets or inspired Apostles, sent any angels, or given any
visions, since the day that John the Revelator, the last of the
Apostles, closed up his writing. Oh what an awful condition they must
be in if this is the case! And who, with the exception of the
Latter-day Saints, I ask again, among tall nations, kindreds, peoples,
tongues, and religious denominations, upon the face of our globe, has
any divine authority? Not one, hence their baptisms are illegal, their
administrations of the Lord's Supper are illegal, and all their
administrations in ordinances are not recognized in heaven. If God has
not said anything since the days of the ancient Apostles, no wonder
that he commanded, in these latter days, that we should not receive
any into our Church unless they came in by the door of baptism.

Vol. 17,  p.151
But we have only told you some of the first principles of the Gospel
of the Son of God, which are necessary to prepare the human family to
enter into that highest glory that is spoken of by the Apostle
Paul—the glory of the celestial. He says in the fifteenth chapter of
the first epistle to the Corinthians—"There is one glory of the sun,
another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for as one
star differs from another star in glory, so also is the resurrection
of the dead." The glory of the sun is the highest, it is called by
Paul the celestial, and I have told you some of the first principles
of the celestial law. If you would inherit a celestial glory you must
lab willing to abide by the celestial law, otherwise you will come
short. But do we stop with these first principles? No, there are many
other great and glorious principles, connected with the celestial law,
which God has revealed, and set forth as necessary for his people to
receive, in order to prepare them to enter into that glory. I will
name one—marriage.

Vol. 17,  p.151
We know very little about the order of heaven, so tar as marriage is
concerned, and all that we do know God has revealed. He has told us in
the New Testament, "What God hath joined together, let no man put
asunder." It seems then that there is a marriage wherein God
officiates, or in other words, he officiates by his power and
authority, he officiates [p.152] in the uniting of men and women in
marriage, hence it is called joining them together of God—what God
joins, not what man joins. It is a divine institution, it cannot be
administered by the law-making department. There may be marriages
under the civil law; Congress, or the Legislatures of the various
States and Territories may pass laws regulating the marriage
institution, and marriages performed according to the provisions
thereof would be legal, so far as the laws of man are concerned. But
has God anything to do with these marriages? Just as much as he has
with baptism when it is administered illegally. I have already shown
you that a baptism administered by a man without authority is good for
nothing; and a man and woman united in marriage by any civil law ever
framed since the world began, are illegally married in the sight of
heaven; to be legal there, it must be performed by a man called by
revelation and ordained and commanded to celebrate that ordinance.

Vol. 17,  p.152
Now I want to say a few words to our young people who dwell in
different parts of the Territory. I have heard that some of them,
perhaps through a want of understanding of the laws of God, have
suffered themselves to be married by the civil law—for instance, by a
justice of the peace, alderman or judge. That will do very well so far
as the laws of the land are concerned, but has God anything to do with
such marriages? Nothing at all. Has he ever authorized marriages to be
solemnized after this order? Not at all. Are children born of such
marriages your legal sons and daughters in the sight of heaven? Not at
all; they are in one sense bastards. That is a pretty hard saying, is
it not? They are actually bastards. For instance, there are many old
people who never heard of the divine appointment and authority which
God has sent forth from heaven in relation to marriage, who have been
married according to the laws of the countries in which they resided
before they heard of this work. They complied literally with their
laws, and so far as the law was concerned that was all right. But were
they, legally, in the sight of God, husband and wife? Just as much as
I would be a son of God and born of water, if I were sprinkled by a
sectarian priest, or baptized by a Baptist priest, just as much. Could
we claim a celestial glory, and all the privileges and blessings and
exaltation that God has ordained from the foundation of the world to
be bestowed upon those who comply with the celestial law, unless we
complied with this law? Could our children, in the morning of the
resurrection, come up and say unto us—"We claim you as our legal
parents;" "I am your son," "I am your daughter, and you are my
parents, and therefore I claim the privilege of partaking of all the
glory that you partake of, and of receiving thrones and dominions and
kingdoms and powers and principalities in heavenly places in Christ
Jesus?" They could not claim any such thing; neither could the parents
have a claim upon these children; neither could they be gathered
together and organized into a family capacity. Why? Because the
celestial law has not been attended to. Inquires one—"Do you mean to
make us all out bastards?" Not in the eyes of the law, but in the eyes
of heaven. I am pointing out the difference now between the two
laws—the law of man and the law of God, or the celestial law. Parents,
if you would have your families connected with you in a social
capacity hereafter, you must take steps [p.153] to secure them by
obeying the celestial law.

Vol. 17,  p.153
Inquires one—"Is there any remedy for these illegal marriages that we
entered into before we heard the Gospel?" Yes, God has ordained from
before the foundation of the world, laws and institutions adapted to
the condition of all the human family, which, when revealed, if they
are attended to by the children of men, will bless and exalt them, and
consequently the propriety of gathering. God has not revealed a law in
relation to marriage which may be officiated in everywhere, at random,
without any record; he has ordained that in the last days, in Zion and
in Jerusalem, and in the remnant whom the Lord our God shall call,
there shall be deliverance. Deliverance from what? From all our former
foolish traditions, and from the powers of darkness and everything
evil. For this reason the people are gathering up from the nations of
the earth, that they may be taught the law of deliverance; that they
may be taught, legally and properly, how to become connected as
husbands and wives in the sight of heaven; and inasmuch as our
children have been born unto us under the covenants of the civil law,
that our marriages may be renewed under the new covenant that God has
revealed, and be recorded and sealed on earth and in heaven for the
benefit of our children and their posterity for ever and ever. You
will find, when you learn further concerning the celestial glory,
Paul's words to be true, that in that glory, those who are in God must
themselves be connected in marriage; for says the Apostle Paul, "the
man is not without the woman in the Lord, and the woman is not without
the man in the Lord." This is an eternal principle, an eternal law
pertaining to that glory. You may try to get the fullness thereof
singlehanded, but you can't do it, for God has made this a point of
order and law, that all beings who are exalted to that highest glory
shall be nutted in the Lord, as husband and wife.

Vol. 17,  p.153
Inquires one—"Do you mean that such relationship is going to continue
after this life in the eternal worlds?" Yes, that which God has
appointed and ordained in eternity, in relation to the creations and
worlds that he has made, must be fulfilled. There is no such thing as
a woman dwelling separatety and independently, and inheriting a
fullness of the glory of heaven, or a man either; they must be united
together in the Lord.

Vol. 17,  p.153
Now you begin to understand a little of the principle of marriage, as
believed in by the Latter-day Saints. We might point out a great many
other principles of the celestial law, necessary to observe in order
to attain the highest glory, but as the heat is intense, it would not
be wisdom to detain you. Let me say to my young brethren and sisters,
do not transgress the law of heaven. These things could be done
without any very great condemnation by people abroad, but when we are
at the place where we can be taught and instructed in the ways of the
Lord, if we then, with our eyes wide open, go and get our marriages
celebrated by the civil authorities of the land alone, we shall find
ourselves under great condemnation. God will judge the people
according to the light they have, and if you have been properly
instructed in regard to his laws and ordinances do not transgress
them, but attend to them according to the order of heaven, as you are
instructed. Let all your marriages be, not for time only, according to
the Gentile system of marriage, but let them be covenants for
eternity, and let them be sealed upon you by a man of God [p.154]
having authority to do these things; and let them be recorded, and let
these records be such that, when the books are opened, they will be
found to accord with the records of heaven, then, if you are faithful,
you will be entitled to your wife and your children, to all eternity,
by virtue of the covenants which you have entered into, and which have
been sealed on earth, by divine authority, and sealed in heaven in
your behalf. Amen.

Brigham Young, August 9, 1874

The United Order is the Order of the Kingdom Where 
God and Christ Dwell—the Law of the Kingdom of Heaven 
Protects All People in Their Religious Worship—in 
Obeying Counsel There is Salvation

Discourse By President Brigham Young, Delivered in the Meeting 
House, at Lehi City, Sunday Afternoon, August 9, 1874.

(Reported by David W. Evans)

Vol. 17,  p.154
There are a few ideas and reflections that I wish to give to the
people I shall have to make my remarks brief in order to be prepared
for our journey northward. You hear a good deal from time to time; and
you think a good deal, about the condition of the Latter-day Saints,
and what we are trying to do with them concerning the United Order. I
wish you to understand that this is no new revelation; it is the order
of the kingdom where God and Christ dwell; it has been from eternity
and will be to eternity, without end, consequently we have nothing
particularly new to offer you, but we have the commandments that have
been from the beginning. With regard to those who wish to have new
revelation they will please to accommodate themselves and call this a
new revelation. On this occasion I will not repeat anything particular
in respect to the language of revelation, further than to say—Thus
saith the Lord unto my servant Brigham, Call ye, call ye, upon the
inhabitants of Zion, to organize themselves in the Order of Enoch, in
the New and Everlasting Covenant, according to the Order of Heaven,
for the furtherance of my kingdom upon the earth, for the perfecting
of the Saints, for the salvation of the living and the dead.

Vol. 17,  p.154
You can accommodate yourselves by calling this a new revelation, if
you choose; it is no new revelation, but it is the express word and
will of God to this people.

Vol. 17,  p.154
How many do you think would like and have hearts to enter into this
Order? Let me ask you a question. You sisters as well as the brethren
who have read the Bible and the Book of Doctrine and Covenants,
[p.155] whether you have read the Book of Mormon and the sermons or
not, who is there among you who does not know and understand that, the
people called the Saints of the Most High, or the disciples of the
Lord Jesus, must be of one heart and of one mind? I do not think there
are any of you who do not know, feel and understand this just as I do,
and yet perhaps you do not realize it. We can see that it does not sit
upon the hearts and take hold of the affections of the people; it does
not break up every particle of the fallow ground of their hearts so
that they can receive this into their affections and bring forth fruit
to the glory of God. If those now before me, brethren and sisters, who
profess to be Latter-day Saints, were of one heart and of one mind in
the sense of the Scripture that is given to us, revealed in days of
old and in our day, we never should have to say to them—Pay your
Tithing; but the feeling of every heart, and the language of every one
who has come to years of discretion would be if there is a Temple to
be built—"What can I do to forward this Temple? Do you want my work? I
have abundance for my family to eat, they are capable of clothing
themselves with a little help from me, I can spend all my time;" and
the sisters would say—"We can make the stockings and the shirts, and
we can make up the cloth, if you will give it to us, for the hands,
and we can make their hats and, if necessary, we can make their
shoes." If this was in the hearts and affections of the people it
would no longer he Tithing alone, but the inquiry would be—"What do
you want? We have abundance."

Vol. 17,  p.155
We ask nothing but the labor of the people, and if the Latter-day
Saints felt the importance of the mission that is upon them, and of
fulfilling the requirements of heaven that are resting upon them, you
would see Temples rising here like magic; it would be nothing but a
breakfast spell for us to build a Temple. How do you think those feel
who do understand the mind and will of the Lord, and view the
condition of the Latter-day Saints as it really is? Unless you see it
by the Spirit, you know nothing about it.

Vol. 17,  p.155
We can say to the Latter-day Saints, it is the mind and will of God
that we organize according to the best plans and patterns and system
that we can get for the present. We can do this, and thus far give to
the Latter-day Saints the mind and will of the Lord; but we can not
make a man or a woman yield to the will of God unless they are
disposed to. I can plant, I can water, but I cannot give the increase;
I cannot cause the wheat and corn to grow. It is true I can break up
and prepare the ground and cast the seed therein, but I cannot cause
it to grow, that can only be done by the people having willing hearts,
ready minds, and a disposition to go forth with a firm determination
and a willing hand to build up the kingdom. I will do my part—I have
done it. Brother Erastus Snow has made certain eulogistic remarks
about my career in the Church, but I will say this with regard to
Brother Brigham—I do not know anything about, what he has earned, I
never inquired about that or about what he deserves. All I have to do
is to take good care of everything that the Lord gives me, improve
upon every means of grace and every talent he gives me, improve upon
the visions of the Spirit and speak the word of the Lord to the
people. My mind has been and it is to-day, that there is not an Elder
in all Israel that can do his duty in declaring the things of God to
the nations [p.156] of the earth unless he declares those truths by
the power of revelation. He must speak by the power of God or he does
not magnify his calling. The theory of our religion will not answer
the purpose of saving us. I can call upon the people, but will they
organize themselves? Some inquire, "Is this exactly the order that the
Lord requires? It is just exactly what the Lord requires.

Vol. 17,  p.156
I will say to you with regard to the kingdom of God on the earth—Here
is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, organized with its
rules, regulations and degrees, with the quorums of the holy
Priesthood, from the First Presidency to the teachers and deacons;
here we are, an organization. God called upon Joseph, he called upon
Oliver Cowdery, then others were called through Joseph, the Church was
organized, he with his two counselors comprised the First Presidency.
In a few years the Quorum of the Twelve was organized, the High
Counsel was organized, the High Priests' quorum was organized, the
Seventies' quorums were organized, and the Priests' quorum, the
Teachers' quorum and the Deacons'. This is what we are in the habit of
calling the kingdom of God. But there are further organizations. The
Prophet gave a full and complete organization to this kingdom the
Spring before he was killed. This kingdom is the kingdom that Daniel
spoke of, which was to be set up in the last days; it is the kingdom
that is not to be given to another people; it is the kingdom that is
to be held by the servants of God, to rule the nations of the earth,
to send forth those laws and ordinances that shall be suitable and
that shall apply themselves to the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints; that will apply themselves to the mother Church,
"the holy Catholic Church;" they will commend themselves to every
Protestant Church upon the earth; they will commend themselves to
every class of infidels, and will throw their protecting arms around
the whole human family, protecting them in their rights. If they wish
to worship a white dog, they will have the privilege; if they wish to
worship the sun they will have the privilege; if they wish to worship
a man they will have the privilege, and if they wish to worship the
"unknown God" they will have the privilege. This kingdom will
circumscribe them all and will issue laws and ordinances to protect
them in their rights—every right that every people, sect and person
can enjoy, and the full liberty that God has granted to them without
molestation.

Vol. 17,  p.156
Can you understand me? Thin Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints is organized for the building up of this Church alone; it is
not for the building up of Catholicism, it is not for promoting any or
all of the dissentients from the Mother Church, it is alone for the
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and for no other body of
people. When we organize according to these laws and ordinances we
make this people one, but we do not bring in the Methodists,
Presbyterians or Calvinists, they are independent of themselves. But
the kingdom of God, when it is established and bears rule, wilt defend
the Methodists in their rights just as much as Latter-day Saints, but
it will not allow them to infringe upon the rights of their neighbors;
this will be prohibited. These sects may want to afflict the Saints
just as now; they may want to persecute each other just as they now
do; they may want to bring everybody to their standard just as they do
now. But the kingdom of God, when it is set up upon the earth, will be
after the [p.157] pattern of heaven, and will compel no man nor woman
to go contrary to his or her conscience. They would compel us to go
contrary to our consciences, wouldn't they? I recollect when there
were but few Methodists, when they were poor, and when there was
scarcely a college-bred minister on the continent of America in the
Methodist Church. I recollect them in their infancy, but what would
they do now? Then they were persecuted, and thought they bore a great
deal for Christ's sake. Perhaps they did.

Vol. 17,  p.157
Now I want to give you these few words—the kingdom of God will protect
every person, every sect and all people upon the face of the whole
earth, in their legal rights. I shall not tell you the names of the
members of this kingdom, neither shall I read to you its constitution,
but the constitution was given by revelation. The day will come when
it will be organized in strength and power· Now, as the Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we work our way along the best we
can. Can you understand this?

Vol. 17,  p.157
A few words upon the organization of this United Order. We regret that
we are not in a capacity to make our own laws pertaining to our
domestic affairs as we choose; if we were in a State capacity we could
do so. The legislature could then pass laws by which we would have the
right to deed our property to the Church, to the Trustee-in-Trust, if
we chose, or in any other way the people would like to deed their
property to God and his kingdom. But we can not do this now, we are
not a State. We are in the capacity of servants now, where we have to
bow to the whims and caprices of the ignorant, and to the prejudice of
wilful, ignorant sectarianism; consequently we are under the necessity
of getting up our constitution or the articles of our association so
that they will agree with existing statutes and be legal, that we can
carry on business as we wish without being infringed upon or molested
by anybody.

Vol. 17,  p.157
Some have complained, and say—"This does not incorporate the whole, we
want articles of agreement under which we can give all that we have
got." Let me say to you that our articles of confederation, agreement
or association will allow us to deed every particle of property that
we have got to this co-operative institution—our houses, farms, sheep,
cattle, horses, our labor, our railroad stock, bank stock, factories,
and evervthing that we have we can deed to the trusses of this
association. Whatever you have here in Lehi that you wish to deed over
to those you have selected to be a board of trustees you can deed to
them to take the supervision of it, and then you will put it out of
the hands perhaps of unruly froward children and spendthrifts, and do
good by so doing. And if you can put in every particle of your
property, and have this governed and controlled by the best men you
have here, why not do this just as well as to deed it to George A.
Smith, the Trustee-in-Trust? Does not this answer every purpose? It
does. Look at the reason of it if you wish to. If it is the word and
the wish and the will of the organization here to deed only part of
the property, I expect they will take the liberty of doing so; but
this would not suit me. If I had property here in this place I should
wish to deed every particle of it to this association. I wish to deed
every particle of my property in Provo, just as quick as there is an
opportunity, and have it done in a way that it will be beneficial to
the people. I am laboring under a certain embarrassment and so are
many others, with regard to deeding [p.158] property, and that is to
find men who know what to do with property when it is in their hands.
I will relate a circumstance here, which I related to some of the
brethren the other day. There was a very excellent good man in this
Church who found it very hard to get along with his large family. He
received a very fine present, for which he was very thankful to the
donor; but after it was given to him, he said he did not know what to
do with the elephant now that he had got it. He called his present an
"elephant" on his hands; he could not plow with him, he could not ride
him to meeting, he could not harness him to a carriage, and in fact he
could not do anything with him, the "elephant" was too large for him
to handle. When this factory at Provo can go into the hands of men who
know what to do with it, it will go; when my factory in Salt Lake
County can go into the hands of men who know what to do with it, it
will go. There is my beloved brother James W. Cummings, who has worked
my factory ten or twelve years; he counts himself A No. 1 in all
financial business. I have offered the factory to him and his workmen
on the co-operative system, in the order that we wish to adopt. I said
to him—"Take it and manage it, you are welcome." Said he—"If I only
had plenty of money to furnish it I suppose I could do it." Have not I
furnished it without money? Yes, I had not the first sixpence to begin
with. I furnished my factories, and I have built what I have built
without asking how much they cost, or where I was to get the money to
do it. When we find somebody that knows what to do with property,
somebody who knows how to handle the "elephant," we will give them
charge of it. If I had him I would make the "elephant" get down on his
knees to me and keep him there until I allowed him to get up, and then
teach him to get up with his burden on his back, and carry it where I
said. As quick as we can find men who know what to do with the
"elephants" we will put the "elephants" into their hands; but here, as
elsewhere, you will find, in all these business transactions, that the
greatest difficulty will be to find men who know what to do with money
or means when they have it. Can you understand this? I want to say to
you who have a little money, a farm or other property, seek first to
know where God wants you to put that property. That is the word of the
Lord to you. Hearken and hear it, men and women, seek to know where
God wants you to put it, and if it is into a factory where you will
not get a farthing for ten years, put it there, and in the end the
Lord will bring out more means to you than if yell let it out at
twenty four percent. You will make by it. "How do you know, brother
Brigham?" I know by my own experience; my character and my life have
shown that from the first time I had fifty cents after I came into the
Church my first desire was to know what to do with it. In the days of
Joseph where we lived and worked, it was harder then to get fifty
cents than it is for a poor man to get a hundred dollars now, but if
Joseph carne along, and said—"Brigham, have you got fitly cents?"
"Yes, I have." "I want it." "You can have it always and forever." If
it was a hundred dollars, or two hundred dollars, he had it, and had
it freely, and I never asked for it again. And if ever I could work at
home and get fifty cents in money to buy a little molasses for my
family to sop their johnny cake in, if Joseph wanted it he always had
it, and I got rich by it, and I can say so of all who [p.159] take the
same course; while the covetous, those who are striving continually to
build themselves up in the things of this life, will be poor indeed;
they will be poor in spirit and poor in heavenly things.

Vol. 17,  p.159
You have heard me say, a great many times, that there is not that man
or woman in this Church, and there never was and never will be, who
turn up their noses at the counsel that is given them from the First
Presidency, but who, unless they repent of and refrain from such
conduct, will eventually go out of the Church and go to hell, every
one of them; and I expect one thing will be true that Joseph said when
living. A gentleman came to see him and asked him a great many
questions, and among the rest he said—"I suppose you calculate that
you are just right, and that you "Mormons" are all going to be saved
and everybody else will be damned." Said Joseph, "Sir, I will tell you
this one thing, all the rest of the world will be damned, and I expect
that most of the "Mormons" will be unless they do better than they
have done." The man did not stop for an explanation. What Joseph meant
by being damned was that people will go into the spirit world without
the Priesthood, and consequently they are under the power of Satan,
and will have to be redeemed, or else they will be forever under his
power. That is all there is about that.

Vol. 17,  p.159
Now Latter-day Saints, I want to say this to you, when a man lifts his
heel against the counsel that we give him, I know that man will
apostatize, just as sure as he is a living being, unless he repents
and refrains from such conduct. B