Journal of Discourses Volume 24

 BY PRESIDENT JOHN TAYLOR,

HIS COUNSELLORS, THE TWELVE APOSTLES, 
AND OTHERS.

REPORTED BY 
GEO. F. GIBBS, JOHN IRVINE AND OTHERS.

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

VOL. XXIV.

LIVERPOOL:

PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY JOHN HENRY SMITH, 42, ISLINGTON.

LONDON:

LATTER-DAY SAINTS' BOOK DEPOT, 19, SUTHERLAND STREET, PIMLICO, LONDON,
S.W.

1884.[p.iii]

Preface

John Taylor,  vol. 24, p.
This, the Twenty-fourth Volume of the like its
predecessors, consists of sermons of Latter-day Saints,
extemporaneously delivered and phonographically reported. That those
who are privileged with its perusal may profit not only by the letter,
but by the spirit also of the utterances herein recorded, is the
earnest desire of

THE PUBLISHER. [p.1]

John Taylor, February 11, 1883

Why the Saints Meet Together—Their Pretensions—What 
Their Profession Implies—No Right to Sit in Judgment on the 
World—All Children of a Common Father—Many Good Men Inspired 
By the Spirit of God Who Did not Possess the Gift of the Holy 
Ghost—How Joseph Smith Obtained Knowledge—The Gospel—What 
the Savior Required—Operations of the Holy Ghost—What is 
Required of the Saints—Their Feelings—Duty of 
Missionaries—National Feelings Buried in 
Embracing the Gospel—Relationship to God—Destiny 
of the Faithful—What Have Religionists of the World to Offer?—
Character of the Would-Be Reformers—Rights to Be Contended 
For—Corrupt Practices Condemned.

Delivered in the Assembly Hall, Salt Lake City, Sunday Feb. 11, 1883.

(Continued From Page 376 Journal Discourses.)

John Taylor

vol. 24, p.1
to assist us? The Lord, and if He does not I am sure we cannot do it,
and if He does not show us how we cannot do it. Well, some people come
and try to convert us. Very well, let them convert away. If they have
anything to convert you to, I say for God's sake take it, if they have
something that is more intelligent than that which has been
communicated to you. We are desirous to obtain all truth from whatever
quarter it comes, and every good thing that can be made manifest, and
if anybody has got any truths that we have not we are prepared to
embrace them, but we have no truths to barter away for the fictions,
ideas, theories and opinions of men. It is written: "They shall be all
taught of God." Have those men received anything from God to
communicate? If they have let them state it, and if they have not let
them hold their peace. "They shall be all taught of God." He will be
their instructor, their judge, their guide, their director and their
lawgiver, and he will give them the light and intelligence which they
require. We are operating with and in possession of principles that
are great, grand, glorious and intelligent, that have existed in ages
past, that exist to-day, and that will exist for ever and ever, worlds
without end, Amen. We are building up the Zion of God, and He is to be
our instructor. We are building up the kingdom of God, and He is to be
our guide. We are building up the Church of God, and unless we are
under the guidance and influence of the Spirit of God, we neither
belong to the Church of God, the Zion of God, nor the [p.2] kingdom of
God. And hence it is necessary that we should comprehend the position
we occupy.

vol. 24, p.2
We have been in the world and we have preached the Gospel to the world
and are doing it, and that is part of our duty, and we are fulfilling
it as fast as the Lord opens the way. We have done a great deal. I
think that at an assembly some little time ago there were twenty-five
nationalities represented. Is there any difference of sentiment among
these diverse people? No. In speaking with a gentleman recently on
some of the difficulties between the English and the Irish people, I
told him that it was lamentable that such a feeling should exist.
Well, said he, they are two different races and they cannot affiliate,
one being Celtic and the other Anglo-Saxon, and their sympathies and
feelings are dissimilar. Their ideas and feelings differ; their
education and their instincts differ. That is very true so far as it
goes. But what of us? We are gathered here under the inspiration of
the Holy Ghost, and that as I before said, produces a unity of feeling
and Spirit, a oneness and sympathy that does not exist, in the world
and Jesus has said, By this shall all men know that ye are my
disciples if ye love one another. We have people among us from all
parts of the United States, from Ireland, Scotland and Wales, from
England, France and Germany, from Denmark, Norway and Sweden; also
from Iceland, Australia, New Zealand, from the islands of the sea, and
in fact, from nearly every civilized country. And how is it brethren?
Are we Scandinavians; are we English; are we Scotch, Swiss or Dutch,
as the case may be? No; the Spirit of God, which we obtained through
obedience to the requirements of the Gospel; having been born again,
of the water and of the Spirit. has made us of one heart, one faith,
one baptism; we have no national or class divisions of that kind among
us.

vol. 24, p.2
What, then, are we aiming at? We are aiming to introduce among us the
principle of virtue, integrity, honesty, and a knowledge of God and of
His laws. This is what we are seeking to do. And do we injure any man
or set of men in so doing? I think not. I will say to the credit of
our merchants, that they are spoken of as honorable men, as men who
pay their debts better than the majority of mankind. Such is the
report I hear from gentlemen with whom I communicate. This is pleasing
to hear. It is pleasing to see the principle of honor introduced in
our trading; and we ought to be honorable one with another and with
all men, treating all with the respect they deserve and merit at our
hands. But because we do this are we to submit to every kind of
indignity; are we to submit to be outraged, to be tradiced; are we to
permit, in a social capacity, evils and crimes to be introduced in our
midst, and never lilt up our voice against them? Are we to permit our
sons and daughters to affiliate and associate with corrupt men and
women? No. But if our youth choose to pursue a course of that kind,
all well. No, I will not say it is well; it would be better if they
did better. We are here to introduce correct principles; and we
profess to be moving on a more elevated plane; we profess to be under
the influence of the inspiration of the Almighty; and God cannot look
upon sin with the least degree of allowance.

vol. 24, p.2
Let me read that prayer a little more: "Our Father, who art in
heaven." What, is He indeed my [p.3] Father? Yes. Is He our Father?
Yes. "Our Father, who art in heaven; hallowed be Thy name." We are
children of God; that is the relationship that we sustain to Him.
Being born of the Spirit, we become the sons of God. The what? The
sons of God. And what else? The heirs of God, and joint heirs with
Jesus Christ our Lord. Is this the position we occupy? So say the
Scriptures. And what is the difference between those who have been
born of the water and the Spirit, and those who know not the Gospel,
and who possess none of the gifts thereof? Let us stop and inquire.
You have sons, have you not? Yes. What will the boys be when they are
grown up. They will be men, will they not? They are now the sons of
men. If a man be inducted into the family of God, and becomes a son of
God, what will he become when he gets his growth? You can figure that
out yourselves. It is said, "Now are we the sons of God, and it doth
not yet appear what we shall be; but we know that, when he shall
appear, we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is." What
shall we be? Heirs of God. What else? Joint heirs with Jesus Christ.
What, joint heirs with Jesus Christ our Lord? Yes. What do a man's
heirs possess when he leaves this world? They inherit the possessions
of the deceased father or benefactor. We say that God is the God of
the universe, the Maker of heaven and earth, the Sustainer of all
things visible and invisible. And are we to be joint heirs with Him?
So the Bible states. Well may the Lord say in one of the revelations
given through the Prophet Joseph Smith, "He that hath eternal life is
rich." Jesus said to the Samaritan woman when asking her to give him a
drink of water, "If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that
sayeth to thee, give me to drink, thou wouldst have asked of Him, and
He would have given thee living water." "Whosoever drinketh of the
water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I
shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into
everlasting life." Again; Jesus said to His disciples: "In my father's
house are many mansions; if it were not so I would have told you. I go
to prepare a place for you," Where? In heaven, of which we have very
little knowledge, and about which we comprehend very little. "And if I
go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you
unto myself; that where I am there ye may be also." What was there in
His Father's house? Many mansions. What! Mansions in heaven? Yes? What
else? He declares He was going to prepare a place for them—mansions,
that where he was there they might be also. It is very plain, if we
could only open our eyes and understand it as it is. Them is a great
difference between this principle and the ideas that men entertain
regarding earthly things. The first is in accord with the eternal
duration and exaltation of man, and is in consonance with his highest
and most exalted aspirations; the other is momentary, transient,
fleeting and evanescent. Men are grasping and grabbing at the world,
and at the riches of the world. I might mention the names of prominent
men of this nation—no matter, I do not like to deal in
personalities—men who gather together their millions. By and by they
drop down into a little place just about two feet by six, and that is
all there is of it. And what of their riches?—anything pertaining to
the future? No. Such men are [p.4] foolish, if they could comprehend
it; but they cannot. They, however, think that we are big fools. There
was a prominent man whose name I have forgotten, but I remember some
lines that he wrote. When I am gone, he said, men will erect a
splendid monument to my memory, upon which they will write: "Here lies
the great!" If I could rise and speak, I would say, "False marble,
where? Nothing but poor and sordid dust lies here." Has any man ever
taken anything out of the world? No. Naked they come into the world,
and naked they return; they leave all their wealth behind them. Then
if, as intelligent beings, made in the image of God, we disregard the
teachings of our heavenly Father, and are led by influences that are
wrong, improper, impure and incorrect, and suffer ourselves to make
shipwreck of our faith and our good consciences, shall we not be the
veriest fools when we stand before the Judge of all the earth? But if
we can succeed in securing eternal life and exaltations, thrones and
principalities, powers and dominions, which we sometimes talk about
and which are as true as anything can be—if we can succeed in doing
this, we shall be amply repaid for all the inconveniences that we may
have to put up with, and all the trouble that we may have to endure.

vol. 24, p.4
Now we will return to the old prayer again. "Our Father who art in
heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come." What kingdom? The
kingdom of God. What does that imply? Government, rule, authority,
dominion. "Thy kingdom come." What, that God shall dictate affairs
upon the earth? Yes. That His word, His will, His law shall go forth?
Yes. One of the ancient Prophets in speaking of these things said,
"The law shall go forth from Zion, and the word of the Lord from
Jerusalem." You will find those things written in your Bible, and can
look for them at your leisure. Now if we are to expect a thing of this
kind to take place, when the knowledge of God shall cover the earth as
the waters cover the sea, and when the will of God is to be done on
earth as it is done in heaven, ought we not to try as citizens of the
kingdom of God to introduce it and be governed by and to be under its
influence? I think we ought. Are we then to yield ourselves to the
false traditions, ideas, notions and opinions of men? I think not. We
want to strive in all the relations of life, in our family relations,
in our individual relations, in our marital relations, and in our
associations with men, to conduct ourselves in that way that God would
have us do if He were here Himself to speak on that subject; and to
seek to place ourselves in conformity with His law, His word and His
will.

vol. 24, p.4
Now, people take a great deal of pains to try to interfere with us in
our marital relations. What have they got to give us in exchange
outside of these things? O you Gentiles, present us something superior
to that which God has revealed, and we will embrace it. But you cannot
do it. We are at the defiance of the world to bring forth any better,
purer or more exalting principles. What would they give us in return
for that of which they seek to despoil us? Would they introduce all
the institutions of a pseudo-Christianity, with its prostitution, the
houses of assignation, its social evil, its foeticide and infanticide
and the political and social hypocrisy and depravity, and its
debauching, demoralizing, [p.5] and corrupting influence, and call
this a fair return for virtue, purity, honor, truth and integrity?
Would they induct us into some of the principles advocated by some of
their leading ministers of using the sword, the bayonet, and the
cannon to extirpate what they term heresy, set man against his
fellow-man and deluge the nation in blood? What do they tell us? They
set themselves up as our exemplars, and among other things say, we
must marry as they do. And how is that? Let me ask spine of you
venerable, white-headed men that were married in various places, what
kind of a covenant did you make? You were asked if you would take the
woman to be your lawful wedded wife, for how long? Until death did you
part. What a miserable thing. And this is what they have to offer. A
woman takes a man as long as he lives, and then when he dies all is
gone into oblivion; no eternal unity, no claim pertaining to heaven or
the future; no sons, no daughters, no wife, no husband. That is
nihilism, I think. This is the condition they would put you in to-day,
if you would listen to them. But we are told that we should remember
the rock from whence we are hewn, and the pit from whence we were dug.
God has shown us principles that are ten thousand times more exalting
and ennobling than anything they have to offer. No; you may continue
in such operations; that is your business. You may revel in the idea
of living with your wives in time, and then dropping into the grave
without hope of any further union. But let me have my wives and
children, and my associations in the eternal world. Let me have a
religion that will live in time, and exist, whilst eternal ages roll
along. That is the kind of religion I want, and if you like the other,
all right, take it. But give me, if you please, the liberty to pursue
happiness in my own way; if not I shall try to take it. I want none of
those evanescent principles that vanish when time ceases. I profess to
be an immortal being, as we all are. A spark of Deity, struck from the
fire of His eternal blaze, dwells in us, a portion of that
intelligence that dwells with the Gods; which, if we will follow out
through the influence of the Holy Ghost, of which I have spoken, will
bring us back again into the presence of God; and with us our wives,
our children, and our associations. Godliness, indeed, as stated by
the Apostle Paul, "is profitable unto all things, having the promise
of the life that now is and of that which is to come," and despite the
ideas, the opposition and the contumely of ignorant and unenlightened
men, we will rule and reign and triumph, not only in time but
throughout the countless ages of eternity. That is the kind of
religion that I want. I would not give a straw for the other; if other
people like it, all well and good. I do not want to interrupt them.
But they want to interrupt us; and they do it, many of them, though we
treat them never so kindly. They seem to bare a perfect mania on these
points; they run wild about our private affairs.

vol. 24, p.5
Now, there are certain inalienable rights that some men in this nation
consider belong to all men, one of which is, the right to live. The
government of the United States did not give men life; they received
it from another and higher source. God himself is the author of life
and existence, more so than we ourselves sometimes think. There is not
one of you could leave [p.6] this place to-day unless God permitted
it, and not only permitted it, but sustained you and empowered you to
do so. We live in Him, we move in Him, and from Him we have our being.

vol. 24, p.6
Do you believe that these men are sincere when they allege that we are
so very wicked and that they desire to improve our morals? It would be
something like their marriage—it ends in death, and sometimes even
before that. What has been the proceeding here? Who are the authors
and abettors of the iniquities that prevail in our midst? Wicked and
unscrupulous men, the professed advocates of reform and a hypocritical
civilization, such as ministers, politicians and others. Who are the
introducers and originators of our gambling hells, or bagnios, and of
the open and flagrant acts of debauchery and corruption that prevail
in our cities where Gentiles reside? Who are the protectors of
drunkenness and other vices? Our professed Christian reformers. These
are their institutions; and their emissaries have been trying to
introduce the murder of the innocents in the shape of foeticide and
infanticide. Can we believe in the sincerity and truthfulness of such
hypocritical, corrupt and degraded men? They tell us it is contrary to
law for a man to be married as we are, especially if he has more wives
than one. They talk about polygamy; but that is not the thing which
they are aiming at. I will mention these things some other time.

vol. 24, p.6
There are one or two statements that I wish to make before I close.
Have they manifested a desire to rid us of lasciviousness? Where are
the bagnios? Who are they kept for? For our good neighbors who love
virtue so much. Again when thousands of men withdrew from the polls
that they might not be considered obstructionists, what did they crowd
upon us? You have heard a statement about Mayor Little and his son.
Talk about purity! Was there any purity about that! The young man was
obliged to object to his father, who was an honorable man,
registering, because he had what? Broken any law? I do not think he
had ever broken a polygamic law, but he had two wives. some time ago
when there was no law against it. Some of these things we mean to
contest yet. We have not laid aside our franchise. If any think so
they make a great mistake. There is not one man or woman in twenty who
have refrained from exercising their franchise at the polls who, if
the law of the United States was carried out and constitutional
principles sustained, could be interfered with according to the most
rigid interpretation of the so-called polygamic laws, and we shall
comest these rights. We are not going to give up everything. In the
interests of peace some of us hold our franchise in abeyance at the
present time; but as I stated at Conference when I spoke of these
things—we mean to contend for our rights legally and constitutionally,
inch by inch to the last end, and to maintain the principle of human
rights in the interest of ourselves, in the interest of our children,
in the interest of the honorable men of this nation, and in the
interest of the freedom of man throughout the world. So do not think
we are giving up everything: we have not given up one solitary iota.
Yet we thought it better to withdraw until we had a fair opportunity
to contest all these things peaceably,  and quietly, and to contend
for our rights legally and constitutionally as [p.7] American citizens
and as men. Can we think that men are very sincere who purse the
course that has been adopted toward us? And what on the back of the
refusal to let Brother Little register? It is purity they are after;
is it? Here comes along the keeper of a bagnio and its inmates? Can
they be registered? Yes! Because, according to a ruling, not a law,
but a perversion of law, an oath is prescribed to American citizens,
wherein, loathsome, damning vices are protected. And they can register
while the honorable and virtuous are rejected. And our good, Christian
folks try to crowd these things down our throats. Well, we can bide
our time.

vol. 24, p.7
I will refer to another affair that took place. Another man, when he
came to be registered, after looking at the oath said:  "I don't think
I can take it, because I have got a wife and keep a mistress." But he
was requested to read the oath. After having done so, he said: "I see
the crime is here in it being in the marriage relation, and though I
have a mistress as well as a wife the mistress is not in the marriage
relation, and I can take it. This man was said to he candid. Of course
 he was, and people say that he was  honorable to tell his feelings.
Yes, he was honorable, if it can be honorable for a ma to pledge
himself before the altar to be true to his wife and to the covenants
he had made before God and witnesses—and then break those covenants;
if that is honor, he may be called an honorable man, but we do not
call it very honorable amongst us. This shows that lascivious
cohabitation can be tolerated and protected by men who would seek to
be our teachers and our reformers. Such men and women under the old
Mosaic law would have been stoned to death. I say, my soul, enter thou
not into their secrets, and, mine honor, be thou not with them united.


vol. 24, p.7
Furthermore, there is a little thing which I wish to refer to that has
lately come to my knowledge; I have a knowledge of a great many
things—for men come to me with all kinds of affairs. It is a
circumstance that is to be deplored. A married man considered hers an
honorable man, an upright man, a man that has taken an active part in
some of the schools, who has given considerable to the building of
churches and it has been thought that he was really seeking to do good
amongst us—has lately sought to abduct an honorable young lady, or
tried to persuade her to leave her home clandestinely with him and go
to a distant land. How can we trust these people? These are facts; I
have the letters; I know what I am talking about, and yet these are
who are supposed to be Christian reformers, identified with churches,
schools, and other places of improvement, who do not shrink to
associate themselves with those infamies. A very low state of morality
exists among them, as we know. How is it with us? Do we have men that
sometimes do wrong? Yes. Do we sanction the wrong? Can an adulterer
have a place amongst us? I tell you No, he cannot, and any Bishop who
would permit anything of that sort ought himself to be removed. We are
in favor of chastity, purity and virtue, not nominally but really, and
we should make a distinction between one thing and the other and
maintain virtue and correct principles in spite of the hypocrisy and
corruptions that exists, for it is among us and around us. And it is
for us to look after our wives, our sons and daughters, and preserve
our chastity, our honor and our virtue in all these matters. Let us
seek the blessing of God, and He [p.8] will help us and direct us. But
because some of these men do wrong, and act iniquitously, shall we
condemn the whole? By no means. There are thousands and hundreds of
thousands of honorable, upright men and women in this and other
nations, who outside of religion, would scorn to be associated with
such infamies. Treat all men aright; but be careful of that loose
system of morals that exists in the world; be careful how you
associate with such people or permit them in your habitations. Look
well to yourselves and to your families, to your sons and to your
daughters; and let us seek to do right and cultivate the principles of
truth and God will sustain us, and Zion will go onward, and our
enemies will be confounded, from time to time, and salvation will flow
to Israel if Israel will be true to himself, and we will try and carry
out the things that God has ordained, and accomplish the work that He
has given us to do. For if ever the will of God is done on earth as it
is done in heaven, it ought to commence in the land of Zion. May God
help us to do it in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Joseph F. Smith, October 29, 1882

Greatness of the Work Inaugurated and Accomplished By the 
Prophet Joseph Smith—Sketch of the Prophet's Early Life—
Refutation of the False Charges Made Against Him and the 
Latter-Day Saints—Character of Our Traducers—Divine 
Nature and Value of the Book of Mormon.

Delivered in the Assembly Hall, Salt Lake City, Sunday Afternoon,
October 29th 1882.

(Reported By John Irvine)

vol. 24, p.8
Brother Woodruff in the course of his remarks made the assertion that
Joseph Smith was the greatest Prophet that has ever lived of whom we
have any knowledge, save and except Jesus Christ Himself. The world
would say that he was an impostor; and the Lord said that his name
should be had for good and for evil among all the nations of the
earth, and this much, at least, so far as his name has become known,
has been fulfilled. This prediction was made through the Prophet
Joseph Smith himself when he was an obscure youth, and there was but
little prospect of his name ever becoming known beyond the village
where he lived. It was at an early period of his life and at the [p.9]
beginning of the work that this prophecy   or revelation was given,
and it has  been truly verified. To day there  is not another man,
perhaps, who has figured in religion whose name is so widely known,
and the report of whom has gone so far and  is so wide spread among
the nations  as that of Joseph Smith. In connection with the work of
which he  was the instrument in the hands of  God of laying the
foundation, his name is spoken of in nearly every civilized nation
upon the globe for good or for evil. Where it is spoken of for good,
it is by those who have had the privilege of hearing the Gospel which
has come to the earth through him and who have been sufficiently
honest and humble to receive the same; they speak of Him with a
knowledge which they have received by the inspiration of the Holy
Spirit, through obedience to the principles which he taught as a
Prophet and as an inspired man. They speak to his praise, to his
honor, and they hold his name in honorable remembrance. They revere
him and they love him as they love no other man, because they know he
was the chosen instrument in the hands of the Almighty of restoring
the Gospel of life and salvation unto them, of opening their
understanding of the future of lifting the veil of eternity as it were
from before their eyes. Those who have received the principles, which
he promulgated know they pertain not only to their own salvation,
happiness and peace, spiritual and temporal, but to the welfare
happiness, salvation and exaltation of their kindred who have died
without a knowledge of the truth. The work in which Joseph Smith was
engaged was not confined to this life alone, but it pertains as well
to the life to come and to the life that has been. In other words, it
relates to those that have lived upon the earth, to those that are
living and to those that shall come after us. It is not something
which relates to man only while he tabernacles in the flesh, but to
the whole human family from eternity to eternity. Consequently, as I
have said, Joseph Smith is held in reverence, his name is honored;
tens of thousands of people thank God in their heart and from the
depths of their souls for the knowledge the Lord has restored to the
earth through him, and therefore they speak well of him and bear
testimony of his worth. And this is not confined to a village, nor to
a State, nor to a nation, but extends to every nation, kindred, tongue
and people where the Gospel, up to the present, has been preached—in
America, Great Britain, Europe, Africa, Australia, New Zealand, and
upon the Islands of the sea. And the Book of Mormon, which Joseph
Smith was the instrument in the hands of God of bringing forth to this
generation, has been translated into the German, French, Danish,
Swedish, Welsh, Hawaiian, Hindostanee, Spanish and Dutch languages,
and this book will be translated into other languages, for according
to the predictions it contains, and according to the promises of the
Lord through Joseph Smith, it is to be sent unto every nation and
kindred and people under the whole heavens, until all the sons and
daughters of Adam shall have the privilege of hearing the Gospel as it
has been restored to the earth in the dispensation of the fullness of
times.

vol. 24, p.9
The world presume that we have not received a knowledge of the truth.
Those who are in ignorance in regard to the character, life and [p.10]
labors of Joseph Smith, who have never read his revelations or studied
or investigated his claims to divine authority and are ignorant of his
mission, revile him, sneer at his name, and ridicule his claims to
prophetic inspiration, and call him all impostor. Jesus was also
called an impostor in His day, except by a few that hearkened to His
instruction, and believed His testimony. The great majority of mankind
then living who knew of Christ, deemed Him an impostor, and considered
him worthy to be put to death; precisely the same feeling existed
towards Joseph Smith.

vol. 24, p.10
The disciples of Jesus Christ anciently were regarded in the same
light as their Master, the Savior; so it is not at all surprising that
the people of the world to-day, who know not the truth, should
pronounce Joseph Smith an impostor and try to ridicule the doctrines
which he taught; but in so doing they make themselves ridiculous, for
they know little or nothing about them; indeed, in ninety nine cases
out of a hundred where the doctrines of the Latter-day Saints—which
are no other than the doctrines which were taught by the Savior
himself or contained in the Bible—are ridiculed and pronounced false
and evil, they are so pronounced by a class of people who, being
ignorant of, or willfully perverting the truth, build ærial castles in
order that they may tear them down, or "make a man of straw" to shoot
at so that they can create a great noise and excitement about the
"Mormons," and thus we are often charged by those who abuse us and
write and preach against us with believing and practicing the most
absurd things—things which no Latter-day Saint ever dreamt of
believing or accepting as a principle of his faith. As I have said, in
ninety-nine cases out of a hundred the Latter-day Saints are accused
by their enemies of believing doctrines which they do not believe, and
which are not the doctrines of the Latter-day Saints at all. They
accuse us of every abominable thing. They call us murderers; they say
we are immoral, ignorant, superstitious; they call us dupes, they say
we are deceived, that we are enslaved by the Priesthood; that we are
lettered and in bondage. Now, is it true that the Latter-day Saints
are ignorant? If so, then I am sorry for the great majority of
mankind, for millions of them are in a far worse condition than we
are, in this respect. I will say here, and not without good and
sufficient proof to back it, that the Latter-day Saints will compare
favorably with any other people upon the face of the earth for good,
sound common-sense, and every other good thing. Hence, to say that the
Latter-day Saints are an ignorant people is saying only what may
truthfully be said of the whole world. Taking the best evidence that
we have to prove the facts, the statistics of the schools as compared
with the statistics of the schools in the various States and
Territories and of European countries, it appears that the people of
Utah stand in the front ranks in relation to education, and are in
advance of many of their neighbors and stand equal with many who have
far greater advantages than they have. Yet we do not boast of being
very intelligent; and only claim time credit which belongs to us, that
we stand on a par with our neighbors and with our fellow-citizens
throughout the United States; and for that matter, will compare
favorably with any people on the face of the globe.

vol. 24, p.10
But we are called an "immoral [p.11] people." Well, is the world so
very moral? Are our accusers so very pure and holy and so extremely
righteous that they should accuse us of being immoral? Consistency
would demand that he that is without guilt should throw the first
stone. But it is a fact that in our case our bitterest accusers—and
this has been well demonstrated hundreds and perhaps thousands of
times—are themselves reeking with corruption. Generally those who are
the most immoral themselves are the first to make the charge of
immorality against the Latter-day Saints! But I deny the charge in
toto, and I assert, without fear of successful contradiction—that
there is not an equal number of people upon the face of the globe
to-day who present to the world as much pure and simple morality and
virtue as do the people called Latter-day Saints. In other words,
there is not a more moral people upon the face of the earth to-day
than the Latter-day Saints, taking them all in all. Not but what there
are some "black sheep" among them. But who can fathom the depths of
crime and corruption which exist in all the great cities of the world?
You may go to the rural districts throughout the United States, and
gather therefrom the most virtuous of our country to the number that
are gathered together as Latter-day Saints, and I will venture to say
that there are half as many children murdered among them annually,
either before or after their birth, by their own mothers or fathers,
as are born to the Latter-day Saints in the same period.    The
Latter-day Saints are proverbial for NOT murdering their children.
They have hosts of them, and they do not try to destroy them neither
before nor after birth, but endeavor to rear them to manhood and
womanhood, that they may teach them the principles of the Gospel of
Christ—the highest code of morals known, that they may be able to bear
off the kingdom of God upon the earth, and to regenerate the world.
This is the object for which the Latter-day Saints are raising
children, that God may have a pure and a righteous people. How much
time Latter-day Saints neglect their opportunities or privileges or
fall short of their duties in regard to training their children, and
instructing them in the principles of morality, virtue, purity and
uprightness, is difficult to say; but of this I feel sure that while
they are the best people that I know of there is great room for
improvement in this direction.

vol. 24, p.11
But, it is said, the immorality of the Latter-day Saints consists in
their marrying more wives than one! We are not charged with thee crime
of frequenting houses of ill-fame, of fostering illicit intercourse,
of infidelity to our wives—of child murder, of drunkenness, profanity,
dishonesty, cruelty or indolence, or if we are the charge is utterly
false, but our great offence is in marrying our wives and protecting
them and our children as all honorable men should. God forbid that I
should undertake to compare the honorable marriage of the Latter-day
Saints with the debauchery and sexual crimes of our accusers! If our
actions and our faith in regard to marriage are called wicked and
immoral by them, in the name of God and humanity what will you call
the crimes of those that accuse us? There is no adequate term in the
dictionary of the English language with which to make a comparison,
hence "Mormon" plural marriage cannot be degraded to the level of a
comparison with the sexual crimes and iniquities of the world; [p.12]
there is no similitude between them. One is the antipode of the
other—one is virtuous, pure and honorable, and the other is corrupt,
treacherous and debasing to the utmost degree. Our system of marriage
promotes life, purity, innocence, vitality, health, increase and
longevity, while the other engenders disease, disappointment, misery
and premature death—that is the difference. Hence there is no
resemblance for they are not allied to each other at all.

vol. 24, p.12
The people of Utah are charged with having committed terrible murders
and robberies. "Danites" or "Destroying Angels" are talked about by
sensational writers and believed in by the uninformed. Now, what is
the fact? Utah stands head and shoulders above every other Territory
in the United States so far as the crime of murder is concerned. You
cannot find a western Territory or State within the United States
where there has not been a hundred per cent. more murders, lynching
and lawlessness than can be found in the annals of Utah. Take the
State of California, the State of Nevada, and all the surrounding
Territories, and it will be found that there has been less violation
of law, fewer murders and less lynching in Utah than in any one of
these from the beginning. There is no man that knows anything about
the history of the western States and Territories for the last thirty
years but knows this to be absolutely the fact. But because a few
horse thieves and murderers have per chance been summarily dealt with
by officers of the law—who were the appointees of the United States,
and acting under the authority of the parent government and the laws
of the Territory—the whole people of Utah are accused of being
murderers. I attended a Methodist revival meeting held in a big tent
in this city a few years ago by some itinerant preachers, who had
spent but a few days in Utah, and were totally ignorant of her
history, and it fairly made one's blood run cold to hear them relate
their pious suspicions of the horrible murders that bad been committed
in Utah. They thought, or pretended to believe, that if the rocks of
these mountain gorges could only speak, that nearly every rock could
some terrible tale unfold of horrible secret murder and rapine. The
most damnable nonsense that was ever uttered by man. But this is the
sort of preaching that is generally done against the Latter-day Saints
by this class of men, and as I have said, those who denounce the
doctrines of this people as heresies and as abominable, in ninety-nine
cases out of a hundred know nothing whatever of the facts. If the
Latter-day Saints had not been Latter-day Saints, if it had not been
for their religion, and their faith in God and in His omnipotence to
deliver them from the power of their enemies; or if the Territory of
Utah had been inhabited by the same number of people composed of the
various sects and denominations of Christianity, so-called, and the
one-thousandth part of the infamies that have been perpetrated upon
this people had been perpetrated upon them, many of the perpetrators
of these infamies would have been long ago summoned to their final
abode by "Judge Lynch." But the patience of the Latter-day Saints, and
their willingness to leave their cause in the hands of God has spared
them from shedding the blood of their enemies, and preserved them from
violence or harm. Men that have not deserved to live, and would not
have been suffered to live in any [p.13] other community under the
same circumstances, have equal protection with the very best citizens,
and no man would harm a hair of their heads. We have too much good
sense to make martyrs of such characters, and consequently they are
left alone to pursue their nefarious course. Sometimes it seems rather
hard to bear it, but it is the best to do so, I suppose. We are
engaged in the work of the Lord, and He will bear it off victorious. 

vol. 24, p.13
Let us return to the Prophet Joseph Smith. He was accused of nearly
everything that was vile, by his enemies, who, as is well known by the
Latter-day Saints, were generally entirely ignorant of his true
character and mission. What did Joseph Smith do? Was human blood found
upon his hands? No verily no. He was innocent. Was he a slanderer and
vilifier? No, verily, he was not. Did he wrongfully and unjustly
accuse men of wickedness? No, he did not. Did he institute an order of
things that has proven injurious to the human family? Let the people
who have become acquainted with his doctrines, and with the
institutions which he established upon the earth and his own life's
labor answer. He was born December 23, 1805, in the State of Vermont.
His parents were American citizens, as had been their ancestors for
generations. In the Spring of 1820 he received the first supernatural
or heavenly manifestation. He was then fourteen years of age.
Ordinarily we do not expect a very great deal from a boy who is only
fourteen years of age, and it is not likely that a boy of that tender
age could have become very vicious or wicked, especially when be was
born and reared on a farm, apart from the corrupting vices of great
cities, and free from contact with the debasing influences of vile
associations. It is not likely that he spent many idle moments during
the working years of his life up to fourteen years of age; for his
father had to labor for his living and earn it from the soil by the
labor of his hands, being a poor man with a large family to support.
In 1820, as I have said, Joseph Smith received a revelation in which
he claimed that God had declared that He was about to restore the
ancient Gospel in its purity, and many other glorious things. In
consequence of this, Joseph Smith became very notorious in the
neighborhood where he resided, and people began to regard him with a
great deal of suspicion. He was at once called an impostor, and a few
years later he was styled by his enemies, "old Joe Smith." His fame
became known throughout the United States. He was called "a money
digger," and many other contemptuous things. If you will look at his
history, and at the character of his parents, and surroundings, and
consider the object of his life, you can discover how much consistency
there was in the charges brought against him. All this was done to
injure him. He was neither old nor "a money digger," nor an impostor,
nor in any manner deserving of the epithets that they applied to him.
He had never injured anybody, nor robbed anybody—he never did anything
for which he could be punished by the laws under which he lived. When
he was between 17 and 18 years of age, he received another heavenly
manifestation, and some great and glorious things were revealed to
him, and for four years subsequently he received visits from a
heavenly messenger. He did not claim he was in communication with
wicked men or demons from the lower regions. He claimed he [p.14] was
in communication with Moroni, one of the ancient Prophets who lived
upon this continent. He was a good man when he lived here and it is
not likely that he had become wicked since he went away. This
personage, he claimed, revealed to hum the mind and will of the Lord,
and showed him the character of the great work that he, in the hands
of God was to be instrumental in establishing in the earth when the
time should come. This was the labor that was performed by the angel
Moroni, during the four years intervening between 1823 and 1827. In
1827 he received from the hands of the angel Moroni, the gold plates
from which this book [book of Mormon] was translated by him through
the inspiration of the Almighty, and the gift and power of God unto
him. I heard it read when I was a child, I have read it many times
since and I have asked myself scores of times, have you ever
discovered one precept, doctrine, or command within the lids of that
book that is calculated to injure anybody, to do harm to the world, or
that is in contradiction to the word of God as contained in the Bible?
And the answer invariably came, No, not one solitary thing; every
precept, doctrine, word of advice, prophecy, and indeed every word
contained within the lids of that book relating to the great plan of
human redemption and salvation is calculated to make bad men good, and
good men better. Did Joseph Smith, during the three years intervening
between 1827 and 1830, while he was laboring with his hands for a
scanty subsistence, dodging his enemies and trying to evade  the grasp
of those who sought to destroy him and prevent the accomplishment of
his mission, struggling all the while against untold obstacles and
depressing embarrassments to complete the translation of this book,
have much chance of becoming wicked or corrupt? I do not think he had.
When he had finished translating the book he was still only a boy, yet
in producing this book he has developed historical facts, prophecies,
revelations, predictions, testimonies and doctrines, precepts and
principles that are beyond the power and wisdom of the learned world
to duplicate or refute. Joseph Smith was an unlearned youth, so far as
the learning of the world is concerned. He was taught by the angel
Moroni. He received his education from above, from God Almighty, and
not from man-made institutions; but to charge him with being ignorant
would be both unjust and false; no man or combination of men possessed
greater intelligence than he, nor could the combined wisdom and
cunning of the age produce an equivalent for what he did. He was not
ignorant, for He was taught by Him from whom all intelligence flows.
He possessed a knowledge of God and of His law, and of eternity, and
mankind have been trying with all their learning, wisdom and power—and
not content with that, they have tried with the sword and cannon—to
extirpate from the earth the superstructure which Joseph Smith, by the
power of God, erected; but they have signally failed, and will yet be
overwhelmed by their efforts to destroy it.

vol. 24, p.14
Again, the world say that Joseph Smith was an indolent person. The
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was organized April 6th,
1830. Joseph Smith was martyred in Carthage, Illinois, on the 27th of
June, 1844,—14 years after the organization of the Church. What did he
accomplish in these 14 years? He opened up communication with [p.15]
the heavens in his youth. He  brought forth the Book of Mormon, which
contains the fullness of the Gospel; and the revelations contained in
the Book of Doctrine and Covenants; restored the holy Priesthood unto
man; established and organized the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints, an organization which has no parallel in all the
world, and which all the cunning and wisdom of men for ages has failed
to discover or produce and never could have done. He founded colonies
in the States of New York, Ohio, Missouri and Illinois, and pointed
the way for the gathering of the Saints into the Rocky Mountains; sent
the Gospel into Europe and to the islands of the sea; founded the town
of Kirtland, Ohio, and there built a temple that cost about a quarter
of a million of dollars; he founded the city of Nauvoo in the midst of
persecution; gathered into Nauvoo and vicinity some 20,000 people, and
commenced the building of the temple there, which when completed cost
one million dollars; and in doing all this he had to contend against
the prejudices of the age, against relentless persecution, mobocracy
and vile calumny and slander, that were heaped upon him from all
quarters without stint or measure. In a word, he did more in from 14
to 20 years for the salvation of man than any other man save Jesus
only, that ever lived, and yet he was accused by his enemies of being
an indolent and worthless man! Where shall we go to find another man
that has accomplished the one thousandth part of the good that Joseph
Smith accomplished? Shall we go to the Rev. Mr. Beecher or Talmage, or
any of the great preachers of the day? What have they done for the
world with all their boasted intelligence, influence, wealth, and the
popular voice of the world in their favor! Joseph Smith had none of
their advantages, if these are advantages. And yet no man in the
nineteenth century, except Joseph Smith, has discovered to the world a
ray of light upon the keys and power of the Holy Priesthood or the
ordinances of the Gospel either for the living or the dead. Through
Joseph Smith, God has revealed many things which were kept hid from
the foundation of the world in fulfillment of the Prophets—and at no
time since Enoch walked the earth has the Church of God been organized
as perfectly as it is to-day—not excepting the dispensation of Jesus
and His disciples—or if it was we have no record of it. And this is
strictly in keeping with the objects and character of this great
latter-day work, destined to consummate the great purpose and designs
of God concerning the dispensation of the fullness of times. The
principles of baptism for the redemption of the dead, with the
ordinances appertaining thereto, for the complete salvation and
exaltation of those who have died without the Gospel, as revealed
through Joseph Smith, is alone worth more than all the dogmas of the
so-called Christian world combined. Joseph Smith is accused of being a
false prophet. It is, however, beyond the power of the world to prove
that he was a false Prophet. They may so charge him, but you who have
received the testimony of Jesus Christ by the spirit of prophecy
through his administrations are my witnesses that they have not the
power to prove him false, and that is why they are so vexed about it.
In my humble opinion many of our enemies know that they lie before
God, angels and men, when they make this charge, and they would only
be too glad to [p.16] produce proof to sustain their accusations, but
they cannot. Joseph Smith was a true prophet of God. He lived and died
a true prophet, and his words and works will yet demonstrate the
divinity of his mission to millions of the inhabitants of this globe.
Perhaps not so many that are now living, for they have in a great
measure rejected the Gospel and the testimony which the Elders of this
Church have borne to them; but their children after them and
generations to come will receive with delight the name of the Prophet
Joseph Smith, and the Gospel which their fathers rejected. Amen.

Moses Thatcher, March 7, 1883

Prohibition Advocated—Effects of Drunkenness 
Illustrated, Statistics, Etc.

SYNOPSIS OF A TEMPERANCE LECTURE,
Delivered by Elder Moses Thatcher, before the Young Men's Mutual
Improvement Association of Hyrum, March 7th, 1883.

(Reported By C. C. S.)

vol. 24, p.16
In responding to the invitation of the Young Men's Mutual Improvement
Association of Hyrum, I beg to say that press of other matters has
prevented me from preparing myself to speak upon this subject as its
importance demands, but I can submit some statistics which show the
effects of intemperance on the human body and soul more forcibly than
anything I can say.

vol. 24, p.16
Intemperance, license and prohibition have recently been somewhat
fully discussed through the columns of the Utah Journal. Those who
advocate strict prohibition as a means of checking intemperance among
our people, seem firmly impressed with the idea that every possible
safeguard should be thrown around the youth and those of mature age
who have not, within themselves, the power to resist temptations that
are fast sapping the foundations upon which have rested the
prosperity, morality, and purity of great Christian nations, that are
now wallowing in the filth and degradation of intemperance. Holding
that there are some, even among the Latter-day Saints, too weak to
resist the tempting cup when pressed to their lips by the hands of
false friends, yet who are too good to be left to destroy peace and
happiness, desolate home, and die, perhaps, in the gutter, I am an
uncompromising advocate of prohibition. No man [p.17] is permitted to
sell poisoned food. Who does so knowingly, to the destruction of life,
answers the law on the charge of murder. Why should any be held less
guilty of crime for dispensing liquid poison?

vol. 24, p.17
Put the essence of tobacco into the mouth of a rattlesnake and see if
the venom which makes its fangs the instrument of death, possesses
neutralizing force sufficient to counteract the more deadly poison of
the vegetable drug. And yet I have seen tobacco in pieces larger than
my hand in barrels from which my brethren and friends had drank the
whisky that extracted from that tobacco its deadly narcotic
properties.

vol. 24, p.17
I have beheld with horror the effects of double-distilled,
tobacco-poisoned whisky. Untainted by it, I have seen man face perils
that spoke of death, and under the sway of reason and calm judgment
offer his coat to save the life of his companion; when the fierce
blast of a winter storm was searching the marrow of his bones,
chilling his vitals and clutching with icy hand the benumbed, almost
frozen spark of life. This was the natural man, whose generosity the
fear of death could not conquer.

vol. 24, p.17
Driven wild with whisky, the heart beating like the quick throb of an
overworked engine, reason dethroned by distilled poison burning like
living coals in the brain, he who offered the coat to save, sped the
ball which pierced the heart of his friend, whose warm blood, rushing
through the murderous rent, curdled in crimson clots on the frozen
snow, and the hearts of two mothers broke.

vol. 24, p.17
Who shall declare that to be a legitimate business which, in its
effects, makes man a demon, dyes his hands in blood, and sacrifices
tender and loving hearts upon the altar of intemperance? How can any
man with one spark of the milk of human kindness in his heart, offer
to his fellow-man that which he knows may destroy the body and ruin
the soul? How can any father or brother ask our lawmakers to legalize
and thereby become responsible for the crimes of those who seek to
lead the weak and unsuspecting into temptations, which if yielded to,
generally end in misery, pauperism, and ignominious ruin?

vol. 24, p.17
Look at the home of the drunkard who would move heaven and hell in
order to secure the means for gratifying his unnatural appetite! Is it
a cheerful, prosperous, beautiful and healthful home? Does he educate
his children and feed and clothe them well, or does he permit them to
go bare-footed, half-clad, land otherwise exposed to disease and
suffering? Does he not pay whisky bills while denying wife and
children the means with which to keep the wolf of want from his door?
Look at the waste of property all around him! If he has a house, look
at the tattered rags hanging from the broken windows, the leaking
roof, creaking doors, fireless hearth and general cheerlessness of the
place he calls home. Gaze through the sorrowful eyes down into the
pain-stricken heart of his wife, and see if you can find a sentiment
there which calls for a single blessing upon the head of the man who
has assisted in the degradation of her husband. Look at his lean
horses and starving cattle, if he has any left, as they perish in the
pitiless storms that chill their marrowless bones, and say that no act
of prohibition should be enforced to assist in checking such an one in
his downward course. Is it possible for the inebriate to confine the
results of his intemperance to himself? No, it is not [p.18] possible!
It extends to others in spite of all he can do, and in so far as it
injures them, his agency should be curtailed. With kindness and long
suffering, with gentleness and good will? Yes! and if necessary, by
removing with every legitimate and lawful means the temptation which
he cannot resist unaided.

vol. 24, p.18
Should the acts—the agency of the brother who, a short time ago,
deserted his post at midnight and left exposed, by reason of his
engendered love of liquor, a hundred thousand dollars' worth of
property in trusted to his care, be in any way restrained?

vol. 24, p.18
Do intemperate men usually stand at the head of banking, railroad,
manufacturing and commercial affairs? Do they stand at the head and
control matters in which the Lord and good men have delight?

vol. 24, p.18
Contrast the intelligent look, the energy, the mental and physical
endurance of the temperate man with those of the intemperate. Contrast
the difference between their surroundings, homes and families, and
then say which you prefer, and which you will imitate.

vol. 24, p.18
I will now submit for your consideration an account of some of the
evils of intemperance in England, and its cost: In the year 1879, the
inhabitants of the United Kingdom expended for intoxicating drinks,
$640,716,320. The names of 3,000,000 persons were registered on the
books of the "Poor Law Unions" during that year, and 94,000 lunatics
were in the asylums. In 1877, 320,000 were apprehended for
drunkenness; 75,000,000 bushels of grain—an amount equal to what Utah,
at our present rate would produce in forty years—is used yearly in the
manufacture of intoxicants, which cause there annually 120,000
premature deaths. "It is the opinion of the best informed individuals
that the cost of the mischief resulting from drinking, viz.,
Pauperism, Crime, Disease, Waste of Grain, Accidents, Loss of Labor,
&c., amounts to fully as much as the cost of the drink itself, and,
therefore, if the direct and indirect cost of the  drink be added
together, it will give about thirteen hundred millions of dollars as
the amount the nation loses yearly through intoxicating liquors."

vol. 24, p.18
In return for this stupendous outlay the nation reaps a harvest of
crime, misery, destitution, vice, disease, ruin and death. If the
money was paid to rid the nation of such evils, it would be proof of
common sense, "but to buy them at such a price, is supreme folly," and
would seem utterly impossible to an intelligent people. "During the
seven years ending in 1879 the inhabitants of the British Isles spent
for drink, $4,820,189,180, and paid for Poor and Police Rates
$505,723,590. During the same time, 3,334,110 persons—nearly ten per
cent. of the entire population—were convicted of crime, and 1,271,838
were apprehended for drunkenness.

vol. 24, p.18
From the above tables (taken from Parliamentary returns) it will be
seen what an enormous amount of money is spent on intoxicating
liquors. Side by side we see the crime and drunkenness with the
consequent taxation, &c. How we suffer in other ways from the liquor
traffic can never be realized.

vol. 24, p.18
The money paid for drink during those seven years would cancel
England's national debt, and leave $1,000,000,000 to spare. It would
pay for 26,082 miles of railway which is 10,000 miles more than was
then being operated in the United Kingdom. Had the money been
invested, in building houses it would  [p.19] have erected a new one
for every family there, and built schools to accommodate all the
children in that country.

vol. 24, p.19
Had the money spent by the English people during the past 50 years for
liquors, been invested in securities realizing five per cent. per
annum principal and interest would now exceed by $5.000,000,000 the
entire capitalized value of all the wealth of the United Kingdom,
including its money, lands, railways, collieries ironworks, quarries,
mines, houses mills, and every other description of property.

vol. 24, p.19
Now all these things have grown and developed under the fostering care
of legalized crime. In other words, intemperance in England, and
intemperance in the United States, if not the offspring of legalized
crime is at least the bloated pauper of a system of license that
encourages drunkenness. And for this reason, having shown you some of
the fearful effects of intemperance, I unhesitatingly condemn the
system of license under which it has grown to such proportions. In
contrast I cite you to statistics, compiled by the best authority,
showing that drunkenness has decreased from 40 to 90 per cent. in the
State of Maine, where prohibition has been enforced. [The lecturer
here read from the writings of Hepworth Dixon, a beautiful description
of the happy condition of the people of St. Johnsbury, Vermont, who
had adopted "prohibition," and concluded by adopting as his sentiments
the following sound principles of Dr. Albert Barnes, enunciated in his
sermon, "The Thorne of Iniquity."]

vol. 24, p.19
"I lay it down as a sound principle in regard to legislation that
society should not by its laws protect evil. This, perhaps, is
sufficiently clear from the remarks already made; but the importance
of the principle in itself, and the application which I intend to make
of it, require that it should be made a little more distinct and
prominent. The position is that the purpose of society in organizing a
government, and the purpose of a government under such organization,
should not be to protect evil in any form. The law is made for the
lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy
and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for
man-slayers, for whoremongers, for them that defile themselves with
mankind, for men-stealers, for liars, for perjured persons (1 Tim.
1:9,) and not to protect those who practice these vices, or protect
anything which will give facility in practicing them. The true object
of legislation is to prevent, not to protect evil. God never
instituted a government on earth with a view to its throwing a
protecting shield over vice and immorality. He has never commissioned
men to sit in high places to accomplish any such work. The end of
government, so far as it bears on that point at all, is to suppress
crime, to punish wrongdoers, to remove iniquity, to promote that which
is just and true. And it matters not what the evil is, nor how
lucrative it may be, nor how much capital may be invested in it, nor
how much revenue may be derived from it, nor how many persons may have
an interest in its continuance—the business of the lawgiver is to
suppress it—not to protect it; to bring it to as speedy an end as
possible, not to become the panderer to it, or the patron of it. What
would be thought of a government that should, under any pretext
whatever, take under its protecting care thieves, counterfeiters, and
burglars? A third  principle in regard to [p.20] legislation is
equally clear, and equally important: It is that society should not
undertake to regulate evil by law. Its business is to remove it—not to
regulate it."

vol. 24, p.20
Having an abiding faith in prohibition, backed by local option, I
would have the Y. M. M. I. A. of Hyrum, use their influence to have
illicit liquor dealers here, discontinue their degrading, unlawful
traffic. This failing, rise up and help the city authorities to
enforce the law.

vol. 24, p.20
If there are any in favor of license to sell liquor in Hyrum, please
manifest it. [Not a hand was raised.] Who are in favor of temperance
and prohibition? [Every hand was raised,] May God bless and preserve
you from the blight of intemperance and the sin of drunkenness.

Orson Pratt, October 26, 1879

Exhortation From Isaiah—The Saints Obeying It—Glimpse at the 
Settlement of Utah—Fulfilling Ancient Prophecies—Jackson 
County, Missouri, the Destination of the Saints—The Temple 
to Be Built There—New Jerusalem—How It Will Be Preserved 
From Decay—Its Description—The Wicked Powerless to Prevent 
the Saints From Fulfilling Their Destiny.

Delivered in the Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, October 26, 1879.

(Reported By John Irvine)

vol. 24, p.20
I will read a few passages of Scripture which will be found in the
54th chapter of Isaiah. (The speaker then read most of the chapter
referred to.) Continuing, he said: 

vol. 24, p.20
I hope that the congregation will pardon me for undertaking three
Sabbaths running to instruct them when there are so many of our
brethren—those who are ordained and filled with the spirit of
truth—who would be glad, no doubt, to speak to the people; but a great
many of my younger brethren, younger than I am, may perhaps have a
great many opportunities after I may pass away, provided that the Lord
sees proper in His wisdom to call me hence.

vol. 24, p.20
I feel a great pleasure in standing before a congregation of
Latter-day Saints, or a mixed assembly of those who belong to the
Church and those who have not received the great message which the
Church has received. It gives me great joy and great satisfaction to
speak to them in the name of the Lord, and  unfold, [p.21] as far as
the Spirit will give me utterance, that which the Lord has said
concerning His people in the latter days. I had nothing upon my mind
when I arose and walked into the stand, but upon opening the Bible my
eyes fell upon this chapter, and I thought that I would read it—and
perhaps something might occur in relation to this chapter that would
be interesting in regard to the latter days, for certainly what I have
read relates to future times—times that have not yet come.

vol. 24, p.21
"Enlarge the place of thy tent, and let them stretch forth the
curtains of thine habitations; spare not, lengthen thy cords and
strengthen thy stakes is the exhortation of the prophet to some class
of people that should dwell on the earth. If we wish to know what
class of people the Prophet had reference to, read the last verse of
this chapter: "This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and
their righteousness is of me, saith the Lord." It would seem then,
from the declaration given in that clause of the seventeenth verse of
this chapter, that the Prophet was speaking of his servants and their
heritage—that is, the heritage that his servants should occupy—that
they were not to be narrowed and contracted in their feelings in
regard to their inheritance as though it were to be in a small tract
or region of country. The Lord had otherwise determined according to
the words of this chapter. He intends they should inherit a great
land, that they were to stretch forth the curtains of their
habitations, and for fear that they would be limited in their views
and contract themselves to a small region of country, the Lord says
expressly, "Spare not, lengthen thy cords and strengthen thy stakes."
Well, we are trying to do this as Latter-day Saints. When we first
came here we located this city in the month of July, 1847, some 32
years ago this last summer. Then it was thought by many that had not a
knowledge of prophecy, that we were too expanded in our views to lay
out a city—being only a handful of pioneers—to lay out a city covering
several miles of ground, when there was not yet a house built; when
comparatively there was before us a great dry, barren desert. It
seemed almost folly to even some of the Latter-day Saints to see the
surveyor with his measure line, others with their instruments of
observation, getting the height of this land above the sea
level—making great preparations, while we yet camped, a little handful
of us, in wagons and in a few tents. It seemed folly to lay out a city
covering an area of several square miles; but those who did this work
were under the direction and inspiration of the Almighty. We knew that
this people would become a very great people. We knew that the words
of Isaiah would be fulfilled which are recorded in the 60th chapter,
"A little one shall become a thousand, and a small one a strong
nation." Now we believed that. It was not merely all opinion such as
might be formed by the enlightened judgment of the human family, but
by the inspiration of that Spirit which knows all things, we laid out
a city sufficiently large in extent to accommodate and gather together
an extensive population for this inland country and desert. Have we
been disappointed? Has the Lord disappointed us in our expectation? Go
over the area of this whole city, over these northern wards and
western wards, and travel and traverse all the different lots and
streets, and see if you [p.22] find many vacant places. Is not the
land generally taken up? Is it not generally occupied? Are there many
vacant lots, where there are no houses or habitations? Are there many
places where there are no fruit trees, no gardens? Are there many
streets where there are no ornamental trees no water ditches? We find
after we have traveled several days and traversed nearly all the
streets of this city, gone for miles each way, that all the lots with
some very few exceptions, seem to be occupied, and not only so but
some of the lots originally intended only for one family are now split
up, divided and subdivided, and contain several habitations in the
same lot, and scarcely room enough at that. We find the population
coming into this city so great that there seems to be scarcely room,
and even our water in dry seasons seems to be very scarce, not
sufficient to water even the trees that are so necessary to be kept
alive, to say nothing of gardens and flowers and shrubbery. "Enlarge
the place of thy tent and let them stretch forth the curtains of thine
habitations; spare not;" that is don't be stingy, don't be contracted,
don't limit yourselves to a small area of country but break forth on
the right hand and on the left. Already within the last 32 years we
have been fulfilling this commandment. We have stretched forth the
gardens of our habitation several hundred miles in the south
especially, and one or two hundred miles in the north, into the
Territory of Idaho. Utah does not seem sufficient for us, hence we
have built many large towns and villages in Idaho. We have spread
forth our towns, our villages and our settlements to the south for
some 300 or 400 miles, and even after doing this we find the place is
too strait, and the saying is: "give place to me that I may dwell." We
would scarcely suppose that a work of this great and important
magnitude would have been accomplished in so short a time as scarcely
one-third of a century, when all this great basin—nearly all with the
exception of one or two small portions of the country traversed by
Fremont and a few of his followers—was explored and considered an
unprofitable desert, considered unfit for the habitation of man, in
consequence of the dryness and parched condition of its soil. But the
Lord when He begins to fulfill and accomplish a work among His people
does so by degrees. He did not convert this great American desert,
several hundred miles in extent, into a fruitful garden in one day,
nor in one year; but in a few years, comparatively speaking, He has
accomplished this work and has done it too with an eye to the
predictions that were uttered by His servant Isaiah, the Prophet, and
His servant, David, the Psalmist.

vol. 24, p.22
The Sabbath before last I addressed the congregation and spoke of the
people inhabiting the great mountain territory, removing. You will
recollect this. You know our enemies have had a great many
speculations about our moving. A great many have supposed that we
would remove to an island of the sea: others have pointed out
Vancouver's Island, others Russian America, as it used to be called;
others have pointed out Mexico; others the islands of the Indian
Ocean; and others South America, as the future destination of the
Latter-day Saints. But Sunday before last I endeavored to point out to
you our hopes, our views as contrasted with the views of our enemies,
in relation to our future destination. I will repeat  again, to bring
to the [p.23] remembrance of the Latter-day Saints, and those who
might have been present on that occasion, what was then said. We
expect that these mountains will not he the residence of all the
Latter-day Saints; we expect that the great majority of the people
will emigrate. We want to tell you where our eyes are fixed. As stated
in our former discourse, they are fixed upon a land—not in the distant
islands of the Indian Ocean, nor in the Pacific Ocean, nor in South
America, but our eyes are fixed upon a land on the western boundaries
of the State of Missouri and the boundaries of the State of Kansas. We
expect to go there just as much as we expect the sun will rise and
set. We have no other expectation. We expect to return there just as
much as the Jews expect to return to old Jerusalem in the latter days.
Perhaps you may inquire if we expect to return as a majority. Yes. Do
we expect to return as a great people? Yes. Do we expect to return
with our wives and our children? Yes. Do we expect to return in a
peaceable manner? Of course. Have you ever seen any other feeling on
the part of the Latter-day Saints, only to promote peace wherever they
may settle? What has been our object from the commencement? Peace and
goodwill to all men. But perhaps you may still further inquire
concerning our emigration to the eastern boundaries of the State of
Kansas, and to the western boundaries of the State of Missouri, what
we intend to do in that part of the country? We expect to be farmers,
a great many of us. We expect to introduce all kinds of machinery and
manufactures. We expect to build mills. We expect to become a very
industrious, frugal, economical people. We expect to have our
merchandise and our stores and storehouses in that land. We expect to
build a great many hundred school-houses in that country, just the
same as we have already done in this country and in the two adjacent
Territories, Idaho in the north and Arizona in the south. We do not
calculate to neglect our children in regard to their education. We
expect to build a great number of academies or the higher schools, and
besides a great many school-houses. We expect to erect universities
for the still higher blanches to be taught. We expect to build many
hundreds of meeting-houses, and we expect to be a people very densely
located there—not one man taking up six or eight miles of land, and
calling it his farm; we don't expect to live in that way, but we
expect to settle a very dense settlement in that region of country. We
expect to own the land, too. How? By purchase. We expect to purchase
the land that we have not already purchased. We have already purchased
a great deal of land in Jackson County and Clay County, Missouri, and
our purchases are on record if they have not destroyed the record; but
we were driven from that land, from our farms and homes; our houses
were burned down, our merchandise that we had in our store was taken
and strewn through the street; our printing office—one of the most
distant western offices in the Union—was also destroyed; the type was
taken out and scattered through the streets; our hay stacks were
burned, our cattle were shot down, and we were driven in the cold
month of November from our houses and lauds purchased of the general
Government, and we fled before our enemies. "Well," says one, "are you
not afraid to go back again to purchase land in that country when
[p.24] you were thus treated in the early settlement in 1833, when you
were driven from your homes, some of you massacred, your property
destroyed—are you not afraid to return?" O, I expect they are more
civilized now. Do you think civilized people would murder now? Do you
think they would drive people from their homes now? We may give them a
chance to see. At any rate we shall fulfill our part, purchase the
land, gather together upon our own purchased land, and we calculate to
obey, all the laws of the State of Missouri, and all the laws of the
State of Kansas that are constitutional in their nature. But, says
one, suppose the people should rise up and say you should not possess
the land, what would you do? We would leave the matter in the hands of
the Lord, just the same as we did at first when He led us by
revelation to where the great central stake of Zion should be built.
We went there because the Lord told us to go. We settled upon the very
spot where the Lord commanded us. We commenced to lay the foundation
of a temple about three-quarters of a mile from Independence, Jackson
County, Missouri. It was then a wilderness, with large trees on the
temple block. I visited that place 47 years afterwards, namely, a year
ago last September, and not a tree was to be found on that temple
block—not so much as a stump—everything seemed to be cleared off, and
one would scarcely know, unless very well acquainted with the ground,
where the temple site was located. There, however, we expect to build
a temple different from all other temples in some respects. It will be
built much larger, cover a larger area of ground, far larger than this
Tabernacle covers, and this Tabernacle will accommodate from 12,000 to
15,000 people. We expect to build a temple much larger, very much
larger, according to the revelation God gave to us forty years ago in
regard to that temple. But you may ask in what form will it be built?
Will it be built in one large room, like this Tabernacle? No; there
will be 24 different compartments in the Temple that will be built in
Jackson County. The names of these compartments were given to us some
45 or 46 years ago; the names we still have, and when we build these
24 rooms, in a circular form and arched over the centre, we shall give
the names to all these different compartments just as the Lord
specified through Joseph Smith. Now, our enemies do not believe one
word of this. They think we are enthusiastic, they think that this is
all nonsense, and I do not know but there may be some of the
Latter-day Saints that begin to partake of the same spirit, owing to
their assimilating themselves so much to the fashion of the world,
that they have lost their strong and powerful faith in that which God
has predicted by the mouth of his servants. Perhaps you may ask for
what purpose these 24 compartments are to be built. I answer not to
assemble the outside world in, nor to assemble the Saints all in one
place, but these buildings will be built with a special view to the
different orders, or in other words the different quorums or councils
of the two Priesthoods that God has ordained on the earth. That is the
object of having 24 rooms so that each of these different quorums,
whether they be High Priests or Seventies, or Elders, or Bishops, or
lesser Priesthood, or Teachers, or Deacons, or Patriarchs, or
Apostles, or High Councils, or  whatever may be the duties that are
assigned to them, they will have [p.25] rooms in the Temple of the
Most High God, adapted, set apart, constructed, and dedicated for this
special purpose. Now, I have not only told you that we shall have
these rooms, but I have told you the object of these rooms in short,
not in full. But will there be any other buildings excepting those 24
rooms that are all joined together in a circular form and arched over
the center—are there any other rooms that will be built—detached from
the Temple? Yes. There will be tabernacles, there will be meeting
houses for the assembling of the people on the Sabbath day. There will
be various places of meeting so that the people may gather together;
but the Temple will be dedicated to the Priesthood of the Most High
God, and for most sacred and holy purposes. Then you see that,
notwithstanding all these Temples that are now building in this
Territory, and those that have been built before we came here in
Kirtland and Nauvoo, the Lord is not confined to an exact pattern in
relation to these Temples building in the different Stakes any more
than He is confined in the creation of worlds to make them all of the
same size. He does not make them all of one size, nor does He set them
rolling on their axes in the same plane, nor does He construct any in
many respects alike there is variation as much as there is in the
human form. Take meal and women. There are general outlines that are
common to all, but did you ever see two faces alike among all the
millions of the human family? What a great variety, and yet all are
constructed in general outline alike—after the image of God. So in
regard to the building of Temples. The Lord will not confine Himself
to any one special method to be so many feet long, so many feet wide,
and so many places for the Priesthood to stand, but He will construct
His Temples in a great variety of ways, and by and by, when the more
perfect order shall exist we shall construct them, through the aid of
revelation, in accordance with the Temples that exist in yonder
heaven. And when I speak of yonder heaven I do not refer to that kind
of heaven the sectarian world sings about, beyond the bounds of time
and space. I have no reference to any heaven beyond space, but I have
reference to the heaven that the Lord has sanctified and made heaven
in other worlds that he has created, consisting of all kinds of
materials the same as our world is, and when this world passes through
its various ordeals, it, too, by and by, will pass away and die like
the body of man and be resuscitated again, a new heaven and a new
earth, eternal in its nature. The new worlds that are thus constructed
and quickened by the fullness of the celestial glory will be the
heavens where the Gods will dwell, or in other words, those that are
made like unto God, when their bodies are changed in all respects like
unto His glorious body, changed from materiality and cleansed from sin
and redeemed, they will then be immortal and dwell in a heavenly
world. Now, in this world there will be Temples, and these Temples
will be constructed according to the most perfect law of the celestial
kingdom, for the world in which they are built or in which they stand
will be a celestial body. This last Temple that I am speaking of, or
this last one to be built in Jackson County, Missouri, will be
constructed after that heavenly pattern in all particulars. Why?
Because it will never perish, it will exist for ever. "What! Do you
mean [p.26] to say," says one, "that the materials of that temple will
not wear?" "Do you mean to say," some of you may inquire in your
hearts, "that age will have no effect upon the walls and the materials
of that temple?" This is what I mean—I mean to say that not only the
Temple, but all the buildings that shall be built round about that
Temple, and the city that will be built round about it, which will be
called the New Jerusalem, will be built of materials that never will
decay. "But," says one, "that will be contrary to the laws of nature."
You may cite me to some of the buildings that existed before Christ
that were built out of the most durable materials that could be found,
and yet when the storms of hail, rain and snow came, these buildings
began to waste away until they could scarcely be recognized. Well, I
do not ask you to think that this temple and the city round about it
will defy the rough hand of time and the work of the elements of our
globe, and exist for ever, so far as natural laws are concerned; but
there is a principle higher than these natural laws. Did you never
think of it—a higher principle, a higher kingdom that governs all
these laws of nature, such as you and I have been accustomed to
understand ever since our youth. I say there is a higher law, a
controlling power over all the laws of nature, that will prevent these
buildings from decaying; and I wish while dwelling upon this subject
to say a little about another subject; that is, the building up of
Palestine with the new Jerusalem. It will be the old Jerusalem rebuilt
upon its former site. Now, will that city ever be destroyed, will it
ever decay? Will the Temple to be built in Palestine ever be thrown
down or ever be furrowed with hail, rain, snow and frost—will these
ever have any effect upon it? No, not in the least.

vol. 24, p.26
Why? Because God will be there. So He will be in the temple of Zion on
this continent, and by His power, by His laws—which are superior to
all those grosser laws of nature—He will preserve both of these
cities, one on the western hemisphere, and one on the eastern
hemisphere, from any decay whatever. Now, we have it recorded here in
this book, in the 31st chapter of Jeremiah, that this city on the
eastern continent shall not be thrown down any more forever. It seems,
therefore, to be an eternal city, never to be destroyed. "But," says
one, "I cannot believe that; I cannot believe but what these cities
will be subject, just as much as anything else to decay." Do you
believe this good book—the Bible? If you do, you are obliged to
believe that such things are possible. Do you want to know some of
them? I will mention one instance. You will recollect that Moses
commanded Aaron to take a pot of manna and lay it before the Lord, to
be kept for their generations. Now it was a noted fact that if the
children of Israel gathered more manna than would last them until
after the next morning, it would decay, but on the last day before the
Sabbath they gathered manna for two days, and they found that on the
Sabbath day it was preserved. Who preserved it? Why did it last two
days instead of one? Because God counteracted those lesser laws, or
laws of nature, by His divine power, which is greater than them all,
and He therefore preserved for two days that which would I not last
longer on the other days of the week than twenty-four hours. Well, we
find that the Lord ordered the manna to be placed in the tabernacle to
[p.27] be kept for their generations, that they might see the bread
wherewith He had fed them in the wilderness, when He brought them
forth from the land of Egypt. Did that manna decay? No, it remained
fresh and pure in the tabernacle. Why? Because God was there; His
divine power was there; a miracle was wrought to counteract the
general laws of nature such as we generally understand them to be, and
this manna was preserved from generation to generation. Now the Being
that could produce this effect upon a small quantity of substance on a
pot of manna could He not do the same in regard to whole buildings, or
is His arm so limited that He has to work in a little narrow corner
and preserve a little handful of manna from spoiling through decay. I
would say that the same Being that could perform this, which we might
term a lesser miracle. could extend the same power to stone, wood, and
to all kinds of metal and material that might enter into the
construction of a Temple. Shall I limit  that power to the preserving
of a Temple! No. The same Being could preserve the city round about
the Temple, hence it is a city that shall never be destroyed nor
thrown down from that time henceforth and forever. God will be in the
city. He will take care that the building materials suffer nothing
from the laws of nature. He will take care that the city is
illuminated by His divine power, and especially the Temple, the most
sacred of all the Temples, where He will have His throne, where the
Twelve Apostles will have their thrones, as the judges of the twelve
tribes of Israel; He will take care that there is nothing in that
Temple that shall decay in the least degree. So it will be in the New
Jerusalem. Zion upon this great western hemisphere will have a city
called the New Jerusalem (because it has never been built before) and
God will preserve it by His divine power. Read what the Psalmist,
David, has said in the 50th Psalm: "Out of Zion, the perfection of
beauty, God hath shined. Our God shall come, and shall not keep
silence; a fire shall devour before Him, and it shall be very
tempestuous round about Him. He shall call to the heavens from above,
and to the earth, that He may judge His people. Gather my Saints
together unto me, those that have made a covenant with me by
sacrifice." Perhaps you may ask why it is called "the perfection of
beauty." Shall I read from the chapter I opened with? In the 11th
verse of that chapter we read: "O though afflicted, tossed with
tempest, and not comforted, behold, I will lay thy stones with fair
colors, and lay thy foundation with sapphires. And I will make thy
windows of agates, and thy gates of carbuncles, and all thy borders of
pleasant stones." Now any person that is acquainted with mineralogy or
with geology, and any person that has studied these things to any
great extent, knows concerning these precious stones how very precious
they are esteemed, and how a small portion of these stones is very
frequently valued at more than its weight in gold, some of them one
hundred times their weight in gold, and yet the Lord will bring or
create, or form, as the case may be, or tell His children how to form
those precious stones in great abundance, sufficiently pure and
crystalized in order to complete the foundations and also the temples
and the public buildings of that great city called the New Jerusalem.
But before this shall commence, the Lord has [p.28] addressed them as
a people afflicted: "O thou afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not
comforted." Just as the Latter-day Saints have been now for upwards of
forty years driven from place to place before we emigrated to this
great mountain desert, persecuted by our enemies, our cities taken
from us, our villages taken from us, our farms taken from us, our
flocks and herds shot down; we were robbed of all these things, and
yet without any redress from the Government under which we live. We
then came forth beyond these great rocky chains of mountains, hoping
that in the distant desert, where no other people would have thought
of locating themselves, we might live undisturbed. We have been
greatly prospered in this desert. We have lived here long enough to
fulfill a great many of the prophecies that are contained in this good
Jewish Bible. But we have not yet got through with fulfilling
prophecies. We are designed as a people to fulfill a great many
prophecies. We shall move however, as I have already stated, down into
that region of country. But you may say—that is, some of the weak
Latter-day Saints may say—that it will cost so much; we will have to
purchase all that country sufficiently extensive to give place to all
this people. How are you going to obtain means enough to purchase a
country large enough for all this people to dwell in? Well, now, the
Lord has that in His own hands, don't you know it? Is it a difficult
thing for the Lord to make his people rich when they are prepared for
it, alter days of tribulation, after passing through a great many
afflictions and difficulties, tossed to and fro; would it be a
difficult matter for the Lord to open up whenever He pleases, means of
unmeasurable riches, more than all the Latter-day Saints would know
how to use? Hear what the Lord says: "For brass I will bring gold, and
for iron I will bring silver, and for wood brass, and for stones iron.
Violence shall no more be heard in thy land, wasting nor destruction
within thy borders." Who were the people here spoken of? They were
people that should be clothed upon with this light that I have been
speaking of, this glorious light; the presence of the Lord will be in
their midst, and it will radiate over their temples, it will light
their city by night and by day. "But are you sure." says one, "that
such a thing will take place?" I have no time to read all the Lord
says on the subject, but if you read the 60th chapter of Isaiah, you
will find that the sun shall be no longer necessary by day, nor the
moon by night, to give light to a certain people. Why? Because "the
Lord shall be unto thee an everlasting light, and thy God thy glory.
Thy sun shall no more go down." Not like our sun which arises in the
morning and exists above the horizon for a few hours, then descends,
and darkness covers the earth. Not so with this light, the glorious
divine light that will lighten up the heights of Zion. It will never
go down, it will be a standing miracle by day and by night, from one
week to another, month after month, year after year, until the one
thousand years shall have rolled away over the heads of the people
that dwell on the earth. But let us see what more is said. That same
God that has spoken of these great riches, brass for gold, iron
instead of silver, for wood brass, and for stones iron—I say that that
same God  has exhorted the latter-day people called Zion to "Arise,
shine, for thy light [p.29] is come, and the glory of the Lord is
risen upon thee." I do not mean something that never can be discerned.
I mean that true light that emanates from the great fountain of light,
the Messiah, the Redeemer; that true light that lighteth every man
that cometh into the world; that true light which is in all things and
giveth light to all things; that true light that lighteth up the
understanding of the children of men and quickeneth their memory; that
true light that quickens the eyes of this mortal tabernacle, that we
are able to discern objects round about us; that true light which is
of God, will be rendered visible to the eyes of all the inhabitants of
that city. And shall I limit it there? No. The light will shine so
conspicuously from that city, extending to the very heavens, that it
will in reality be like unto a city set upon a hill that cannot be
hid, and it will have quite a tendency to strike terror to all the
nations of the earth. Will all see it? No, some may be too far off,
beyond the ocean, to behold that miraculous light that will shine
forth in this city, but I will tell you the effect it will have upon
the kings, queens, rulers, congressmen and judges of the earth—they
will hear of it by telegraph; the news will be flashed over the
civilized nations of the earth, but they will not believe it. They
will say, "Let us cross the ocean, and let us see this thing that is
reported to us by telegraph; let us sea whether it is so or not."
Well, when they get within a day or two's journey of the city they
will be alarmed. Some of these kings and nobles, when they see the
light shining forth like the northern lights in the arctic regions,
illuminating the whole face of the heavens—when they see this light
shining forth long before they reach the city, fear will take hold of
them there, says the Psalmist, in the 48th Psalm, they will become
weak, and their knees will smite together like the knees of
Belshazzar. They will try to haste away from the glory of God and from
the power of God, and to get out of the country as soon as possible.
Fear and terror will be upon them. It will have an effect upon many
other kings and nobles, more pure in heart, more honest, that are
willing to receive the truth; it will have a different effect upon
them, so much so, that they will say with Isaiah, "Arise, shine, for
thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee. For,
behold, darkness covers the earth and gross darkness the people; but
the Lord shall arise upon thee, and His glory shall be seen from thee.
And the gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness
of thy rising." These are the different effects which it will have
upon the rulers of the various nations, some believing, some
trembling, some humbling themselves and willing to forsake their
thrones and their kingdoms and their empires to come and dwell with
the people of God, while others more wicked, more corrupt, will not be
able to endure it. This shining light will be seen for many miles
distant, and the wicked will flee away; they will be fearful lest they
be smitten by that power that illuminates the people of God, hence the
terror of the Lord will be there. Terror will take hold of the wicked
when Zion becomes as fair as the sun and as clear as the moon, and her
banners will be terrible to all nations. One would naturally suppose
when we see the present hardness of heart that exists among our
enemies, when we see our Elders waylaid, young peaceable [p.30] boys
that are taking their first mission abroad to proclaim the Gospel of
the Son of God—when we see them shot down and their murderers tried by
a jury and acquitted, and then tried for riot and acquitted of
that—one would naturally suppose that a people so hard in their hearts
would not be converted to believe even if they should see the power of
God manifested. But do you suppose that among these people where such
things are carried on in the light of day, where murderers go free and
where judges say, "commit murder, commit riots, take the life of the
innocent; we will free you"—do you suppose that there are no honest
hearted among the people that are allowed to do this? If you do you
are mistaken. There are many of the honest in heart deceived by the
cunning craftiness of the children of men, by priestcraft which lies
at the foundation of all the persecutions endured by the Latter-day
Saints. Priests, afraid of their craft, afraid of this little one,
afraid that the little one will become a thousand, and the small one a
strong nation, say: "let us down upon them, let us drive them from
their homes, let us burn their houses, let us persecute them from city
to city, let us fall upon their missionaries and put them to death."
We would hardly suppose that there could be found an honest person
among such a people, but there are. There are goodhearted people all
through the States. In Missouri, where they first drove us? Yes, many.
In Ohio, where we were also driven? Yes, many which are honest before
God, and will receive the testimony of the Gospel, and unto this Zion
that I have been speaking of such will gather together, to swell the
numbers of the Latter-day Saints, and we will become a strong nation
and they cannot help themselves, and this is what makes them feel so
bad. But, says one, we can help ourselves. We have got the Secretary
of State, Mr. Evarts, and he in connection with others of the Cabinet,
have published a circular unto the nations of Germany, Great Britain,
Norway, Sweden and Denmark, asking their help; "ill you not step
forward," say they, "and put a stop to the emigration of the
Latter-day Saints. We are afraid they are growing too strong. We are
afraid there are too many of them in yonder hills. O, Great Britain,
help us! O Germany, help us! Let your arm stretch forth and allow no
more of these Latter-day Saints to gather to the mountains of Utah! O
keep them back. Shut up the ports of Liverpool, of Europe, and let no
more emigrate to that land!" Do you think they can shut the ports of
heaven? Do you think that yonder spirits that dwell in the presence of
God the Father, will be kept back, and will not come here and take
infant tabernacles to swell the borders of Zion? Think you, you can
shut down the gates of heaven and control this matter? Stretch forth
your arm and try to stay the arm of the Almighty, that He send no more
spirits here to swell the borders of Zion! Would it not be well to
pass laws to prevent these spirits coming, to prevent this heavenly
emigration? Think you, you can stay the purposes of the Great Jehovah?
No; these spirits will come and our streets will be full of children,
sons and daughters, and they will say, as they crowd up: "The place is
too strait, Give place to me that I may dwell," and they will stretch
forth the curtains of their habitations,  they will lengthen [p.31]
their cords and strengthen their stakes in spite of all the powers of
cartel and hell combined. "A little one," says the Prophet Isaiah,
"shall become a thousand, and a small one a strong nation." Daniel
caught the same spirit. He saw a little one planted in the mountains.
He saw a kingdom organized, an ecclesiastical government called the
Kingdom of the God of Heaven. He saw it organized—not in the lower
countries of the earth, but he saw it organized in a high and lofty
region; in other words, as is recorded in the 18th chapter of his
prophecies, he saw an ensign lifted up upon the mountains. What is an
ensign? "Why." says one. "according to our dictionary, and according
to our opinion upon this subject, I should suppose an ensign, or
standard, to he something unto which the people will gather." You have
thought right. This ensign, says the Lord, shall be lifted up upon the
mountain. What is an ensign? It is not only something unto which the
people will gather, but it is something of divine appointment,
something that the Lord organizes, something that will be a pattern to
all peoples, nations and governments erected in the mountains, and He
calls upon all the inhabitants of the earth to see it. In another
place the Prophet Isaiah says: "And He shall set up an ensign for the
nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel and gather together
the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth." Can you
hinder it? Can you oppose the almighty hand of Jehovah that he shall
not accomplish His purposes? It cannot be done. You may afflict, you
may pass laws, you may call upon distant nations to help you, you may
shut down the emigration against the Latter-day Saints, you may drive
them, you may burn their houses—you may do all this, but they will
continue to live and to stretch forth in spite of all the powers
beneath the heavens, and become a great people under the Constitution
of this great land. We never want to be freed from the Constitution of
our country. It is built upon heavenly principles. It is established
as firm as the rock of ages, and when those that abuse it shall
moulder in corruption under the surface of the earth, the American
Constitution will stand and no people can destroy it, because God
raised it by our ancient fathers, and inspired them to frame that
sacred instrument. The Constitution is one thing; corrupt politicians
are another thing. One may be bright as the sun at noonday, the other
as corrupt as hell itself; that is the difference. Because we have a
good Constitution that is no sign that the strong arm of the law,
founded upon that Constitution, will protect the minority as well as
the majority. The politician may suffer the majority to trample upon
the rights guaranteed by that Constitution to the minority. They have
done it before, and perchance they will continue to do it until they
are wasted away. Then will be fulfilled another saying in this same
chapter which I have read—"For thou shalt break forth on the right
hand and on the left; and thy seed shall inherit the Gentiles, and
make the desolate cities to be inhabited." Now, there are a great many
cities in the United States that will not be totally destroyed when
the inhabitants are swept off the surface of the earth. Their houses,
their desolate cities will still remain unoccupied until Zion in her
glory and strength shall enlarge the place of her tents, and stretch
[p.32] forth the curtains of her habitations. That is the destiny of
this nation, and the destiny of the Latter-day Saints. Amen.

John Taylor, January 21, 1883

The Church Based Upon the Principle of Perfect Freedom—
When a President Resigns, His Counselors Go Out of Office
—High Priests to Preside—Presidents Choose Their Own 
Counselors—All Authorities Sustained By Vote of the 
Saints—Position of Presidents Cannon and Smith If President 
Taylor Should Resign—Saints not to Interfere With 
the Religion of Others.

Delivered at Ogden, Sunday, January 21st, 1883.

(Reported By Geo. F. Gibbs)

vol. 24, p.32
We convene in Conference in the various Stakes that everything
pertaining to the interests of the Stakes may be considered in those
conferences, and that all matters may be properly represented, and all
the Saints have the privilege of voting for or against those officers
who are presented to the Conference for their acceptance. It is also
usual to vote for the officers of Wards in the Wards over which they
preside, such as Bishops and their Counselors, with all the Lesser
Priesthood, so that there may be perfect unanimity in all our acts.
Because the Church of God is based upon the principle of perfect
freedom of action. And while, as was said this morning, we have a
Priesthood and an organization, and proper authority in the Church and
Kingdom of God, it is proper that all of these authorities should be
presented from time to time before the people, that all the people
everywhere, not only in a Stake, but in all the Stakes, as well as at
the General Conference, may have the opportunity if they know of
anything wrong, anything immoral or unrighteous associated with the
acts of any of the leading authorities of the Church, of speaking of
it, that everything and everybody may be properly presented and that
the conduct of all men may be intelligently scrutinized; for, if we
cannot bear the scrutiny of our brethren upon earth, how shall we be
able to meet the scrutiny and investigations of our heavenly Father
when we shall stand before Him. And  if there is anything immoral or
unrighteous, of any kind, it is proper [p.33] and expedient that it be
righted; and this applies quite as much to the Presidency, the Twelve
and the leading authorities as to any other individual in the Church;
in order that everything may be presented in its proper form, and
everybody have a full opportunity of offering their ideas and views in
regard to these matters.

vol. 24, p.33
Now I want to say a little on some of the votes that have been taken
this afternoon, in order that we may comprehend the situation. You
have had a new name presented before you for the President of your
Stake. Brother Peery, who was your former President resigned his
office, which he had a perfect right to do; and we have nothing to say
about it. It was according to his own feelings freely expressed to me
and to others. It was necessary that his place should be filled. We
selected Bishop L. W. Shurtliff, for whom you have just voted; and
that is all right, and having done so you ought now to sustain him. In
regard to the Counselors of the President, when he resigned and his
place was filled, they also ceased to act as Counselors; they were
dropped as authorities of the Stake with the President of the Stake,
not because of any act of theirs. These brethren are good men. Here is
Brother Herrick, for instance, he has maintained a good reputation,
and a good position in the Church; but he was Counselor to a man who
resigned his office; and as I have said, when the President resigned
to whom they were Counselors they also ceased to act as such. The
question arises, who shall be the Counselors to the new President?
That rests with the new President and those that put him in office;
and it seems that he has retained one of the old Counselors, Brother
Middleton, and has chosen a new one; and that is right. Is. there any
disposition to hurt Brother Herrick? Not in the least. I speak of
these things for your information, in order that all may comprehend
the true position. For instance, supposing that I, as President of the
Church, were to resign, or anything should occur to me, what would be
the result? My Counselors would drop into their former place in the
Quorum of the Twelve; and whoever succeeded me would have the
selection of his own Counselors with the approval of the General
Conference. He might and he might not retain as his Counselors those
whom I have chosen. It is proper that we should understand these
things in order that the right kind of feeling may exist, and no
improper reflection be cast upon any person.

vol. 24, p.33
The High Priests occupy a position in their Priesthood whereby they
are enabled to perform the various duties that they may be called upon
to fill. You will find in reading the Doctrine and Covenants the
following statement regarding the quorum of High Priests: "Which
ordinance is instituted for the purpose of qualifying those who shall
be appointed standing presidents or servants over different Stakes
scattered abroad." That is, it is the duty of High Priests to preside;
the principle of Presidency is connected with them. You have a High
Priests' Quorum over which Brother Farr presides; what is the duty of
that quorum? To meet together to instruct one another, in regard to
the principles of the government of the Church and kingdom of God;
that its members may understand the various organizations of the
Church, the laws and the principles of government thereof, and the
various duties they may be [p.34] called upon to fill; it may be to
occupy the position of a President of a Stake; it may be a Counselor
to the President; it may be a High Counselor; it may be a Bishop or
his Counselor. There are divers positions that High Priests are called
to occupy, as deaths and other changes often transpire, and new Stakes
and Wards are being organized. But the changes do not affect the
status of the individual at all, as in the case of Brother Herrick,
referred to. Here is Brother Shurtliff called from acting as Bishop to
be the President of a Stake; have we a right to do that? Yes. Who is
the Bishop? A High Priest. His place being vacated, that position
needs supplying, and who shall supply it? These things are left for
the counsel and the deliberation of the proper authorities to operate
in for the welfare of the Church as far as they know how, and
according to the best judgment they possess; and then they should be
presented to the people for them to vote upon. But in dropping a
President it drops his Counselors. They were selected to be his
Counselors, not somebody else's; and when some one else takes his
place, then he should have his own Counselors. These are the views
entertained on this subject, and they are correct and very proper. The
order of the Church is for us to fulfill and magnify the calling to
which we are called, and do it with an eye single to the glory of God,
each man fulfilling the various duties and responsibilities of his.
office. I referred this morning to the feelings that prompted the acts
of the Savior while upon the earth. He came not to do His own will,
but the will of His Father who sent Him. It was a hard thing for Him
to do. Did you ever think of it? When He found the accumulated weight
of the sins of the world rolling upon His head, his feelings were so
intense that He sweat great drops of blood. Could I tell it, or could
you? No. Suffice it to say that He bore the sins of the world, and,
when laboring under the pressure of those intense agonies, He
exclaimed, "Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass." But it was
not possible. It was the decree of God; the flat of the great Jehovah,
and he had it to do. And on the cross He was heard to exclaim, "It is
finished." And he gave up the ghost; and went to move in another
sphere, having atoned for the sins of the world and fulfilled His
mission given Him in the flesh.

vol. 24, p.34
We also have been called and set apart to perform a certain mission;
and the Holy Priesthood has been conferred upon us that we may be
enabled to perform the various duties devolving upon us. And many of
our duties are not of the most pleasing nature, and yet we cannot
shrink from them any more than Jesus could; we have them to do. It is
not a very pleasing thing for our Elders to go forth to the nations of
the earth to preach the Gospel without purse or scrip, and then to be
opposed, persecuted, maligned and abused, and even outraged in many
instances. Yet it is a duty placed upon us by the Almighty, and we
have to perform that duty as Jesus performed His, and our Elders go
forth weeping, bearing precious seeds, the words of life and
salvation, carrying in some instances their lives in their hands. This
is required of us. Why? Because all men are the offspring of God, in
whom He is equally interested.

vol. 24, p.34
Then we as Saints of God have duties to perform. We have to build up
His Church according to [p.35] the plan which He has appointed, and
according to the order that He has revealed. Those of you who heard
Brother Lyman yesterday, heard him describe the manner of entering
into the Church of God, also the powers and privileges associated
therewith. Those who heard Brother Joseph F., this morning, heard him
speak about the organization of the Church, and the various orders and
principles, powers and authorities associated therewith. These are so
many principles introduced by the Lord. None of us, as was remarked,
introduced any of them; none of us know them, neither do the world
know them to-day. God introduced and put in order those principles
that have been communicated to us in regard to the Gospel and in
regard to the organization of the Church, and the various offices
thereof, and everything pertaining thereto. And this Church and
kingdom has been placed in communion with the kingdom in the heavens,
with the Church triumphant, as it is sometimes called. And the Church
is a living principle, a living power, a living communion; and as in
former times God placed in the Church Apostles and Prophets, Pastors
and Teachers for the perfecting of the Saints, for the work of the
ministry, and for the edifying of the body of Christ, until we all
come in the unity of the faith, and a knowledge of the Son of God; so
it is in these latter-days. He has revealed His will, His law, His
power and His Priesthood; and He has been pleased to receive us as
members and officers of His Church. And it is for us to magnify our
calling and honor our God in any and every position that we may be
called upon to fill. Paul said on a certain occasion, that a
dispensation of the Gospel had been committed to him, and it was woe
unto him if he preached it not. So we may say, that a dispensation of
the Gospel has been committed to us; and woe be unto us if we preach
it not; woe be unto us if we fulfill not the duties and obligations
that are devolving upon us. I would say that this Priesthood is not
for the honor of man, not for his exaltation alone; but it is imparted
to man in order that he may be made the medium of salvation to others.
It is true it is honorable to be a servant of God; it is true it is
honorable to hold any office in the Church and kingdom of God; it is
true there is not a more honorable position that a man can hold than
to be found in the family of faith and the household of God, to belong
to the Church and kingdom of God—there is nothing more honorable than
that. Talking of the Elder, why he is a herald of salvation; he is a
legate of the skies; he is commissioned of the great Jehovah to bear a
message to the nations of the earth, and God has promised to sustain
him. He has always sustained His faithful Elders, and He always will.
And what of the Elder He is commanded to call upon men to believe in
Jesus Christ, to repent of their sins, and to be baptized for the
remission of sins, promising them the gift of the Holy Ghost; and all
who obey the requirements receive this divine gift. Is that true? Do
you Elders not know that to be true? Does not this congregation know
that it is true? And when you obeyed the Gospel, when you had hands
laid upon your heads for the reception of the Holy Ghost, did you not
receive it? If you were honest, you did; if you were true and sincere
you did, and you are my witnesses as to the truth of these things of
which I speak. [p.36] What does it prove? It proves that God is with
the Elders of Israel; it proves that God lives. Is not that a great
witness to the Latter-day Saints, and is it not a witness to the
world? Who dare come before the world with such a statement? Nobody
but those that have the authority, as the Lord sanctions and
acknowledges none excepting those that are authorized of Him.

vol. 24, p.36
Is there any greater position that man can occupy upon the earth than
to be engaged as a herald of salvation, commissioned of the great
Jehovah to proclaim the words of life to a fallen world, and to call
upon them to repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus for the
remission of sins, promising them if they do it that they shall
receive the Holy Ghost? This is the position occupied by our Elders,
as well as that occupied by Seventies and High Priests. They go forth
in the name of the Lord; and people believe their testimony and gather
here. And why? Because they would not allow you to worship God in the
world whence you came, and they will scarcely do it here.

vol. 24, p.36
We talk a great deal about the religious liberty that is guaranteed
unto us in this land of the free, home of the brave and asylum for the
oppressed; yet men are contriving all the time to deprive us of the
rights of conscience, and of religious liberty. And what of it? Would
we treat them as they treat us? No, no, no; a thousand times no. Why
not? Says Jesus, "The servant is not greater than his lord. If they
have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my
saying, they will keep yours also." On the same occasion He said to
His disciples, after commanding them to love one another, "If the
world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. If ye
were of the world, the world would love its own; but because ye are
not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore
the world hateth you." There was then, and there is to-day, and there
always has been, a spirit of antagonism between the powers of light
and the powers of darkness. There has been a conflict in the world
ever since the creation of man to the present time. And that spirit of
antagonism to the truth that existed in former ages exists in this
age, and we have reason to know it. Is it because we are wicked that
we are opposed? We are not as good as we might be by a great deal, it
is true; we ought to be better than a great many people, and we are;
and our lives and conduct prove it, notwithstanding there are a great
many evils among us that we ought to repent of and put away. Yet, do
we injure anybody? I do not know that we do. Do we wish to deprive
anybody of his rights? Not that I know of. We are accused a good deal
of this and everything else, in fact. Do we wish to interfere with
anybody's religion? I hope you do not do it here. You have Methodists
and Presbyterians and Catholics, as well as other different sects;
would you want to interfere with them? I do not think for a moment,
that you would. We may think that their ideas are foolish in many
respects, but then they have a perfect right to entertain them, and
there are none, I think, that recognize that right sooner than we as
Latter-day Saints. We believe in freedom of conscience; we believe
that all men should be guaranteed the right to Worship God according
to the  dictates of their conscience. Some may want to worship a God
[p.37] without body, parts or passions; a God that sits on the top of
a topless throne; although to me the idea of worshiping such a God
would be most ridiculous, if other people desire to do it, all right,
and they should be protected in that right. But while we accord to all
men the right to think, and the right to worship as they please, we
claim the same right for ourselves. And then we do not want to have a
set of men placed over us in a governmental capacity who do not
recognize the rights of humanity; men who want to control the human
mind. We want to maintain correct principles; and we want to sustain
all men that do maintain them. We have a right to do that. Some,
however, think that we have not that right even; and they are
frequently trying to introduce principles that are at variance with
our constitutional rights. But it is our duty to maintain our rights;
it is our duty to stand up for those principles which guarantee
freedom to man, and we intend to do it, God being our helper; and not
permit the wicked and ungodly, the corrupt and depraved to deprive us
of our rights. But I shall be talking about politics if I keep on much
longer; what I have said, however, is correct, and it affects us as
American citizens. We possess just as many rights as any other
American citizens; and if there is anything contrary to this, it is
contrary to the genius of the institutions of our country. We are all
free and equal, at least, we are supposed to be; but we are not. We
may as well laugh as cry about these things though, as it makes but
little difference. We are engaged in doing the work of God; and we are
seeking to do the will of God; and He has established a Church, which
we, in the name of Israel's God, will help to sustain. And we should
not be concerned about the consequences of our acts. The Lord has all
men in His keeping, and He has us in His keeping; and we cannot do
anything only as He permits us. How could you Elders, who have been
out preaching and baptizing, and confirming members into the Church,
have imparted to them the gift of the Holy Ghost through the laying on
of hands, excepting God were with you. And if God were not with Israel
to-day, Israel could not be sustained. But God is on the side of
Israel; and He will sustain His people if they will observe His laws
and keep His commandments. And no man can successfully fight against
Jehovah, for He will say to any that oppose Zion, as He did to the
waves of the mighty ocean, "Hitherto shalt thou come and no further,
and here shalt thy proud waves be stayed." We are in the hands of God;
and the nation is also in the hands of God; and we can do nothing
unless He permits us; neither can this or any other nation. He
controls them according to the counsel of his own will; and He
manipulates, manages and directs the affairs of the children of men.
He has appointed us to do a work. It is not our work; but we are
willing to do it with His help. Will He be thwarted in His designs? I
tell you, No. The kingdom of God will roll forth, and no man can stay
it. And woe to that man who lifts up his hand against it; for the Lord
is managing this work, not us, and it is His business to take care of
His Saints. Therefore, we feel easy, comfortable, joyous and happy.
And I feel all the day long like singing hallelujah, hallelujah,
hallelujah, the Lord God Omnipotent reigneth; and He will reign until
all His enemies are put under His [p.38] feet. And Zion will progress
and triumph, and the work of God will go forth, and the kingdom of God
will be established, and the Zion of God built up, and all things
spoken of by the holy Prophets will be fulfilled; and the kingdom of
God will progress until the kingdoms of this world become the kingdom
of our God and His Christ; and He will reign forever and ever, and
unrighteousness and wickedness, corruption and evil will be trampled
under His feet. God bless you, and lead you in the paths of life, in
the name of Jesus. Amen.

Geo. Q. Cannon, June 25, 1882

Hostile Feeling Towards the Saints—Their Morality Compared 
With that of the World—Laxity of Laws and Immorality 
in Washington—Object of the Edmunds' Bill—Cause of 
Former Hostility—Saints to Contend for Liberty—Rights of 
Congress—Other Things to Be Dreaded More Than Hostile
 Legislation—Effect of Such Legislation—Shame of 
Congressmen—Destiny of the Saints.

Delivered in the Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Sunday, June 25, 1882.

(Reported By Geo. F. Gibbs)

vol. 24, p.38
I am exceedingly thankful to have the opportunity once more of being
with you and of partaking of that peaceful and sweet influence which
prevails in the midst of this much despised and terribly abused
people. The contrast, to me, is exceedingly marked between the
circumstances in which I have been placed and the influences that I
have had to meet, and those which surround me to-day. There have been
some things which have transpired which have not been very pleasant;
but on the whole, I can truthfully say, the t I have enjoyed myself
better than I expected, and probably much better than many of you
would suppose that one under the circumstances could do. At no time,
in my experience—in my life, have I ever seen a more embittered
feeling manifested against the Latter-day Saints than prevailed during
this past winter. You have had opportunities of understanding this to
some extent, for you have felt that influence here, and you have seen
its effects in the results that haw been wrought out. And I suppose if
we were like  other people we should have been terribly alarmed at the
manifestations we have [p.39] witnessed. There was a time when it
seemed as though all hell had broken loose, and that nothing less than
the entire destruction of the organization of the Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints would satisfy popular clamor. A most
extraordinary manifestation, especially when we consider the absence
of all provocation for such an outburst of wrath. If a person last
winter had come into Utah Territory and traveled through our
settlements, visiting the houses of the people and examining the
condition of affairs here, he would have found it difficult to
understand the cause of all the excitement that was raging throughout
the United States concerning this people. If there are those who do
not believe in the existence of spiritual powers and influences, let
them examine into this Utah question and the effects of its agitation
upon the public mind, and it seems to me they must be convinced that
there are unseen powers which operate upon the minds of the people at
large, to produce such extraordinary outbursts of prejudice and
passion as we have witnessed—fifty millions of people stirred up from
one end of the land to the other by a tornado of passion, unreasoning,
blind, besotted, bloodthirsty, which has carried men and women before
it, and has dethroned reason, concerning a people who were quietly
pursuing their avocations, molesting none, doing nothing that could be
construed by any reasonable person into anything that would be
offensive.

vol. 24, p.39
It is generally supposed that we are living in an enlightened age.
Popular preachers claim that this is the crowning generation for
light, and knowledge, and truth; that we are living in fact, in the
full blaze of Gospel light and glory. Politicians also claim that this
republican government of the United States is the fruit of the ripened
experience of all the ages; the product of the accumulated wisdom of
the centuries; that human aspirations finds the fullest development
under our form of government. This is the boast of the press, and
these are the teachings of the pulpit. And yet, through agencies which
boast of their enlightenment, this whirlwind of passion to which I
have alluded—this spasm of feeling that has convulsed the nation, has
swept over the land, and everything has been done that was possible to
make it destructive in its effects upon the objects of its wrath. I
have thought, and have sometimes expressed myself, that if lies could
destroy a people, we should have been buried out of sight long ago.
The basest and most malignant and most cruel, the most unfounded and
causeless misrepresentations and falsehoods have been circulated, and
men and women who knew nothing about us, preachers who had no idea of
our real belief, and editors who had no conception of the true
condition of affairs in this Territory, have all lent themselves,
sometimes understandingly, and other times ignorantly to do everything
in their power to destroy an innocent people. And what has been the
crime? We have been accused of immorality. God knows if that were to
be a crime sufficient to evoke destruction, there would be other
communities visited with wrath besides ours, even if we were all that
we are painted. But the fact is, there is no other Territory or State
in the United States—and I say this knowingly and
understandingly—where virtue is respected, revered and protected as it
is in Utah. There is no other community in the United States in [p.40]
which more young men grow up to manhood pure, in proportion to the
population than in the Territory of Utah.

vol. 24, p.40
As I have repeatedly said, we believe in marriage, we have opened the
door in that direction, and we say to the sexes marry; but we close
the door in the other direction, and say, you shall not commit
adultery, you shall not seduce, defile, prostitute or lead astray
innocent beings; if you do, and we had the power, we would punish you.
It seems like a paradox that those who do that which is according to
their religion should be punished, while those who trample upon their
religion should go free. And yet this is really true. All that we can
be accused of is, we have embodied in our religion practices that
belonged to the Patriarchs, which we believe, and so declare, God has
revealed to us, for the purposes of salvation and of producing greater
purity and of checking the flood of vice that is sweeping through the
land and sapping the foundation of this nation and all the nations of
Christendom. We have adopted the principle of plural marriage as part
of our religion. We have not led women astray, we have protected them.
We have not coerced them or used violence, but have thrown around them
a shield of protection, and at the same time have left them to
exercise the fullest liberty and the most extensive right of free
choice in every respect. But this is a sin; this shocks, we are told,
the moral sense of the nation. While, on the other hand, there are
communities who say they do not believe in adultery or in
seduction—that is, their religion teaches them that these things are
wrong; but many of whose members practice these crimes, and yet they
pass along unnoticed and undisturbed. Salt Lake City is 2,400 miles
from Washington—a remote place; it might be supposed the effect of our
examples, if they were bad, would not reach that distance; that if
there was any contagion flowing from our practices it would have
expended its force before traveling that far. But in Washington City,
at the head of the government, where Congress has unquestioned
jurisdiction, there is no law against adultery; no one can be punished
in the District for violating the marriage vow; that escapes the
attention of Congress. So with fornication; it goes unpunished, unless
it should be of so flagrant a character, done in so open and indecent
a manner as to excite public condemnation. Now if morality were to he
achieved it might be thought that Washington would be a fine field for
the exercise of the power that is unquestionably invested in the
Congress of the United States. I presented this view of the question
to Senator Edmunds, when this bill, which has since become a law, was
being discussed. I called his attention to the fact that it was not an
unfrequent thing, in taking up an evening paper in Washington City, to
read accounts of the finding of two or three infants that had been
cast away or deserted by their inhuman mothers, found in vacant lots
and in out-of-the-way places, and that too in the most elegant city to
be found in the United States. It appeared to me, as I said to him,
that Washington