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 tol