Journal of Discourses Volume 26

BY PRESIDENT JOHN TAYLOR,

HIS COUNSELORS, 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. XXVI.

ENTERED AT STATIONERS' HALL.

LIVERPOOL: 
PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY DANIEL H. 
WELLS, 42, ISLINGTON.

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

1886.[p.iii] 

Preface

Vol. 26,  p.iii
BY the blessing of our Heavenly Father we are enabled to present to
our readers Volume Twenty-six of the JOURNAL of DISCOURSES.

Vol. 26,  p.iii
It will not be less appreciated because its completion has been some
what delayed by the unsettled condition of things in Utah, caused by
persecution. The First Presidency and many of the Apostles have had to
partially withdraw from public life to avoid the consequences of mock
trials and packed juries with which a prejudiced and wicked judiciary
are seeking to harass the servants of God, and hence public discourses
by these brethren have lately been rare.

Vol. 26,  p.iii
But while power is thus given to our enemies for a little season, when
the purposes of the Almighty have been accomplished thereby, this
temporary cloud will pass away and leave Zion purer, freer and more
powerful than before.

THE PUBLISHER[p.1] 

Franklin D. Richards, October 5, 1884

Blessings Follow Certain Ordinances

Discourse By Apostle F. D. Richards, Delivered in the 
Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Sunday Morning, October 5th, 1884.

(Reported By John Irvine)

[Being the portion omitted in last volume.]

Vol. 26,  p.1
The whole tenor of God's dealings and instructions to His people have
been enriched and adorned with affectionate remembrance, instruction
and illustration of the youth of His people. They are the redeemed of
Christ from before the foundation of the world. Jesus said their
angels or spirits do always behold the face of my Father which is in
heaven. He has promised that they shall come forth in the first
resurrection, that they "shall grow up until they become old," and
when he would demonstrate who should be greatest in the kingdom of
heaven,—He took a little child and placed him in their midst, saying,
"Except ye repent and become as this little child, ye can in no wise
enter therein; but whosoever shall humble himself as this little
child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven; and whosoever
shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me."

Vol. 26,  p.1
In relation to all these matters, there is a great deal of importance
attached to them, not only in the matter of our children—which seems
to be of primary importance to us,—but in the preaching of the Gospel.
We that have ministered in the Gospel have learned of the truth of
that Gospel, and are able to comprehend by the Spirit in some degree
the revelations and commandments which have been given for the
guidance of the Church. It is by virtue of repentance and baptism for
the remission of sins that men's sins are remitted. It is by attending
to certain ordinances that the blessings of eternity are sealed upon
us, and by which in the plain language of the Scriptures, our calling
and election are made sure. But we must obey those ordinances in faith
or their efficacy will not avail. Our Elders go abroad and preach to
the world, and their hearts are filled with charity and loving
kindness towards their fellow creatures. They administer to the sick
among the Saints, and they are often called upon to administer to
those who do not belong to the Church, to whom they administer
according to their faith, and thus the power of faith through the
ordinance of God is made manifest among the children of men.

Vol. 26,  p.1
But there is one ordinance that the Elders may have perhaps neglected
and I do not know but I have myself—and that is, that if we enter a
house and the people thereof receive us, there our peace should abide.
This was the instruction of the Savior in His day; and if we enter
[p.2] a house and the people receive us not, then we should go away
and return not again to that house, and wash our feet with pure water,
as testimony against them in the day of judgment, and thus bear
witness unto the Lord that we have offered them salvation, that we
have sought to preach to them the principles of everlasting life that
we have offered to them the Gospel of peace and desired to administer
unto them a blessing. The same is applicable to a town, village or
city that rejects you. In this way you do your duty and leave them in
the hands of the Lord. You are not called upon to contend with any
body in public congregations, or to do anything that would stir up
wrath and indignation. The Savior simply told his disciples to wash
their feet as a testimony against such people. But the generous,
charitable feeling of our Elders prompts them not to do a thing
against anybody; they would rather pour out a blessing upon the whole
people. Consequently, it is a very rare thing that this ordinance is
attended to by the Elders of this last dispensation—speaking from my
own experience, and conversation had with the brethren. But when it
comes to this, that we are persecuted and our lives taken, it would
seem as if this was a duty depending upon those Elders who are thrust
out, and warned away from their fields of labor. These things have
happened of late, and it seems a duty devolving upon the Elders to do
that which the law requires and leave the responsibility of its
reception or rejection with the people and their God. We have no
quarrel with anybody. We simply preach the Gospel to the inhabitants
of the earth. If they receive it, well and good; if they will not,
then it is a matter between them and their God; but the Lord requires
this duty at the hands of his servants.

Vol. 26,  p.2
Again, we go abroad and gather in many people to this place, and they
desire to find work. One of the brethren has referred to this matter
and likened it unto a man going into a field and working diligently to
plow the field, sow the grain, harrow it in, harvest it, and then
leave it to waste. It is too much so in bringing home our brethren and
our sisters to this country and not furnishing them labor. It is a
very pleasing thought that occasionally companies of 400 or 500
people, or even 1,000, are delivered here from abroad. Why is it
pleasing? Because it shows the work of God is progressing; it shows
that God is gathering home His Saints, and soon after their arrival,
the new comers are taken home by their friends and relatives, and
provided for, made comfortable until another spring, or until they
look around and find or make a home. And it is a blessed thought that,
notwithstanding hundreds and thousands of people are brought here
yearly and cared for, so great a proportion of them live in their own
homes, raise their own cows, pigs, chickens, etc.

Vol. 26,  p.2
Frequently when we go to the Seventies and ask some of them if they
are willing to go on a mission to preach the Gospel, one replies: "I
am no preacher at all; I could not preach a sermon if I were to try:"
and wind up by saying: "If I can't go out myself and preach, I am
willing to help support the families of missionaries while they are
gone." Many have said this, and many more of them have thought it.

Vol. 26,  p.2
The Seventies are a numerous concourse of men who are called in
connection with the Twelve to see [p.3] that the Gospel is carried to
the nations of the earth. Many of them are aged—some having been in
the Church almost from the days of its first organization in Ohio, and
many since the days of Nauvoo—too aged to be called to go upon
missions—yet they could help their brethren coming in to find
employment, and as do the Twelve after having labored in the vineyard
to help gather the harvest, labor together in the threshing floor to
help garner the wheat, clean it, and assist to make it fit for the
Master's use. The younger men, after having secured homes for their
families, feel free to go on missions, knowing that their interests at
home are not being neglected.

Vol. 26,  p.3
If the aged Seventies and all men of experience would interest
themselves in the different parts of the Territory, and find or make
work for the newcomers, they might do a vast deal of good. They might
help their brethren who come in from the old country so obtain a
living. When we first came here every man had to be a farmer, had to
cultivate the land in order to obtain a living. Today many of the
brethren who come from the old country have no idea of farming, and
have never, perhaps raised a chicken, a pig or a cow. The brethren
should take hold, therefore, and assist each other in these things.
Let us help to build each other up more earnestly and more extensively
than we have done. Let us not cultivate feelings of covetousness to
the crowding out of those ennobling and generous sentiments which
should fill the bosom of every Latter-day Saint.

Vol. 26,  p.3
My brethren, you are Elders in Israel, and the blessing and power of
the Priesthood are upon you. Therefore we should do all the good we
can, that those of our brethren who are constantly coming in here may
obtain work, that they may not be led away, through idleness, into
sin, and their hearts be turned away from the Gospel which they have
embraced.

George Q. Cannon, November 20, 1884

Causes that Govern Us in Settling New Places—Our 
Respect for the Constitution of Our Country—We Must not 
Concede Principle for the Privilege of State Government—Practical 
Men Have Held Office—the Kingdom of God Protects All 
Religion—Holding the Priesthood Should not Disqualify 
From Holding Civil Office or Giving Counsel

Discourse By President George Q. Cannon, Delivered in the 
Tabernacle, Provo, Sunday Afternoon, Nov. 20th, 1884.

Reported By John Irvine

Vol. 26,  p.3
IN attempting to address you this afternoon, my brethren and sisters,
I trust I shall have the assistance of your faith and prayers, that I
may be led to speak upon those principles that are adapted to your
[p.4] circumstances and wants. We as a people are living at a time
when we need the assistance and direction of the Spirit of God. To be
taught by men and by men's wisdom in our position would be of little
or no avail to us, from the fact that the conditions which surround us
are different in many respects from those which surround every other
people. We are a peculiar people. We are not bound together by
associations such as exist among other peoples. We have not come
together because this land suited us, and was desirable for us to make
a living in, but we have gathered to this land through force of
circumstances over which, to a certain extent, we had no control. We
have come together impelled by motives such as do not operate upon
ordinary people, and having objects to accomplish such as are not
thought of nor labored for by others. Other people, when they form
settlements such as we have in these mountains, are generally drawn
together, if they are new settlements, by the advantages of locality,
by the opportunities for making a living or in creating wealth, or for
some consideration or reason of this character—that is in the first
place. Afterwards, in succeeding generations, they stay there because
it is their birth place, because it is the home in which they have
been reared. But these considerations have not influenced us in our
settlement in these valleys. It is due to none of these causes that we
are organized in communities as we are to-day, but it is due to causes
that are higher and diverse from those that operate upon other people
where they form settlements such as we have done. Hence, this being
our condition, it requires wisdom, it requires strength, it requires
enlightenment from God, to enable us to maintain ourselves upon the
principle that we came here in the beginning for, and to escape the
evils by which we are threatened. We believe that it was God who led
us to this land; that it was God who prepared this land as an abode
for us; that it has been His Almighty power that has preserved us thus
far, and has ameliorated the condition of affairs—that is the soil and
the climate and the water—that has produced changes that have made
this land desirable and a delightful home for us—and that there has
been a purpose and a design in all this, and that we have been the
instruments in the hands of God of working out and accomplishing that
design up to the present time. Hence there is, as I have said, a
necessity that we should receive from the same source that has
hitherto guided us, continued guidance and continued instruction, so
that we shall not stop hallway in the work that we have undertaken,
but by divine help be able to accomplish it.

Vol. 26,  p.4
There were some reflections that passed through my mind as I sat in
your meeting this morning concerning the circumstances which surround
us, that if I can get the Spirit I would like to speak upon.

Vol. 26,  p.4
In the first place it will not do to judge or measure us by the
standards that obtain among other people, and by which people are
measured in other places. To form a correct judgment of the Latter-day
Saints, men must understand the motives which prompt them to action,
the considerations which affect them, and the objects they have in
view to accomplish; to form a correct estimate of our character these
all must be taken into consideration. But it is often the case that we
are measured by standards that do not apply to us, which may very well
answer for [p.5] measuring other people and other communities, but not
for us, and in consequence of this we are frequently misjudged, and
men and women come to incorrect conclusions respecting us. Fault is
constantly found with us by our enemies because of these peculiarities
which they do understand, or which if they do not understand, they pay
no attention to. For instance, it is frequently said to us that we are
a disloyal people, that we are not friends to the government, that we
respect a power and an authority in our midst which we consider
paramount to the authority of the government; and because of the
circulation of this accusation and its wide-spread belief, we are
refused rights to which we are fully entitled, which belong to us,
which should not be withheld from or denied to us. It is very
remarkable when we think about our numbers, how few we are,
comparatively speaking,—it is very remarkable that there should be
such jealousy entertained about us as there is. Pharaoh and the
Egyptians were never more afraid apparently of the great power of the
children of Israel in their midst than our fellow-citizens, and many
of them too that are in high places, appear to be afraid of us. They
seem to look upon us as aliens, as an alien power, and treat us
accordingly, when there is not the least justification for doing so.

Vol. 26,  p.5
Now, you remember, doubtless, Pharaoh's treatment of the Israelites,
He saw that they were increasing, and he became alarmed. "Why," said
he, "If we were going to have a war, these Israelites are becoming so
numerous they may join our enemies and take away our kingdom from us.
We must stop their increase." And he counseled with his people as to
the best method to stop this increase. He issued a decree that all
male children that were born of the Israelites should be destroyed and
cast into the river Nile, but that the female children should be
spared. In this way he hoped to check the increase of the children of
Israel in Egypt. There is nothing in history that has come down to us
to furnish grounds or justification for this cruel action on the part
of this king. But this action was well adapted to force the children
of Israel into the feeling that the government under which they lived
was a harsh, a cruel and an unfriendly government, and to create
antipathy in their breasts against it. In this way this tyrant—as all
tyrants have ever della—in trying to accomplish the object he had in
view, took the very means to bring upon himself and his nation the
evils that he dreaded; because if he had desired to make the
Israelites join the enemies of the nation and be traitors in the midst
of the kingdom he could not have taken a more effective method than
that which he did take.

Vol. 26,  p.5
And so it is with us. If we had not had a profound attachment to the
Constitution of the United States and to the institutions of this
government, the course that is taken against us by those who have
represented the government has been and is of a character to have
driven us into open and avowed enmity to the government years and
years ago. Without that deep-rooted attachment we should have lost all
our respect for a government under which we have suffered such cruel
wrongs. There could be no better evidence of the kind feeling and the
loyalty of the Latter-day Saints to the government of the United
States, than the fact that in our breasts and throughout these
mountains, there prevails an unquenchable love and [p.6] respect for
the Constitution and the institutions that spring therefrom,
notwithstanding we have been denied our rights and been treated with
the utmost cruelty. There is scarcely an act of oppression that could
be practiced that we have not had to endure, from the time the church
of which we are members, was organized up to the present time. We have
been falsely accused of all kinds of crimes, have been mobbed and
repeatedly driven from our homes with the entire loss of our property,
have been outraged, warred upon, subjected to violence of almost every
description, and murdered. One by one our rights have been assailed.
We have been stripped of them under forms of law; we have been denied
justice, and treated with extreme vindictiveness. Our families—if
those who had the execution of the laws in their hands could have
accomplished it—would have been rent asunder; wives would have been
torn from their husbands, children from their parents; households
would have been destroyed; distrust and enmity and hatred would have
been engendered in the breasts of the people one towards another—that
is, if the measures that have been framed against us could have been
successfully carried out as they were designed by those who framed
them. Just think of it! Think of the manner the women of this
community have been tempted to turn traitors to their husbands and
their friends! Every inducement possible has been offered to them to
turn against and betray their husbands, and the seeds of enmity have
been sown, or have endeavored to be sown, in the breasts of families,
and of children against parents, and against each other, throughout
the entire land. When you contemplate all these acts, they equal in
cruelty and perfidy, and inhumanity, any of the acts of which we read
in the Scriptures. Men are shocked when they read the story of the
treatment of the Israelites by Pharaoh. All the preachers throughout
the land, when they read that, comment more or less upon it to their
congregations, and talk about the cruelty of which that king was
guilty, and praise the Israelites, and praise Moses for that which
they did. At the same time they are guilty themselves of as great
crimes. They are guilty of inciting a government against its
citizens—its peaceful citizens—and stirring up the government to acts
of harshness, of cruelty, and even some of them go so far as to defend
the use of the army by the government to destroy a peaceful people
from the face of the earth.

Vol. 26,  p.6
Now, as I have said, no people in the world have given greater proofs
of attachment to their own government, and of devotion to those sacred
principles of liberty that we have inherited than the Latter-day
Saints have done in these mountains. But, as I have said, the cry is
still that we are disloyal; that we unite church and state; that we
have an authority in our midst that we respect and obey, while we
disregard the civil authority of the land. These things are a frequent
cause of complaint against us, and we are denied our rights. We
to-day, should be a State. This Territory of Utah should be one of the
United States. We should have the right to elect our own Governor, to
elect our own Judges, to elect every officer in fact that executes the
laws or has anything to do with the administration of the government
in our own land. We have been here 37 years, and during 34 years of
that [p.7] time we have been an organized Territorial government,
longer than any other community on the continent except New Mexico,
which was organized at the same time. Other Territories have sprung up
and had speedy recognition as States, and are now numbered as members
of the Union years after we settled this country. There is no good
reason why we should not have had this same right granted unto us; no
good reason whatever. We have shown our capability for good
government, for maintaining good government. Our Territory to day is
an example for maintaining to all the Territories and to many States,
so far as good government is concerned, and freedom from debt, and
everything in fact that makes life enjoyable and easy for the citizen.
We are lightly taxed, and we have maintained ourselves without aid
from the general government or from any other community; while other
communities that have had nothing like the difficulties to contend
with that we have had, have been beggars either at the door of the
National Congress, or of their neighboring States and their fellow
citizens. When other places were visited by grasshoppers, the whole
land resounded with appeals for aid; but though we for five years in
succession, in some of our settlements, had crops destroyed by the
same cause, yet no wail went up from Utah, asking the nation for help.
We have been so independent, and so disposed to sustain ourselves, and
to fight our own battles with the difficulties that environed us, that
we have managed to get along without having recourse to this method of
obtaining assistance, and in this respect our course has been
unexampled.

Vol. 26,  p.7
Now, as I say, there is no good reason why we should not have been
admitted as a State in the Union, except for the reason, and that has
no foundation in truth, that we are not to be trusted, that we are in
such a condition that if we were to get a State government there would
be danger resulting from that grant of power unto us. Of course all of
you, my brethren and sisters, know how untrue this is, how utterly
without foundation such accusations are, but, nevertheless, they are
listened to and believed.

Vol. 26,  p.7
Efforts have been made among us to change this condition of affairs.
There have been, and still are, perhaps, some who call themselves
Latter-day Saints, who are almost ready to lend themselves to any
scheme that has for its object the obtaining of a State organization
for Utah. Such persons look upon this as so great a blessing and so
great a boon, that they are almost willing to forego their religious
belief and to pander to those who have got power, and to make some
sort of a concession to them, in order to achieve this, what they
consider, very desirable end. There has been some agitation in years
past respecting plural marriage, and some people, calling themselves
Latter-day Saints, have been almost ready to go into the open market,
and bid for a State government, at the price of conceding this
principle of our religion, for the privilege of becoming a State of
the Union. Those who are ready to do this are ready also to cast off
obedience to the Priesthood of the Son of God, and to say, "We do not
believe that men who hold an office in the Church should have any
voice in the affairs of the State." They are ready to sell out their
belief as Latter-day Saints, and their veneration and reverence for
that power which God has restored, for the sake of obtaining a little
recognition [p.8] of their rights as citizens, on the part of those in
power. It does not require much familiarity with the Spirit of God, or
with the principles of our holy religion to understand exactly the
position that such persons as these to whom I allude, occupy among us.
When a man is ready to barter any principle of salvation for worldly
advantage, that man certainly has reached the position that he esteems
worldly advantage above eternal salvation. Can such persons retain the
Spirit of God, and take such a course as this? No, they cannot. That
other spirit will lead such persons astray, and they will be left to
themselves. Will there be such persons continue among us and be
associated with us? I do not question it. I expect we shall have such
characters with us, during our future career as we have had in the
past. We have had all sorts of people connected with this Church. As
the work rolls forth, as it increases in numbers, so will these
characters increase—that is, for a certain time, until the day comes
when the kingdom of God and the reign of righteousness shall be fully
ushered in.

Vol. 26,  p.8
Now, regarding this accusation that is made concerning the Priesthood:
It is the most common charge that is made against us that we listen to
the Priesthood, that we are more obedient to the Priesthood than we
are to those who hold civil authority. The question may be very
properly asked: Have we not had good reason for this? Should we not be
most consummate fools it we did not listen to our friends instead of
our enemies? From the time that President Young was superseded as
Governor of this Territory, until the present time, what kind of
officers have we had sent into our midst to administer the affairs of
the government? Has there been a man who has come here as Governor,
who has had the ability, even if he had the disposition, to guide and
to counsel the people of this Territory, and to manage its affairs as
well as the men among us who have had leading positions in the
Priesthood? Why, there is not an instance of the kind. You take the
best disposed Governor we have had—and they are easily mentioned, the
few that we have had who have been well disposed—you take them and
compare them with the men who laid the foundation of this
commonwealth, who laid the foundation of this Territorial government,
and built up this government, and there is no comparison between them.
So that, aside from every other consideration, men are ustified in
seeking wisdom and guidance at the best fountain, at the best source.
If I want counsel I will go to the men who are fitted to give me
counsel. If I were not a Latter-day Saint it would make no difference
to me who the person was if lie could give me good counsel. If he was
a man of ripe experience I would feel justified in going to that man
and getting his advice.

Vol. 26,  p.8
This has been our position as a people. We have had men among us who
have proved themselves in the best possible manner, beyond dispute, to
to be entirely capable of directing and managing and counseling in all
matters that pertain to our earthly existence. Have they not shown
this through years and years of experience? The people have proved
them. Now, would not the people be great fools, would it not be the
height of folly for people who have this knowledge to say: "No, I
won't ask these men for counsel; I won't go to them for advice; I
won't listen to anything they say, because [p.9] if I do so, I am
listening to the Priesthood; but I will go to somebody who does not
know anything; I will go to some"—I was going to say
ass—(laughter)—for if ever men have proved themselves to be fools, it
has been some of our governmental officials—"I will go to some man of
this kind and ask his counsel, and have him to tell me what to do,
because I am anxious to show that I am loyal to the government of the
United States."

Vol. 26,  p.9
Now, would you not call any man who would do this an idiot, when he
could have got good counsel from his friends; when he would turn his
back on his friends, and go to somebody for counsel who did not know
anything, not as much as he, the person, did himself about the
question he submitted to him? I would say, and you would say, that
people who would do such a thing were little less than idiots.

Vol. 26,  p.9
Well, now, what crime are we guilty of? If we have men among us who
have more experience than they, and who have proved themselves capable
of guiding the people, what crime are we guilty of in giving heed to
their counsel and seeking it? Because they hold the Priesthood are
their mouths to be stopped up so that they cannot speak; are they to
be deprived of the rights of citizenship, and all the rights that men
have that are born free, because they hold the Priesthood? Is that a
good reason? A more senseless reason never was given. If these
government officials and these men that represent the government are
so much better and so much more capable of guiding the people, and
have so much greater right to be listened to and obeyed, let them show
it by their works. When they have proved it, I suppose there will be
no lack of disposition on the part of the people to go to them, and to
listen to them, and to expect from them all the necessary teachings
and counsels. There will be no lack of disposition on the part of
sensible men and women such as we profess to be; but until they do
this, until they show this capability and this power, they had better
hold their tongues and say nothing about others leading the people.
The fact is this, and it is apparent to all of us, that there are
certain men who can destroy much easier than they can build up. It
required a great deal of skill to build the Temple at Ephesus: it
required the highest skill in architecture: but a fool destroyed it
with a little blaze. It takes men to build up, but children can burn
down and destroy. It takes men to build a commonwealth, and lay the
foundation of that which we see around us; it takes labor and years of
experience and wisdom to accomplish such results; but any poor
creature that is half-witted can destroy all these labors in a very
short time, and those that have come among us in too many instances
representing the government have been men of this calibre; they would
like to destroy, tear down, and reduce to chaos. That would suit them
far better than it would to build up.

Vol. 26,  p.9
My brethren and sisters, I would like to have us as a people look at
these matters, if we can, from a sensible point, from the standpoint
of common sense and reason, and not allow ourselves to be diverted
from the course that we have adopted by the outcry that is made
against us and by the howls that are raised about us. It would be
exceedingly foolish for us to do so.

Vol. 26,  p.10
God has given unto us, as we believe and as we testify, His
Gospel;[p.10] He has given unto us His Church; lie has given unto us
the authority by which men and women are led into His Church and
governed in His Church—the authority which He Himself recognizes and
the only authority that He has given to man on the earth to act in His
stead. We believe this, we testify of it. At the same time while we
have this belief, and form ourselves into a Church organization, we
never have at any time in our history attempted to make our Church
organization the only organization and the dominant organization in
matters that pertain to every day affairs and to civil government.
There has always been among the Latter-day Saints, great respect shown
for civil authority, and for the laws of the land. In fact, as soon as
possible after our first settlement here, a Legislature was organized
and the provisional government of Deseret was formed, when there was
no one but Latter-day Saints in the country at the time. We could have
been governed by our Church organization; it was sufficient for our
purpose during the winter of 1847-8, and daring the summer of 1848. It
was quite sufficient. There was no other organization. But as soon as
the Pioneers returned, President Young and the rest of the
brethren—there was no time lost in organizing a civil government—the
Provisional Government of the State of Deseret—and laws were enacted
in due form by the civil authority, and from that day until the
present it has been respected and honored among us, and will be from
this time forward, as long as this people exist. There is no people on
the face of the earth that draw a nicer distinction than we between
that which belongs to the Church and that which belongs to the State,
But it is frequently said—and I have had to meet it often in my life
time, particularly in Washington; they have said and do say, "Why,
your Probate Judges are Elders and Bishops, and your other officials
hold offices in the Church."

Vol. 26,  p.10
Well, is this a crime? Is there anything in the law or the
Constitution of our country, or is there anything else that is
recognized as binding among men that would prevent Elders and Bishops
from holding office? I do not know of anything. I do not know that a
man is any worse for being a Bishop or an Elder, or any more unfitted
for civil employment, or the discharge of civil functions, than if he
were not a Bishop or an Elder, especially among a people organized as
we are. As I say this charge has been frequently brought against us in
my hearing, and I have had to meet it before committees of Congress
and elsewhere. The reply I have made to such charges is this: that
among the Latter-day Saints in Utah every reputable man in the
community bears some office in the Church. As soon as he arrives at a
sufficient age if be is a reputable man he receives an ordination in
the Priesthood. The best and the most active men in our community are
the men who become prominent in Church affairs. Our Bishops live
without salaries, or support from the people, they, before being
chosen, having shown their ability to sustain themselves. They are not
like members of other denominations who are a burden to the people, or
who receive an education especially for those duties, and thus live by
the salaries that are furnished them by the members of their
congregation. In a community where there is a class of that kind there
may be some propriety in saying that ministers [p.11] of religion
shall not take part in the affairs of state, although there is nothing
of that kind said anywhere in the constitution or the laws; but there
may be some propriety in saying this where men are educated especially
for the ministry—where they devote themselves to that labor and
withdraw themselves from the practical affairs of life and depend upon
their parishioners furnishing them support. There might be some
propriety in saying to a class of that kind, "you are not fit to take
part in civil affairs, and the practical, every day affairs of life,
because of your calling and because of the nature of your duties." But
we say there is great impropriety in saying that those who labor in
the ministry among us shall not take part; for this reason: that all
the men among us who are the most practical, the most energetic, and
the most business like—from these men the ministers are chosen, that
is, men who labor in the ministry as Bishops, as Elders, as
missionaries, and in other capacities. They have proved that they are
capable of sustaining themselves by their own efforts, and at the same
time devote a certain portion of their time to public affairs. Hence,
you will find among us as a rule that our Bishops are all practical
men; our Presidents of Stakes and their Counselors, and the Bishops
and their Counselors, the Teachers and others, are all active business
men among us. They have gained experience, and because of that they
are sometimes chosen to fill local offices. Take the Legislature of
Utah Territory, composed as it has been of some holding positions in
the Church, and you will find a body of practical men, the superiors
of whom are not to be found—I say it without fear of truthful
contradiction—anywhere in any Legislature in this country, men who
understand the wants of their constituents and of the people, and the
kind of laws that are best adapted to them. I have had some experience
in mingling with men in public life, and I must say that for practical
wisdom, and for a knowledge of the affairs of the country and of the
people represented in Utah Territory, there was found, previous to the
passage of the Edmunds law, a class of men that had not their
superiors anywhere in this land, for practical wisdom and the ability
necessary to lay the foundation, and to perpetuate the institutions of
a great country.

Vol. 26,  p.11
Is it wrong for men who have the Priesthood, and who act in this
capacity, to act in civil offices and to let the people have the
benefit of their experience in these matters—is there any wrong in
this? I can see none, and I am sure that no man who is a true friend
to his country can. There is no good reason why these men should be
excluded; in fact there is every reason why they should be invited to
take part in establishing the affairs of the country. I have often
said, in speaking to our brethren and sisters in various parts of the
Territory, that that which we behold to-day in our Territory—the good
order, the peace, the freedom from debt, the lightness of taxation,
and all the circumstances that are so favorable to us as a people, are
due to the men who have borne the Priesthood, commencing with
President Brigham Young, his Counselors, and the Twelve Apostles, and
the leading men in Israel—the circumstances which surround us, I say,
are due to the wisdom that God has given unto them in managing these
affairs. At the same time, because this is [p.12] the case, there is
no necessity that there should be a blending of church and state.
There is no necessity for this; it is not wise to blend church and
state. I do not believe that as members of the Church we should pass
decrees or laws that would bind other people. I have no such belief,
never did have. I do not think I ever shall have. But because a man is
a member of a church, and because a man is a servant of God, and
because a man bears the Priesthood of the Son of God, he should not be
prevented because of that from acting in any civil capacity, from
taking part in civil matters and executing the laws that are enacted
by civil authority.

Vol. 26,  p.12
The province of the Kingdom of God that Daniel saw, the kingdom that
would be established in the last days, is to be as a shield to the
Latter-day Saints, to be as a bulwark around about that Church, and
around about that Church alone? No. The apostate will have his civil
rights under that kingdom. The non-Mormon, or Gentile as he is called,
will have his rights under that kingdom. The Chinaman, the negro, and
the Indian each of them will have his rights under that kingdom, and
yet not be members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
A good many of our people confound the Kingdom of God with the Church
of God. Now there is a very wide distinction between the two. A man
may, in one sense, be a member of the Church of Christ, and not a
member of the Kingdom of God. The two organizations are entirely
distinct. The Kingdom of God when it shall prevail in the earth—as it
will do—will be the civil power which will shield and protect the
Church of Christ against every attack, against every unlawful
aggression, against every attempt to deprive it of its legitimate
rights. At the same time it will protect the Methodist just as much as
it will the Latter-day Saint; it will protect the Roman Catholic just
as much as it will the Methodist; it will protect men of every creed;
it will protect the worshipper of idols in his civil rights, in his
rights as a man and as a citizen. A man may be an infidel; a man may
have been a Latter-day Saint, and denied the faith and lost his
standing in the Church of God, and yet so far as the civil authority
is concerned, so far as the power that is wielded by that which we
call the Kingdom of God is concerned, that man will receive the
amplest protection; he will have the fullest enjoyment of his rights.

Vol. 26,  p.12
President Taylor told us this morning—told us as plainly as it could
be told—the manner in which all men should be treated. And that is the
design of God; and therein our friends in the east are trampling upon
the true principles of liberty in their attacks upon us, and in their
treatment of us. Such treatment will just as surely bring down
condemnation and destruction upon a government that practices these
things, as that the setting of the sun will bring darkness upon the
earth. It is not possible for men to continue in such a course of
oppression and wrong doing as has been pursued by our fellow citizens
that have had the reins of government in their hands, without
involving themselves in trouble. It is impossible that they can
perpetuate their power, and conduct themselves as they have been doing
towards us and towards others. There are eternal principles of justice
that cannot be violated without injury to the person who violates
them. A government [p.13] that lends itself to the oppression of its
citizens, will sooner or later receive punishment. That which it sows
it will reap. It will be a harvest that will be most bitter and
sorrowful for those who reap it.

Vol. 26,  p.13
We are now citizens of this Territory. We fled here. As Latter-day
Saints we came here as exiles, seeking for a home in the wilderness.
God led us to this land, in which, notwithstanding all that maybe said
to the contrary, we have laid the foundation of this Territory, we
have made this land a peaceful, a happy land. There is no man in the
country, no matter what his creed may be, that is oppressed or has
been oppressed by the Latter-day Saints. We have not been tyrannical
in the exercise of our power. We have not discriminated against those
not of us. We have given them the same rights that we have ourselves.
The same peace that we have desired to enjoy we have been willing that
they should enjoy, and we have extended these privileges to them in
common with ourselves. We have sought in no manner to interfere with
their belief, nor with the exercise of it. The Roman Catholic in Salt
Lake City, has been as unmolested as the Latter-day Saint has been. We
may not believe in their religion; we may think the Methodist religion
a poor religion to believe in and practice, and so with other forms of
religion; but while we believe this, we have no right, neither have we
ever exercised any power towards restraining them or restricting them,
or in any manner depriving them of the free exercise of their rights
of conscience and of faith, and no government can stand and prosper
that will do it upon this land, for God has made promises concerning
this land that no government can stand that will do this. None of us
has any right to interfere with the faith and the worship of our
fellow citizens, unless their faith and their worship interfere with
our rights. That is a proposition that is easily comprehended. If I do
not interfere with any man's right by my worship, and by that which I
consider right to do to my Maker, no man has any right under any form
of government to interfere with me.

Vol. 26,  p.13
Hence it is that all this action concerning marriage is wrong—this
interference with marriage—it is all wrong from beginning to end,
especially in view of the fact that it is an important principle of
our religion. We are ready to testify that our belief in marriage and
our practice of it, is interwoven with our hopes of eternal salvation.
Select every man who has had more wives than one and retained the
faith of the Gospel; take him and his wives and interrogate them
respecting their faith, and every one would say: "this principle is
so-intimately interwoven with my hopes of eternal salvation, that I
would be afraid that I would be damned if I did not obey it." I
believe that in nine hundred and ninety-nine cases out of a thousand
where people are in the faith they would make this response.

Vol. 26,  p.13
Well, now, what right has any number of people—there may be unnumbered
millions who say this is not religion—but what right have they to do
this? If there was only one person on the face of the earth that
entertained that belief, and he were alone and all the rest of mankind
were opposed to him, it would be just as precious to him as if
millions entertained a belief in common with him. Therefore,[p.14]
because there are millions who say it is not religion, this does not
make it so. We testify in the most solemn manner that it is a part of
our religion, and that we cannot forego this principle without feeling
that we forego our salvation, our eternal exaltation, by so doing.

Vol. 26,  p.14
Then the question arises in the practice of this principle—do those
who practice it infringe upon the rights of their fellow citizens? Is
society disturbed? Are there wrongs done to society at large by the
practice of this principle? Let those who have lived among us answer
this question. There never was a more peaceful society than our
society—that is, not for the past few hundred years at least. Go
through our settlements, and is there quarreling, is there strife, are
there bad examples set to the rising generation, is impurity taught,
or any examples of impurity shown? No, there is not. We all know this,
and we know that in practicing our religion we do not infringe upon
the rights of our fellow-citizens.

Vol. 26,  p.14
But this attempt has been made just as it was in ancient days. I look
upon it as a revival of the same spirit that prompted Pharaoh to seek
the destruction of the male children among the Israelites. If we were
guilty of those crimes so fashionable in the world whereby the
increase of families is prevented, I do not suppose there would be one
word said about our system of marriage; I have no idea there would be.
But the fact that we do raise children—the fact that our houses and
settlements are full of healthy offspring, is a standing protest
against the crimes of the age; it is a standing protest against those
abominable practices that are destroying the foundation of many
communities within the confines of the United States, and they are
determined—those who are guilty of these things—that we shall not
exist. The loudest outcry against us, and the most devoted efforts
against us, come from the region where these dreadful practices
prevail, where women murder their offspring befor they are born, are
guilty of this pre-natal murder, among the people of the United States
who think themselves the most enlightened. Twenty-five years ago when
I was laboring in the ministry in that region I visited one of the
towns, and the President of the branch of the Saints there, (an old
resident, whose ancestors were among the first settlers of the town)
told me his wife was continually jeered at—and this was 25 years
ago—by her associates, because she bore children, and bore them
regularly—that she did not take means to prevent the increase of her
family! If I had not known him I could scarcely have believed it, it
was too horrid. I have learned since, however, that that is a common
practice in that region. The feature of that society that impresses
most vividly a traveler from Utah is the fewness of children in what
are called the best families. And yet it is from there that the
principal outcry is raised against us, and the determination expressed
to break up our families and to destroy us.

Vol. 26,  p.14
God has gathered a few people out from the nations of the earth, out
of Babylon. But shall they partake of these influences? I say to you,
my sisters, you teach your daughters against this accursed practice,
or they will go to hell, they will be damned, they will be murderers,
and the blood of innocence will be found upon them. A man that [p.15]
would sanction such a thing in his family, or that would live with a
woman guilty of such acts, shares in the crime of murder. I would no
more perform the ordinance of laying on of hands on a woman who is
guilty of that crime, if I knew it, than I would put my hands on the
head of a rattlesnake. We must set our faces like flint against such
acts. These dreadful practices are coming up like a tidal wave and
washing against our walls; for there are women among us who
secretly—so I am told, I know nothing about this personally, but I am
told there are women among us who are instilling this murderous and
accursed idea into the breasts of women and girls in our midst. Now
just as sure as it is done, and people yield to it, so sure will they
be damned, they will be damned with the deepest damnation; because it
will be the damnation of shedding innocent blood, for which there is
no forgiveness; and I would no more, as I say, administer to such
women, baptize them, or perform any ordinance of the Gospel for them,
than I would for a reptile. They are outside the pale of salvation.
They are in a position that nothing can be done for them. They cut
themselves off by such acts from all hopes of salvation.

Vol. 26,  p.15
As a people we should encourage marriage. I am always delighted when I
hear President Taylor speak as he did this morning on the principle of
brothers taking their brothers' widows to wife. There are many young
women among us pining away, that should be mothers in Israel, that
should be raising posterity, because the brothers are so indifferent
to the rights that belong to the institution of marriage as to let
these young women stay in this condition. And there is one thing that
I am impressed with, and that is, there will be considerable
condemnation rest down upon the Elders of this Church for their
neglect in these matters. Women are led astray and fall into the hands
of wicked men because of relatives to the dead neglecting to do that
which is their duty; acting as though the Lord cannot reward a man for
keeping His law. "Oh," says a man, and as President Taylor has
remarked, "I want to raise up a family for myself." He forgets God can
bless him sad his seed after him. Look at the case of Boaz and Ruth.
He took Ruth, who was the wife of his kinsman. She had no children,
but he took her when another kinsman who had a prior right to her,
rejected her. From that alliance sprang the noblest men that were in
Israel—Ohed, Jesse, David, Solomon, and through Boaz and Ruth came the
Son of God. And that was a proxy case, as it is called. Ruth was the
wife of Boaz's kinsman who had died. Boaz took her to wife, and raised
up an honorable posterity. And it is a wicked thing among us to allow
such cases to go uncared for. A young woman is left a widow, sometimes
without a son to represent her deceased husband; she should be cared
for, and not left to fall into bad hands, as frequently is the case
among us for the want of care on the part of those whose duty it is to
attend to such matters.

Vol. 26,  p.15
My brethren and sisters, God is watching over us, and He holds us to a
strict accountability for the things He has revealed to us. He has
revealed to us eternal principles. Let us be faithful to that
Priesthood which He has gives unto us; let us honor it, and not be
intimidated by the outcry that is raised against us that we are doing
wrong because [p.16] we listen to the Priesthood. There is no such
thing as wrong connected with this. God has inspired His servants, and
has given them wisdom to manage the affairs of this people, and to
guide them in spiritual matters. They have tull authority to do this,
and they will do it if the people will listen to them, and then in
temporal matters they will guide them as far as they have the
opportunity. Because they are Priests of the Most High God, they are
no worse for that; they are not handicapped because they have the
Priesthood. In a civil capacity they can act as fairly, justly,
wisely, as those who do not have the Priesthood. They do not act with
any less wisdom or any less power because they have the Priesthood
than they would do if they did not have it. I have heard so much of
this sort of talk that to me it is perfectly ridiculous. They talk
about our management of elections, and management of other affairs. I
will tell you my experience, and I have had some experience in these
matters. I have attended caucuses elsewhere; I know the machinery that
is used; I know the wire pulling; I have seen it in operation, and I
say to you that there is not the interference on the part of leading
men here with the will of this people that there is in the States in
political circles. And I tell you this: that leading men in other
communities seek to exercise more influence and lay their plans to
have their wishes carried out to a far greater extent than the leading
men of this community do among us—I mean those who have the
Priesthood. There is a disposition on the part of the leading
Priesthood to let the people have their way, not to interfere with
their selections. There is that disposition, and it is encouraged, and
the desire is to have all the people be wise and exercise wisdom, and
have the Spirit of God to discern who are suitable for office. If the
people could do this I can tell you that President Taylor and his
Counselors, and the Twelve, and the other leading men of Israel would
be very glad indeed. But you know as well as we do that there are
unwise men among us who would, if they had the power, destroy the
people; not because they would design to do it, but because of their
ignorance; they are ignorant and would do it, without knowing what the
consequences would be; and on this account it is right that
experienced men should give the people the benefit of their knowledge,
not however, interfering with the rights of the people, not in the
least; and it never has been done, at least within my knowledge, in my
public experience among the people. And I repeat there has been less
of this among us, considering the influence the Priesthood have, than
in any other community or any other people that I am acquainted with
anywhere in the land. I wanted to say this much, because I know there
is a great deal of misapprehension upon these points. There are men,
agitators, who talk about interference on the part of the Priesthood,
and try to breed disturbance and confusion among the people, unsettle
their minds and have them think there is something very wrong going on
here. I speak of it to remove these wrong impressions, and to disabuse
the minds of those who entertain them, for they are not correct. There
are more caucuses, more plans, more pipe laying, more log rolling,
more wire pulling in the States in one day, than you will see in a
month or a year among us. They resort to all sorts of devices to get
their man elected under promise [p.17] of preferment and office. Why,
there is scarcely a man that gets an office in the United States that
is not bound by pledges of this kind. A man cannot be Speaker of the
House of Representatives, without being hampered by promises he is
compelled to give in order to get the position, promises to put this
man on this committee, and the other man upon another committee, some
to be chairmen of committees, and so on. So with the President of the
United States. Probably Grover Cleveland will be an exception, because
he has not been much in public life: but it is a rule that the
nominees of the different parties give certain promises as to what
they will do, and who will get leading positions. They are just as
much fettered as though chains were on their wrists and ankles. They
cannot move only in a certain direction. All freedom is taken away. A
President is nearly killed after he gets his position in endeavoring
to satisfy the clamors and wishes of those who claim they elected him
to office. This is the case all through the government. There is no
office, even to that of a constable, but is obtained in the same way.

Vol. 26,  p.17
I hope we shall never be in such a position as this, for it would lead
to the destruction of liberty and free government among us, if we
should ever give way to these things. Let men go into office free and
untrammelled. Let them be elected because they are the men most
suitable, and not because they want the office. Let us, as a people,
endeavor to find men who do not seek for office, and who do not want
it, but who take it because it is the wish of their fellow citizens.
And let us keep our salaries so low that men will not scramble for
office and live on the people as office-holders, than which there is
nothing more hateful in a free land.

Vol. 26,  p.17
I pray God to fill you with the Holy Ghost, to guide you in the path
of righteousness, to enable you to avoid the many evils abroad in the
world, and as Zion progresses to avoid evils that will crowd upon us;
because as Zion increases there will be new temptations and
circumstances thrown around us that will be a trial to us, unless we
have the aid of our God to help us contend with and overcome them; and
that we may have this aid is my prayer in the name of Jesus,
Amen.[p.18] 

Charles W. Penrose, November 16, 1884

The Personality of God—Vagueness of the Common Idea 
of Deity—Who and What God Is—the Spirits of Men the Offspring 
of God—Spirit not Immaterial—the Trinity Creed of 
Christendom—Man May Become Like 
God in His Glory

Discourse Delivered By Elder Charles W. Penrose, Delivered in 
the Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Sunday Afternoon, November 16, 1884.

(Reported By Arthur Winter)

Vol. 26,  p.18
THE remarks which have been made to us this afternoon by Bishop
Preston are of a practical nature and calculated to lead our minds to
reflection upon our duties as Latter-day Saints.

Vol. 26,  p.18
The religion of God is a practical religion, and God is a real and
practical being. It has been stated by one of our leading men that God
is "a business God," and many remarks have been made concerning that
expression by persons opposed to us, with the desire of turning it to
ridicule. It has not been stated by any of our brethren that God is
only a business God, but the remark was made with reference to some of
his attributes and of His works. The people of the present day who
profess to believe in God, generally speaking, have very little idea
in regard to what He is. They consider that He is incomprehensible.
Their ideas concerning Him are very vague, and the attempts which have
been made to explain God to the children of men, by persons who claim
to be teachers of religion, and to have authority to speak in the name
of the Lord, are of such a character that no one can understand them.
The reason of this is because those persons who have attempted to make
an explanation have not understood the subject themselves; and when a
person does not understand a thing it is very difficult for him to try
and make somebody else understand it. Now, I do not pretend to say
that there is anybody living who fully and entirely comprehends God;
but there are many people living who have some definite ideas
concerning Him, concerning His attributes, concerning His ways,
concerning His will; and what they understand they are at liberty to
declare and to try and make other people understand, particularly if
they are called upon by the Lord, and authorized by Him so to do.
People very frequently refer to that passage of Scripture which says:
"God is a spirit," and as their notions concerning what spirit is, are
not very clear, that passage of Scripture does not make very plain to
their understanding what God is. People, generally speaking, have an
idea that spirit is something intangible, something that cannot [p.19]
be comprehended, nor seen, nor handled; that it is far different in
every respect from anything that is material; in fact, the
philosophers and theologians call spirit "immaterial substance." Now,
this is for want of knowing better. Men in these times, like men in
former days, have tried to find out God and the things of God by human
wisdom and learning, and they have failed: for "man by searching," the
Scripture says, "cannot find out God." But God can manifest Himself to
man · and if God chooses to make Himself manifest to His children they
can measurably comprehend Him. But in their mortal state, in this
state of probation in which we live, mankind cannot fully grasp Deity
to comprehend Him as He is in His majesty, and might, and power and
glory; but, as I said, they can measurably comprehend God when He
manifests Himself to them, and they can understand Him to the extent
that He manifests. Himself to them.

Vol. 26,  p.19
According to the hook called the Bible, God the Eternal Father has
manifested Himself at different times to individuals living upon the
face of this earth, and according to the testimony of the Latter-day
Saints, God has manifested Himself in this age of the world in a
similar way to men whom He culled and appointed to act in His name;
and from what we read of God's revelations in former days as well as
in latter days, we learn that He is a person, an individual: that He
is not a myth, not an imaginary being, but a reality, and that He is
in the form and likeness of man, or in other words, that man is made
in the image of God. In the opening book of the Bible, in the very
first chapter of that book, we read: "And God said, Let us make man in
our image, after our likeness.  *  *  *  *  So God created man in His
own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created
he them." God is a spirit; but it does not follow that because God is
a spirit, He lies no form, no shape, no extent, no limit; or that He
can be, as an individual, in every place at the same time, as many
people imagine. We are told that God dwells in heaven, and when Jesus
Christ was upon the earth He always taught His disciples that their
Father was in heaven. He said that as He came from the Father so He
was going back to the Father. This individual, then, has a location, a
place of residence. He occupies a certain position, He dwells in the
heavens, and He made math in His image, in His likeness. Jesus, we are
told, was in the "express image" of His Father's person. When He was
upon the earth He came to represent His Father, and we are told
concerning Him, "Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery
to be equal with God." And the Apostle Paul, who makes this
declaration, advised his brethren to have the same mind in them that
was in Christ Jesus:

Vol. 26,  p.19
"Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus;

Vol. 26,  p.19
"Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal
with God;

Vol. 26,  p.19
"But made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a
servant, and was made in the likeness of men;

Vol. 26,  p.19
"And being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, and became
obedient unto death, even the death of the cross;

Vol. 26,  p.19
"Wherefore God also hath highly exalted Him, and given Him a name
which is above every name;

Vol. 26,  p.20
"That at the name of Jesus,[p.20] every knee should how, of things in
heaven, and things in earth, and things trader the earth;

Vol. 26,  p.20
"And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to
the glory of God the Father.—Philipplans li, v. 2."

Vol. 26,  p.20
Now Jesus, who was in the form of God, was only one of the sons of
God. He called His disciples His brethren, and He impressed upon them
the great fact that His Father was their Father, that His God was
their God, that He was one of them. When He returned, or was about to
return to the Father, with His resurrected body, He told Mary to tell
His disciples that He was going to ascend to His Father and their
Father, to His God and their God.

Vol. 26,  p.20
In the Old Testament, which gives accounts of God's occasional
manifestations of His presence to men upon the earth, we find that
they all saw Him as a person, with the form of a man. Moses talked
with Him face to face. Nadab and Abihu and seventy Elders of Israel,
with Moses and Aaron, went up in the mount.

Vol. 26,  p.20
"And they saw the God of Israel, and there was under His feet as it
were a paved work of a sapphire stone, and as it were the body of
heaven in His clearness; also upon the children of Israel He laid not
His hand, also they saw God, and did eat and drink.—[Exodus xxiv, 10,
11.)"

Vol. 26,  p.20
I might refer to a number of passages of Scripture in the Old
Testament, showing that whenever God appeared to man, manifesting
Himself to man, He appeared in the form of a man. We are told
repeatedly in the Scriptures that the children of men are the sons of
God. He is the Father and God of the spirits of all flesh. The spirit
of man, which inhabits his body, and which is the life of the body in
addition to the blood—blood being the life of the flesh, but the
spirit animated all—comes from God, and is the offspring of God.
Because of this, we understand what is said in 1 John, iii, 2:

Vol. 26,  p.20
"Beloved, 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."

Vol. 26,  p.20
God, then, the God of the Bible, who is called Jehovah, the person who
manifested Himself to Israel as Jehovah, is an individual, a
personality, and He made man in His image and His likeness. Now, if we
are the children of God, and if Jesus Christ is the Son of God, we can
upon that reasoning understand something about what God is like, for
there is an eternal principle in heaven and on earth. that every seed
begets of its kind, every seed brings forth in its own likeness and
character. The seed of an apple, when it is reproduced, brings forth
an apple, and so with a pear, and so with a plum, and so with all the
varieties of the vegetable kingdom. It is the same with all the
varieties of the animal kingdom. The doctrine of evolution, as it is
called, is true in some respects—that is, that species can be
improved, exalted, made better, but it remains of the same species.
The advancement is in the same line. It is unfoldment. We do not find
any radical change from one species to another. It is an eternal
principle that every seed produces its own kind, not another kind. And
as we are the children of God, we can follow out the idea and perceive
what God our Father is, the Being who is the progenitor of our
spiritual [p.21] existence, the being from whom we have sprung. We
being the seed of God, that Being is a personality, an individual, a
being in some respects like us, or rather we are made in His image.

Vol. 26,  p.21
"Man also is spirit," we are told in the revelations of God to the
Latter-day Saints. Man, the real man, is a spirit, an individual that
dwells in a body, a spiritual person clothed upon with earth; a being
who will live when the earth goes back to mother dust. Man's spirit,
then, is an individual, a personality, and the spirit is in the
likeness and shape of the body which it inhabits. When the spirit goes
out of the body there is a person, a perfectly formed individual,
looking like the body which we now see with our natural eyes. Spirits
living in the flesh, unless operated upon abnormally by some spiritual
influence, cannot see spiritual beings. A spirit can see spirit.
Spirit ministers to spirit; and when the spirit goes out of the body
that spirit can see other spirits, beings of the same character and
nature, and we shall find when we have emerged from this body, that we
will be in the company of a great many persons like ourselves; and if
we should have the experience that the Prophet Joseph had when the mob
took him and tore his flesh with their nails, and tried to poison him
with a vial of some corrosive substance, if our spirits should be
separated from our bodies as his was, we, like him, could look at our
bodies and see that they are in form like our living spiritual
realities.

Vol. 26,  p.21
"The body without, the spirit is dead." The spirit without the body is
not dead; that is a real personality,, a living individual, and the
body of flesh is but a house to dwell in or a covering for it to wear;
not essential to its existence, but essential to its progress,
essential to its experience on the earth and ultimately in its
glorified condition, essential to its eternal happiness, and progress
and power in the presence of the Father.

Vol. 26,  p.21
While our Father, then, is a person, an individual, it may be asked:
"How can He be here, there and everywhere at the same time?" Well, He
is not, in His personality; but He can be omnipresent in a certain
sense. There is a spirit, an influence, that proceeds from God, that
fills the immensity of space, the Holy Spirit, the Light of Truth. As
the Sun itself, a planet or heavenly body, is not present in any other
place except that which it actually occupies, so the individual Father
occupies a certain locality; and as the light that proceeds from the
sun spreads abroad upon all the face of the earth and lights up other
planets as well as this earth, penetrating to the circumference of an
extended circle in the midst of God's great universe, so the light of
God, the Spirit of God, proceeding forth from the presence of God,
fills the immensity of space." It is the light and the life of all
things. It is the light and the life of man. It is the life of the
animal creation. It is the life of the vegetable creation. It is in
the earth on which we stand; it is in the stars that shine in the
firmament; it is in the moon that reflects the light of the sun: it is
in the sun, and is the light of the sun, and the power by which it was
made; and these grosser particles of light that illuminate the heavens
and enable us to behold the works of nature, are from that same Spirit
which enlightens our minds and unfolds the things of God. As that
light comes forth from the sun, so the light of God comes to us. That
[p.22] natural light is the grosser substance or particles of the same
Spirit.

Vol. 26,  p.22
Spirit is a substance, it is not immaterial; it may have some
properties that are different from that which we see and handle, which
we call matter, but it is a reality, a substantial reality. And spirit
can understand spirit and grasp spirit. A spiritual person can take
the hand of another spiritual person and it is substantial. A person
in body could not grasp a spirit, for that spirit has different
properties to those of our bodies, and it is governed by different
laws to those that govern us in this sphere of mortality. A spiritual
substance, organized into form, occupies room and space just as much
in its sphere as these natural particles occupy in this sphere.

Vol. 26,  p.22
God our Father, then, is a person, an individual, and He really is our
Father, actually and literally. We sprang from Him. He is the Father
of our spirits, and not only the Father of the spirits of the
Latter-day Saints, but the Father of the spirits of latter-day
sinners. He is the God and the Father of the spirits of all flesh. Not
only those that now dwell on the earth, but all people who dwelt
aforetime; all people who ever lived upon the face of this planet, are
the children of God. And so with people who dwell upon other planets,
they are the offspring of God. And our Father and our God is an
individual, a personality; He is a spirit, and they that worship Him
must worship Him in spirit and in truth; but He dwells in a
tabernacle, in a body, though that body is different from our bodies,
it being a spiritual body. It is quickened by spirit. Our bodies are
quickened by that corruptible substance which we call blood; but our
Heavenly Father's body is quickened by spirit. It is not governed by
the same laws as those by which earthly bodies are governed. It is a
body something similar to that which Jesus had after His resurrection.
Jesus Christ, when He rose from the dead, had the same body that He
had upon the earth, but a change had been wrought upon it. He had shed
His blood for the remission of sins. This body was quickened by
spirit. "He was put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the
Spirit;" so we are told in the Scriptures, and He was raised up from
the dead by that Spirit. Paul says, in his Epistle to the Romans, viii
ch. 11 v.:

Vol. 26,  p.22
"But if the Spirit of Him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in
you, He that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your
mortal bodies by His Spirit that dwelleth in you."

Vol. 26,  p.22
Jesus Christ's body was put in the sepulchre a natural body; it was
raised a spiritual body. It was placed there in weakness; it was
raised in strength. It was a mortal body when placed in the sepulchre;
but when it carne forth quickened by spirit, it was no longer a
natural or mortal body, it was a spiritual and an immortal body; and
with that immortal body He ascended from the earth. It was no longer
bound by the laws of earthly gravitation, as it was before. He stood
upon the mount of Olives, in the presence of His disciples, and
ascended up to heaven from their midst and disappeared front their
view. He could manifest Himself to them, and then take Himself away
from their gaze He could enter the room when the doors were shut, as
He did in the case when His disciples gathered in secret for fear of
the Jews, and manifest Himself to them. And yet at the same time
[p.23] His body was tangible, and the unbelieving Thomas could reach
forth his hand and thrust it into His side, and put his fingers into
the prints of the nails. Bat this body was a glorious body, "the
glorious body of the Son of God," and it was in the fashion and
likeness of the glorious body of His Eternal Father. It was a
celestial body quickened by the celestial glory. And if we wish to
attain to the Heavenly kingdom we must walk in the ways of life, and
sanctify ourselves before God, as Jesus did, so that the influence and
power of the celestial kingdom can be with us. Then, in the
resurrection, when we come forth from the grave, we shall be quickened
also by the operation of the celestial glory and receive of the same,
even the fullness thereof, and be made like unto Jesus Christ, and
thus become like unto God the Father.

Vol. 26,  p.23
As I have previously explained, God is not everywhere present
personally, but He is omnipresent in the power of that spirit—the Holy
Spirit—which animates all created things; that which is the light of
the sun, and of the soul as well as the light of the eye, that which
enables the inhabitants of the earth to understand and perceive the
things of God. As the light of the sun reveals natural objects to our
eyes, so the spirit that comes from God, with a fitting place to
occupy and conditions to operate in, reveals the things of God. We see
natural things by the light of the sun. We see spiritual things by
spiritual light, and he that is spiritual discerneth all things and
judgeth all things, and he that is not spiritual cannot comprehend
spiritual things. They are foolishness to him. And while the Saints of
God, quickened by the spirit which they have obtained through
obedience to he Gospel, can comprehend these things of which I am
speaking and discern their meaning and signification, those that are
wicked and corrupt and obey not the ordinances of God, cannot see
these things nor comprehend them as they are, but they are foolishness
to them.

Vol. 26,  p.23
But, if God is an individual spirit and dwells in a body, the question
will arise, "Is He the Eternal Father?" Yes, He is the Eternal Father.
"Is it a fact that He never had a beginning?" In the elementary
particles of His organism, He did not. But if He is an organized
Being, there must have been a time when that being was organized.
This, some one will say, would infer that God had a beginning. this
spirit which pervades all things, which is the light and life of all
things, by which our heavenly Father operates, by which He is
omnipotent, never had a beginning and never will have an end. It is
the light of truth; it is the spirit of intelligence. We are told in
the revelations of God to us that, "Intelligence or the light of truth
never was created, neither indeed can be." And we are told further,
that this Spirit, when it is manifest, is Got moving in His glory.
When we look up to the heavens and behold the starry worlds, which are
kingdoms, we behold God moving in His Majesty and in His power. Now,
this Spirit always existed; it always operated, but it is not,
understood, and cannot be comprehended except through organisms. If
you see a living blade of grass you see a manifestation of that Spirit
which is called God. If you see an animal of any kind on the face of
the earth having life, there is a manifestation of that Spirit. If you
see a man you behold its most perfect earthly manifestation. And if
you see a glorified man, a man who has passed through [p.24] the
various grades of being, who has overcome all things, who has been
raised from the dead, who has been quickened by this spirit in its
fullness, there you see manifested, in its perfection, this eternal,
beginningless, endless spirit of intelligence.

Vol. 26,  p.24
Such a Being is our Father and our God, and we are following in His
footsteps. He has attained to perfection. He has arisen to kingdoms of
power. He comprehends all things, because in Him dwelleth the fullness
of the Godhead, bodily. He is a perfect manifestation, expression and
revelation of this eternal essence, this spirit of eternal,
everlasting intelligence or light of truth. It is embodied in His
spiritual personality or spiritual organism. This spirit cannot be
fully comprehended in our finite state. It quickens all things. As we
are told in the Book of Doctrine and Covenants, it is:

Vol. 26,  p.24
"The light which is in all things, which giveth life to all things,
which is the law by which all things are governed, even the power of
God, who sitteth upon His throne, who is in the bosom of eternity, who
is in the midst of all things.—Sec. lxxxviii, p. 13."

Vol. 26,  p.24
That spirit exists wherever there is a particle of material substance;
that spirit is round about it, and in it, and through it; but that we
may comprehend it, it must be manifested through organisms. The
perfection of its manifestation is in the personality of a being
called God. That is a person who has passed through all the gradations
of being, and who contains within Himself the fullness, manifested and
expressed, of this divine spirit which is called God.

Vol. 26,  p.24
Some people may think this is rather a low idea of a Divine Being. But
I think it a most exalted one. The person whom I worship I acknowledge
as my Father. Through Him I may learn to understand the secrets and
mysteries of eternity, those things that never had a beginning and
will never have an end. He has ascended above all things after
descending below all things. He has fought his way from the depths up
to the position He now occupies. He holds it by virtue of His
goodness, of His might, of His majesty, of His power. He occupies that
position by virtue of being in perfect harmony with all that is right,
and true, and beautiful, and glorious and progressive. He is the
perfect embodiment and expression of the eternal principles of right.
He has won that position by His own exertions, by His own
faithfulness, by His own righteousness. Jesus Christ, the only
begotten son of God in the flesh, but His firstborn in the spirit, has
climbed His way up in a similar manner. He loved righteousness and
hated iniquity. He kept every law and every commandment. He knew no
sin, and guile was not found in His mouth. He loved not His own life,
as a paramount cosideration but sacrificed it to atone for the sins of
others. Whatever He learned was right, He practised, and He broke no
commandment of the Father, but obeyed every one. He came not to do His
own will, but the will of the Father that sent Him, and because He did
this and was faithful unto death, He was exalted on high. He overcame
evil. He conquered mortality. He triumphed over death. He conquered
that being who is the expression of evil principles, who is the
embodiment of the principles of darkness, who is the embodiment of all
the principles that are in opposition to those that exist and burn in
the bosom of Deity. He met him and conquered him and overcame him
[p.25] He, being in the truth and living by the truth; therefore he is
now to us, "the way, the truth, and the life." Overcoming all things
He was entitled to inherit all things, and all that the Father hath
was given unto Him. And we read:

Vol. 26,  p.25
"The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do;
for what thing soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise."
(John v, 20.)"

Vol. 26,  p.25
As the Father had taken His upward course in worlds before this, so
Jesus Christ followed in his footsteps in every respect; therefore he
is entitled to sit down at the right hand of God in the heavens, to
sit on his throne and be one with the Father in all things; and all
the power and glory, and dominion that the Father hath he conferred
also upon Jesus. And the promise to the sons of God on the earth is,
that if they will follow in the footsteps of Jesus, they shall be also
exalted and shall partake of that glory which he partakes of and they
shall become Gods, even the sons of God, and "all things" shall be
theirs." And we are told in the revelations of God to us in the latter
days, that if we are faithful in all things, "all that Father hath"
shall be given unto us. We shall become like Him, and we shall receive
power and dominion and glory similar to that which he enjoys, only He
will always be above us, God as our Father, and Jesus Christ our elder
brother.

Vol. 26,  p.25
Now, we can understand a little about a being like this, but a being
of the character that divines attempt to describe is one we cannot
understand at all. They say that there are three of them, and yet
there is only one; that God has no body, neither parts nor passions.
Yet this thing that has no substance, and no parts, we are told, has
three parts, one part of which had a body, and that body was composed
of parts. And we are told also that it has no passions. Yet this one
part of that thing which has no body and no parts and no passions had
a body and parts and had passions. Jesus experienced the same things
that a man experiences, lived like a man, and died like a man, to some
extent. Now, who can understand these contradictions which are to be
found in the creeds of modern Christendom? The Athanasian Creed was
read in the Church of England, as it is called, when I was a boy, and
I believe it is now. I think the American Episcopal Church has
discarded it, which was very sensible. It says:

Vol. 26,  p.25
"Whosoever will be saved, before all things he must hold the Catholic
faith, which faith except he do keep whole and undefiled he shall,
without doubt, perish everlastingly. and the Catholic faith is this:
"That we worship one God in Trinity, and trinity in unity, neither
confounding the persons nor dividing the substance. For there is one
person of the Father, another of the Son, and another of the Holy
Ghost, but their glory is equal, and their majesty co-eternal. Such as
the Father is, such is the Son, and such the Holy Ghost. The Father is
God, the Son is God, and the Holy Ghost is God; and yet there are not
three Gods, but one God. The Father is Lord, the Son is Lord, and the
Holy Ghost is Lord, and yet there are not thee Lords, but one Lord.
For while we are compelled by Christian verity to acknowledge each
person by himself to be both God and Lord, so we are forbidden by the
Catholic faith to say that there be three Gods or three Lords."

Vol. 26,  p.26
It goes on to show how that these [p.26] three are all exactly Mike,
and then to declare that they are all essentially different. It
explains that the Son is begotten while the Father is not, and then
that the Holy Ghost is proceeding not begotten, while the Son is not
proceeding, neither is the Father, yet at the same time they are all
the same, and to cap the climax of the pile of absurdities it
announces that:

Vol. 26,  p.26
"The Father is incomprehensible, the Son is incomprehensible, and the
Holy Ghost is incomprehensible, yet they are not three
incomprehensibles, but one incomprehensible."

Vol. 26,  p.26
Well, that is all attempt of mini to explain God. As I said in the
beginning of my remarks, we do not pretend that we can comprehend God
in his fullness in our finite and mortal condition here on the earth,
because he is an infinite being. But we are promised that "the day
shall come when we shall comprehend God, being quickened in him."
Jesus said:

Vol. 26,  p.26
This is life eternal, to know thee the only living and true God, and
Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent."

Vol. 26,  p.26
How can we learn to know God We can learn of our Father by hearkening
to his voice by listening to the whisperings of the holy Spirit, that
spirit that comes from him. "They that are led by the Spirit of God
are the sons of God." We can understand much concerning him by the
power of the Holy Ghost. The gift of the Holy Ghost is conferred on us
that we may learn something about God, so that we may go on to
perfection; that we may walk in his ways; that we may climb the ladder
which he has climbed to perfection; that we may peradveuture overcome
and be made like him, share in his glory, and be one with him. And if
we will take the course that our Father has taken, living by every
word that comes from his mouth, we shall know what is right, for he
will reveal unto us what is true, and it is the knowledge and practice
of truth that exalts. If we will learn this as be learned it, advance
step by step, overcoming the Evil One; overcome the world and the
flesh, grapple with evil as we meet it and conquer it, we will have
the help of the Lord, and may raise ourselves by our own exertions, by
our faithfulness, by our obedience, and peradventure will overcome all
things, and inherit all things. We may thus rise above all things. We
may obtain glorious bodies like unto the glorious body of the Son of
God. We may prepare ourselves for the celestial glory in which the
Father dwells, and in which the Son dwells, and be made like him in
every respect, becoming spiritual beings dwelling in spiritual bodies,
quickened with the celestial glory, among the Gods, and enter into
holy order which is without beginning of days or end of years—the
everlasting order of the holy Priesthood—which Jesus Christ has, and a
portion of which he imparted unto his disciples when he was upon the
earth, and which he has restored to the earth in these latter days.

Vol. 26,  p.26
There are things connected with this that we cannot dwell upon in a
short discourse. But the keys of this Priesthood have been restored,
and by them we can obtain heavenly knowledge; learn to comprehend our
Father who is at the head of that Priesthood; learn to comprehend
Jesus Christ our Great High Priest. By this same Priesthood, a portion
of which we have received, we can obtain communion with the heavenly
Jerusalem, with the [p.27] spirits of just men made perfect, with
Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and with God who is the
holiest of all. That Priesthood had no beginning, and will never have
an end. As we are told in Scripture it is "without father or mother,
without beginning of days or end of years;" it always existed. The
individual, the organized person may have had a beginning, but that
spirit of which and by which they organized never had a beginning.
That Priesthood which is the power of government in the heavens, never
had a beginning, and it will never come to an end. The works of that
eternal spirit of intelligence, the great Eternal God, manifested to
us in our Father and through Jesus Christ, never had a beginning.
There never was a first world or man; there will never be a last. We
cannot grasp that in its fullness, but we can understand a little of
it by comparing it with other things. For instance, we will take
space. This tabernacle contains so much space, bounded by the walls of
the building; but go outside of these walls and space is there. Go to
the farthest bounds of this Territory, space is there. Go to the ends
of the earth, if you can find them, and there is space beyond. Mount
upward to the stars; go to the sun, pass above the sun to the two
worlds that govern it, that we read about in the Book of Abraham, in
"The Pearl of Great Price;" go even unto Kolob, the nearest to the
throne of God, and there is just as much space beyond as that which
you have left. There is no outside to space—no beginning, no end.

Vol. 26,  p.27
Thus there is boundless space, and we cannot fully comprehend it, yet
we must admit that it exists without limit. "There is no kingdom in
the which there is no space, and no space in the which there is no
kingdom, either a greater or a lesser kingdom." So we learn in the
Doctrine and Covenants. So travel where we will, there we find space,
and also inexhaustible material. And the elements, whether they be
spiritual or what we call natural—we use these terms to distinguish
them—never had a beginning—the primal particles never had a beginning.
They have been organized in different shapes; the organism had a
beginning but the elements or atoms of which it is composed never had.
You may burn this book, but every atom of which the book was composed,
every particle of substance that entered into its composition, still
exists; they are indestructible. When you go right down to the primary
elements, they never had a beginning, they will never have an end. For
in their primal condition they are not "created." They did not come
from nothing; they were organized into different forms, but the
elementary parts of matter as well as of spirit, using ordinary terms,
never had a beginning, and never will have an end.

Vol. 26,  p.27
Now, here are some things that you can understand to some extent, that
are beginningless and endless. It is the same with duration. Duration
never had a beginning, and it never will have an end. We measure
portions of time, but time itself, cannot be counted. Go back as far
as we can think, and there was just as much time or duration before
that period as since, and think as much as we can down the stream of
time there is just as much ahead. There is no limit to duration, no
beginning, no end. Thus there are boundless space, an infinity of
substance, endless duration. The elements of that eternal [p.28]
spirit which exists in and through and round about all things, and is
the law by which all things are governed, never had a beginning and
will never have an end. There was no beginning and there will be no
end to its operations. And therefore we are told that "the works of
God are one eternal round." There was no beginning to the works of
God, and there will be no end. The Priesthood, as I have quoted to
you, is without beginning of days or end of years. It was always
existent and always active. And therefore there was never a first
world or being, neither will there be a last one. We are here to learn
those principles that pertain to this lower sphere; to learn how to
raise ourselves from this groveling mortal condition, and make
ourselves like God, that we may dwell with him, come into perfect
harmony with that spirit of which I have been speaking, be one with
the Father and participate with him in the power which he wields, in
the midst of eternity.

Vol. 26,  p.28
Now, my brethren and sisters, will we walk in this way? Will we fit
ourselves to enter into our next estate with honor? We have come down
from God as his offspring. That part of us which is spirit was with
him in the eternal world. We have come down here in our time and
season, and God "determined the time before appointed and the bounds
of our habitation." We are here to learn the laws that govern this
lower world; to learn to grapple with evil and to understand what
darkness is. We came from an abode of bliss to understand the pain and
sorrow incident to this probation. We came here to comprehend what
death is. We existed in our first estate among the sons of God in the
presence of our Father, "when the morning sears sang together, and the
sons of God shouted for joy." The knowledge of our former state has
fled from us. Like Jesus, "in our humiliation our judgment is taken
away," and the veil is drawn between us and our former habitation.
This is for our trial. If we could see the things of eternity, and
comprehend ourselves as we are; if we could penetrate the mists and
clouds that shut out eternal realities from our gaze, the fleeting
things of time would be no trial to us, and one of the great objects
of our earthly probation or testing would be lost. But the past has
gone from our memory, the future is shut out from our vision and we
are living here in time, to learn little by little, line upon line,
precept upon precept. Here in the darkness, in the sorrow, in the
trial, in the pain, in the adversity, we have to learn what is right
and distinguish it from what is wrong, and lay hold of right and truth
and learn to live it. For it is not only the learning of it that is
needful, but we must live it, being guided and governed by it in all
things. If we have any evil propensities—inherited from progenitors
who for ages have gone astray from God—we have to grapple with them
and overcome them. Each individual must find out his own nature, and
what there is in it that is wrong, and bring it into subjection to the
will and righteousness of God. He must work with it until he is master
of it; until he can say to this mortal flesh which is continually
warring against the spirit, "I am your master by the grace of God."
Every passion, every inclination, every desire must be controlled and
made subject to the will of God. Though we mingle with the world, yet
we must not pattern after their evil ways nor "touch the unclean
[p.29] thing." We need not partake of the sins of the world. We can be
wrapped around by the influence of our religion as by the garments
that we wear, and be separate even though in the midst of the wicked.
We need not follow their ways nor be guided by their enticements, or
be governed by their nations, but should live according to the light
of God; and when evil spirits tempt us and seek to turn us aside from
the strait path that leads to the celestial city, stand firm in the
spirit of the Gospel and overcome them. And if we overcome all things
we shall inherit all things.

Vol. 26,  p.29
"To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even
as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne. Rev.
iii, 21."

Vol. 26,  p.29
We are the children of God, and when we go back into the presence of
our Father, if we return with honor, there will be joy in heaven;
there will be joy in our own bosoms, such joy as is not expressible.
How we shall rejoice! We will then comprehend all we knew before we
came here. We will comprehend everything we learned when we d welt in
the flesh; and we will be clothed upon with the spirit and power of
God in its fullness, and kingdoms and power and glory eternal will be
given unto us. We shall have the gift of eternal and endless increase.
Our families will be with us and be the beginning of our dominion, and
upon that basis we shall build forever. Our wives and our children
will be ours for all eternity. Our increase shall never cease while
duration rolls along and the works of God spread forth, and our
posterity and kingdoms will grow and extend till they shall be as
numerous as the stars, and we will enter into the rest of our Father
and enjoy his presence and society for evermore. God help us to attain
to the fullness of this glory, for Christ's sake. Amen.[p.30] 

John Taylor, December 14, 1884

Object of Gathering—Our Principles and Organization 
Revealed From God—He is Cognizant of All Things—Our 
Faith not Affected By the Ideas of Men—Our Dependence Upon 
God—Enoch's City—God's Justice in Sending the Flood, and 
in the Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah—His Judgments 
Will Come Upon Those Who Persecute His Saints—the 
Lord Will Bless His People—We Will Stand By the 
Constitution Though Others Ignore It

Discourse By President John Taylor, Delivered in the 
Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Sunday Evening, December 14th, 1884.

Reported By John Irvine

Vol. 26,  p.30
WE hear a great many things associated with the Church and Kingdom of
God in which, as a people, we are very much interested.

Vol. 26,  p.30
We meet together, from, time to time, to sing, to pray, to speak, to
hear and to attend to the various duties and responsibilities that
devolve upon us. We are taught of things pertaining to time and things
pertaining to eternity, and perhaps we are more favored—well, there is
no perhaps about it—we are more favored than any other people that
dwell upon the face of the whole earth. We have been gathered together
from among the nations of the earth in order that we may be instructed
in the laws of God, and in the principles of truth and life, that we
may be able to comprehend our relationship to our heavenly Father, to
his Son Jesus Christ, to the Priesthood that exists in the heavens,
and to the inhabitants of the earth by whom we are surrounded, and
among whom we dwell.

Vol. 26,  p.30
There is something very peculiar about the position which we occupy
among the nations of the earth. We have not received any of the
intelligence which we possess from these nations, with the exception
of some matters pertaining to science, to art, and the common
education of the day. But as regards our religious principles we are
not indebted to any men who live upon the earth for them. These
principles emanated from God. They were given by revelation, and if we
have a First Presidency, if we have High Priests, if we have
Seventies, if we have Bishops, Elders, Priests and Teachers, if we
have Stake and other organizations, we have received them all from
God. If we have Temples, if we administer in them, it is because we
have received instruction in relation thereto from the Lord. If we
know anything pertaining to the future, it comes from him, and in fact
we live in God. we move in God, and from him we derive our being. Men
generally will not acknowledge this, but we as Latter-day [p.31]
Saints believe in these truths. Not one of us could have entered this
house this evening without being sustained by the power of God. Not
one of us could leave this house without guidance, strength and power
from hint to accomplish it. We have been taught to believe that he is
the Creator of all things visible and invisible, whether they be
things in the heavens or on the earth, whether they belong to this
world or other worlds, and that there is an all wise, all powerful
Being, who controls, manipulates and manages all the affairs of the
human family, and this is true whether it relates to the world in
which we live, to the heavens that are above us, or to other worlds by
which we are surrounded. It relates to our bodies and to our spirits,
and to all things associated therewith. Hence we are very dependent
beings. In the organization of man, in the organization of this earth,
and in the organization of the heavens, there were certain things
designed by the Almighty to be carried out, and that will be carried
out according to the purposes of the Most High, which things were
known to him from the beginning. There exists all manner of curious
opinions about God, and many people think it impossible for him to
take cognizance of all men, but that is very easily done. If I had
time to enter into this subject alone I could show you upon scientific
principles that man himself is a self-registering machine, his eyes,
his ears, his nose, the touch, the taste, and all the various senses
of the body, are so many media whereby man lays up for himself a
record which perhaps nobody else is acquainted with but himself; and
when the time comes for that record to be unfolded all men that have
eyes to see, and ears to hear, will be able to read all things as God
himself reads them and comprehends them, and all things, we are told,
are naked and open before him with whom we have to do. We are told in
relation to these matters that the hairs of our heads are numbered;
that even a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without our heavenly
Father's notice; and predicated upon some of these principles are some
things taught by Jesus, where he tells men to ask and they shall
receive. What! the millions that live upon the earth? Yes, the
millions of people, no matter how many there are. Can he hear and
answer all? Can he attend to all these things? Yes. "Ask, and it shall
be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened
unto you. For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh
findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened." It is difficult
for men to comprehend some of these things, and, as they cannot
comprehend them they begin to think they are all nonsense—that, is,
many do—and, hence, infidelity and skepticism prevail to a great
extent. A great many strange notions are entertained in regard to God
and his dealings with humanity. This is because men do not understand
the things of God. I read in one of our papers a short time ago, that
there was some kind of a commission going to meet—some two or three
professors or scientists, men who are supposed to possess superior
intelligence—to examine the manuscript of the Book of Mormon, to find
out whether it was true or not, and I suppose if these
people—especially if they should be pious inert, possessing a little
learning and science—should come out and say the Book of Mormon was
not true, we all of us should have to lay it [p.32] aside should we
not? This to me is the veriest nonsense. It would not make one hair's
difference with us whether such a commission should decide that the
Book of Mormon is right or wrong. If they decide that it is true it
will not increase our faith in it; if they decide that it is not true,
it will not decrease our faith in it. Yet these are ideas that men
entertain.

Vol. 26,  p.32
Speaking upon this point I am reminded of an incident that took place
a number of years ago. Several prominent European scientists called
upon me, and they talked a little upon our religious principles. Then
they asked me if I was acquainted with the advanced ideas in regard to
geology. I told them I knew a little about them from what I had read.
"What do you think," said one of them to me, of these views as
compared with the scriptural account of the creation of the world?"
"Well," said I "the great difficulty is that men do not understand the
Scriptures." They could not see any difficulty on that ground, for
they all had their eyes to see, and they had an understanding of
words, languages, etc. "Well," said I, "we won't go through the whole
Bible, for that is quite a large book; but I will take one or two of
the first lines in the Bible. 'In the beginning, God created the
heavens and the earth.' Will you please tell me when the beginning
was? "We don't know," "When you find that out," said I, "then I will
tell you when the world was created." A good many other things
transpired associated with this interview, that I do not wish now to
repeat. Suffice it to say that before they got through, one of them
said: "I have read a good deal, I have studied a good deal, I find I
have a good deal more to read and study yet." I thought so too. I
thought if men could not understand the first two lines of the Bible,
it would be quite a task to teach them the whole of it.

Vol. 26,  p.32
In regard to the work in which we are engaged, as I said before and as
you have heard over and over again, it emanated from God, and all the
principles pertaining to it, came from Him. We talk sometimes about
this work, and how it is going to be accomplished. The work we are
engaged in is the work of God. If it is accomplished it will be
accomplished by the power of God, by the wisdom of God, by the
intelligence of God, and by the Priesthood that dwells with the Gods
in the eternal worlds, together with that which he has conferred upon
his people here upon the earth, and not by any other power or
influence in existence. We talk of a Zion that is to be built up. If a
Zion is ever built up on this earth, it will have to be under the
guidance and direction of the Almighty. We talk about a Church that is
to be built up and purified. If it is ever built up and purified, it
will be under the influence of the gift of the Holy Ghost, the power
of God manifested among his people, whereby iniquity will be rooted
out, righteousness sustained, the principles of truth advanced, honor,
integrity, truth and virtue maintained, and hypocrisy, evil, crime and
corruption of every kind be rooted out. That will have to be done by
the aid and under the guidance of the Almighty. There is no man living
in and of himself, can guide the ship of Zion or regulate the affairs
of the Church and Kingdom of God unaided by the Spirit of God, and
hence he has organized the Church as he has with all the various
quorums and organizations as they exist to-day.[p.33] Who can boast or
has anything to say in relation to these things? No man living, no man
that has lived. If Joseph Smith knew anything about these things, it
was because God revealed it, and He has revealed many great and
precious principles in which the children of men are interested
pertaining to this world and to the next, pertaining to the living and
the dead, pertaining to time and eternity, and pertaining to all
things associated with the happiness and exaltation of man. All these
things emanated from God. And if Brigham Young knew anything he
received his intelligence from God and from the Prophet of God; and if
any of us know anything we have received it from the same source. We
are told that He is in all things, through all things, and about all
things, and by Him all things exist. He is the light of the sun and
the power thereof, by which it was made; the light of the moon and the
power thereof, by which it was made; and the light of the stars and
the power thereof, by which they were made; and it is the same light
that enlighteneth the understanding of man. This may seem strange
doctrine to some. We have been taught to believe that there was a
difference between mental and visual light; nevertheless the above
statement is philosophically true.

Vol. 26,  p.33
In regard to the earth, is it the Lord's? Yes. We are told that he
made it, that he created all things, visible and invisible, whether
pertaining to the earth or to the heavens. And where did man
originate? As we read it, he originated also from God. Who formed man
according to the Bible record? The Lord. Whence came our spirits? We
are told that God is the God and Father of the spirits of all flesh.
Then He of course is interested in the welfare of all flesh and all
people of all languages, of all tongues, of every color, and of every
clime. That is the way that I understand these things. Our spirits are
eternal and emanate from God. So we, as a people, have always
understood and do understand to-day. We possess our bodies also, and
they also emanated from God. The Bible tells us something in relation
to these matters in tracing out genealogies. Who was Seth? He was the
son of Adam. Who was Adam? The son of God. In another place we are
told that "all we are His offspring"—that is, according to that, we
are all the offspring of God.

Vol. 26,  p.33
Now, this earth was formed for a certain purpose, and man was also
formed for a certain purpose. And there are certain principles laid
down—you will find them in the Bible, in the Book of Mormon, in the
Book of Doctrine and Covenants, and in the various revelations that
God has made through his servants—there are certain principles laid
down indicating that there are different grades of men possessing
varied powers and privileges, and that these men have to pass through
a certain ordeal—called by many a probation—that is, that we are here
in a probationary state, in a state of trial; and that as men live and
act according to the intelligence they are in possession oil—the
privileges which they enjoy, and the deeds that they perform, whether
for good or evil, there will be a time of judgment, and that there
will be a separation, of these various peoples according to the way in
which they have lived and acted upon the earth. Hence Paul tells that
there are bodies celestial and bodies terrestrial, that there is one
glory of the sun, another of the [p.34] moon, and another of the
stars, and as one star differeth from another star in glory, so shall
it also be in the resurrection. Joseph Smith, in speaking on the same
subject, tells us that there are bodies celestial bodies terrestrial,
and bodies telestial, which agrees precisely with the remarks made by
Paul, only in other language. Thus there are many curious things
associated with our existence here upon the earth, which the natural
man does not and cannot comprehend. No man can know the things of God,
but by the Spirit of God.

Vol. 26,  p.34
Now, then, on this earth—which we call the Lord's vineyard—He has sent
forth His servants from time to time to gather people into His fold,
to gather out a few here and a few there who would be prepared to act
and operate with Him, and then, generally, these have been a
comparatively small number, Jesus said when He was upon the earth
"Wide is the gate, and broad is the way that leadeth to destruction,
and many there be who go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and
narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find
it." And it would seem, according to the testimonies we have both In
the Bible and in the Book of Mormon, that the Lord has taken great
pains in different ages of the world to send forth His servants to
preach the Gospel to the people. We find this especially so in Noah's
day, and in the days of Enoch. There was a remarkable work performed
then according to the revelations which have been given to us, which
will be more fully developed when the Lord shall see fit to reveal
other things associated therewith. But we learn that there was a
Church organized about as ours may be; we learn that they went forth
and preached the Gospel; we learn that they were gathered together to
a place called Zion; we learn that the people of Zion were under the
guidance, direction and teaching of the Almighty; in order that they
might be prepared for another Zion in the grand drama associated with
the dealings of God and his purposes pertaining to this earth and the
heavens. We read that they walked with God for 365 years. We are told
in the Bible a little short story about it, because it was one of
those things that it was not necessary that everybody should know. We
are told that "Enoch walked with God, and was not, for God took him."
But there was more about it than that. Enoch preached the Gospel to
the people, and so did hundreds of Elders as they are doing to-day;
and they gathered the people together and built up a Zion to the Lord,
and when Enoch was not, but was caught up, Enoch's city was not, but
was caught up, and there were certain things associated therewith that
are very peculiar. Why were they taken away from the earth? Because of
the corruptions of men, because of the wickedness of men, because
mankind had forsaken God, and become as broken cisterns that could
hold no water, because they were not fulfilling the measure of their
creation, and because it was not proper that they should live and
perpetuate a race that was so corrupt and abominable. But before this
was done, the righteous, the virtuous, the honorable, the pure, the
upright were gathered together, and taught and instructed in the
things of God. And what came next? Why, the destruction of the world.
It was overflowed, we read, by the flood. What! And all the people
destroyed? Yes, except a very few, according to the statements [p.35]
we have. "Well," say some of our wise men, "was not that cruel to
destroy so many people?" Perhaps it would be according to your ideas,
but it was not according to the Lord's ideas: because he looked upon
men as immortal beings. These men were accountable to their Maker,
they had a dual existence, they were associated with time and with
eternity, and we might go still farther and say they they were
associated with the past, the present and the future, and the Lord as
a great cosmogonist, took in the various stages of man's existence,
and operated for the general benefit of the whole. But was it not
cruel to destroy them? I think God understood precisely what He was
doing. They were His offspring, and He knowing things better than they
did, and they having placed themselves under the power and dominion of
Satan, He thought they had better be removed and another class of men
be introduced. Why? There were other persons concerned besides them.
There were millions of spirits in the eternal worlds who would shrink
from being contaminated by She wicked and corrupt, the debauchee, the
dishonest, the fraudulent, the hypocrite, and men who trampled upon
the ordinances of God. It might seem harsh for these men to be swept
off from the face of the earth, and not allowed to perpetuate their
species thereon; but what about the justice of forcing these pure
spirits to come and inhabit tabernacles begotten by debauched corrupt
reprobates, the imagination of whose heart was only evil, and that
continually—what about them Had they no rights that God was bound to
respect? Certainly they had, and He respected them. He cut off the
wicked. What did he do with them? He did with them as we do with some
of the wicked, and that we do not do with a great many others—that is,
they were put in prison. Had He a right to do that? I think He had.
They were his offspring. I think He had the right to act according to
the counsel of His own will. At any rate he took the liberty of doing
it. And who was there to say, "Why doest thou this?" First He called
upon them to forsake their wickedness, but they would not, and a while
after He destroyed them. Had He a right to do it? He had and He sent
them to hell. Some people talk about roasting there. That is something
of man's getting up. He sent them to prison, and they were confined
there, and when the proper time, came, Jesus, when He was put to death
in the flesh, was quickened by the Spirit, and went and preached to
those spirits that sometime were disobedient in the days of Noah.
Perhaps they had time enough during their stay, to reflect upon their
acts, and to become a little steadier, and to reflect upon God and His
laws. At any rate Jesus went and preached to those spirits in prison.

Vol. 26,  p.35
What, then, became of the inhabitants of the world? There were a few
who went through the narrow gate that Jesus spoke of, and they were
caught up and Zion with them, and the Lord is taking care of them in
his own way. They will be dealt with according to His purposes and
designs, and be numbered among His jewels. The others, as I have said,
were cast into prison, and there they remained about 2,500 years. It
was a pretty long imprisonment. Still the Lord had a right to
manipulate these things as He pleased, and He so manipulated them, and
although this time seems very long, yet in the eternities to come it
would only be a comparatively short period;[p.36] and if they needed a
schooling of this kind He, as their Father and Creator, was the proper
one to adjudge their punishment.

Vol. 26,  p.36
Sometime after this there were certain cities that had become very
corrupt, such as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the Lord had a reckoning with
them, handled them in His own way according to His best judgment.
Abraham was a man who feared God, and God said: "Shall I bide from
Abraham that thing which I do." So He informed Abraham about it.
Abraham plead with the Lord, "Why," said he, "Lot lives down there, a
nephew of mine, and a pretty good sort of a man, and there may be a
great many others." The Lord said: "If I find in Sodom fifty
righteous, within the city, then I will spare all the place for their
sakes." Abraham, however, thought this was more than he could pick
out. I expect there was a crowd of mean "cusses" among them as we have
among us. And finally the Lord said that if ten righteous could be
found in the city, He would not destroy it for ten's sake. But ten
righteous people could not be found, and therefore the city had to be
destroyed. What! All the people? Yes, all the people. But before they
were destroyed he sent two angels and they brought out Lot, his wife
and daughters. His wife was a little tinctured with gentilism: she
looked back, and the Scriptures tell us she was turned into a pillar
of salt. When they got away, brimstone and fire fell upon the cities
of Sodom and Gomorrah and destroyed them. Thus the Lord has taken the
privilege in many instances of correcting mankind. He used the
children of Israel to kill the people who dwelt in the land of Canaan,
and directed them to spare them not, because of their wickedness, to
cut them off root and branch. He raised up one nation and put down
another, and raised up one king and put down another.

Vol. 26,  p.36
There were times when the iniquity of these people was not yet full.
In Abraham's day the Lord told that Patriarch that he should go to his
fathers in peace, but in the fourth generation his posterity should
"come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full:"
by the days of Moses they appear to have filled the cup of their
iniquity, for he enjoined upon the Israelites, thou shalt utterly
destroy them," "as the Lord thy God hath commanded thee." So that the
Lord takes upon Himself to manipulate the nations according to the
counsels of His own will, and as they all of them have to do with
eternity as well as time, He adjudges them according to the eternal
laws and principles by which He is governed; and hence we are told
that eternal punishment is God's punishment, and everlasting
punishment is God's punishment, thus men and nations are adjudged by
the Almighty, according to the infinite and eternal laws and
principles which exist in the heavens, and with a reference to eternal
duration and not according to the finite, erratic and limited ideas of
men. Jonah was sent to the city of Ninevah, to tell the people to
repent, and that if they did not repent they would all be destroyed.
But they listened to the voice of the Prophet. They clothed themselves
in sackcloth and sat in ashes and repented before the Lord, and then
the Lord forgave them. Why was it that a great many people were thus
judged by the Almighty? It was because of their iniquity. The same
thing prevailed upon this continent. The spirit of evil and
contention, war and strife, existed among the ancient [p.37]
Jaredites, when they forsook their God, and violated his laws. They
fought one with another; They were maddened by fury, even that fury
which was lit up by the fires of hell and by the spirit of fiends,
until they completely destroyed one another. So it was with the
Nephites who had departed from the law of God, and trampled under foot
his ordinances. They and the Lamanites were stirred up one against
another, until at last they gathered together thousands and tens of
thousands and hundreds of thousands of fighting men—they were four
years in gathering their armies, and they fought and sited blood and
spread destruction and death wherever they went. We can read the
account of it in the Book of Mormon, and I do not propose to repeat it
here this evening.

Vol. 26,  p.37
Now, how is it pertaining to the last days? As it was in the days of
Noah, so shall it be in the days of the coming of the Son of Man. As
it was in the days of Lot, so Shall it also be in the days of the
Coming of the Son of Man. In what respect? In the days of Noah did
they have the Gospel preached unto them? Yes. Did the people generally
reject it? Yes. Did the people gather gather together and build up a
Zion? Yes. How is it in these days? The Lord has revealed his Gospel
to us as he did to them. He has sent forth the words of life, and is
sending them to the nations of the earth. Hundreds of Elders are going
to-day, and taking their lives in their hands, and some of them have
to sacrifice their lives? and others, in this land of liberty, because
they will be virtuous and keep the commands of God, are today
weltering in prison. Woe! to those who have a hand in these things. I
tell you and I tell them, as a servant of God, in the name of God,
that he will be after them and they shall suffer worse than that which
they inflict upon innocent, pure and virtuous men. Now, I bear
testimony to this, and you will know it when it comes to pass. Woe! to
them that fight against Zion, for God will fight against
them—hypocrites! who are wallowing in filthiness, corruption,
adultery, fornication and deception, in the name of virtue are seeking
to destroy a virtuous people, and those who dare honor and obey the
commandments of God.

Vol. 26,  p.37
Then, in regard to the work in which we are engaged. Will it go on? I
tell you it will. Will Zion be built up? I tell you it will. Will the
Zion that Enoch built up, descend? It host assuredly will, and this
that we are building up will ascend, and the two will meet and the
peoples thereof will fall on each other's necks, and embrace each
other. So says the word of God to us. Will we go on with our work?
With the help of the Lord we will. He has told us to do a work, and we
will try to carry it out—we of the First Presidency, we of the Twelve,
we of the Seventies, we of the Elders, we of the High Priests, we of
the Presidents of Stakes, we of the Bishops, and we of the Holy
Priesthood in all its various forms. By the help of the Lord, we will
try, first, to purify ourselves, to purify our households, to get rid
of Covetousness, deception and fraud of every kind, to act honorably
before God and before all men, and to love not the world, nor the
things that are in the world; for if any man love the world, the love
of the Father is not in him. Anything that we may have or possess
comes from God; and if we are exalted, if we possess the good things
of the world—which I tell you in the name of Israel's God we shall, in
spite of all men and all [p.38] their influences, for the people of
Zion will be the richest of all people. This is in accordance with the
Scriptures. The Scripture tells us: "For brass I will bring gold, and
for iron I will bring sliver, and for wood brass, and for stones iron:
I will also make thy officers peace, and thine exactors righteousness.
Violence shall no more be heard in the land, wasting nor destruction
within thy borders."

Vol. 26,  p.38
The Lord has gathered us together that we may learn His law; that we
may be instructed in the principles of truth, righteousness and
virtue; that we may be prepared to honor and magnify our calling, and
glorify our God.

Vol. 26,  p.38
Well, what would you have us do when men are so corrupt—when it is
enough for a man here, because he has the kindness to take some
chickens for a poor woman to sell for her—when that is enough evidence
to convict him that he is an adulterer, and must be placed under bonds
and subjected to trial and punishment. What do they do with their
Christian whores that they have in our midst? Where do they come from?
They are not our institution. But they are protected, they can vote,
they can do as they please, no process can be introduced against them,
for they are a part of their institution, and must be protected; but
anything "in the marriage relation," you know, is different from that.

Vol. 26,  p.38
Well, what shall we do? We will treat all decent men very well, and we
will give the others a wide berth. These corrupt and villainous men
who are seeking to trample under foot the rights of free men and
deprive them of everything in life that is worth having, will suffer
the bondage they are seeking to bring upon us. I tell you that, and we
need not try to make these affairs any worse. We will treat them as
well as we can. There are thousands and tens of thousands who despise
their meanness and corruption—honorable Americans, thousands and tens
of thousands of them who are ashamed of the meanness and corruption of
these wretches; and there are thousands of men abroad who have just
the same feeling. I saw and conversed with a member of the British
Parliament recently, and in speaking about Rudger Clawson's case, said
he: "It is one of the most infamous things I ever heard of, and if you
will permit me I will go to the President of the United States, and
ask him to pardon that man." "Why, yes," said I, "you have my
permission certainly." That is the way a British member of Parliament
talked about the acts and doings of some of our officials here right
in our midst. Yet, notwithstanding the wickedness, the corruption,
venom, the hypocrisy, and the deception that is practiced here, right
under our noses, we will stand still and see the salvation of God, and
God in His own time will remove these vindictive men out of their
places. Meantime we will continue to fear God, and work righteousness;
we will cleave to the truth, live our religion, be humble before God,
train up our children in purity, virtue and holiness, and set
ourselves against everything that is corrupt, hypocritical,
fraudulent, and contrary to the principles of righteousness. We will
trust in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of
those that believe. We will do fight, we will treat all men right, and
we will maintain every institution of our country that is according to
the Constitution of the United States, and the laws thereof, and we
will sustain them.[p.39] By and by, you will find they will tear the
Constitution to shreads, as they have begun now; they won't have to
begin; they have started long ago to rend the Constitution of our
country in pieces; and in doing so they are letting loose and
encouraging a principle which will react upon themselves with terrible
consequences; for if law-makers and administrators can afford to
trample upon justice, equity, and the Constitution of this country,
they will find thousands and tens of thousands who are willing to
follow in their wake in the demolition of the rights of man, and the
destruction of all principles of justice, and the safeguards of the
nation; but we will stand by and maintain its principles and the
rights of all men of every color, and every clime; we will cleave to
the truth, live our religion and keep the commandments of God, and God
will bless us in time and throughout the eternities that are to come.

Vol. 26,  p.39
God bless you and lead you in the paths of life, in the name of Jesus,
Amen.

George Q. Cannon, December 7, 1884

The Second Coming of Our Savior—Preaching of the 
Gospel and the Signs Following—the Gathering—Hatred 
of the World Toward the Latter-Day Saints—No Power Can 
Overthrow the Work of God—Exhortations to Faithfulness

Discourse By President George Q. Cannon, Delivered in the 
Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Sunday Afternoon Dec. 7th, 1884.

Reported By John Irvine

Vol. 26,  p.39
THE speaker commenced by reading the 24th chapter of Matthew; after
which he spoke as follows:

Vol. 26,  p.39
I have read this chapter to call your attention to the predictions of
the Son of God concerning the last days, and the circumstances which
would surround His people previous to His making His second appearance
on the earth. Great interest has been manifested at different periods
by the inhabitants of the earth who have believed in Jesus, respecting
His second coming. Great desires have been manifested from time to
time to understand the signs [p.40] of His advent, and some have gone
so far as to predict the day and even the exact time when He would
make his appearance. According to the revelations that we have
received upon this subject, the day and the hour are not revealed unto
man, neither is it probable that they will be, but we have been told
that that time is near at hand, and that it is our duty as the people
of God, to prepare ourselves for that great a, and terrible day. The
message which the Elders of this Church were commissioned to declare
unto the inhabitants of the earth 54 years ago, and which they have
since that time been declaring wherever they have gone is, that the
time is near at hand for our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ to make His
second appearance, and the Elders of this Church have been sent with a
warning message to all the nations of the earth, to declare unto them
that the hour of God's judgment is near at hand; that the time for the
fulfillment of the prediction of the holy Prophets has arrived, and
that it is the duty of the inhabitants of the earth to prepare
themselves for the great events that are about to take place connected
with the last days. And in order that they might the better prepare
themselves, the servants of God are commanded to call upon the people
to gather out from the various nations where they are living to a
place that God has designated as a place of gathering for His elect,
where they might prepare themselves for the coming of our Lord and
Savior. This was the message which the Elders were sent forth to bear
54 years ago, and from that time until the present they have been, to
the extent of their ability, proclaiming it to the various nations to
which they have had access, warning them in meekness and in humility,
that the time was near at hand for the fulfillment of all that had
been spoken by the mouths of the servants of God in ancient days
concerning the last days. Yet, as I have said, we have had no
authority given unto us, no message to designate the hour nor the day,
nor even the year when the Lord would make His appearance. That has
been kept by the Father. The angels diet not know the hour nor the day
when our Savior spoke the words that I have read in your hearing; and
if the angels have since been informed of it, we have not been advised
to that effect. We have been told that the time is near at hand, and
as an evidence of the near approach of this event we have seen the
fulfillment of many things that were told should take place. This
Gospel of the Kingdom, Jesus said, had to be preached unto all nations
as a witness—the same Gospel that was preached by Him and His
disciples when they were upon the earth—that Gospel of the Kingdom had
to be preached unto all nations before the end should come. And it is
being preached in that manner now. The same principles, the same
doctrines, the same plan of salvation, the same gifts and graces, the
same organization of the Church, the same authority that was in the
Church in ancient days—these having been restored are now being
preached as a witness by the Elders of the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints unto all nations, in order that every inhabitant of
the earth should be warned, that every man should hear the glad
tidings of salvation in his own tongue, and have the opportunity of
embracing or rejecting the same, and of being gathered out and
numbered with the people of God.

Vol. 26,  p.43
I need not say to you, my brethren and sisters, who are familiar with
[p.41] this work, that God has accompanied the preaching of this
Gospel by signs following. You know this. You are living witness
yourselves of the power of God, of the manifestation of the Holy
Ghost, and of the gifts that pertain thereto. This whole people,
called Latter-day Saints, living in these mountains, from north to
south, from east to west, are a body of living witnesses of the truth
of that which I say respecting the outpouring of the Holy Ghost, and
its gifts upon the people; for by the power of the Holy Ghost have
they been gathered; by the manifestations of the power of God have
they wended their way from the various lands they formerly dwelt in,
to this land—impelled by the Spirit of God to do this, in a most
extraordinary manner, ready to abandon homes, ready to forsake their
friends, ready to sever their connection with all that was near and
dear to them previous to their reception of the Gospel. What a host of
witnesses could rise up if they could be gathered together throughout
these mountains! men, women and children, who in their various
languages—every language almost of Europe, and I see here some from
the Pacific Islands, others from far off Africa, others from far off
Australia, would testify, had they the opportunity, to the outpouring
of the Spirit and power of God upon them in the lands where they dwelt
when they heard the Gospel and obeyed it, as taught to them by the
Elders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In this
manner God has borne witness to the inhabitants of the earth, and is
still bearing witness to them wherever they receive His Gospel,
whenever they bow in humility and submission to His requirements,
whether in the United States, in Canada, in Mexico, in Central or
South America, in Europe, in Asia, in Africa, or in any Islands of the
sea—wherever the Elders of this Church go, carrying this message of
salvation, and the people receive it, they receive with it a testimony
from God, not given by man nor by man's wisdom, nor through man's
power, but through the power of the Eternal God,—that testimony
resting down upon them in fullness, burning within them, impelling
them to do that which they never contemplated doing before,—that is,
impelling them to forsake all their old associations, and sever the
ties that had heretofore bound them to their kindred and their homes,
and to come to the land which God has designated as the place to which
they should gather. In this manner God is fulfilling, as I have said,
the testimony of His ancient servants, for John the Revelator,
testified that there should be a cry go forth unto the inhabitants of
the earth to crime out from the midst of Babylon. Jesus says in this
chapter that the elect should be gathered from the four quarters of
the earth, from the four winds of heaven they should be gathered
together, and this preparatory to His coming. And that which I have
read in your healing is abundantly fulfilled this day in our sight and
to our knowledge. Speaking of His disciples and to His disciples, He
said: "Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill
you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake." If this
is not fulfilled this day in our sight and in our hearing, then when
can it be fulfilled? How can it be fulfilled? To-day here is a people
gathered in these mountains, brought from the nations of the earth, as
I have said, dwelling here in peace and in quietness, [p.42] free from
strife, free from litigation, free from war, free from everything that
disturbs and annoys, in every settlement from north to south, from
east to west, wherever they have formed themselves into a community;
living in the possession of unexampled peace. Take the settlements of
this people in Colorado; visit those in Arizona and New Mexico; go
north and travel through Utah and visit Idaho—go where you will,
wherever they have settled, you will find a community dwelling in
peace slid in quietness, loving one another, obeying the law of God,
striving to keep His commandments, seeking to overcome evil,
endeavoring to live themselves in accordance with His requirements,
and to teach their children to do likewise. These are the
characteristics of the settlements of the Latter-day Saints throughout
all these mountains. So far as we are concerned ourselves, we have
scarcely any need of lawyers. They are very necessary as conveyancers,
they are very necessary in drawing up papers, in making wills, in
making deeds, in forming contracts, in doing business of this
character; but so far as the practice of the law in litigation is
concerned, there is no need for their services in any of the
settlements of the Latter-day Saints. The law of God to us when obeyed
is sufficient to lift us above these petty strifes and difficulties.
We should live, if we do not, in a purer and higher atmosphere, in a
region elevated far above that which is occupied by people of this
character. If you travel through the settlements where the Latter-day
Saints have control you will not find drunkenness prevalent, in fact,
if they be true Latter-day Saints, there will be no drunkenness. You
will not hear the name of God blasphemed where Latter-day Saints live;
you will not hear quarrelling; you, will not hear of adulteries and
seductions; you will not witness Sabbath-breaking; but you will see
the people living in the observance of the laws of God, a moral, pure,
peaceable, orderly, people. These are the characteristics of the
communities of the Latter-day Saints where they live according to the
requirements of their holy religion. and though we are far from being
perfect in these respects, though there are many things to complain of
and to find fault with among us, nevertheless these characteristics do
prevail to an extent that cannot be found in other communities of the
same size and in the same circumstances. And yet these words that I
have read in your hearing are this day fulfilled. "They shall deliver
you up to be afflicted," said Jesus, "and shall kill you" (this has
been and is our fate) "and ye shall be hated of all nations for my
name's sake." Most singularly has this prediction been and is being
fulfilled in regard to us. There is not another community on the face
of the earth to-day who are hated by all nations for the sake of Jesus
as are the Latter-day Saints. Go where you will throughout our own
nation; go where you will throughout Christendom; travel among all
people and ask them concerning the Latter-day Saints, and they wilt
tell you that they hate them, that they are a people to be hated, that
they are a people that should be destroyed, that they should not be
tolerated, and that measures should be taken for their entire
extirpation from the earth. One of the most remarkable features
connected with this work is this hatred that exists in the minds of
men and women concerning it. I look upon it as one of the greatest and
most striking evidences of the truth of [p.43] the words of the
Savior, and of the divinity of this work. There is no other people
with whom I am acquainted who so strikingly fulfill the words of the
Savior, and the promises which He made unto His disciples respecting
the consequences of obeying His doctrine as do the Latter-day Saints.
And it is not for their wickedness, because when their lives are
compared with the lives of others, they stand out in striking contrast
with them. This is admitted even by our enemies. They give us credit
fur not being adulterers, they give us credit for not being seducers;
they give us credit for not being thieves; they give us credit for
keeping our word; they give us credit for being honest in our
dealings. To-day, our bitterest enemies in this city, the men who hate
us the most, who would destroy us if they had the power, never dare
say that we are dishonest in our dealings. We keep our word. We
abstain from drunkenness. We abstain from gambling. We do not support
houses of ill fame. We maintain order and peace wherever we go. But we
are accused of many crimes. We are accused of being guilty of many
misdeeds. But when the proof is asked for it is something that has
happened some time ago, something that somebody else knows.

Vol. 26,  p.43
We can be truthfully accused of nothing except this: that we marry
wives, that we sustain them honorably, and that we keep our children
and train them up in the fear of God, and make good citizens of them.
This is the head and front of our offending. It is not truthfully said
that we prostitute women; or that she is degraded here by making her a
prey to lust. It is not said we destroy our offspring. No such charges
are made against us. But the crime is that we honorably take wives in
wedlock and rear children, and bring them up legitimately, teaching
them the principles of righteousness as we understand them. We could
vote to-day—you men who are disfranchised, and you women who are
disfranchised—you could vote to-day if you were adulterers and
adulteresses. Yes, in this land of ours, in this Territory of Utah you
could go to the polls and cast your vote if you lived outside of
wedlock, if you prostituted yourselves, if you made women the victims
of vile lust, if you trampled upon everything that is holy and pure in
the sight of God and of good men, you would not be disfranchised. You
could cast your vote. You could hold office—that is, you could be a
candidate for office, and if elected you could hold it. Therefore, it
is not for adultery, it is not for seduction, it is not for crimes of
this kind that we are hated, but it is because in righteousness and in
truth, without deception and without fraud, we honorably and in the
sight of day—that is we have done so in times past—married wives in
accordance with what we believed to be the command of our Great
Creator.

Vol. 26,  p.43
We are hated of all men and of all nations for Christ's sake. It is,
because of our religion. If we discarded the forms of religion; if we
did trot attach importance to the solemnization of the marriage
ordinance; if it were done in any other name, or in any other form, or
for any other purpose, it would pass, doubtless, as it does in other
society, without being challenged or receiving particular
condemnation. But it is admitted—I have been told it hundreds of
times—that it is because you make this religion. "That is why we hate
it," they say. "That is why we will legislate against it. If you had
not made it religion we [p.44] would not care anything about it." When
I have plead with members of Congress in Washington, and told them
this institution was part of our religion, they have said: "Yes, Mr.
Cannon, that is the difficulty. It is because you make it religion
that we want to legislate against it. If you did not make it religion
there would not be that objection to it that there is." Therefore, as
I have said, the words of the Savior are fulfilled. Because we make
this the religion of Jesus, because we profess to be the followers of
Jesus, and because of being His followers, therefore, as Jesus said,
"you shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake;" not for
anything else, but for the sake of the name of our Lord and Savior
Jesus Christ, whose religion we have espoused, whose followers we
claim to be, and because of being his followers we do as we are doing.
Most signally, then, has this prediction been fulfilled in our sight
and hearing. One of the most remarkable features of the present age is
the hatred that is manifested against this people. It might be that as
a people of our numbers, situated as we are, so far removed from other
communities in these remote regions, might escape observation, and
that we might be left to pursue our own course, quietly, so long as we
did not intrude upon our neighbors. We came to this land a band of
religious exiles seeking a home amid these mountain wilds, content to
live here if we had only bread and water, if we could get sufficient
to sustain life; for the sake of that peace and quiet which was denied
us in the lands whence we were driven we were content to endure all
the hard-ships that could possibly be encountered in this mountain
region. If we could only sustain life we would have been satisfied
with our home here. And we thought we might escape persecution. We
thought we had got so far away that we could worship our God
henceforth without let or hindrance. We did not wish to injure others.
We did not wish to force our religion upon others. We had no design
upon any human being, no design to injure any soul upon the face of
the earth. Our hearts were filled with the desire that others might
comprehend the truth as we comprehend it, that they might partake of
the blessings of the Gospel as we had received them, and to do
this—that is to make them familiar with these things—we were willing
to spend our lives in traveling from land to land and from continent
to continent, without purse said without scrip, preaching, in humility
and in meekness, the Gospel of the Son of God, as we understand it as
a witness unto all nations before the end should come. We went from
land to land preaching this Gospel, calling upon the inhabitants of
the earth to listen to our message, and this was the extent of our
wrong doing. We had not, as I say, any designs against the peace of
any soul upon the face of the earth, but our hearts over-flowed with a
strong and unquenchable desire that they might also receive the Gospel
and the blessings of the Gospel as we had received them. That Gospel
has brought to us happiness, peace, joy unexampled. That Gospel had
filled us with a foretaste of heaven. Through that Gospel we had
received the Holy Ghost and the gifts thereof, and because of that
precious gift we were able to endure all the hardships and all the
persecutions that the wicked might see fit to bring upon us for the
sake of our religion. We were willing to do this. We rejoiced in
it.[p.45] We knew it was more precious than life itself, and many have
been willing to lay down their lives for the sake of the Gospel. We
had left everything that men held dear upon earth for the sake of this
great truth that God had revealed to us, and our souls burned with an
overpowering desire that others might also partake of the same
blessing. Therefore we traveled from nation to nation, bearing these
glad tidings and calling upon the inhabitants of the earth to receive
them and partake of them as we had done.

Vol. 26,  p.45
Now, it might be thought that a people, thus situated would be left
alone to the enjoyment, the peaceful enjoyment of their religion. If
their religion was a heresy they were the sufferers. If their religion
was false they would be the ones that would receive the punishment.
But not content with driving us out, not content with compelling us to
flee to these mountains, the same foul and deadly spirit of
persecution followed us up here into these mountain recesses. They
envied us the possession of these sterile, barren valleys. That cruel
spirit of persecution still followed us, envious of the quiet homes we
had reared by untold and uncounted toil out of the elements that
surround us. We had raised a scanty subsistence from the soil; we had
struggled with difficulties and had eventually succeeded in
surmounting them, that we could hope to live, live without fear of
starvation at least before us. But scarcely was the experiment
decided—for it was but an experiment at best—than the same spirit that
had made our residence in the States intolerable and unendurable to
us, followed us across these plains I that stretched out between us
and our old homes and the old civilization which we had left—followed
us here, and it has followed us from that day until the present, it
has sought to kill us, and it has sought to destroy our liberties. It
has sought to do to us that which was done before—to drive us from our
homes, and send us forth homeless wanderers upon the face of the
earth. This has been its manifestation in our midst in this Territory,
and it seems as though it would not be fully gratified or satisfied
until it has made victims of every one of us; until we should be
numbered with the silent dead, and our voices no more be heard in
proclamation of the Gospel of the Son of God, that we have been
authorized to proclaim to the inhabitants of the earth.

Vol. 26,  p.45
"My brethren and sisters: I do not wish in my remarks to harrow up
your feelings. I wish merely to impress you with some of the events
that are occurring around about us, that you may know that they are
only in fulfillment of the word of God, spoken hundreds and hundreds
of years ago by the Son of God Himself, and by His inspired servants.
We are only moving in the sphere that He intended we should move in;
we are only enduring the trials and afflictions that in His providence
He foresaw and deemed necessary for us to encounter in our passage
through life, and in the establishment of His work upon the earth, and
in preparing the way for the coming of the Lord. Let not your hearts
fail you, therefore: be not discouraged nor consider yourselves in the
least degree oppressed beyond that which is right and proper. All
these things are necessary in the providence of our God. We shall have
more to encounter; but we shall have the strength and the grace
necessary to enable us to meet them and to bear them patiently,[p.46]
and to come out of them victoriously; for as you are often told,
whatever may be the fate of individuals connected with this work, it
is decreed in the heavens by our Eternal Father, that this work, the
foundation of which He has laid, will never be taken from the earth
again, it will never be overthrown. There iS no power that can
overthrow this work of our God. Men may be sent to prison, as Brother
Rudger Clawson has, as Brother Joseph H. Evans has, as others in
Arizona have, for their religion, for practicing that which they
believe to be of God—men may be sent to prison by hundreds, men may be
slain, as our brethren were in Tennessee lately, and as Joseph
Standing was in Georgia, and as brethren were in years gone past in
Missouri, as our Prophet and Patriarch were in Illinois, as our
revered President was shot to pieces at the same time—men's blood may
be shed, the blood of the Saints may stain the ground, the soil may be
drenched with it, but though this may be the case, yet as sure as God
lives so sure will this work that He has established, roll forth and
prevail. the principles of truth connected with it are unalterable and
eternal. They cannot be changed, they cannot be destroyed. You might
as well try to destroy the throne of the Great Eternal Himself, as to
destroy this work, for it is eternal. the truths of this Gospel are
imperishable. They cannot be changed; they cannot be obliterated nor
overthrown. And God has said. this concerning this work—that it will
stand forever. It will overcome every obstacle. It will grow, it will
increase. Everything done against it will only be the means of
accelerating it, or pushing it forward, or insuring to it the victory
that God has promised. I testify this in the name of the Lord Jesus
Christ, for I know it to be true, and I know that every power that
opposes this work will perish. God has said it, and His words, thus
far have been fulfilled. Recount the list of the opposers of this
work, and who is there among the vast host that has ever succeeded? Is
not failure, is not shame, is not ignominy written upon every man's
character and the character of every community that has fought against
this work of our God from the beginning up to the present time? The
enemies of this work have perished, they have gone down into oblivion,
and they have not succeeded. Look at the list from the beginning, from
the 6th of April, 1830, until this day of our Lord, and go through it,
and where can you find, where can you put your finger upon a man or
upon a community that has prospered in fighting against Zion, against
this work of our God? They have gone down, while this people have gone
forward, have risen, gone upward, have confirmed to increase in
influence, in power in the earth and have become more and more
solidified. and it will be so to the end; for this work is designed in
the providence of our God to prevail, and there is no power nor
influence that can prevent it.

Vol. 26,  p.46
It behooves us as Latter-day Saints to be faithful to our God. I will
tell you, my brethren and sisters. there is only one thing that can
injure this work, and that is the sins of the people themselves. You
can injure it, that is, you can injure yourselves in connection with
it. There is no man can prevent another from receiving salvation. God
has not placed it in the power of man to prevent either a man, or a
woman, or a child from receiving salvation. He has placed that within
the power [p.47] of the individual himself or herself. If a man be
damned it is because he takes a course to be damned; he breaks the
laws of God. So it is with us as a people. If we are chastened, if we
are scourged, if our enemies have power over us, it will be because we
do not live as we should do, and this is a subject that I would like
very much to speak about. I would like very much to tell my feelings
upon this point to the Bishops and to the Teachers and to the officers
of the Church. There are practices being indulged in among us that are
sins in the sight of God, and the officers of this Church will be held
accountable for them, unless they take a course to eradicate them from
the midst of the Saints. There should be no man allowed to remain in
this Church who is a Sabbath-breaker, and when you know that there are
meal and women or children who are Sabbath-breakers you should take
steps to have them warned, to have them reproved, and if they will not
repent to have them severed from the Church of God. No mall in this
Church should be allowed to have a standing in it who is a drunkard;
God does not approve of drunkenness; and if there are any drunkards
remaining in the Church, hear it, O ye Bishops, and O ye officers, you
will be held accountable for their sins—the condemnation will rest
upon you. The same with men who blaspheme, either young or old, who
take the name of God in vain, they ought not to be permitted to remain
in the Church. It is a sin in the sight of God, and He will visit a
people with condemnation who permit these things to exist in their
midst. And so with fornication. No fornicator, no adulterer nor
adultress, should have a place among us. They should be warned, they
should be dealt with, they should be cut off from the Church. And so
with every other sin. We have been too lenient, and have permitted
things to exist which are wrong in the sight of God. Now that our
enemies are waging war against us, there is only one way in which we
can expect to withstand assaults made upon us, and that is in being a
pure people, in being a people who live according to the laws of our
God. This we must be, or the favor of God will be withdrawn from us.
Therefore, let, the Church be cleansed. Let the Teachers visit under
the influence of the Spirit of God and the gift of discernment, and
where they find those that are living in opposition to, or in
violation of the laws of God, let them, by the Spirit of God, which
will rest upon them, teach and warn that household, and thus take
steps to purify the Church. Let every Priest and every Teacher go
forth in that spirit in the midst of the Latter-day Saints, and you
will see good results; and then let hell boil over, let hell array
itself with all its fences, let earth and hell combine against this
work of our God, and they cannot succeed. I am not afraid of all hell;
I am not afraid of all the earth, if the Latter-day Saints will be
pure, if they will live their religion. I know that we shall triumph
and come off victorious in every contest, which may God grant in the
name of Jesus. Amen.[p.48] 

George Teasdale, January 11, 1885

Visit to the South—Testimony Obtained From 
God—Necessity and Benefits of Prayer

Discourse By Apostle George Teasdale, Delivered in the 
Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Sunday Afternoon, January 11th, 1885.

Reported By John Irvine 

Vol. 26,  p.48
SINCE the last time I had the privilege of worshiping in this house I
have had the opportunity, in company with Brother F. M. Lyman, of
making a tour through the Southern wards and Stakes of this Territory,
and I must say, though it was my first visit to several places, that I
have enjoyed my labors exceedingly. I appreciated my association with
the Saints, who are striving in their weakness to establish the
righteousness of God upon the earth. I was treated with the greatest
kindness. It is impossible for us to be associated as we are in a
great work—a work that from the beginning has been opposed by the
world—without feeling the greatest admiration for men and women who
are filled with the spirit of integrity, who manifest a love for God
and for the principles of righteousness, that is surprising in the day
and age in which we live, when righteousness is so unpopular. I had
always been given to understand that I was living in an enlightened
age in the blaze of the Gospel; that we had passed from the dark ages
and living in an enlightened age, among educated people; that the
Gospel of the Son of God was being promulgated in all nations, and
that we had the Bible for a guide, so that we need not be mistaken.
This being the case, it is something very curious—I often think so in
my reflections—that men and women are to-day in the penitentiary,
doomed to associate with the worst class of villains, because they
believe in God. The same principle that exalted Abraham and made him
the "friend of God," because he believed God and obeyed Him to-day is
considered a crime: for men and women who manifest that they have the
faith of Abraham by doing the works of Abraham are considered fit
subjects to be placed among murderers and the worst class of
characters. I presume if 50 years ago, any man had said that the time
would come when the doctrine of Christ should be so unpopular that
those who believed God, and who practiced the principles that lead to
endless lives, would be incarcerated in dungeons, he would have been
considered slightly insane. It has been the boast of the nation to
which we are attached, that wherever the glorious flag waved it was a
source of consolation to the people of all nations to know that there
was a spot on earth that was the land of the [p.49] free and the home
of the brave. With a Constitution that is the admiration of all
nations and peoples, nobody would have ever thought for a moment that
the circumstances that we see to-day, and the facts that we are in
possession of, would ever be recorded upon the pages of American
history, and they never would have been had the spirit of patriotism
that dwelt in the bosoms of those who consecrated their lives, their
sacred honor, and their all, for the establishment of a spot on earth
that should be indeed the land of the free, and the home of the brave,
been manifested to-day. No brave man would ever interfere with another
man's religion. It is all that I have. My hope, my joy. Take my
religion away, and I am a beggar of the poorest kind. If I am wrong
show me my wrong: I am open to conviction. I embraced the doctrine
taught by the Latter-day Saints, because I believed that it was true,
and that it promised to me something more than I was in possession of.
The humble man that brought the glad tidings of the restoration of the
Gospel, told me that if I would appeal to God who dwells in the
heavens, and would appeal honestly, He would give me light and
intelligence, and that if I would obey the Gospel I should be put in
possession of knowledge that it was true; that I would learn that
Joseph Smith was no false prophet, but a true prophet sent of God;
that holy angels, holding keys of power and authority, had visited the
earth for the express purpose of restoring the Priesthood of God, that
the Gospel might be taught in power and authority in all nations,
preparatory to the coming of the Son of Man, which is nigh at our
doors. Wishing to be kind to myself; wishing to understand if there
was any truth in all these things, I went where we should all go—to
the throne of grace, and asked God the Eternal Father in the name of
Jesus Christ, that if the testimonies I had heard were true, that I
might have a knowledge of the same; that I was willing to embrace the
Gospel provided that it was true, and it would guarantee the
excellency of knowledge that was promised me if I would seek wisdom at
His hands and obey. I asked that if it was the truth I might know it;
because if any man desired eternal life I did; if any man desired to
serve God I did; if any man desired the remission of his sins I did;
and consequetly I went to that source that I would presume all
intelligent men and women would appeal to when a message of the kind
that came unto us through the Prophet Joseph Smith was sounded in our
ears. I obtained that knowledge, and I have endeavored faithfully to
bear my testimony wherever I have been, and under whatever
circumstances I have been placed. And I have never taken any step but
what I have appealed to the same source, believing as I do in the
Gospel of Christ, believing as I do in the Bible, and believing that
James meant what he said when he stated: "If any of you lack wisdom
let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally and upbraideth
not; and it shall be given him." I went forth in the simplicity of my
heart believing God would answer my prayer. He did so, and from that
day to this I have had, in my associations with the Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints, a living testimony of the truth of this
work, and the closer I live to the requirements and to the principles
that have been enunciated, and are continually enunciated, by inspired
men, the greater the happiness [p.50] and peace I enjoy. Do I wish to
interfere with the rights and privileges of anybody? God forbid. Do I
wish to do anything that would be a reproach to this nation? God
forbid. The course that the Latter-day Saints are taking is an honor
to the nation. It is an honor to this country. That God our Eternal
Father selected men who had been born, and raised on this soil to
usher in the dispensation of the fullness of times. It certainly ought
to be a source of joy to all men who are honest in heart, and who
desire to obtain eternal life, to know that the keys are turned by
which they can obtain the same. But as it was in the days of Christ,
so it is to-day. The world by wisdom know not God: and the course that
they are taking to-day in fighting against the principles of
righteousness is a shocking record to make upon the pages of history.
Can a false religion benefit me? Can man-made systems benefit me? Can
I obtain the remission of my sins and the gift of the Holy Ghost,
through uninspired men? I think not. I have no guarantee for that
inside or outside of the lids of the Bible.

Vol. 26,  p.50
In my travels among the Latter-day Saints, circumstances have arisen
that have caused me some reflection, more especially with regard to
prayer. It might not be believed that among the people who profess to
be Latter-day Saints, there, are those who neglect prayer. We have had
to ask young men, sometimes, that were Elders and who had been
recommended to be Seventies, if they prayed, and in telling us the
truth, they have stated that they did sometimes. I never should have
doubted for a moment that there was anybody professing to be a
Latter-day Saint who did not pray. I cannot understand it. I was
inducted into the Kingdom of God by prayer, and I have been sustained
by the Almighty Father, by prayer, ever since that day. I do not pray
for form sake: I pray because I earnestly desire to have the
fellowship of the Holy Ghost. I cannot understand how anybody can pray
for form's sake, although I have almost been led to believe that we do
so on a great many times and occasions, and I will give you my reasons
for so thinking. What is the idea, after singing, of one of the
brethren standing up here to open this meeting by prayer? Is he not
our spokesman, the mouthpiece, and should we not, while he utters the
sentences, have those sentences pass through our minds in a prayer as
a congregation, and when he has finished it, endorse the same by
saying "amen." What is the meaning of "amen?" So be it. Well, I
noticed to-day that there were few "amens." Why is this? Did we not
endorse the prayer? Did we not sanction it? I should think if we did
we would naturally say "amen"—so let it be. But I will tell you what I
am afraid of—I am afraid of the Latter-day Saints getting into a form
of religion and being no better off than their neighbors, or getting
into the habit of going to meeting and hearing the singing and praying
and the discourse without their having any influence whatever upon our
minds any more than perchance to criticise. I cannot understand how
that kind of a worship can be acceptable to God. If I understand it,
He requires our hearts, and He desires when we pray that we mean what
we say. What is the meaning of prayer? Why, it is to earnestly ask
something that we require with all our hearts. All who are in
fellowship of the Holy Ghost, will ask God [p.51] for His Spirit to be
in their hearts in all their business relations, even, that they might
not soil their hands, but keep them clean and their hearts pure, that
they might merit His approbation. The Lord Jesus Christ encouraged His
disciples to pray—to pray without ceasing. Upon one occasion He spoke
a parable on this very subject, that men ought always to pray and not
faint. And I think if any people on the face of the earth ought to
pray it certainly should be the Latter-day Saints; for we have no
friends on the earth. All the friendship that we can depend upon is in
God our Eternal Father, who controls the actions of all men, and who
allows men to go to a certain extent, that they may prove before the
heavens their corrupt hearts and what they would do if they were
permitted; that every man through the agency that God has given him,
may manifest himself before God, before the heavens, and before all
mankind, as to the spirit he is of in the record that he makes. The
Savior said there was a certain judge, "which feared not God, neither
regarded man: And there was a widow in that city; and she came unto
him saying, avenge me of mine adversary. And he would not for a while:
but afterward he said within himself, though I fear not God, nor
regard man; yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her,
lest by her continual coming she weary me." This was the parable that
the Lord Jesus gave the people when persuading them "to pray, and not
to faint." "And the Lord said, hear what the unjust judge saith: "And
shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him,
though he bear long with them? I tell you that He will avenge them
speedily. Nevertheless, when the son of man cometh, shall He find on
the earth." We as a people should certainly be a prayerful people, and
I would venture to say that if we were not, if we depended upon our
own strength, the time will come when we will fail. I cannot
understand how in a well ordered house family prayer can be dispensed
with. I cannot understand how it is that men understanding the
responsibility that rests upon them, understanding their own weakness
and insufficiency, understanding the blessing that God our Eternal
Father has promised unto us through our faithfulness, should consider
that they can do without God. Why, it seems to me that in every well
regulated family the head thereof should gather his wives and children
around him and bow at the altar, even the family altar, and offer unto
God thanksgiving and praise for His protecting care and to entreat Him
for His Spirit that we might be led by its counsels that He might not
suffer us to be led into temptation, but that He would deliver us from
evil. And I do not consider that this duty is all the time upon the
head of the house. I consider that his family should take a part in
family prayer. I do not consider it necessary for the man to be the
mouthpiece all the time. I think it is just as acceptable to God our
Eternal Father, for the wife to take her part in prayer, and for the
boys and girls to take their part in the same exercise. It seems to me
there is something very shocking that young men should be allowed to
grow up until they are about twenty years of age and have it to say
that their father never asked them to pray in the family circle. We
expect our wives to be associated with the Relief Societies, and
certainly they should know how to pray. We expect our young men to be
associated with Young Men's Associations, and they certainly should
[p.52] know how to pray. We expect our daughters to be associated with
the Young Ladies' Mutual Improvement Associations, and they certainly
should know how to pray. We expect our children to be associated with
the Primary Associations, and they certainly should know how to pray.
We do them an injustice when we do not divide up the honors in prayer
in this way. It is requisite that all should take their turn in
prayer, and I do not think it should be done for form's sake. It
should be the expression of glad hearts, understanding the great
blessings that have been conferred upon us through the light and
intelligence of the Gospel, and feeling glad that we are not under the
condemnation of priestcraft, but that we have the privilege of
priesthood; that we are not led by false teachers who have no
authority, and who know not the way of life and salvation, but that
God has given unto us true teachers, inspired by Him, that His people
may learn of His ways and walk in His paths. And I believe in the
counsel of the Savior when He advised His disciples to pray for their
enemies. If there are people on the face of the earth who ought to be
prayed for, it is our enemies. I would pray the Eternal Father that He
would have mercy upon them, that He would enlighten their minds, that
they might understand they were fighting against the truth. I would
plead before Him that they might be prevented from making the dreadful
record that they are making against themselves; I would plead that the
Lord would be merciful unto them, that they might be converted as we
are converted. Who converted us? The Spirit of God. What do we know
only as we are taught, of God, and what can they know of the true
faith only as they are taught of God. The Lord Jesus Christ, in His
dying agonies, and the martyrs Stephen filled with the Spirit of His
master, said, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do."
Lord, lay not this sin to their charge! Behold the unbounded love and
charity that were in the breast of the Savior and His servant Stephen.
We should have this same Spirit. It is a most awful thing to die in
one's sins. It is most awful to be classed with those who
misrepresent, who are called in the Bible liars, who are to have their
portion in the lake of fire and brimstone, which is the second death.
When I think that men of professed intelligence will stoop to such
dishonorable means to bring trouble upon innocent people, I think they
ought to be prayed for that God would have mercy upon them, that He
would convert them from the error of their ways, that they might not
be blotted out from the book of remembrance and become subject to the
second death. I think common humanity should inspire us to pray for
them. They are the children of God, and they are in the image of God,
they are our brethren and sisters, children of the same parent: and it
is a duty we owe to God and to mankind to pray that the Lord may have
mercy upon sinners. I also believe that we should pray for the Chief
Magistrate of this nation. We should pray that He might be inspired of
God, and be a blessing tO the nation in his integrity to the
Constitution. I believe we should pray that God might overturn, and
displace the wicked, and put in righteous men who would repeal the
unrighteous acts and laws that have been passed, and thus demonstrate
that they were willing that all mankind should enjoy what they
themselves wish to enjoy—the pursuit of [p.53] life, liberty, and
happiness. All the happiness that I have is in keeping the
commandments of God. All the happiness that I have has been given unto
me through the new and everlasting covenant, which God has restored to
the earth. And then I believe in secret prayer. I can go and tell my
Father things that I would not want anybody else to know. I can go and
ask His direction when I require it. So can the sisters, who are
entrusted with these bright spirits that have been reserved in the
heavens and foreordained to come down on the earth in the dispensation
of the fullness of times to assist in the establishment of the Kingdom
of God. How are you going to exercise righteous dominion over your
children and teach them correct principles, unless you enjoy the
revelations of God. I cannot understand how a woman can love her
children and not plead before the Almighty, that they may be protected
from all accident, that they may enjoy their senses, that they may be
preserved in the use of their limbs, that they may not meet with any
accident that would disfigure or disable them in the battle of life. I
think all these things arise on common sense principles. When we know
that God lives; when we know that He hears and answers our prayers;
when we know that we are dependent upon Him and upon Him alone; when
we know that we have no friends outside, and that the world is at
enmity with God, is at enmity with us, and with the principles of
righteousness, we should humble ourselves to the dust, and ask God to
be merciful to us and to all mankind.

Vol. 26,  p.53
Then, again, hew can we have faith in the Gospel, unless we have the
Spirit of God. In a revelation that has been given, and that is
frequently quoted, we are told that when we do as the Lord sayeth He
is bound to fulfill; but when we do not we have no promise. And on
another occasion He said that He could not look upon sin with the
slightest degree of allowance. Do we believe this? Do we believe that
all we have, or that we ever expect to have, comes or will come from
God? Do we understand this principle? Do we understand that if we do
not obey the Gospel, that if we do not offer unto the Father the
offering of a broken heart and a contrite spirit, we will not be
accepted of Him? Do we understand that unless we live the principles
that He has revealed from the heavens, that we have no promise of the
future, and then to think it a light thing not to pray. The Lord has
said with regard to the work of the ministry, and the establishment of
His Kingdom on the earth that, "No one can assist in this work, except
he shall be humble and full of love, having faith, hope and charity,
being temperate in all things, whatsoever shall be entrusted to his
care." How is it possible for us to be put in possession of these
inestimable virtues unless we desire Shem with all our hearts! And how
can we obtain them but by earnest prayer to Him from whence all these
priceless blessings flow? From what other source can we obtain them?
Why, if we thoroughly understand our position, and our entire
dependence upon God our Eternal Father, our prayers would ascend up to
heaven night and day, and they would be mingled with praise and
thanksgiving to God, for the mercies and blessings He has youth-safed
unto us. If we do not see the necessity of this it is because we are
too ignorant to understand the loving kindness of God, and it is
[p.54] time we should wake up to righteousness and good works, that we
may have wise and understanding hearts. The Lord has indeed been
merciful to us as a people. How marvelously He has protected us! How
marvelously He has blessed us as a people, and how cheerfully He has
poured out His Spirit upon us when we have sought it. It behooves us
to walk in His paths. It is our duty to walk in the light, even as the
beloved Apostle said: "If we walk in the light, as He is in the light,
we have fellowship one with another, an d the blood of Jesus Christ
His Son, cleanseth us from all sin." The same beloved Apostle said:
"Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you. We know that we have
passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. tie that
loveth pot his brother abideth in death. Whosoever hateth his brother
is a murderer; and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding
in him."

Vol. 26,  p.54
My brethren and sisters: Let us pray to God our Eternal Father; let us
make ourselves familiar with His Spirit and the impress thereof; let
us, if we have not done so, put our houses in order, remembering that
we are living in perilous times, that we are living in the hour of
God's judgment, that we are on the eve of famine, of pestilence, of
earthquakes; and it behooves every man and woman professing to be
Latter-day Saints to be alive to their duties, to put away all folly,
to live humbly and frugally before God, and to prepare for the
calamities that are coming upon the earth. We have been warned and
forewarned, and I say unto the Latter-day Saints prepare ye, O prepare
ye, for the calamities that are at our doors. Let us cease all
extravagance; let us remember the children entrusted to our care that
they, too, may have something for a day when nothing shall be raised;
let us sanctify ourselves before the Lord, striving to do His will and
keep His commandments, calling upon Him in mighty prayer, (remembering
"The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much,") to
have mercy upon His heritage; and that these valleys of the mountains
may indeed and of a truth be the land of the free and the home of the
brave; which blessings I ask in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.[p.55] 

George Q. Cannon, December 14, 1884

Power Attending the Action of General Conferences—God 
Confirms the Authority of His Servants By Manifestations of His 
Power and Favor—Joseph Smith Chosen and Ordained to Organize 
the Church of God—the Lord Revealed to the Saints His Choice 
of President Brigham Young, and Also of President John 
Taylor—God Blesses Every Man Who Will Magnify His 
Office and Calling, and Gives to One Man Only at a 
Time, Revelation to Govern the Church—
Folly and Wickedness of Witchcraft

Discourse By President George Q. Cannon, Delivered in the 
Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Sunday Afternoon, December 14, 1884.

Reported By John Irvine

Vol. 26,  p.55
IT is always an impressive sight to me to see a congregation numbering
so many people as this does, raise their hands before the Lord to
sustain the names of men who are presented to them as holding office
in the Church, and though we do this semi-annually, in our general
conferences for the General Authorities, and quarterly, that is, four
times a year for the local authorities, it should not be in our
feelings nor in our practice the performance of an empty form, but
should be done in a spirit that will be acceptable unto our Father,
and in consonance with the responsibility that devolves upon the men
whom we sustain. For when we thus sustain these men it means more than
the mere lifting of our hands, or at least should do so. It means the
sustaining of these men by our faith and by our prayers, and so far as
works are required, by our works, and when we thus vote and thus act,
there is a power and an influence accompanying such action as we have
performed this afternoon, that are felt by those in whose favor we
vote: they feel strengthened, and God our Eternal Father seals His
blessing, or causes it to descend upon those who are voted for, and
there is a spirit that rests down upon them from that time forward, so
long as they are faithful and are thus sustained, that manifests
itself unto all with whom they are brought in contact. Let this
congregation lift up their hands to sever a man from the Church, and
no matter how high he may be in authority, no matter what Priesthood
he bears, no matter how great and mighty he may have been in the
Church and in the ministry—let this congregation for just cause lift
up their hands against any such man and how quickly the effect is
felt, how quickly that man is stripped of his power and of his
influence, and of that spirit and those gifts which have been
conspicuous in his labors previous to such action, or while he was in
good [p.56] standing and in fellowship with God and his brethren and
sisters. We have seen numerous illustrations of this in our history.
Name after name might be mentioned of men who have been bright stars
in the firmament, who have been stripped—by their own Conduct to begin
with, and afterwards by the action of the Saints of God upon their
case—of that lustre, of that brightness, and of that glory that seemed
to attend their ministrations. And while this is the case with those
who have transgressd when the Saints of God act upon their cases, so
it is, on the contrary, with those who are sustained in their
ministry, and in their Priesthood, and in their calling by the united,
uplifted hands of the Saints of God in conference assembled, as we
have done this afternoon. Men may sneer at the Latter-day Saints, and
say this is but an empty form, and that it is all pre-arranged. Men
may say what they please about this. It is prearranged according to
the spirit and mind of God, so far as that can be ascertained. When
men are chosen for office, the Spirit of God is sought for by those
who have the right to select, and if there be doubt upon certain
points men are not chosen; but when they are chosen and the mind of
the Lord is sought for to know whether it will be agreeable to Him
that they receive this office, or that they should act in those
positions, and when they are thus selected and thus submitted, then
have said, to the Conference, then if they themselves live so as to
have the Spirit of God with them, they will be clothed with it, and
when they seek to magnify their office God will magnify them before
the people and will show then, and the people that they are indeed His
chosen servants, and that their ministrations are acceptable unto Him,
that He confirms them by the outpouring of His Spirit and the bestowal
of His gifts. It is a remarkable fact in this age of unbelief, in this
age of doubt, in this age of darkness, in this age when men pride
themselves upon there being no revelation, and no knowledge from God—I
say it is a remarkable fact that in this age such as we now live in,
and such as we are familiar with, God, in the history of this people
is accompanying His labors, and the labors to which He assigns His
servants, with the ancient power, with the ancient manifestations, and
with the ancient confirmations by gifts and by mighty signs and works
that He causes His servants to accomplish.

Vol. 26,  p.56
When Moses was about to depart God required of him that he should lay
his hands upon another man to take his place to act as the leader of
the people of Israel. He laid his hands upon Joshua, and a portion of
that spirit and power that had attended the ministrations of Moses in
the midst of Israel was immediately manifested through Joshua, and God
confirmed the selection and impressed upon the people by the signs and
the mighty works which Joshua accomplished that he was indeed God's
chosen servant. He magnified him in the midst of the people; he was
enabled to perform mighty works, and the people, if they had had any
doubts whatever, had those doubts removed by those manifestations of
power. You remember how the Lord showed in the sight of all Israel
that Joshua was His inspired and chosen servant, for under his
direction the children of Israel crossed the river Jordan dry shod. It
was at the time of high water in the river Jordan; but the Jordan was
stayed in its onward course, its waters stopped running, [p.57] and
the whole hosts of Israel, by the direction of this servant of God,
passed over dry shod. In this manner God showed unto His people that
He had indeed chosen this man to be His servant. And so it has been in
the entire history of God's dealings with His people. He has not left
them without a testimony. He has not left them to proclaim Ills word
unaccompanied by His power. They have not been left to argue for
themselves, to plead for themselves, to protest in the ears of the
people that they were the servants of God, and to constantly contend
for their rights as leaders of the people of God. But in every
instance when He chose a man to be His servant, He accompanied that
choice by the manifestations of His power, by the outpouring of His
spirit, and His gifts, so that every honest soul, every humble man and
woman who sought the Lord, might know for themselves that those men
were His chosen ones. A most striking illustration of this suggests
itself to my mind now. It occurred at the time the children of Israel
desired a king. The Lord was displeased with them for this. Samuel
also felt offended, for they had rejected him and his house. They had
a good reason for desiring a king, at least they thought so. The
surrounding nations had kings who went out and in before them to
battle and were their leaders, and they desired to have a king,
especially when the two sons of Samuel, whom he had chosen as Judges
over Israel, were men who had turned aside after lucre, and took
bribes, and perverted judgment. This Prophet of God, this mighty man
of God, happened to have two sons who were unworthy of their father's
reputation, unworthy of the Priesthood, unworthy of their position as
Judges in Israel. in consequence of this the leaders of Israel
gathered together and said unto Samuel: 'Behold, thou art old, and thy
sons walk not in thy way: now make us a king to judge us like all the
nations?" Samuel was greatly offended with the thought. But the Lord
said unto him: "Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they
say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected
me, that I should not reign over them." In other words, the Lord had
led them and chosen for them those who should lead them up to that
time, and now He would give them a king. He designated to Samuel the
kind of man he should be, who he should, be, and told him he should
visit him. The person designated was Saul, and Samuel anointed him
king of Israel. After he was chosen king, it seems that he went about
his ordinary business, and the next we hear of him he was following
the herd, driving up the cattle, when the news came to him that
Nahash, the Ammonite, would only be pacified towards the men of
Jabesh-Gilead upon one condition, and that was that he might thrust
their right eyes out, in token of their subjection, and as a reproach
upon all israel. And then, at that time, when danger threatened
Israel, when there was a necessity for a general, for a man to lead
the hosts of Israel, the Spirit and power of Almighty God, and the
anointing that he had received under the hands of the Prophet of God,
descended upon that young man, Saul, and his anger was kindled at the
insult that had been offered to his nation, and he took a yoke of oxen
and hewed them in pieces, and sent them throughout all the coasts of
Israel, by the hands of messengers, saying: Whosoever cometh not forth
after [p.58] Saul and Samuel, so shall it be done unto his oxen. And
great fear fell upon the people; they gathered out, and he organized
his army, and they fell upon their enemies and cleaned them out.

Vol. 26,  p.58
Now, this is an illustration of the manner in which God operates upon
His servants and upon His people. This young man was following
peaceful pursuits. Though he had been chosen a king, he had not seemed
to assume kingly dignity, he had gone about, his business; but when
the crisis arose, when there was a necessity for some one to step
forward and take the leading position, then the spirit of that
position to which he had been anointed, and to which he had been
chosen by the voice of God, by the act of His Prophet, and by the
approbation of the people, rested upon him, and he emerged from his
obscurity and arose in their midst a king, a leader in very deed and
in truth.

Vol. 26,  p.58
And so it was, you remember, in the case of Elisha. When Elijah was
about to be taken to heaven, the spirit of prophecy seemed to rest
upon all the prophets. The sons of the prophets came forth to Elisha,
and said unto him, "Knowest thou that the Lord will take away thy
master from thy head to-day? And he said, Yea, I know it; hold ye your
peace." At a former time he had been plowing in the field, with twelve
yoke of oxen, when Elijah came along, and Elisha dropped his work and
followed the prophet of God. Afterwards, when Ehijah's departure drew
near, he said unto Elisha, "Ask what I shall do for thee, before I be
taken away from thee. And Elisha said, I pray thee let a double
portion of that spirit be upon me. And he said, Thou hast a hard
thing; nevertheless, if thou see me when I am taken from thee, it
shall be so unto thee; but if not, it shall not be so." And sure
enough, he beheld a chariot of fire and horses of fire, and he saw his
master ascend in his sight to heaven, and undoubtedly that gift that
he had asked for, and that Elijah said should be granted unto hint if
tie beheld his departure, was given to this man of God, it rested upon
him, and when he came to the Jordan, having Elisha's mantle which he
had dropped, he smote the water in the power of God, and cried, "Where
is the Lord God of Elijah?" so that the waters divided, and he passed
over dryshod. God accompanied that man by His power wherever he went.
A great and a mighty prophet was he; so great and so mighty, that it
is related of him that after his death a band of Moabites came into
the land. The people of Israel were burying a man. While in this act,
they became frightened at seeing a band of men, and cast the man into
the sepulchre of Elisha; and when the man was let down and touched the
bones of Elisha, he revived, and stood upon his feet." He was a mighty
prophet, and he received those gifts and this power from God, which He
bestows upon all those who receive the everlasting Priesthood, and who
seek to magnify it in the spirit thereof.

Vol. 26,  p.58
Read, too, of the transformation that occurred When Jesus laid His
hands upon His apostles. The lowly, the ignorant, and the unlettered
fishermen were transformed into mighty men, men of power, men of
influence, men who had communication with the heavens, unto whom God
revealed His mind and will, and through whom He performed mighty
works. These men previously were obscure men, men of humble lives,
fishermen, probably one of the lowest occupations that men followed in
those days, as it is in [p.59] our day. It is a lowly occupation is
that of a fisherman. It is not one that brings great wealth; it does
not bring men into public notice; it gives them no opportunity for
distinction; but these men were men whose lives were hid with God.
These were Princes in disguise, men who had been chosen, like their
Lord and Master, according to my view, before the foundations of the
earth were laid, to be His companions in the flesh, and like Him they
were born in lowly and obscure circumstances. But when He chose them,
when their hearts were touched by the great truths He taught, and they
came forward, in obedience to His authority, to cast their lot with
Him, then the power of God descended upon them; they performed mighty
works, and while they lived upon the earth the Holy Ghost was their
companion, and their fame has come down to us embalmed, it may be
said, through the ages that have transpired, through the ignorance,
and the gloom, and the darkness, and the apostacy that have since
taken place—their names have come down to us from our ancestors, and
the most glorious edifices and structures that the world know anything
of, are dedicated to their memories. God made them mighty in the midst
of the children of men. And so it was with all the prophets. When God
made promises unto them they received them. But they did not receive
these things without exertion on their part, without their seeking
industriously to magnify that Priesthood which had been bestowed upon
them. The spirit and power of God will rest upon a man if he listens
to it. It will impel him to action. If he cherishes it, it will be his
constant companion. It will be with him in times when he will need it,
and when he does need it, if he magnifies his calling, the spirit and
power of the Almighty—that spirit and power and those gifts which
belong to his particular office—will rest upon him, and he will be
made equal to every emergency, to every trial, and will come off
victorious.

Vol. 26,  p.59
How was it with the Prophet Joseph Smith? Whose origin could be more
lowly in a land like ours than his, springing from the humblest ranks
of life, of parents that were not distinguished, or of any family that
was known particularly, bearing a name more Common than any other name
in our language. Yet this man, because God had chosen him, manifested
extraordinary power. Those who saw him, those who listened to him,
those who witnessed his acts, know how mighty he was in the midst of
his fellow men, and how mightily God wrought through him. God chose
and ordained him. He gave unto him His everlasting Priesthood. He gave
unto him the full authority to organize His Church. He did
so—organized this Church, the most glorious fabric that ever was
established upon the face of the earth; because it is God's Church: it
is the Church of Jesus Christ, unparalelled by anything else. No other
organization approaches to it in perfection; nothing lacking, every
detail, beautiful, harmonious, symmetrical, leaving nothing to be
desired. Such is the Church and such the organization that the Prophet
Joseph was the means in the hands of God of restoring once more to the
earth. The plan, the pattern, had been lost entirely. The officers
that formerly filled the Church were withdrawn. The Priesthood that
they held Was taken back to God, and the men who bore it also were
taken from the earth. There had,[p.60] therefore, to be a complete
restoration. It could only come from the God of heaven, and Joseph,
inspired of God, was the means through which the restoration was
made—Joseph, a youth, obscure, illiterate in some respects—that is, he
was not what men would call learned, but afterwards, through industry
and perseverance, became learned, and if he had lived, he would
undoubtedly have become one of the most learned of men through the
gifts God gave him The progress he made when he did live was very
remarkable. By his faith, and inspired of God, he laid the foundation
of this work, and not only did this, but he laid his hands upon other
men and they partook of the same spirit and influence that rested upon
him. They were able to drink at the same fountain, which God, through
him had opened up for them to drink at. They could go to that
fountain, and partake of its holy influence, and their eyes were
opened and their minds were illuminated by the power of God. They were
able also to go forth in the power which He had restored, and thus
once more among men was witnessed the mighty gifts that were
characteristic of bygone ages, when God had a Priesthood on the earth,
when He had prophets and apostles, and mighty men whom He clothed with
a portion of His Spirit and power.

Vol. 26,  p.60
And when Joseph was taken, how was it then? Were the people left
Without some man or men to stand up in their midst to declare to them
the counsel of their Almighty Father? No: the Lord did not leave His
people without a shepherd. He had anticipated the dreadful tragedy
which would rob us of His anointed one; rob us, the Church of Christ,
of our Prophet and Patriarch. He had anticipated this, and previous to
this horrid tragedy, He inspired His servant Joseph to call other men,
upon whom He bestowed all the keys, all the authority, all the
blessings, all the knowledge so far as endowments were concerned, so
far as the power to go unto God and ask Him in the name of Jesus, and
obtain His mind and will, was concerned. He bestowed upon these men
the same gifts, and blessings, and graces, he had received, so that
there was a body of men with all the authority, a body of prophets
with all the gifts of seers and revelators—a body of men left instead
of one man—a body of men were endowed with this power when Joseph was
taken, and the earth was not robbed of that Priesthood which God had
sent His angels from heaven to restore once more to the children of
men, and to act on the earth in the plenitude of its power. There was
no more need, therefore, for angelic visitation to restore it, It was
not taken back to God by the slaying of the Prophet and Patriarch, but
remained with mortal man here on the earth. And, then, when the
question arose as to who should lead Israel, notwithstanding Sidney
Rigdon stood up in the congregation of the Saints, and plead for the
leadership of the people, the spirit and power of the Almighty
descended upon the man whom God had chosen to hold the keys. In the
midst of all Israel, in the face of the entire congregation of
believers and unbelievers, God clothed His servant with such power and
in such a manner that every man that had the least portion of the
spirit of God, and every woman, knew by the manifestations of that
spirit, and by the outpouring of the gift of God upon that man, that
he was the chosen one, and that upon him rested the [p.61] authority,
and the power, and the gifts that had been borne by the Prophet Joseph
during his lifetime. No more plainly was the power of God manifested
in behalf of Elisha, after the taking away of Elijah, than it was
manifested in behalf of President Brigham Young, when the Prophet
Joseph was taken from the earth, and from that day, while he lived on
the earth until he died, the Lord magnified him in the eyes of the
people and blessed those who listened to his counsel.

Vol. 26,  p.61
When he departed there was no contention, there was no strife as to
who should be the leader. The men of God had learned by experience
concerning the Priesthood, and as to who should bear the keys. There
was, therefore, no contention among the leaders nor among the people.
There was no special necessity for any particular manifestation. But I
appeal to you, my brethren and sisters, to-day, in this conference
assembled—has not God accompanied the President of His Church who
succeeded Brigham Young—has He not accompanied him, has He not
accompanied his acts, his counsels and his leadership of the people by
every sign, by every blessing, by every manifestation of power
necessary to confirm in the hearts of Israel the truth that he is
indeed the man whom God had designated, whom God had chosen, and whom
God desired to lead His people Israel? I have no doubt of it, never
had any. I knew it before anything was heard or anything was said. I
knew it by the revelations of Almighty God to me, that God had chosen
His servant John Taylor, to preside over this Church. I know it
to-day. I rejoice in this knowledge, and I rejoice that God still
continues to manifest His power through His anointed one, and through
the channel of the Holy Priesthood, having but one man at a time on
the earth unto whom He, gives the keys to preside over the Church, and
give revelations to the entire Church, as a church and as a people. He
has chosen him from among the prophets, apostles, seers and
revelators, to bear the keys of the everlasting Priesthood upon the
earth in the flesh, he having the power and authority to act for the
entire people, and to receive the mind and will of God for the entire
people. And thus God up to the present time has confirmed His work by
signs following: every man in his place, enjoying the spirit of God,
and the gifts of his office—the President of the Twelve in his office
and in his calling; blessing the Apostles who act as the council of
the Twelve; blessing the Presidents of Stakes with the spirit and
power and girts of that calling—blessing their counsels and filling
them with the power necessary to magnify the Priesthood to which they
are called; blessing the Presiding Bishop and his Counselors; blessing
the Bishops and their Counselors; blessing the High Councils; blessing
the Seventies, High Priests, Elders and Lesser Priesthood; every man
in his place and station receiving his portion of the gifts and
blessings and power of God according to his faith and dilligence, and
his obedience to the commands of God, and also according to the office
and position that he holds in the Priesthood of the Son of God.

Vol. 26,  p.61
God in His marvelous kindness and mercy has organized His Church in
perfection, and has given to every man that bears a portion of the
Holy Priesthood, if he will magnify the same, the gifts and graces
necessary thereto; to given to every woman and to every child who is
faithful in the [p.62] Church of God, the spirit that belongs to the
position of each, according to the faith and necessities of each. And
thus it is that heaven is moved on our behalf; thus it is that the
power of God is manifested from time to time; thus it is that the
people are led and guided as they are and as they have been from the
beginning until the present time, and thus it will be until the end,
until the Church shall be as a bride prepared for the coming of the
bridegroom, for the coming of the Lord Jesus, who is our head, and who
will preside over us and over the Church and Kingdom that will be
organized upon the earth.

Vol. 26,  p.62
Oh, my brethren and sisters, God is not working in vain in our midst.
He is not working in hidden places. He is not concealing His hand and
His power. He is ready to bless every man in His Church who will
magnify His office and calling. He is ready to bestow the gifts and
qualifications of that office upon every man according to his
diligence and faithfulness before Him. But the idle man, the slothful
man, the allan that shirks his responsibility, the man that avoids
duty, the duty of a Deacon, Teacher, Priest, or Bishop, Elder,
Seventy, High Priest, or an Apostle, or one of the First
Presidency—every man that does this God will take from him His gifts
and His blessings; He will withdraw them and give them to the faithful
one. He will clothe His faithful servants with the power that belongs
to the Priesthood in proportion to the diligence and faithfulness in
seeking to magnify their calling, and to live near unto their God.
Mark this, and let it bear with weight upon your mind, for I tell you
it is so. You may ordain a man to be an apostle, but if he does not
seek to magnify that office and priesthood, the gifts of it will not
be with him as they would be with a man who does seek to magnify his
calling: no matter how great his ability, the power of God will not
accompany him unless he seeks for it, for God will be sought after,
and God will be plead with for His gifts and graces and for revelation
and knowledge; He will be sought after by His children, and then when
He is sought after, He will bestow.

Vol. 26,  p.62
Now, when I speak about one who has a right to give revelations to the
Church, I do not mean by that to say that others shall not receive
revelation; for this is a day of revelation. We know the sentiment of
Moses when Joshua became jealous of two of the Seventy Elders
prophecying. The Seventy were gathered around about the tabernacle to
receive the words of the Lord from Moses, when the Spirit rested upon
them, as also upon two of the men who had remained in the camp. Joshua
was jealous for the honor of his master, and asked Moses to forbid
them prophecying. But, no, Moses replied: "Would God that all the
Lord's people were Prophets, and that the Lord would put His Spirit
upon them." He had no jealousy about prophecy. He desired that every
man in the whole camp of Israel might have the spirit of prophecy, and
he gave utterance to that beautiful, glorious expression which I have
just quoted. So with the Elders of Israel to-day. Would to God all the
Lord's people were Prophets. Would to God that every man in Israel had
the spirit and power and gift of prophecy resting upon him. Would to
God that every woman had the spirit of prophecy resting upon her, and
every child. Would to God that all the [p.63] hosts of Israel, those
of the Church of God, had the Holy Ghost and its gifts resting in
power upon them. There is no room for jealousy in regard to the
possession of this gift in the breast of a servant of God. The only
feeling that it ought to produce in the breast of a faithful man is
one of thankfulness, one of thanksgiving to God that others share in
this blessing, that others can partake of this power, that others have
received of this glorious gift from our Father in Heaven. There is no
room for jealousy, therefore, in such cases. Let every man press
forward humbly and obediently in the path of exaltation, in the path
that leads to God. Let every man press forward. He need not be afraid
that any Latter-day Saint will impede his progress. Let every man
speak and act and do as though he were a servant of God, as he is, as
a son of God; let him do this and rejoice in it. At the lame time let
him be careful not to be lifted up in pride, not forgetting who he is,
but obedient to constituted authority, that authority which God has
placed in His Church, and, then, if he do not forget these things,
there is nothing to prevent his onward progress. If he be an Elder, if
he should have the gifts and power that an Apostle should have, who
will be jealous? Certainly no servant of God. If he be a Deacon, and
he has gifts from God, through faithfulness, that belong to an office
higher than his own, is there any one who will not rejoice in it, or
any one who will retard him or throw obstructions in his way? God
forbid that there should be.

Vol. 26,  p.63
Now, in connection with this subject, a man a few days ago—it suggests
itself to my mind and I will speak upon it—brought a communication
addressed to President Taylor and his Counselors, and we read it. It
purported to be a message from God—a message from God to us, that is
to the First Presidency, and through us to the Church. We read the
message, but could see nothing in it particularly; there was
considerable said, but there was nothing tangible, or that gave us
light upon any point that we did not understand before. The man said
he had been in the Church three years, but he had not received the
Priesthood. He had had some spiritual manifestation, in which he heard
a voice say, "thou art a Priest after the order of Melchisedec."

Vol. 26,  p.63
I wish to speak upon this point, that is, in connection with this
subject that I have been speaking upon. God has organized His Church.
He has placed in that Church its officers. As I have said, He has
given to one man, and to one man only, at a time, the keys to preside
over and to communicate the mind and will of God to that Church. While
that man is in that position, seeking to magnify it, he will not speak
to other men and give them revelations for His Church. I wish you all
to understand what I have endeavored to impress upon you—that it is
the privilege of every one to receive revelation. It is the privilege
of every mother to receive revelation from God for guidance in the
training of her children; to he in Communication with the Father
through the Holy Spirit. It is the privilege of children to have the
same Spirit, and to have knowledge from God through that Spirit. What
for? To teach the parents? No. If their parents are in the path of
duty, it is not so; but it is, as I have said, the privilege of every
man, woman and child in the Church to have revelation, to have
knowledge,[p.64] to be instructed of the Lord. But that does not give
them the right to give revelations to the Church. God did not design
it. God never has warranted or sustained any such action. Therefore,
he that cometh in by any other way than by the door, you know what is
said of him; he that climbeth over the wall, he that receiveth
authority from some source outside of that which God recognizes, we as
a people are not bound to receive anything that may be communicated to
him. Out of that which is communicated in that way, there may be
nineteen truths out of twenty statements; but there will be error,
there will be falsehood, there will be something that will mislead,
because there is not the authority from God to lead and to act. God
has His own method of doing things. He chooses whom He will; He takes
away, and remove from the path those that He wishes. It is all
according to His good will and pleasure. He gives unto us authority,
and, as I have said, He confirms it by signs following; and this
Church from the day of its organization, up to the present time has
never been one hour, yea I may say, one moment without revelation,
without having a man in our midst who can tell us as a people the mind
and will of God, who can point out to us that which we should do, who
can teach us the doctrines of Christ, who can point out to us that
which is false and incorrect, and who can, upon all matters that Come
within the range of our experience, and that are necessary for us to
attend to give us the necessary counsel and instruction. This has been
the case always. Therefore, a man may receive mighty signs—I heard the
Prophet Joseph, when I was a boy, say that the time would come when
false Prophets would work mighty miracles in the eyes of the people of
the earth, and they would seek to establish their authority by the
performance of mighty miracles, and we have heard of such things in
our day since his death—but this does not sustain a man in claiming to
be leader of a people, and to give revelations from God. But there is
a spirit that God gives; there is an influence that accompanies His
word when it is proclaimed by His servants that seals itself upon the
hearts of the honest, upon the hearts of the meek and lowly, and those
who are living in close communion with God themselves seals upon their
hearts the truth of that which He says: I have no fears of any of you,
my brethren and sisters, if you will only live near to God. I said the
leaders of this Church do not come bolstering up their own claims. It
is not necessary. You are the witnesses. You are the witnesses whether
John Taylor is President of the Church; whether his Counselors are the
men they should be; whether the Twelve have the authority they claim;
whether the Presidents of Stakes have the authority they claim—you
have this testimony, you are our witnesses, and all the Israel of God,
wherever they live, are witnesses of the truth of these things. You
can testify because you have received—if you should live as you should
do—a testimony independent of that which we can give to you, or any
argument that we may urge—you have received it, if you have received
it properly, from our Eternal Father. You received it in answer to
prayer, direct to yourselves—not through any intermediate source, not
through any man, but through the Eternal Spirit of our Father
descending upon you and bearing witness [p.65] to you—a testimony that
these things are true. You, therefore, are living witnesses of the
truth of these things, and know for yourselves whether they are true
or not.

Vol. 26,  p.65
Now, I have heard that there are men among us who are professing to
cure witchcraft and other evils of that kind. I believe they call
themselves astrologers. More injurious ideas and practices than these
cannot be introduced among a people to lead them to destruction, and I
wish to warn you before sitting down, in regard to this. Do not seek
for those who have peepstones, for soothsayers, and for those who
profess to be able to counteract the influence of witchcraft. They who
say so, seek to play upon your fears, they seek to take advantage of
superstitious fears, and seek to use them for their own advantage and
bring those who will listen to them in bondage to an influence and
spirit that is as foreign to the spirit of God as hell is foreign to
heaven. Any man who professes to have this authority, to have this
power, and to use power outside of that which the Priesthood
authorizes, is a man that should not be listened to; his claims are
false, and his methods are from beneath and not from God. And I say to
all of you, witchcraft you may defy if you live as you should do—defy
it, not in a spirit of defiance, not in a spirit to bring evil
influences upon you, but in the power and strength of our Father and
God. No evil influence of that kind, if you live as you should do, can
have power over you; you are entrenched in the power of God, in the
spirit and gifts of God; you are entrenched round about so that none
of these wicked influences can have power over you. I wonder if Job
thought there was somebody bewitching him when his property was stolen
and destroyed, when his servants were killed, when his son's house
fell and killed his children, when his boils came upon him. I wonder
if he thought that he was bewitched. Why, I hear of some people, if
anything happens to them, even if any of their chickens die, who are
ready to say: "I am bewitched; there is somebody bewitching me." Such
expressions and ideas are prompted by the worst folly that ever
possessed the mind of a Latter-day Saint. Do not such persons know
that not a hair of their heads can fall to the ground unnoticed? Has
not the Savior said so, our Lord and Master? And if so, do you not
think He will care for us? Do not your angels stand continually before
the face of our Father in heaven? And yet shall people unto whom God
has made such glorious promises, and upon whom He has poured out such
glorious blessings—shall they bow to these wicked influences, these
spirits that are not of God, that are full of vileness and darkness
and evil, and do that which they say, and seek to wizards and to
soothsayers, and to diviners and to men and women who, by hidden works
of darkness, profess to obtain knowledge—will the Latter-day Saints do
this to take their vile remedies, and if their children are sick, seek
unto them? The men and women who do this—I do not want to prophecy
evil about them—are in great danger of losing the spirit and power of
God, and having it withdrawn from them, and if they do not repent it
will most assuredly be withdrawn from them. All who take these methods
and encourage these practices I say that the anger of Almighty God
will descend upon them unless they repent, and they will [p.66] find
that their hidden works of darkness will not avail them when the Lord
feels after them, and when His condemnation rests upon them; they will
find this out to their everlasting sorrow. Men who are guilty of these
practices, and who seek to lead away the unwary. and to prey upon the
ignorant and unsophisticated, and to take advantage of their fears,
and instil superstition into the mind, cannot escape condemnation.
These methods are not of God, and beware of them, all of you, and tell
all your friends that it is sinful in the sight of God to yield to
such influences. Pray, rather, to the Father, in the name of Jesus, to
let His angels be around about you, to let His power encircle you, to
let His Spirit be in your hearts and in your habitations, and rest
down upon your little ones, and be of strong faith, and say, like Job,
"Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him." Yes, that righteous man,
though God should slay him, yet he would not fail to trust Him to the
uttermost.

Vol. 26,  p.66
Let these truths rest upon your minds and be not forgotten, and let us
seek as a people to have the gifts and power and blessings of our
Father and God resting upon us continually. I pray God for this
blessing to be with you always, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

John Taylor, November 30, 1884

The Gathering—Our Territorial Condition and 
Organization—the Eternal Nature of Our Covenants—the 
Law of Ancient Israel, Which Required a Man to Marry His 
Brother's Widow—Settlement of the Difficulty Connected With 
the Utah Lake and Jordan River Dam—the Flood—the Lord 
Will Sustain and, Uphold Us—We Must not 
Associate With the Wicked

Discourse By President John Taylor, Delivered in the Stake Meeting 
House, Provo, Sunday Morning, November 30th, 1884.

Reported By John Irvine

Vol. 26,  p.66
I AM pleased to have an opportunity of meeting with you in your
conference, and of talking with you on some principles associated with
the Gospel of the Son of God. in which we, all of us, are more or less
[p.67] interested. We are gathered together from among the nations of
the earth. We have assembled ourselves thus together because of a work
which the Lord has commenced in the interests of humanity, not only
pertaining to ourselves, but pertaining to the world of mankind. In
obedience to the revelations of His will, and the command that He has
given unto His servants through the restoration of the everlasting
Gospel, we have many of us gone forth among the nations of the earth
to proclaim those principles which God has revealed for the salvation,
happiness and exaltation of the human family. We have been gathered
together according to the word of the Lord which He spake by His
ancient Prophets who have lived in the world in generations that are
past, and who, under the influence of the Spirit of God, have given a
very graphic account of the gathering of the people together, in the
last days; and of the instructions they should receive preparatory to
other events that will necessarily transpire upon the earth, as spoken
of by all the holy Prophets since the world was. We are living in what
is called "the dispensation of the fullness of times," wherein it is
said God will gather together all things in one, whether they be
things in the heavens or things on the earth. And we are gathered
together to this land of Zion, (which has been spoken of also in the
Scriptures) where we might learn more perfectly the law of God, and
carry out those principles which He has made known for our
information, for our instruction, for our guidance and direction, as
regards the course that we should pursue, and the blessings that
should attend those who have obeyed His laws and kept His
commandments. We are here really to build up and purify the Church of
the living God. We are here to build up and establish the kingdom of
God. We are here also to build up a Zion unto our God, wherein His
laws can be taught, the principles of eternal truth be communicated,
the relationship and communication opened between the heavens and the
earth, and men placed in a position whereby they will be enabled to
act intelligently, in regard to all matters pertaining to this world
as well as to the world that is to come.

Vol. 26,  p.67
We have been told, and it has been prophesied of, that great
calamities will overtake the nations of the earth. One of the ancient
Prophets (Isaiah, in the 24th chapter) makes use of very peculiar
language in relation to this matter. He says:

Vol. 26,  p.67
"Behold, the Lord maketh the earth empty, and maketh it waste, and
turneth it upside down, and scattereth abroad the inhabitants thereof.

Vol. 26,  p.67
"And it shall be, as with the people, so with the priest; as with the
servant, so with his master; as with the maid, so with her mistress;
as with the buyer, so with the seller; as with the lender, so with the
borrower; as with the taker of usury, so with the giver of usury to
him.

Vol. 26,  p.67
"The land shall be utterly emptied, and utterly spoiled; for the Lord
hath spoken this word. *  *  *  *  *  *

Vol. 26,  p.67
"The earth also is dealed under the inhabitants thereof; because they
have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the
everlasting covenant.

Vol. 26,  p.67
"Therefore hath the curse devoured the earth, and they that dwell
therein are desolate: therefore the inhabitants of the earth are
burned, and few men left."[p.68] 

Vol. 26,  p.68
In relation to these matters we as a people have been very much
interested, and these things have been spoken of for a long, long
time. I have been preaching them between forty and fifty years, and a
great many others who are now living, have borne testimony of these
things; and have gathered together as we have done. This places us in
a very peculiar position, for we not only bring our religion with us,
and the spiritual ideas connected with it—we not, only bring these
things that are spiritual, but we bring our bodies along with us which
are very temporal; and when we gather as we have done here in this
land and form a people such as we are, we necessarily become part of
the body politic of the nation with which we are associated—that is,
of the United States. We are organized here in a Territorial capacity,
as other Territories are organized, and are now living in what was
before the unsettled portions of the United States; we are organized
according to the general provisions made and provided by the nation in
which we live, and we are organized under what is called an Organic
Act, whereby the action of the Government of the United States has
placed us in the position that we now occupy. We have, for instance,
as other Territories have, a governor. We have district judges of the
United States; we have a U.S. marshal, an attorney, etc., etc., and
the same kind of officers that exist in other Territories that are
under and associated with the government of the United States. We have
granted unto us in the instrument called the Organic Act certain
rights and privileges. We send a Delegate to Congress, and are
authorized so to do. We have our Legislature, and have the right of
voting for it. We have our County Courts and Probate Courts, as other
Territories have, and are placed under general regulations pertaining
to these matters as exist in the order that prevails in the United
States. In this respect we act as others do—that is, we are placed
pretty much under the same laws, not quite; pretty much under the same
form of government, not quite; we have certain rights and privileges
ceded to us, not like others have exactly; but to a very great extent
similar to others. In this respect we act and operate as other
citizens of the United States do, and in this respect we have rights,
privileges and immunities as others have so far as they go. But they
don't go with us quite to the extent that they do with other people
under the same circumstances. Nevertheless, perhaps we enjoy as many
privileges and as many rights as we are capable of comprehending and
of magnifying, and it may be possible in the inscrutable wisdom of the
Lord, that we should be subjected to certain kinds of prohibition and
enactments, that differ materially in many respects from those of
other people. But so it is, and these things are quite as beneficial
to us as other things. If we had nothing to cope with or to contend
with, we might feel as the Methodists do sometimes when they talk
about sitting and singing themselves away to everlasting bliss; but as
we are not going to the same place as they are, it don't make much
difference; they can take their road, and we will take ours. We have
other ideas of a religious nature from those entertained by other
people. But taker it as a whole we enjoy very many great blessings. We
are living here in a goodly land. We have many privileges in this
land: and in our [p.69] endeavors to preach the Gospel and gather
together the people under the blessing and guidance and direction of
the Almighty, we have been very successful thus far. Although in our
history there are many things which have been unpleasant for people to
meet with—such as mobbings and drivings, killings and imprisonment,
and a variety of other things that are not pleasant to the feelings of
human nature, yet upon the whole the Lord has controlled these things
for our good, just in accordance with the words of the Psalmist, where
he says: "Surely the wrath of man shall praise thee: the remainder of
wrath shalt thou restrain." It has not been pleasant for people to be
driven, say as I have been, and as many of you have been from our
homes; but, then, we had to endure it, and there is no use grunting
about it. We had to do it in Missouri. We were driven from our homes
there. Then we went to Illinois, and at first we were treated very
kindly. But when we began to grow and increase, they did not like our
religion, and they don't like it to-day, and we don't fancy their's
much either; so on the religious question there is not much love lost.
We had to leave Illinois and come here. It was not very agreeable, as
I have said, to have to leave our homes and our farms and come out
here to live among the Redskins; for this was a desert when we first
came here. It was not full of beautiful farms and houses, orchards and
gardens, cities, villages and hamlets. It was a desert where the red
man roamed unmolested, where the crickets had full sway, and where the
white man had scarcely trodden. There had been a few pass through
before we came here, and it had been discovered perhaps a hundred
years or two by some travelers that had existed in those days; but to
all intents and purposes it was what was called then and marked on the
maps as the "Great American Desert." Since then the solitary place has
been made glad, and the desert has been made to blossom as the rose.
The Lord has been very kind and merciful to us, and opened out our
way, and provided for our wants, and although we may have some little
things to complain of—all of which are very trifling in comparison to
many things that exist among other peoples—yet are we abundantly
blessed all over the land. Is there anybody here in your conference,
or is there anybody in any of the conferences of the Stakes of Zion,
that lacks the necessaries of life? Is there anybody that is destitute
of food, or of clothing, or of habitations? Not that I know of, and if
there are any such things, they ought not to exist among us.

Vol. 26,  p.69
Now, then, if we are blessed we have not to thank any man, or any set
of men for it. If we are provided for, we have not obtained it from
anybody else, but from the Lord God of Israel, who has watched over
and protected His people just as He said He would do. He said it was
His business to take care of His Saints, but, then, it is our business
to be Saints. And being gathered together as we are under these
circumstances, we are organized according to certain laws laid down in
the order of God, and given by revelation of God, for our guidance and
direction, wherein we are instructed in things pertaining to this
world and to the next; pertaining to things that are past, things that
are present, and things that are to come—pertaining to time and
eternity. By this means man, the noblest work of God, is brought into
closer relationship [p.70] with God than he has been for generations
past. Many things have been revealed, and there will be many more yet
revealed that have been hidden from before the foundation of the world
according to the word of God to us, and we are trying to act wisely,
prudently and intelligently, to live and act and conduct ourselves in
a manner that will be honorable before God, that will be honorable
before the holy angels, that will be honorable before all honorable
men and all men who love righteousness and truth and virtue, and who
are inspired by the principle and integrity and by those principles
that emanate from God, and that always lift up and exalt and elevate
those that have embraced and are governed by them. These principles
are revealed to us according to the laws which God has introduced, and
through the medium of the Holy Priesthood, which He has again restored
unto the earth, and we are here to learn His laws that we may walk in
His paths. We are here that we may build temples unto His name, and
that we may administer in those temples. This is the object of our
being gathered together, that we may be brought into a closer union
and relationship to God our heavenly Father, that we may be instructed
in the laws of life, and that we may comprehend the relationship that
exists between us and Him. And while we are looking for calamity and
trouble—wars, pestilence and famine, and all those things that have
been spoken of by the holy Prophets—yet there is to be a voice heard
before that day crying: "Come out of her my people, that ye be not
partakers of her sins and that ye receive not of her plagues"—that is,
speaking of a certain something that is called Babylon. Well, we have
been doing that, and we have been gathered together that we may
comprehend those principles of which I have spoken. We have come here
that we may enter into covenants that are eternal, and which continue
behind the veil. And we expect that while we are organizing Zion here
upon the earth, and seeking to establish the kingdom of God, we have
those who are co-operating with. us above, those who are building and
preparing for us in the heavens mansions to go to. Jesus went to
prepare mansions for those of His followers in His day. Says He: In my
Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told
you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place
for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I
am there ye may be also." There is something very peculiar about those
things, about the preparing of those mansions for those that go behind
the veil. But it is for us to learn to comprehend all these matters.
We read about beautiful cities. We read of the new Jerusalem and the
old Jerusalem. We talk about cities the most magnificent that can be
thought of. Do you think they grow out of nothing? No, they have to be
made just as we make things here, only more intelligently. What is
meant by a certain saying: "Make to yourselves friends of the mammon
of unrighteousness; that when ye fail, they may receive you into
everlasting habitations." Ah! indeed. Well, you can guess what it is.
I will leave it with you.

Vol. 26,  p.70
People find a good deal of fault with us about our having more wives
than one; but, then, that is nothing; we attribute that to their
ignorance. If they were better informed they would know better.
Abraham was a friend of God, and he practiced [p.71] polygamy, under
the direction of the Lord; David was a man after God's own heart, and
he had wives given to him of the Lord. They would have put them in the
Penitentiary, if they had been here to-day. But then because of many
things that transpire in these days, the Lord will make the earth
empty. Why? Because they have transgressed the laws, changed the
ordinances, broken the everlasting covenant. We are gathered together
here in order that we may observe the laws which have been restored
unto us, and keep the everlasting covenant. While they make covenants
for time only, we make covenants for time and for eternity. There is
the difference. Ours is everlasting; theirs until death do them part.
We as wives and husbands expect to be associated after death in the
eternities that are to come. We believe in an everlasting covenant,
and in an everlasting Gospel. An angel was to bring the everlasting
Gospel, and everything associated with it is everlasting. It existed
before we came here. It exists with us in time, it reaches into
eternity, and people that do not have the Gospel have no everlasting
covenants. They think we are very low, on the one hand, because we
cannot comply with their ideas, and we think they are very ignorant
because they don't understand ours. But so it is. We are here to do
the will of God, to carry out His law in all humility and faithfulness
to God our heavenly Father—faithfulness as men to the nation in which
we live—faithfulness to all men—to make known the things that God has
communicated to us.

Vol. 26,  p.71
Now, then, in speaking of covenants, let me follow that subject a
little further. Have we to do with time? Yes. Have we to do with
eternity? Yes. Did we exist before we came here? Yes, and we shall
exist when we leave here. The principles that we are in possession of,
go back into eternity and reach forward into eternity. We are here in
a state of probation, and God, in the infinitude of His mercy and
kindness, has seen proper to bring us together as we are, and then we
are nothing to brag of when He has got us here. Still while many have
rejected the truth we have received it. God has given us His grace to
enable us to comprehend the Gospel and to give us power to obey it,
and some of us have kept faithful for quite a long time, and it is
pretty hard work for some of us to be faithful. It is good to be a
saint. When we get the Spirit of the Lord upon us, we feel to rejoice
exceedingly, and sometimes when we don't have much of that, it feels
rather what we used to call hard-sledding. But there is nothing that
makes things go so well among the saints of God as living their
religion and keeping the commandments of God, and when they don't do
that, then things go awkward and cross and every other way but the
right way; but when they live their religion and keep the
commandments, "their peace flows as a river, and their righteousness
as the waves of the sea."

Vol. 26,  p.71
Now, in regard to these matters there is a subject I have referred to
at one or two of the conferences We have visited lately, and I will
mention it here. The ancient Israelites had a very peculiar law among
them, and yet it was a very proper law, namely, that if a man died,
his brother was to take his wife and raise up seed to him. That would
be a curious kind idea among the world, where they did not believe
anything of that kind; singular kind of a doctrine; but it was a thing
that was practiced among the Israelites, and it is a thing we [p.72]
ought to be practicing among us. That is, if a man has a brother dead
who has left a widow, let the woman left in that kind of a position be
just as well off as a woman who has a husband. Here is a principle
developed which then existed, and I will speak a little on that
subject and show certain reasons and certain whys and wherefores for
these things. If a man should die and leave a wife and she should be
childless, why not her be taken care of as well as anybody else? Would
not that be just. Would not that be proper? Would not that be right?
Yes. But says the man, "I do not know about that. I would rather raise
up seed for myself." Perhaps you might do both. You might if the law
did not prevent you carrying out the law of God in the United States.
If these worthy ancients had lived here, they would not have allowed
them to carry out such a law. Still there is a principle of that kind
exists. Why should it not be put into practice? We do believe, you
know, more or less in this principle. But then there are a certain
class of men who will say: "I would rather somebody else attended to
that business; I would rather attend to my own affairs, and let
everybody attend to theirs." All right. Suppose you do it. We will
carry the thing a little further. This woman's husband has gone behind
the veil, and he is operating there, and probably he will he called
upon in a family capacity to look after those that were coming there,
or help prepare mansions for somebody who is yet on the earth, as
Jesus did for His disciples. He has left His wife behind here, but he
is there operating for others. Now, what would you think of making to
yourselves friends of the I Mammon of unrighteousness; that, when you
fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations? What would
you think of that? We talk about angels taking care of us, and all
sorts of things like that. But I expect that when we get behind the
veil we shall have business to do as much as we have here, and one
thing will be, perhaps, to look after the arrangement of our family
affairs, and things associated therewith.

Vol. 26,  p.72
Now, then, a man here says: "I would not like to embark in a thing of
that sort—marry a brother's wife, and raise up seed for him." What did
they do with such men in olden times? The woman had an opportunity of
loosing his shoe and spitting in the man's face that would not raise
up seed unto his brother, and it was said: "So shall it be done unto
that man that will not build up his brother's house. And his name
shall be called in Israel, the house of him that hath his shoe
loosed." (See Deut. xxv, 5 to 10. See also Ruth iii and iv.)

Vol. 26,  p.72
But we will go again to the other side, and find those there engaged
in doing certain works in the heavens and preparing mansions for those
that are coming. Now, when Jesus went to prepare mansions I do not
suppose that He did it Himself. He had plenty of hands to set to work
of that sort, same as we have here. This man that has died hears his
brother say," I would rather attend to my own affairs," and he says,
"All right, come here and attend to your affairs also. If you are
selfish perhaps I will turn selfish too." Now, what is sauce for the
goose is sauce for the gander. That is the way it presents itself to
me in relation to these matters. If a woman is left by her husband,
let her have somebody to take care of her; if not her husband's
brother, then his next of kin. That is the [p.73] order so far as I
understand it, and I wanted to say so much in relation to these
matters. Why should not women have equal rights with men? They have
these rights and they ought to be sustained and maintained among us as
Saints. We ought to look after the welfare and interest of all.

Vol. 26,  p.73
I shall now refer to what is known as Utah Lake and Jordan river dam
water question. This is a subject that has troubled you a great deal
and upon which there has been much awkwardness and unpleasant feeling.
It was adjusted some time ago, but the agreement, it appears, was not
carried out: in consequence of which considerable trouble was likely
to ensue. President Angus M. Cannon showed me a letter in which it was
stated that a law-suit was commenced in regard to the affair, some of
the parties, thereto being outside of the Church and some inside. In
commencing this suit those inside the Church were not taking the right
course, and they would have subjected themselves to be cut off the
Church, because God has given us laws in relation to these matters
whereby they can be properly regulated wisely and in accordance with
His laws. Brother Cannon (who is President of the Salt Lake Stake)
came to me and wanted to know what to do. He said he could not
regulate these matters as his jurisdiction did not extend beyond Salt
Lake Stake, nor could President Smoot because his jurisdiction did not
go beyond Utah Stake. Here was a dilemma. What shall be done? Could I
show him a way out of the difficulty? I told him I could; that a
council had been provided through the Prophet Joseph Smith, for just
such cases. Some people don't know anything about that, but yet that
is a fact. They did not know that it had ever been used before. It is
a council of twelve High Priests over which the First Presidency of
the Church should preside to adjudicate upon difficult cases that
might arise in the Church, and this should be the highest council in
the Church, and from which there should be no appeal. We called
together this council and met here in this house, and the parties were
heard—some outside of the Church and some inside. Finally we got the
matter adjusted, and I am informed that the decision is satisfactory
to all parties. The council was composed of the following brethren,
viz.: Abraham O. Smoot, President of Utah Stake; Angus M. Cannon,
President of Salt Lake Stake; Warren N. Dusenberry, Probate Judge of
Utah County; Elias A. Smith, Probate Judge of Salt Lake County;
Jonathan S. Page and A. D. Holdaway, Selectmen of Utah County; Ezekiel
Holman and Jesse W. Fox, Jr., Selectmen of Salt Lake County; Presiding
Bishop Win. B. Preston; John T. Caine, Delegate to Congress from Utah;
Bishops Thos. R. Cutler and John E. Booth. After the first session of
the council, in consequence of Hon. John T. Caine being required at
Salt Lake City on official business, Elder L. John Nuttall was
appointed a member of the council in place of Elder Caine. Myself and
Brother George Q. Cannon presided in all the meetings of the Council.
In selecting the council we selected men from the two counties who
were conversant with county affairs, and both counties were equally
represented. But some people will say—How is it the High Council could
not settle the question? Because the High Council in Utah Stake has no
jurisdiction over affairs in Salt Lake Stake, nor has the High Council
of Salt Lake Stake any jurisdiction [p.74] over affairs in Utah Stake,
and the other council was formed just to meet such an emergency. I
speak of this for your information; and, as I have said, when the
matter is thoroughly completed, it will prove to be satisfactory to
all parties.

Vol. 26,  p.74
Now, I want to read you a curious Scripture. We talk a good deal about
water, and about certain laws—laws of hydraulics and hydro-statics—we
have had a good deal of talk about these things lately, I have heard
some very singular remarks made pertaining to the waters of the Utah
Lake by Brother Madsen, who has kept a very accurate account of the
condition of the waters of the lake under various circumstances for a
great number of years. Among other things he said that it was very
difficult to tell how and in what manner the waters of the lake were
sometimes increased. That he had frequently seen large fountains or
springs rising in the lake, that he should think furnished more water
than any of the rivers that flowed into it—and these springs were very
fluctuating, so much so, that it was found very difficult to make any
accurate calculations pertaining thereto.

Vol. 26,  p.74
It is thought and so stated by some writers that there are
subterraneous passages for water flowing from Lake Superior.

Vol. 26,  p.74
This may appear strange to some. But in regard to the flood, the laws
governing hydraulics, as we understand them, were not strictly carried
out on that occasion. Speaking of the flood we read:

Vol. 26,  p.74
"And it came to pass after seven days, that the waters of the flood
were upon the earth.

Vol. 26,  p.74
"In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second mouth, the
seventh day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the
great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened."

Vol. 26,  p.74
What was done? "The windows of heaven were opened," and the immense
bodies of waters that exist in the upper firmament were let down, or
as it is expressed, "the windows of heaven were opened." What else?
"The same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up." You
have got a Brigham Young Academy here. I would like to give the
professors and pupils of that establishment a problem to solve, and
that is—How they could manage to get enough water out of the seas, and
out of the oceans, and out of the rivers, and out of the clouds, to
cover the tops of these mountains and fifteen cubits above, and let
that spread all over the earth? I would like to know by what known law
the immersion of the globe could he accomplished. It is explained
herein a few words: "The windows of heaven were opened"—that is, the
waters that exist throughout the space surrounding the earth from
whence come these clouds from which the rain descends. That was one
cause. Another cause was "the fountains of the great deep were broken
up"—that is something beyond the oceans, something outside of the
seas, some reservoirs of which we have no knowledge, were made to
contribute to this event, and the waters were let loose by the hand
and by the power of God; for God said He would bring a flood upon the
earth and He brought it, but He had to let loose the fountains of the
great deep, and pour out the waters from there, and when the flood
commenced to subside, we are told "that the fountains also of the deep
and the windows of heaven were stopped, and the rain from [p.75]
heaven was restrained, and the waters returned from off the earth."
Where did they go to? From whence they came. Now, I will show you
something else on the back of that. Some people talk very
philosophically about tidal waves coming along. But the question
is—How could you get a tidal wave out of the Pacific ocean, say, to
cover the Sierra Nevadas? But the Bible does not tell us it was a
tidal wave. It simply tells us that "all the high hills that were
under the whole heaven were covered. Fifteen cubits upwards did the
waters prevail; and the mountains were covered." That is, the earth
was immersed. It was a period of baptism.

Vol. 26,  p.75
I will find you another Scripture. It will be found in the book of
Job. Job had been complaining. It is said he was the most patient man
on the earth. Still he had been complaining about the treatment he had
received. He had lost his camels, and sheep, and his children; the
lightning had struck his son's house, and finally he was smitten with
boils, etc. He was not very patient then, not any more so than any of
us would be under similar circumstances. He got a little out of humor;
did not fancy it very much; found himself scraping his body with a
potsherd, and wallowing in ashes. After some of his friends had talked
to him, the Lord spake, saying:

Vol. 26,  p.75
"Gird up now thy loins likes man; for I will demand of thee, and
answer thou me.

Vol. 26,  p.75
"Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? Declare, if
thou hast understanding.

Vol. 26,  p.75
"Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? or who hath
stretched line upon it.

Vol. 26,  p.75
"Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? or who laid the
corner stone thereof;

Vol. 26,  p.75
"When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted
for joy?

Vol. 26,  p.75
"Or who shut up the sea with doors, witch it brake forth as if it had
issued out of the womb."

Vol. 26,  p.75
Who managed that matter Who shut up the sea with doors, when it brake
forth, as if it had issued out of the womb?" Why, the Lord did it.
These are singular expressions. It is said in the other place that
"the fountains of the great deep were broken up."

Vol. 26,  p.75
Now, then, I want to say to the Latter-day Saints, that God has more
to do with the earth, with the waters, with the fountains of waters,
with all the affairs of men, and with everything we have to do with,
than men are willing to acknowledge in a great many instances. What
means the saying, "In the wilderness shall waters break out, and
streams in the desert." Do any of you know of such things? I guess you
do. Plenty of them. What means that Scripture where it speaks of Moses
in the wilderness, when the children of Israel cried out for water in
the desert land, and called on him for water? The Lord told Moses to
smite the rock, and it should give forth water. Moses felt angry with
the people because of their murmuring. And when the people were
gathered together before the rock, Moses said: "Hear now, ye rebels;
must we fetch you water out of this rock?" and he smote the rock and
water came out of it. But Moses did not honor the Lord in that
instance as he ought to have done. The Lord felt angry with him, and
would not allow him to go into the land of Canaan because he did not
sanctify the God of Israel. At the same time the Lord fulfilled His
word to Moses, for when he smote [p.76] the rock the waters came out.
By what principle? Was that according to the law of hydraulics? It was
the power of God that manipulated that affair. So it was in the case
of Elijah. There had been a drouth in the land of Israel, and there
was great suffering in consequence of it. Elijah went and prayed to
the Lord that the drouth might pass off, and that rain might come. The
Lord heard his prayer, and sent the rain. At first, we are told, a
little cloud arose out of the sea, like a man's hand; but by and by
the heaven was black with clouds, and there was great rain. Who was it
that manipulated these matters? It was the Lord. It would appear to
some to be according to the laws of nature, etc. So it would; but at
the same time this was done by the prayer of faith, and the water
flowed forth. And I want to say one thing here, and that is, that if
we are sustained in these latter days, God must sustain us; if we are
upheld, God must uphold us. Men are raging and have been raging
against us; but I will say, as I have often said, Woe! to them that
fight against Zion, for God will fight against them, and He will have
His own way of doing it. It is for us to pursue the even tenor of our
way, and if we will work righteousness and fear God, and keep His
commandments, the wilderness and the solitary places shall be made
glad, (as it has been already abundantly among us) and the desert
shall blossom as the rose. But it will not be to me, or to Brother
Cannon, or to President Young, or to anybody else, that the glory will
belong. We will give God the glory for all our deliverance. He has
been very kind and merciful to us all the day long.

Vol. 26,  p.76
Therefore, let us do right. Let us observe the laws of God, and keep
His commandments, and the blessing of God will be with us. We will go
forward and build our temples and labor therein. We will go forth and
build up the Kingdom of God; we will go forth and purify the Church of
God; we will go forth and establish the Zion of God. When Zion existed
upon the earth it took 365 years to prepare the people thereof to be
translated. But the Lord in these last days will cut His work short in
righteousness. Therefore let us do right. Do right by everybody. Bear
with the infirmities of men and the follies of men. Treat all men
kindly, no matter who they may be—whether they are insiders or
outsiders, or apostates, or any body else—treat everybody kindly. But
do not be partakers of the practices of the wicked. Do not mix up with
the corrupt and evil. If they are hungry, feed them; if they are naked
clothe them; if they are sick, administer to them; but do not
associate with them in their abominations and their corruptions. Come
out from the world and be ye separate, ye that bear the vessels of the
Lord, and let "Holiness to the Lord" be written in every heart; and
let us all feel that we are for Zion and for God and His Kingdom, and
for those principles that will elevate us in time and throughout the
eternities that are to come.

Vol. 26,  p.77
God bless and lead you in the paths of life, in the name of Jesus.
Amen.[p.77] 

George Q. Cannon, November 9, 1884

Similarity of Circumstances Surrounding Former and 
Latter-Day Saints—God is No Respecter of Persons—Revelation 
to Enoch—Christ Preached to the Spirits in Prison Between 
the Times of His Crucifixion and Resurrection—All Must 
Hear the Gospel, and Be Judged Thereby—We 
Must Progress or Retrograde

Discourse By President George Q. Cannon, Delivered in the 
Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Sunday Afternoon, November 9, 1884.

Reported By John Irvine

Vol. 26,  p.77
I WILL read a portion of the 3rd chapter of the first epistle of St.
Peter, and a portion of the 4th chapter; commencing at the 12th verse
of the 3rd chapter:

Vol. 26,  p.77
12 For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are
open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that
do evil.

Vol. 26,  p.77
13 And who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which
is good?

Vol. 26,  p.77
14 But and if ye suffer for righteousness' sake, happy are ye; and be
not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled;

Vol. 26,  p.77
15 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to
give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that
is in you, with meekness and fear;

Vol. 26,  p.77
16 Having a good conscience; that, whereas they speak evil of you, as
of evil doers, they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good
conversation in Christ.

Vol. 26,  p.77
17 For it is better, if the will of God be so, that ye suffer for well
doing, than for evil doing.

Vol. 26,  p.77
18 For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the
unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the
flesh, but quickened by the Spirit;

Vol. 26,  p.77
19 By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison;

Vol. 26,  p.77
20 Which sometime were disobedient, when once the long suffering of
God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein
few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.

Vol. 26,  p.77
21 The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us, (not
the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good
conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ:

Vol. 26,  p.77
22 Who is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God; angels
and authorities and powers being made subject unto him.*  *  *  *

Vol. 26,  p.77
1 Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm
yourselves likewise with the same mind; for he that hath suffered in
the [p.78] flesh hath ceded from sin;

Vol. 26,  p.78
2 That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to
the lasts of men, but to the will of God.

Vol. 26,  p.78
3 For the time past of our life may suffice us to have wrought the
will of the Gentiles, when we walked in lasciviousness, lusts, excess
of wine, revellings, banquetings, and abominable idolatries:

Vol. 26,  p.78
4 Wherein they think it strange that ye run not with them to the same
excess of riot, speaking evil of you.

Vol. 26,  p.78
5 Who shall give account to him that is ready to judge the quick and
the dead.

Vol. 26,  p.78
6 For, for this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are
dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but
live according to God in the spirit.

Vol. 26,  p.78
7 But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and
watch unto prayer.

Vol. 26,  p.78
8 And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for
alacrity shall cover the multitude of sins."

Vol. 26,  p.78
These words, my brethren and sisters, embody to us to-day, though
written by the Apostle Peter, 1800 years ago, the Gospel of life and
salvation. They are exceedingly appropriate to Latter-day Saints, as
doubtless they were when written to former-day Saints. The
circumstances which surrounded our brethren and sisters in former
days, no doubt were similar in many respects to those which surround
us in this one day, probably, with this difference that we are not
scattered to the same extent they were; we have been gathered together
from the nations where the Gospel was preached to us, and are now
living in one community in these mountains. But the same doctrines,
the same principles, the same powers of evil, the same powers of good,
the same Spirit of God, and the same spirit of evil, were extant then,
and were experienced then by the Saints who took upon themselves the
name of Christ, as they are by us who now live.

Vol. 26,  p.78
Since I have come into this stand my mind has reverted to a
conversation which I had a few days ago with a minister of the Dutch
Reform Church, who was passing through this city, and who was
introduced to me, and had a good many inquiries to make respecting our
doctrines. When I told him how God had revealed Himself in these last
days, how He had restored the Everlasting Priesthood, the ordinances
of life and salvation, the Gospel in its original purity and power,
accompanied with the Holy Ghost and its gifts, and had organized the
Church as in ancient days, and related to him what God had said
concerning all the churches in Christendom, he had the question to
ask, which is so frequently asked of all our Elders when they travel
and declare the same message, "Why has God left the Christian world
for so long a time without, these blessings and these powers and these
gifts that you now claim as belonging to your Church and having been
restored from heaven? And what has become of those Christians whom you
say died in ignorance of the fullness of the Gospel of salvation?"

Vol. 26,  p.78
These are very pertinent questions. They are questions frequently
asked of all our Elders. They are questions which suggest themselves
to the minds of every thinking man when he is told that God has
restored the truth in its original purity, with the power and
authority of the Priesthood which have been so long withdrawn. Our
ancestors we may [p.79] have known, at least some of them; we may have
known the morality of their lives, the purity of their intentions, the
goodness of their motives, their exemplary conduct; and if we do not
understand the principles of the Gospel when we are told the message
that the Elders have to bear, the inquiry naturally arises, "Is it
possible that my grandfather, my grandmother, my uncle, or perchance
my father and my mother, have not gone to heaven, that they are not in
the presence of God? Why, better people I never knew, and I have
always thought," says the inquirer, "that they really had gone to
heaven, and now you tell me that unless I am baptized I shall be
damned, and yet they are dead and have not been baptized."

Vol. 26,  p.79
I expect many feel as the heathen king once felt. He was a king of the
Franks, one of the old races that invaded what is now called France.
He had surrendered his old convictions sufficiently to consent to
receive the rite of baptism. A Catholic Bishop from Rome was to
sprinkle him. But before submitting to be sprinkled the thought
suggested itself to the king to ask the question what had become of
his ancestors. The Bishop, more ready than politic, said, "They have
gone to hell." "Then," said the king, "I will go to hell with them; I
shall not be separated from my ancestors," and he refused to receive
the rite of baptism.

Vol. 26,  p.79
Now, I expect that there are many people in the world who, in the
absence, or for the want of knowledge concerning the plan of salvation
would almost feel the same when told that if they did not obey the
Gospel, they would be damned. But when people are enlightened
concerning the plan of Jehovah, the Gospel of the Son of God, they can
easily reconcile justice and mercy as being attributes of the Great
Being whom we worship. As I remarked to this gentleman, "I might
easily answer your question by propounding another question to you.
You are a Christian minister; you preach what you believe to be the
Gospel; what has become of the millions of heathen who died in
ignorance of that Gospel which you profess to obey and accept as the
plan of salvation—the millions of heathen who never heard the name of
Jesus Christ, the only name given under heaven whereby man can be
saved—what has become of them?"

Vol. 26,  p.79
"Oh," said he, "but they were not Christians."

Vol. 26,  p.79
Said I, "Do you think that God makes a distinction between the souls
or the spirits of men? Is there one class of spirits for whom He has a
greater respect than He has for others! Is a Christian soul more
valuable, or more precious, in the sight of our Great Creator, than
the soul of a heathen? I do not believe it myself. I have no such
idea."

Vol. 26,  p.79
But he could see a wide distinction between those who were Christians
and those who were not.

Vol. 26,  p.79
Nevertheless the difficulty still remains, and it will ever remain to
those who do not comprehend the plan of salvation as revealed by the
Lord Jesus Christ. We must remember that God's work is not confined to
this life; that God's plan of salvation extends throughout eternity;
that according to our belief it began to operate in eternity, if it
ever began at all—for it never really in truth began, it always
operated, operated from eternity and will operate to eternity, for all
the children of men, for every human soul. The plan of salvation
devised by our [p.80] Father and God, is intended to save every human
being that will be saved; to reach them all, unless, during this
probation, they commit what is termed the unpardonable sin, the sin
against the Holy Ghost, and become sons of perdition, in which event
salvation ceases (so far as they are concerned) to operate; they put
themselves outside of the pale of salvation.

Vol. 26,  p.80
There is a very interesting revelation contained in the new
translation by the Prophet Joseph Smith, which is found in the Pearl
of Great Price. The revelation says:

Vol. 26,  p.80
"And it came to pass that the God of heaven looked upon the residue of
the people, and wept; and Enoch bore record of it, saying, How is it
that the heavens weep, and shed forth their tears as the rain upon the
mountains? And Enoch said unto the Lord, How is it that thou canst
weep, seeing thou art holy, and from all eternity to all eternity? And
were it possible that man could number the particles of the earth, yea
and millions of earths like this, it would not be a beginning to the
number of Thy creations; and Thy curtains are stretched out still; and
thou art there, and thy bosom is there; and also thou art just; thou
art merciful and kind forever; thou hast taken Zion to thine own
bosom, from all thy creations, from all eternity to all eternity; and
naught but peace, justice, and truth is the habitation of thy throne;
and mercy shall go before thy face and have no end; how is it that
thou canst weep?

Vol. 26,  p.80
"The Lord said unto Enoch, Behold these thy brethren; they are the
workmanship of mine own hands, and I gave unto them their knowledge,
in the day that I created them: and in the garden of Eden, gave I unto
man his agency; and unto thy brethren have I said, and also gave
commandment, that they should love one another, and that they should
choose me, their Father; but behold, they are without affection; and
they hate their own blood; and the fire of mine indignation is kindled
against them; and in my hot displeasure will I send in the floods upon
them, for my fierce anger is kindled against them. Behold I am God;
Man of Holiness is thy name; Man of Counsel is my name; and Endless
and Eternal is my name, also. Wherefore, I can stretch forth my hands
and hold all the creations which I have made; and mine eye can pierce
them also; and among all the workmanship of my hands there has not
been so great wickedness as amony thy brethren; but behold, their sins
shall be upon the heads of their fathers; Satan shall be their father,
and misery shall be their doom; and the whole heavens shall weep over
them, even all the workmanship of my hands: wherefore should not the
heavens weep, seeing these shall suffer? But behold, these which thine
eyes are upon shall perish in the flood; and behold, I will shut them
up; a prison have I prepared for them. And that which I have chosen
has plead before my face. Wherefore, he suffereth for their sins,
inasmuch as they will repent in the day that my Chosen shall return
unto me, and until that day they shall be in torment; wherefore, for
this shall the heavens weep, yea, and all the workmanship of my
hands."

Vol. 26,  p.80
A most important revelation, this, to Enoch, showing unto him the fate
of the wicked after his city should be translated and taken to heaven.
The inhabitants of the earth should grow worse and worse, more
abandoned than ever in their wickedness, until the time should come
for the Lord [p.81] to send forth His floods and drown the inhabitants
of the earth except Noah, and those who received His testimony. All
this was shown unto Enoch; and he was shown that those who had thus
acted, or who should thus act, "would be consigned to prison, they
would be consigned to a place of torment, and because of their
sufferings, because of that which they should have to pass through,
the heavens themselves wept over their fate. Enoch was told that they
should remain there until the day of the Lord Jesus Christ, or in
these words: "And that which I have chosen has plead before my face.
Wherefore, He suffereth for their sins, insomuch as they will repent
in the day that my Chosen shall return unto me."

Vol. 26,  p.81
That is, after the Savior's advent in the flesh, after He has suffered
for their sins; until then, when He should return unto the Father,
they should remain in this prison and in this condition of torment.
"Wherefore, for ths shall the heavens weep, yea, and all the
workmanship of my hands."

Vol. 26,  p.81
Those millions of spirits who had thus committed sin and iniquity unit
could be borne no longer, until the earth groaned under their
wickedness, and cried aloud as with a human voice against the
wickedness upon its surface of which those inhabitants had been
guilty—those millions of spirits were swept off with a flood, the
whole family of man was destroyed, except Noah and those seven souls
who received his testimony, a part of his family, and a part only, for
there were children that Noah had who rejected his testimony, and who
also shared in the destruction that came upon the inhabitants of the
earth. But those eight, including Noah, were the sole surviving
remnant of the entire family of man. The antideluvian world numbered
millions doubtless; millions were swept away from the face of the
earth, and consigned to a place of torment, or to a prison. In this
prison they were immured, doubtless in utter darkness—in the condition
that is so expressly described by the Savior Himself, when upon the
earth—in outer darkness, where there is weeping and wailing and
gnashing of teeth, a place of torment, where they were kept until the
Savior Himself came in the flesh, and proclaimed unto the children of
men the Gospel of life and salvation.

Vol. 26,  p.81
Jesus Himself, on one occasion, went into the synagogue after His
baptism by John the Baptist, and there was handed to Him a book
containing the prophecy of Isaiah, or as it is written in the New
Testament Esaias. He took it and read these words: "The Spirit of the
Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good
tidings unto the meek; He hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to
them that are bound; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord." He
there proclaimed in the words of the Prophet Isaiah, the exact
character of the mission that had been assigned Him by His Father in
heaven. He was not only commanded to preach good tidings unto the
meek, and to bind up the broken hearted, but He was sent to proclaim
liberty to the captives and the opening of the prison to them that
were bound. Thus was a part of His mission foretold by the Prophet
Isaiah a long time before His birth. He Himself confirmed the
correctness of the prediction by reading it in the ears of the people;
and when He left the earth, after [p.82] having established His Gospel
upon it, after having commenced the work of salvation here, after
having ordained men to the authority of the everlasting Priesthood
which He held, the Priesthood of Melchisedec, after having done this
and was slain by wicked men, suffered for the sins of humanity in the
flesh, He then went, in the words that I have read in your hearing
from this epistle of Peter, and preached to the spirits in prison
which sometime were disobedient when once the long-suffering of God
waited in the days of Noah. He went and proclaimed liberty to the
captive; He went to open the prison doors to them that were bound. He
alone could do this. No Prophet that preceded Him had the authority,
for none of the Prophets that had preceded Him had this mission
assigned them. It was His duty as the Son of God, as the Redeemer of
the world, after, as I have said, committing the Gospel to men in the
flesh, after ordaining men to preach that Gospel and administer its
ordinances in the power and authority of the everlasting Priesthood,
to preach to those spirits in prison. It did not take a great while to
commence the work; for He was crucified on Friday, and was resurrected
on Sunday; but in the interim, while His body laid in the tomb, His
Spirit, as is correctly stated in one catechism—I believe that of the
Episcopalians—"descended into hell," and, according to the mission
that had been assigned Him, according to the revelation that God gave
to Enoch before the floods descended Upon the wicked world, according
to the predictions of Isaiah, and according to the power and authority
which He exercised as the Son of God He went and opened the prison
doors to them that were bound, preached to them the everlasting
Gospel, once more, and gave unto them the privilege of receiving it in
the spirit even as though they were in the flesh. Therefore says
Peter, "by which also He went and preached unto the spirits in prison
which sometime were disobedient when once the long-suffering of God
waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing." Then he
goes on and he says—after telling the Saints how they should live, how
the wicked should act, and how they should be treated—he says: "For
this cause was the Gospel preached also to them that are dead, that
they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according
to God in the spirit."

Vol. 26,  p.82
Now, say some, "Oh, this means when men are dead in their sins. This
is what Peter means—dead in their sins."

Vol. 26,  p.82
It does not mean any such thing. That is not the meaning of it. It
means just what it says. It means that the Gospel shall be preached to
them that are dead; that the Savior should carry the glad tidings of
salvation to them, and not only to those who were disobedient in the
days of Noah, but to all the spirit world, to every soul of Adam's
race that had up to that time died who had not received the Gospel in
the flesh. He commenced the work there just as lie did here. He
commenced, as I have said, by preaching the Gospel, by revealing it to
His disciples, by giving them the authority to preach it, and then He
descended into Hades or hell, and He there, doubtless, chose His
ministers, the men who had the authority of the Holy Priesthood, and
set them to the same labor that was commenced on the earth, the labor
of preaching His everlasting Gospel to all the spirit world, to the
millions of spirits who had died either in disobedience to the [p.83]
Gospel of Christ, or in ignorance of that Gospel, never having heard
the sound of it. The Gospel was sent to the entire spirit world,
except, as I have before stated, to those sons of perdition who had
committed the unpardonable sin, or the sin against the Holy Ghost, and
the labor has doubtless continued from that day until the present time
in the spirit world. In the authority and power of the everlasting
Priesthood the servants of God have been calling upon the inhabitants
of that world to repent and believe in Jesus: first to repent of their
sins and be willing to receive the Gospel of the Son of God in its
fullness and in its purity, just as men would receive it in the
flesh—that is, be willing to comply as far as possible with all its
requirements, and also to have this further willingness, that if they
were in the flesh they would submit to and receive every ordinance of
the Gospel of life and salvation. They must not only believe in Jesus,
as I have said, and repent of their sins; not only be willing to go
that far, but be willing to go the full extent of the requirements of
the Gospel, be willing to obey every ordinance and every law that is
necessary, and say in the spirit, "Oh, if I were in the flesh I would
be baptized for the remission of my sins; I would have hands laid upon
me for the reception of the Holy Ghost; I would be willing to obey
every law of God, my Eternal Father, if I had the opportunity in the
flesh of doing so."

Vol. 26,  p.83
Jesus illustrated this principle and the work which lay before Him
very beautifully, in the case of the thief on the cross. One of the
thieves reviled Him. The other turned and rebuked his companion for
reviling the Savior, and asked the Savior to remember him when He came
into His kingdom; for you must understand that the idea had become
prevalent then that Jesus was a king, and they had written over His
cross in three languages, "Jesus, King of the Jews," partly in
derision, doubtless; but it was the truth. Pilate asked Him if He was
not a king, and this robber, doubtless, shared in the feeling that
Jesus was a king. Therefore he besought Him to remember him when He
came into His Kingdom. Jesus said to him: "To-day shalt thou be with
me in paradise." "There I can speak to you," He might have said, "more
fully than I can now. This is our dying hour, and I am not in a
position to preach to you or explain to you the plan of salvation that
I have; but wait awhile, before this day ends you will be with me in
paradise, and there I can make full explanations to you concerning all
that you desire to know."

Vol. 26,  p.83
And this in reality was the case. That day they were in paradise
together. Jesus was in a position to preach to him in the spirit as He
had done to men in the flesh. And you will remember—although it seems
almost unnecessary to repeat it to this congregation who are so well
instructed; but there are young people who are not so familiar with
these doctrines, and, therefore, for their benefit I quote the
Scriptures. You will remember when Mary, after she missed the body
from the sepulchre, rushed forward to a man, supposing him to be the
gardener, and asked him where he had laid the body. She did not
recognize Him at first, but as soon as He made Himself known she
essayed to clasp Him in womanly affection. He, however, told her to
stand back, not to touch Him. You must not put your hands on me, Mary.
Whatever your relations may be to me, you [p.84] must not touch me
now. "Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father; but go to
my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your
Father and to my God and your God." This was His expression when His
body had been resurrected from the tomb. He had not yet been to His
Father—that is, directly to the immediate presence of His Father.
Therefore it was not fit that any mortal should put hands upon Him. It
was not the privilege even of Mary, closely connected as she was with
Him—it was not her privilege to put her hand upon her resurrected
Lord. He had not yet ascended to the Father.

Vol. 26,  p.84
Thus you see the Scriptures corroborate that which I have said in this
respect. His body had lain, as I before remarked, from Friday until
Sunday, in the tomb, and then it was resurrected. But during that
period His spirit had been engaged preaching to the spirits in prison;
they heard the glad tidings of salvation from the Savior. His voice
penetrated the depths of hell, the gloom of darkness, and it awakened
hope within their hearts. He proclaimed liberty to the captive. He
opened the prison doors to those that were bound. He preached unto
them the acceptable year of the Lord: for the time had come for them
to be redeemed from their prison house in which they had been so long
incarcerated for the sins committed in the flesh.

Vol. 26,  p.84
This is the Gospel of salvation that God has revealed. Every human
being that has ever been born upon the face of the earth, every human
being that ever will be born will hear these glad tidings of salvation
proclaimed by those who have authority to administer it unto fallen
man, whether they lived before Jesus, whether they lived at the time
of or since Jesus, or whether they will live yet in the future. They
cannot hear the Gospel. They cannot be judged until they do hear it.
Every principle of salvation will be proclaimed to those who have died
without the privilege of hearing it in the flesh—they must hear it in
the spirit world as well as those who hear it in the flesh. Therefore,
we need not be in any anxiety concerning our ancestors; we need not,
puzzle ourselves with questions as to the fate of the heathen; we need
not be disturbed in our feelings to reconcile the justice of God with
His mercy, or His mercy with His justice, to the children of men. None
of these questions need trouble us, for the reason that by the
revelation of these glorious principles God's mercy is reconcilable in
the most perfect manner with His justice. We see by this that God will
not consign any soul to endless torment without first giving him an
opportunity of receiving or rejecting the Gospel. If he be consigned
to torment it will be as a punishment for violating law. Where there
is no law there is no transgression of the law. There can be therefore
no punishment if a man does not comprehend the law. If it is not made
plain to him, its binding force does not operate upon him; but when he
understands it, when his mind comprehends it, when it is declared to
him, then it begins to operate upon him, and if he reject it, then the
penalty begins to operate also, and unless he repents and obeys that
law he will receive severe condemnation. Therefore in the spirit world
there are grades of punishment just as there are grades of spirits.
Some are ignorant. Some men who never heard the name of Jesus have
lived according to the light that God gave them; for God has given to
every man [p.85] that is born into the world, according to the
revelations we have received, His Spirit. He has given unto every man
and woman His Spirit, not the gift of the Holy Ghost, but His Spirit
by which they are led and guided. Some call it the light of
conscience, the voice of conscience. No man ever committed a wrong
that listened to that voice without being chided for it, whether he be
Christian or heathen, whether he has lived according to the light of
the Gospel or been in entire ignorance of it. Every man has within him
a spirit which comes from our Great Creator, and if we grieve it not
it leads us, guides us, though we may not know the Gospel, as has been
the case with many thousands and millions of human beings. It leads
all the children of men when they listen to it; it leads them in the
path of peace, in the path of virtue, in the path of happiness; but if
they violate that spirit or grieve it, if they go contrary to its
monitions, if they harden their hearts against and sin against it,
then it departs, and another spirit takes its place, namely, the
Spirit of the evil One.

Vol. 26,  p.85
Thus it is that the heathen, many of them have lived lives most
exemplary, lives which are the admiration of posterity. Men not
confined to one race, not to one nationality, but men of every race,
men of every clime, men of every language, have received the same
spirit and have been enlightened by it and their lives have been noble
and admirable, and no doubt have been acceptable to God our eternal
Father. Therefore, when you think about your grandparents whom you
have known, when you think about your parents or some other relatives
whom you have known, who died in ignorance of the Gospel, you have
known their lives, you have known how good their desires were, you
have known how they conformed to the law so far as they understood it,
how moral they were, how exemplary, how correct in their conduct, in
their conversation and in their dealings—when you think of these, you
need not be afraid that they have lost anything because they died in
ignorance of the Son of God. I tell you that God's providence is over
all His children, and He will reward every man and every woman
according to his or her works, and He will reward those who have lived
exemplary lives, those who have been moral, whether they be heathen or
Christian, whether they have known the name of Jesus or not, whether
they have the Bible, or the Koran, or some other book, or no book at
all; whatever may have been their condition and circumstances, if they
have lived according to the light that God has given them, and to laws
that they understood, God will reward them, and will eventually bestow
every blessing upon them which they are capable of receiving. Yes,
those poor people who persecute us, those people who would, in their
ignorance destroy us, we can well say to them and concerning them that
which Stephen said, when about to give up the ghost. They stoned him.
They treated him most cruelly for his belief. He had declared to them
the Gospel; but they stoned him to death. Before he died he said—and
it's the spirit which every man of God, who comprehends the purposes
of God, and the plan of salvation will cherish and always give
utterance to under all circumstances—"Father forgive them, they know
not what they do." They were ignorant. He therefore besought the
Father to forgive them. They did not know what they were doing. They
did it ignorantly. This was [p.86] proved by the fact that the young
man at whose feet lay the clothes of those who committed this bloody
deed, afterwards became a flaming light in the Church and Kingdom of
God, and ultimately laid down his life for that Gospel which he had
witnessed Stephen die for, and which at the time he thought was a
righteous judgment upon Stephen.

Vol. 26,  p.86
My brethren and sisters, we can of all people be charitable. As the
Apostle Peter says: "Above all things have fervent charity among
yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins." And not
only among ourselves, but have charity for an ignorant world who know
not what they do in fighting against God, in fighting against His
truth, in seeking to destroy His Priesthood from the face of the
earth: they know not what they do. We would save them if we could. We
would carry the Gospel of salvation to them. We are ready, as we have
been, to endure all things for the sake of the souls of our fellow
men. We have gone from continent to continent, from land to land, from
island to island, wherever there was a door open, to preach the
Gospel. We have forsaken home, forsaken wives and children, and all
the endearments of home, everything that men love and hold sacred,
even to the sacrificing of our lives for the salvation of our fellow
men—gone without purse or scrip, gone forth in the midst of shame and
ignominy, in the face of persecution of the most cruel and sometimes
of the most dreadful character. We have done this, we are still doing
it, we shall do it, until every soul under the broad canopy of heaven
shall hear the Gospel of the Son of God, this message of life and
salvation which has been entrusted to us. Every mortal shall hear the
glad tidings of salvation. They shall be judged by this message. They
shall receive the blessings of God or His condemnation, according to
their willingness to receive or their determination to reject the
Gospel; and then when this life is ended, when this mortal is laid
aside, we shall go into the spirit world, endowed with the same
Priesthood and authority of the Son of God; clothed with that
authority; enveloped with it, even the fullness of it; we shall go
into the spirit world and continue this glorious labor of warning our
brethren and sisters who once were in the flesh, until throughout the
spirit world the Gospel of salvation shall be heard from one end of it
to the other. It is a never-ending work that which we have taken upon
ourselves. It will never terminate until this earth shall be redeemed,
until the power of Satan shall be subdued, until wickedness shall be
banished from the earth, until He reigns whose right it is to reign,
and every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is the
Christ, the Son of God. Then will this labor cease so far as the
family of man is concerned; but it will never cease until all who
belong to this earth, whoever were born upon it—no matter in what age,
no matter what time, no matter what nationality, shall be redeemed who
can be redeemed.

Vol. 26,  p.86
Now, my brethren and sisters, you have some little idea of the
character of the work in which we are engaged, Do we set too much
value upon our Priesthood—when we talk about Priesthood and
authority—when these are the labors that attend the Priesthood and
that devolve upon it? No, we cannot value our calling too highly. And
I say to you that you have entered upon a pathway [p.87] that leads
back to God. You may dally by the wayside; you may fool away your
time; you may be idle, indifferent and careless; but you only lose
thereby the progress that you ought to make. Unless you commit the
unpardonable sin, you will have to progress. It is written in the
eternity of our God that every soul must progress that does not
retrograde. Therefore, make good use of the time you have. Now is the
time of your probation, now is the time of harvest, now is the summer
of your days. Let it not be said, the harvest is past, the summer is
ended, and my soul is not saved. But let us bear in mind that now is
the probation that God has given us. Let us make use of it by doing
the works of righteousness, by keeplug the commandments of God, by
having our eye on the mark of our high calling in Christ Jesus; which
may God grant in the name of Jesus. Amen.

John Taylor, February 12, 1882

Hostilty of the World to the Gospel—Rebellion of Lucifer 
in Heaven—Seth Given in Place of Abel—Wickedness of the 
Antediluvians—Enoch's Zion—Necessity of Opposing Powers and 
Principles, that Men May Be Tested—Difference Between 
Bigamy and Plural Marriage—Our Marriage Covenants 
Are Eternal—Enmity of Religious Teachers—Our 
Children Should Be Correctly Taught

Discourse By President John Taylor, Delivered in 
the Assembly Hall, Salt Lake City, February 12th, 1882.

Reported By Geo. F. Gibbs

Vol. 26,  p.87
IT is well sometimes for us to reflect upon the position we occupy
before God; it is well for us to understand the relation we sustain to
each other; it is well for us to comprehend the relation that we
sustain to the Church and Kingdom of God; it is also well for us to
know the position that we occupy in relation to the world in which we
live. As intelligent beings it is for us to comprehend all truth so
far as we are capable of understanding it.

Vol. 26,  p.87
The Gospel is spoken of as being light; and when it was introduced by
our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ it was then said, that light had come
into the world. But while light had come into the world there was a
certain class of people that loved darkness [p.88] rather than light,
because their deeds were evil. Jesus, in alluding to himself, said: I
am the true light. And He is spoken of as being the light that
enlightens every man that cometh into the world. And again it is said
of Him: the light shineth in darkness, but the darkness comprehendeth
it not. There are many very significant sayings on the same subject,
that afford food for thought and reflection.

Vol. 26,  p.88
The Gospel of the Son of God has always been obnoxious to a great
portion of the human family. In it there is too much light, too much
truth, too much intelligence; for the bulk of mankind; its principles
are too pure, too noble, too elevating to accord with the general
feelings of humanity and with that spirit that proceeds from the
powers of darkness, and which rules in the midst of the children of
disobedience. And hence people generally have been opposed to it, and
they are opposed to it to-day. People oppose it, but they do not
comprehend it. They speak against it; but they speak of that which
they know not of. And while they think we are superstitious and
ignorant, we know that they are; there is fie doubt on that question.
We know that they "understand neither what they say, nor whereof they
affirm." Therefore to us they are objects of commiseration more than
anything else.

Vol. 26,  p.88
Talk of Christianity and of the Gospel of the Son of God, in all the
ages of the world, whenever and wherever it was proclaimed, there was
a spirit of hostility and antagonism manifested towards it from the
very first. We may go back as far as the days of Cain. We read that
Adam had two sons, named Cain and Abel. Cain lent himself to the enemy
of all righteousness, and became what is termed in Scripture, the
father of lies. He rebelled against God, and rebelled against his
father, and instigated by the spirit of enmity which proceeds from the
evil one, he killed his brother.

Vol. 26,  p.88
These things are not always understood nor the reasons for them. But
it has been revealed unto us that Cain loved Satan more than he loved
God, and that he placed himself under his influence. And when Cain and
Abel offered up their sacrifice, Cain offered his at the instigation
of the devil; and his sacrifice, of course, was not accepted. God knew
his heart and the feelings by which he was actuated, and therefore
rejected his offering. Then came Lucifer, the devil, and says to Cain,
"I told you the Lord would treat you wrong; He has treated me wrong;"
and he instigated him to kill his brother, which he did. And why?
Because his brother believed in God, and obeyed God; and because he
believed in the atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ, which had been
made known to them; because he believed these principles, and because
Satan was opposed to them, he instigated Cain to kill his brother.

Vol. 26,  p.88
It looked a rather awkward thing for the world under these
circumstances. As we read it—there were two sons, one of them
righteous, the other wicked; the wicked killed the righteous, and the
world was left under these influences to a certain extent. But then
Adam had other sons and other progeny, and he himself was there; and
he believed in God, and blessed God for having revealed the Savior,
and the plan by which he and his children were to be redeemed from the
fall, which he had been an active participator in bringing about,
which, probably, was all right that it Should be brought [p.89] about.
And from that time the spirit of antagonism existed between the two
principles; the power of God and the power of the adversary. It had
commenced, in fact, before that time. Lucifer and those that were
associated with him were cast out of heaven because they rebelled
against God their Heavenly Father. They were not willing that He
should carry out the plan of redemption and salvation which He had
devised before the world was; and having been cast out of heaven, he,
with them, became full of wrath and of hostility against the purposes
and designs of the Almighty in regard to the salvation and exaltation
of the human family. And this spirit continues to grow and extend; and
the descendants of Cain multiplied as did the other descendants of
Adam.

Vol. 26,  p.89
By and by another seed was raised up to Adam, namely Seth, to stand in
the place of Abel. "For God (said Eve) hath appointed for me another
seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew." And he became the
representative of God, as Adam was the representative of God. He took
Abel's place as the representative of God and the laws of God; and he
had revelation, and the Priesthood, and the Gospel, and was acquainted
with the principles of truth. Finally, there was a number of prominent
men of whom we read, but of whom a very short account is given; no
matter, it is not necessary to enter into details on these subjects,
but I wish to touch upon some of the leading points thereof.

Vol. 26,  p.89
After a while wickedness had spread very extensively upon the face of
the earth; so much so, that we read that the thoughts of men were evil
and that continually; and it became inexpedient to the Lord to permit
the people to live to perpetuate their corruptions and infamies. And,
therefore, God decreed that He would cut them off from the face of the
earth, that they should not have the power to perpetuate their
species, and thus become the fathers and mothers of lives and be the
media through which the intelligent, pure spirits that existed in the
eternal world should receive bodies or tabernacles. They were to be
deprived of that privilege.

Vol. 26,  p.89
But before this was done the Lord sent messengers among the people
proclaiming to them what was about to befall them if they did not
repent and turn from their evil ways. Enoch was one of these; he stood
at the head of that dispensation. He, as we are doing, sent out
missionaries among the people who had become very numerous. Their
mission was to call upon the people to repent and to obey the Gospel
and to believe in the Son of God and to obey His law; and to tell them
that God had prepared a scourge for those who would not repent, that
they would be destroyed from off the face of the earth by a flood; and
the people thus destroyed should be cast into prison, a prison which
God had prepared on purpose for them. And when these men went to
preach this doctrine many believed on them and they were gathered
together, as we are, unto a place which they called Zion. And they
were placed under the direction of the Holy Priesthood, men who were
inspired of God, with whom He communicated; and whom he taught in all
the principles pertaining to the Gospel of the Son of God; and they
continued in this condition for a length of time. And as they gathered
out from among the people, the Spirit of God was withdrawn from among
the people; and they [p.90] became exceedingly angry, angry at Enoch
and angry at those who preached the Gospel to them. And the nature of
men is just about the same now as then. They spoke all manlier of evil
against the servants of God who ministered among them; they rejected
their testimony, and not only that, but, like some of the very pious
people in our day do towards us, they thought it would be doing God
service to sweep these men off the face of the earth. And they thought
so in earnest for they gathered together their armies for that
purpose. The Saints were under the immediate direction and guidance of
the Lord, and were, therefore, governed by revelation, and the power
and Spirit of the Lord rested upon Enoch. And he rose up and
prophesied and told the wicked of the fate that awaited them; and the
power of God rested upon him in a marvelous manner, so much so, that
the mountains trembled and the earth shook, and the people were afraid
and fled away from his presence, because they could not endure it.
Their armies were scattered, and they failed to accomplish that which
they in their wickedness had designed to do.

Vol. 26,  p.90
But still the same spirit that animated them continued to grow and
increase. And finally after the Saints of that day had become
sufficiently taught, they and their city—that is, the great majority
of them and their city, ascended up to heaven. We are told in the
Scripture—which is a meagre account of it, that—"Enoch was not, for
God took him. And we may add, Enoch's city and Enoch's people were
not, for God took them; they were translated. The principle of
translation was a principle that at that time existed in the Church,
and is one of the principles of the Gospel, and which will exist in
the last days.

Vol. 26,  p.90
Many of these that were left, continued to bear testimony to the
truths taught by their predecessors; and they themselves were caught
up from time to time, according to certain revelations communicated
through the Prophet Joseph Smith.

Vol. 26,  p.90
The spirit of antagonism to the truths of God, and to the order of
God, and to the law of God, and to the Priesthood of God and the
Gospel of the Son of God, continued to exist. By and by the flood
came, and the things spoken of by the men who had preached among them,
were fulfilled, and the people swept from the face of the earth. They
were shut up in prison, in the prison house which had been prepared
for them, A few people were left, eight only—Noah and his wife, and
his three sons and their wives.

Vol. 26,  p.90
One of the great evils that existed among the people was that the sons
of God married the daughters of men; or, in other words, many who were
connected with the Church mixed themselves up with those who were not;
and thus their hearts were drawn away from God, and in the sight of
God they were no better than those who rejected His servants; and
consequently they perished with the disobedient and wicked.

Vol. 26,  p.90
There is something associated with these things that it may be
necessary to refer to. It is necessary there should be opposing
principles, light and darknees, truth and error, virtue and vice, good
and evil, etc. It is necessary that man should go through a state of
probation and trial, that he should have the opportunity of receiving
or rejecting correct principles, or the Gospel of the Son of God. And
it is a further development to us, that if men have not had this
opportunity upon the earth, they will still have it.[p.91] There is a
further principle exhibited here in relation to this matter. Those
very men who rejected the Gospel in their day were visited by Jesus
after He was put to death in the flesh and was quickened by the
Spirit; He went, we are told, and preached to those spirits in prison
who had been disobedient in the days of Noah. And connected with that
there is another principle; it is to place all mankind on the same
footing, that all men of every age and nation may have the same
privilege. And we are informed they will have. And hence, the Gospel
is an everlasting Gospel; the Priesthood is an everlasting Priesthood;
the work in which we are engaged commenced with our Father in heaven,
it has been revealed from time to time to man upon the earth, and it
will continue in all its power, fullness and glory in the eternal
worlds, until all things that God has designed pertaining to the
welfare and exaltation of the human family will be accomplished.

Vol. 26,  p.91
In relation to these things there are some remarkable passages
contained in the Bible. For instance:

Vol. 26,  p.91
"As the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of Man
be.

Vol. 26,  p.91
For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and
drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe
entered into the ark,

Vol. 26,  p.91
And knew not until the flood came and took them all away! so shall
also the coming of the Son of Man be."

Vol. 26,  p.91
This is a very significant Scripture, and if correct is pregnant with
the greatest consequences to the human family; if not correct then
everything we believe in is a phantom and our worship and religion are
vain, and not only ours, but everybody else's. But if such a personage
as Jesus existed, and if he spoke those words, He most assuredly spake
the truth, and they will most assuredly be fulfilled. 

Vol. 26,  p.91
Now, in speaking of the two great principles, the two opposites, it
must needs be that there be opposition in all things; that is,
darkness as opposed to light; error as opposed to truth; evil as
opposed to good, etc. We are told by one of the old Apostles that the
"Fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness,
goodness; faith, meekness, temperance;" and the spirit of evil is
envy, hatred, malice, lying, slandering, uncharitableness, etc. We are
told also in the Book of Mormon the same things precisely. Whenever we
see lying, slandering, enmity, hatred, malice, we see the fruit of the
spirit of darkness, no matter how pious the people are who profess
these sentiments and who operate therein. And this is carried out
still further in the revelations of John; the Lord through him says
"For without [the city] are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and
murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie." Such
characters have no place within; but those who fear God and work
righteousness, who have washed their robes and made them white in the
blood of the Lamb, they will be introduced into the presence of God,
to participate with Him in the glories there referred to.

Vol. 26,  p.91
Hence, while these things here upon the earth make men feel
exceedingly unpleasant, exceedingly, unhappy and uneasy, when they get
through and expect to get to heaven they will find themselves outside
the city, because the pure would not have such society among them
neither would they, here It is necessary, I say, that those principles
[p.92]  should exist in order to test men, to try and prove them. It
was necessary that Jesus should be tried in this way. We are told that
"it became Him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things,
in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the Captain of their
salvation perfect through suffering." And again, when John saw an
innumerable company clothed in white, one was heard to ask, "What are
these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they?" The
answer was: "These are they which came out of great tribulation, and
have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve Him day and
night in His temple."

Vol. 26,  p.92
There is something very interesting for Saints to reflect upon in
relation to these matters. And there is something that goes a little
further than we think about sometimes; and that is, while we profess
to be followers of the Lord, while we profess to have received the
Gospel, and to be governed by it, a profession will amount to nothing
unless we have washed our robes and made them white in the blood of
the Lamb. It is not enough for us to be connected with the Zion of
God, for the Zion of God must consist of men that are pure in heart
and pure in life and spotless before God, at least that is what we
have got to arrive at. We are not there yet, but we must get there
before we shall be prepared to inherit glory and exaltation; therefore
a form of godliness will amount to but little with any of us, for he
that knoweth the master's will and doeth it not shall be beaten with
many stripes. It is "not every one that saith unto me Lord, Lord,
shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but He that doeth the will of
my Father which is in heaven." These are doctrines of the Gospel as I
understand them. And it is not enough for us to embrace the Gospel and
to be gathered here to the land of Zion, and be associated with the
people of God, attend our meetings and partake of the Sacrament of the
Lord's supper, and endeavor to move along without much blame of any
kind attached to us; for notwithstanding all this, if our hearts are
not right, if we are not pure in heart before God, if we have not pure
hearts and pure consciences, fearing God and keeping His commandments,
we shall not unless we repent, participate in these blessings about
which I have spoken, and of which the Prophets bear testimony.

Vol. 26,  p.92
However, to proceed in relation to these matters I said that it was
necessary there should be opposing powers, and that men should be
tested and tried as Jesus was, and just as other people have been. And
why? Having passed through this ordeal that we may overcome the evil
with the good; for it is to him that overcometh, saith Jesus, that I
will grant to sit down with me upon my throne, as I have overcome and
sit down upon my Father's throne. It is not to him that puts on the
armor only, but to him that fights the good fight of faith, and
overcomes the world, the flesh and the devil; for him there is laid up
a crown of righteousness which the Lord, the righteous Judge, shall
give unto Him.

Vol. 26,  p.92
That power and spirit that disturbed the elements and affected the
people of the old world still operates among the children of men, and
it is—I was going to say a necessary adjunct to the Gospel, in order
that men may be tried and proven. Jesus, [p.93] of course, understood
these things when He said, "If they do these things in a green tree,
what shall be done in the dry?" Said He, "Blessed are ye when men
shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil
against you, falsely, for my sake. Rejoice and he exceedingly glad:
for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the
prophets which were before you." There is something very pleasing in
reflecting upon these things. To be thrown into a world of evil where
strife and corruption exist, and to be mixed up with it; and then to
have sent to them the principle of truth, a spark of intelligence
descending from the throne of God, the light of the everlasting
Gospel, which if men receive in their hearts will bring them into
communication with God their Heavenly Father, and make them to feel
that they are fighting on the side of God and the right, for
everything that ennobles and has a tendency to exalt man. There is
something worth striving for in a battle of this kind, and there is
something glorious in being able to conquer. It tries men's souls
sometimes. Peter, you know, trembled under it; but Jesus said, "Fear
not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul; but
rather fear him which is able to destroy both body and soul in hell."
I say unto you fear Him; never mind the other power. You have drank
from the river the streams whereof make glad the city of our God. The
light of eternal truth has beamed upon your minds, and your hearts
have been glad in the hopes of eternal life which have been presented
to you when under the influence of the Spirit of God. You have
rejoiced in the hope that blooms with immortality and eternal lives.
Filled with this Spirit you feel that you are an eternal being having
the principles of the everlasting Gospel within you; that you have
received the everlasting Priesthood, that you are associated with
principles that will exalt and ennoble man in time and throughout the
eternities to come. There is something pleasing about it.

Vol. 26,  p.93
And when these miserable "dogs"' howl and the coyotes yelp and exhibit
their folly and nonsense—I was going to say, who the devil cares? Some
people would think it is impious to say a thing like that. Yes, and
the same people think it very honorable to lie in order to oppose the
truth. No matter what men think of these things. I am not very precise
in choosing my words in reference to such matters.

Vol. 26,  p.93
But then, did we expect to get along much better? People are very much
exercised about us. Well, let them exercise themselves. They are very
much troubled. Let them trouble themselves. I am pleased to witness
the spirit of calmness and quiet and unconcern that exists among the
Saints of God. It is the Spirit of God and the Gospel of the Son of
God that gives that. And it is for us to continue to do right and keep
the commandments of God; and let us be careful that when men tell
these horrible stories about us, that they are not true. Blessed are
you when men revile and persecute you, and say all manner of evil
against you, falsely, for Christ's sake; but if they should speak evil
of us, and that evil be true, then there would be no blessing
connected with it. We could tell a great many things truthfully
against these same people that slander and lie about us; but it is a
dirty business, a business that reflects no credit upon any one that
is engaged in it. Let them take their course. We can afford to [p.94]
move upon a higher plane, doing good to them that injure us; and we
can pray for those who evil entreat us; that we may be the children of
our Father in heaven, who makes His sun to shine on the evil and the
good, and His rains to descend on the just and on the unjust. Who, let
me ask, were to be pitied during the time of the flood? the people
that disbelieved and disobeyed the Gospel, or the people that were
caught up to heaven? Would you feel very sorry for those who were
connected with the Zion of God, or would you feel sorry for those
poor, miserable, little-souled, ignorant people who rejected God and
His law, and who in consequence had to be swept off from the face of
the earth—which class would solicit your commiseration?

Vol. 26,  p.94
To-day God has revealed to us great, principles; and he is desirous
that we should do right and obey His law, and keep His commandments.

Vol. 26,  p.94
Among other things there is a great hue and cry about what they call
polygamy and what they call bigamy; but our plural marriage is no more
their bigamy than white is black or than light is darkness, but
seemingly neither they nor their judges nor legislators either can or
do want to comprehend the difference between the two, great as it is.
It would seem that they either do not know or do not want to know the
difference between a man's marrying a second wife without the consent
or knowledge of the first wife, and in doing so deceiving the one he
marries, who believes him to be a single man; and a man's marrying a
second wife with the knowledge and consent of the first wife, and
living with his wives in honorable wedlock, performing the duty of a
husband to them and of a father to their children, and maintaining
sacredly his marriage vows. I would suggest either a little gas or
electric light be turned on, and that it be allowed to shine upon the
visions of their dull understandings; it may help them some. But it is
evident that men do not want the truth, therefore they must believe as
they choose in regard to these things; it is really a matter of no
moment to us. But for the information of such people, if there be any,
let me say, their bigamy is deception and fraud and a breach of the
marriage covenant; while our polygamy, as it is called, is the
fulfilling of the marriage covenant, it is honorable and the fruits of
it are good; theirs is done clandestinely, ours openly; we acknowledge
ours, they repudiate theirs. They judge us from their own standpoint,
and their eye being evil, of course they see nothing but evil in us.
With them a man may have his wife and also be mixed up with other
women, and while he may be rolling in wealth, at the same time,
perhaps, his poor, unfortunate offspring, the product of his vice and
corruption, may be sweeping the crossings of the streets of our large
cities, begging from his father a penny to help to support a miserable
existence. This is compatible with their high stare of civilization
and purity. God save us from such "Christianity," from this time,
henceforth and forever. ["Amen" from voices in the congregation.] We
do not want it. We would say in relation to that what a Prophet said
on a certain occasion, "O my soul, come not thou into their secret;
into their assembly, mine honor, be not thou united." We expect to be
associated with more honorable principles, and with more honorable
people in time and throughout all the eternities to come.[p.95]  

Vol. 26,  p.95
There is one thing I wish to say, We do not preach to them this very
obnoxious doctrine of polygamy for them to practice. Our Elders are
sent forth to preach faith, repentance and baptism for remission of
sins. The doctrine of plural marriage does not belong to people who
are governed by such principles as they are, people who break their
marriage vows and who wink at those who do it, people who violate
their sacred honor with the opposite sex and trample upon and destroy
millions of the daughters of Eve, and drag them down to death and
destruction,—it does not belong to such people; it belongs to the
people who have obeyed the Gospel of the Son of God, the people who
are in possession of the principles of life, and who are keeping the
commandments of God; it does not belong to Latter-day Saints even
unless they are pure and virtuous; unless they are honorable and
worthy they cannot be associated with any such thing, much less can
the class that I have referred to who are making so much noise about
it; so they need not trouble their heads.

Vol. 26,  p.95
These things you Latter-day Saints understand. When President Hayes
was here, in conversing with him I told him that it was not our
intention to crowd our peculiar ideas upon the religious world; that
we had received the doctrine of plural marriage as a part of the
Gospel, and that it was only for pure men and pure women, that class,
and that class only, could receive it and practice it, and make it
honorable; it was not for the licentious and corrupt, but for those
who feared God and worked righteousness, who were true to themselves
and true to the female sex, and who would stand by and sustain them
and preserve them in purity and honor. There is quite a difference,
you perceive, between the one and the other.

Vol. 26,  p.95
We are seeking to catty out the word and will of God, according to the
revelations which he has given unto us, all of which are based upon
truth, virtue, purity and holiness, principles that are eternal, that
always have existed amid always will exist. the Christian world make
their covenants for time only; we for time and for eternity. They
expect to be associated with their wives "until death do them part."
We expect to be associated with ours not only for time but for
eternity. They not entering into any covenants for eternity, assume no
obligations beyond this life; but I am sorry to say, it is quite a
common thing among them to violate the covenants they make pertaining
to this life. But that I may not be misunderstood let me say further
with regard to this, there are many honorable people in our nation as
well as other parts of the world, men who regard strictly the honor of
their social ties, men who feel interested in the welfare of society,
who are desirous to see correct principles prevail; but with the
understanding they have of us—they believing that we are corrupt and
are introducing religious tenets for the purpose of gratifying the
sensual passions of man; that all are vile and corrupt at heart, and
that we take the ground that we do for the purpose of defending our
position and of making it statutory—I do not wonder at such men
entertaining the feelings they do against us, because believing the
lies that are circulated about us, they, of course, think that we are
introducing that which will corrupt and demoralize society; and they
know the state of society now, and so do we. And they are desirous to
stop a thing of this kind. The clergy, too, are very [p.96] much
exercised, as a class, about us, and they appear to be the most
incapable of all classes to tell the truth concerning us; these pious
people circulate all kinds of falsehood about us under the name of
religion. I need not refer to those things, the fact is well known to
you.

Vol. 26,  p.96
Is it then to be wondered at that people generally who do not
comprehend the true situation should come to the conclusions they do
about us? I think not. Should we feel angry at such a feeling? No.
Should we feel angry at those falsifiers? No; they are to be pitied
because they yield themselves to work iniquity; they, therefore,
become subjects of compassion. What did the same class of persons say
of Jesus? If he healed the sick, or opened the eyes of the blind, they
persuaded the people to give God the glory for, said they, "we know
this man is a sinner." If He cast out devils, this pious class said,
He did it through Beelzebub the Prince of devils. And even when he was
condemned to die and the people were asked whether He should be
released or whether Barabbas, the thief, should be released, it was
"the chief priests and elders," the pious clergy of that day, that led
the popular clamor, that "persuaded the multitude that they should ask
Barabbas, and destroy Jesus." The same spirit that moved upon the
religious teachers of that day to incite the populace against Jesus
and the Apostles, is moving upon the same class today to do the same
towards us; and they are doing all they can do. They, notwithstanding
their piety, are of their father the devil whose works they do. And
what shall we do? "Rejoice and be exceeding glad: for great is your
reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were
before you."

Vol. 26,  p.96
Do we want to force the Gospel upon them? No. All religious classes,
the Methodists, the Presbyterians, the Baptists, the Catholics, and
all others have the right to worship God as they please, they have the
right to either receive or reject the Gospel of Christ. If we had the
power to force it upon them we would not do it; freedom of the mind,
and the free exercise of the rights of men is part of our religious
belief; therefore, we would not coerce them if we could. And if I
would not coerce them in that I certainly would not crowd upon them
the doctrine of plural marriage, for it is well known that after men
join our Church they must prove themselves sometime before they are
considered worthy of it.

Vol. 26,  p.96
When I reflect upon the terrible degradation that exists in the land,
and the dens of vice and infamy that flourish and keep pace with our
boasted enlightenment, I am not surprised that honorable people should
feel horrified at the misrepresentations and lies that have gone forth
concerning us. I received a letter not long ago from Brother Cannon,
in which he states that he was approached on the subject by a
gentleman, a member of Congress, who had visited here. He told Brother
Cannon that when he was here he was told some very strange stories
about the Mormon people, and he had made up his mind when he should
meet Brother Cannon to speak to him about it. He said that a
gentleman, or at least, a person that had the appearance of
respectability, told him when he was here that doings akin to a
Saturnalia were quite a common thing among the people—the promiscuous
mixing [p.97] of the sexes indulging in unrestrained license. This
gentleman says that this was told to him in the most solemn manner,
and that too by a resident of this city. He told Brother Cannon too
that he was glad to hear him contradict it. You know Latter-day Saints
whether such a condition of things exists among us or not; and yet
such wilful falsehoods are fabricated and circulated by persons  who
pass themselves off as our friends. It cannot be wondered at that
honorable men should feel exercised in their feelings against us; but
when this class of people—and there are thousands and tens of
thousands and millions of such people—are correctly informed, they
will feel differently toward us. But then, it matters not really what
men's ideas and feelings may be; and I do not feel that we are called
upon to contradict all the infamous lies and misrepresentations that
are circulated about us by men and women who are living in our midst.
I say now, as I said to a gentleman not long ago who remarked, that a
great racket was being made about us, meetings were being held and
resolutions were being passed, etc.,—I said, they may work as they
please and "resolute" as much as they please, this we could easily
stand, but hands off.

Vol. 26,  p.97
We are accused of being degraded and ignorant. I find that there is
nearly twice the amount of illiteracy in the whole of the United
States pro rata, as there is in Utah; and this fact exists
notwithstanding they have had millions of dollars to sustain their
institutions of learning while we have not had a penny. I am grateful
to God our Heavenly Father, that we stand in as favorable a position.
Let us continue to go on in every good word and work. Let our young
people's improvement associations, and our Sunday and day schools
receive our encouragement and aid; and let our children be taught by
our friends and not our enemies. Latter-day Saints will, you send your
children to be taught of people who would teach them enmity to their
fathers and mothers, and who would sow in their young hearts the seed
of enmity to the principle of religious liberty, men who, if they had
the power, would destroy the altars of freedom that the fathers of
this country fought for? We do not want our children to be instructed
by persons whose mission among us is to endeavor to instil into their
young hearts enmity to the Gospel of the Son of God as revealed by Him
through His servant Joseph Smith. We have men quite as capable to
teach as they are, we stand on a platform as elevated as theirs, and a
great deal more so. And by and by we expect to be as far ahead of them
in science, art and literature, and everything calculated to ennoble
and exalt a people and a nation, as we are new ahead of them in regard
to religious matters. But as to their religious matters, you may wrap
up the whole of them in a thimble and put it in your vest-pocket, and
hardly know it was there. [Laughter.] Any ten year-old boy of ours who
could not meet any of their ministers on matters of religion, I should
consider very ill-informed.

Vol. 26,  p.97
Well, it is for us to keep the commandments, to train up our children
in the lear of God, to live unto God, and I will risk the balance.
Amen.[p.98] 

Franklin D. Richards, January 18, 1885

Our Labors Are Interesting and Peculiar—Character of the 
Latter-Day Saints—the Blessing and Privilege of Priesthood—the 
Primary Associations—Our Warfare is One of Faith—We Must 
Importune for Our Rights—Necessity for Good Lawyers—
the Gift of Wisdom—Persecution Will Tend 
to Unite Us—We Should Be Pure

Discourse By Apostle F. D. Richards, Delivered in the 
Tabernacle, Ogden, Sunday Afternoon, January 18th, 1885.

Reported By John Irvine

Vol. 26,  p.98
IT is always a pleasure to meet with the Saints, and I always find
substantial pleasure in bearing that portion of the labor of the
ministry which devolves upon me. Of course there are times when human
nature is physically incapacitated from labors. Nevertheless I rejoice
exceedingly in the contemplation of the work that we are engaged in.
Certainly the review of our immense subject, our great calling, our
vast labor, and the wonderful results that follow them—when they are
reviewed as they were this morning, and called up before our minds,
must awaken deeply interesting and I should hope broadly expanded
views and reflections in the minds of the Saints.

Vol. 26,  p.98
We are, as a people, and also our labors as well as the results of
them, a great outstanding witness to the world of the divine character
of the work we are performing—the high order of our calling to perform
that work, as well as pointing significantly to the grand and glorious
results which must inevitably follow the labor and toil that are now
upon the Latter-day Saints. Any person whose bosom is warmed and whose
intellect is lit up by the Holy Spirit must rejoice greatly in the
contemplation of the great last dispensation which is now fairly
before the world, fairly upon the Saints, like the harness that is
upon those that are appointed to labor, to pull, to lift, and to toil.

Vol. 26,  p.98
Where is there any people upon the face of the earth, except the
Latter-day Saints, who have from their religious convictions—or from
any system of ethics or morals that they possess, gone forth upon the
face of the earth, and, from honest, conscientious convictions, and,
from their most heart-felt appeals, taken hold of the honest in heart,
or of the vicious in heart; anywhere upon the face of the earth, and
gathered [p.99] together a people comprising twenty to thirty
different languages and nations, and brought them together to any
place, located them, and established a system of government that has
been for their improvement, for their benefit, for the increase of
their influence, their peace, or their happiness in any sense, either
spiritual or temporal?

Vol. 26,  p.99
You can look abroad upon the earth in vain to find any other example
that has any kind of relationship, or bears any kind of analogy or
appearance like unto the work that is being performed by the
Latter-day Saints in the days in which we live.

Vol. 26,  p.99
Who is it that is doing this work What is the character of this
people? Are they those that have been through the schools and been
educated to appear in the most plausible and convincing manner in all
classes of society? Are they those that have been brought up in
affluence and comfort; that can present every thing that is pleasing
and engaging to the eyes, the ears and the minds of those they
address? Not at all. Not many learned or noble. It is often the
inexperienced boys that are picked up from the plow, from the
workshop, to the humblest of laboring men, toiling, struggling, and
many a time when they have not been able, from persecution and
oppressive circumstances in which riley have been placed, to make a
comfortable livelihood, yet they have left the bosoms of their
families and gone forth in faith carrying the principles of eternal
truth and administering them, with an honest heart and clean hands and
by the authority of the Holy Priesthood from heaven to the children of
men. And what have they done? What has this simple, humble plan
accomplished? Without money in their pockets, without letters of
recommendation even to the people, without means oft times to make
them comfortable, abnegating themselves, deficient in the comforts and
necessities of life, they have gone forth with their hearts full of
love and blessing to the human family to find other bosoms kindred to
their own, though strangers in appearance, ready to receive the glad
testimony of these servants of God. It is not the learned and the
noble, nor the wealthy of the earth that have brought their hundreds,
their thousands and their tens of thousands to this country.

Vol. 26,  p.99
It has been the potency of those principles that have been taught by
the simple and many times Silent testimony of the Holy Ghost, by the
still small voice, that has carried conviction to the honest, the
humble, laboring poor, and has brought them home here to Zion—they
that want to know more of God, they that come from the crowded cities
and other portions of the earth—find here a piece of a new world; they
take hold and make to themselves homes, all in the name of Israel's
God, and by the calling of the voice of the Good Shepherd. Oh, how
beneficient and how munificent has the Lord our God been unto us!
Behold! as I look abroad this afternoon in this house, I contemplate
the great mass of this congregation that are partakers of the Holy
Priesthood. It is not a few that are partakers of the holy calling,
the authority to administer in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. It
is the echo of that saying that is written in the Scriptures where the
Lord has said that He would take of Israel and make of them a nation
of kings and priests unto Himself. Behold ye, my brethren and sisters,
here they are.[p.100] 

Vol. 26,  p.100
Here is Israel gathering together, being taught of the Lord, to learn
of His ways and walk in His paths, that they may receive the blessing
and he clothed upon with power, as the Prophet said: "Awake, awake;
put, on thy strength, O Zion, put on thy beautiful garments, O
Jerusalem." What are these beautiful garments? These beautiful
garments are the clothing upon with the authority and power of the
Holy Priesthood. It is that which makes people beautiful; it is that
which makes people useful; it is that which causes the Saints to sing:
"How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of Him that bringeth
good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of
good, that publisheth salvation; that saith mite Zion, Thy God
reigneth." It is that excellence of the knowledge of God that makes
men and women beautiful, and makes their acts delightful when they are
performed in righteousness in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. I
rejoice when I look around and contemplate this precious
privilege—that there is scarcely an individual that has come to years
of judgment and understanding but is a partaker of some measure of the
Priesthood, if no more than the office of a Deacon that can administer
blessing by attending to the door, wait upon the tables, and also by
attending to other temporal duties from time to time as they may
occur.

Vol. 26,  p.100
Here let me say, that every officer in the Church, from the Deacon up
to the Apostle, should realize that it is his duty to endeavor to
administer blessings by the virtue of the calling of God which is upon
him; he ought to feel thus, and every sister that is the wife of such
an husband should feel, if she has received with him her blessings in
the house of the Lord, that it is her privilege and duty to administer
blessings, comfort and happiness to her husband, to her children, to
her family and household. Every one in all the Church should be filled
with a spirit of blessing. The authority of the Priesthood should
cause a gushing forth from the fountain of the heart, a bubbling forth
of streams of blessing, of consolation, of comfort and of rejoicing,
each should try to help and benefit the other in every possible way.

Vol. 26,  p.100
Contemplate the immense army, I may say of Seventies and Elders we
have among us; and what a work are they doing in the nations, and what
a work are they doing and ought they to do at home in preaching the
Gospel to each other, in encouraging and strengthening those whose
hands sometimes hang down, and whose knees tremble; speaking
comforting words to the Saints, saying, "Dear brother, thy God
reigneth, trust in him." Notwithstanding all that we see on the right
hand and on the left, and all that we hear, the Lord God has not
forgotten His people, nor has He forgotten to educate and instruct
them, in all that He knows is for their greatest good, so that by and
by He may come and find a nation of kings and priests who shall reign
with Him on the earth a thousand years. We ought never to forget that
we are in a school of experience. Every brother and every sister
should feel that they exert an influence that will tend for good or
for evil.

Vol. 26,  p.100
We ought to feel concerned for our little ones. How precious they are!
Sometimes I hear the brethren testify how much good is being done by
the Relief Society and the Associations. I want to hear them [p.101]
talk about the Primaries, and tell us how the little children are
getting along. It seems hard to get it into the heads of some of the
parents as well as some of the Bishops to realize the importance of
teaching and instructing these youngsters, some seem to consider it
the sole duty of the Primary Associations, while others think it the
duty of the parents only to see after them. Now, I think we miss it in
trying to titus shirk the responsibility. I think we should all try to
understand more perfectly the worth of souls. Oh, if the sisters and
brethren that have the charge of these little Primary Associations
could only realize that every little child is a gem that they are
called upon to polish, to cut, to refine, to shapen, to burnish, to
fit and prepare to stand in the diadem of its father's crown. This is
the way in which we ought to look at these small but precious jewels.
We should assist the little ones to grow up to be mighty men of Zion,
that shall come up to teach Senators wisdom, rebuke strong nations,
though they may be far off and become a wholesome terror to the
ungodly.

Vol. 26,  p.101
As Apostles, as Bishops, as High Priests, as Elders, as well as
fathers and mothers, we need to get more of the spirit of this great
work in all its different branches, and keep it with us; always have a
blessing to dispense; everywhere a word of comfort and consolation to
bestow. We should seek for the Spirit of God and get that measure of
it that will bear us up, that they will make us feel the cares of life
are trivial; that will sustain us under every circumstance. We can
bear wonderful trials; we can live though and outgrow them and look
back on them and wonder how we passed through them, realizing that we
never could have done so but for the help of God that sustained us in
it. Then give Him the glory.

Vol. 26,  p.101
Every officer, then, in the Church should be full of blessing to his
fellow man. Only think how many patriarchs there are. They should feel
to bless all around. No doubt they do, sealing upon those to whom they
administer the blessing of eternal life in perpetuity.

Vol. 26,  p.101
The school that we are being educated in is a strange one. You cannot
pick up the Bible and find anything that is like it. In ancient days,
when there was a warfare, it was a warfare of carnal weapons, many
times. Not so, in our days; and as if the Lord were determined to put
carnal weapons far away from us, He even permitted the Gubernatorial
order preventing us carrying firearms with which to celebrate the 4th
of July, and then, on the top of that, He has given us the abundant
testimony of peace all around, even with the hostile natives. Is not
this an overwhelming testimony that the Lord wants us to work with the
other class of weapons—the sword of His Holy Spirit, the power of
eternal truth—the ammunition that wants to be kept alive, active and
burning in our hearts.

Vol. 26,  p.101
When we come to contemplate this matter, our warfare is entirely in
another direction, it has to be carried on and accomplished by the
power of faith. We have to contend for our liberties and the rights of
the people before the courts, wherein we strive to maintain the
Constitutional rights to which we are entitled, both civilly and
politically. We have not gone to the authorities that are over us in
the nation and supplicated them saying: "Will you please give us some
extraordinary liberties or privileges—we [p.102] contend for the
rights of every American citizen, which are our rights." We have not
cut ourselves off from the rights of citizenship. Our fathers fought
to help obtain and bled to help establish the blessings and
privileges, the liberties and powers of this glorious government to
all its loyal citizens; and when this Church was established, it went
on for more than thirty-two years—no law of the Church conflicted with
the laws of the land, until it became necessary in the opinion of some
politicians that the Saints should be made offenders in the eyes of
the nation and of the world. Then it was that Congress passed a
law—the law of 1862—prohibiting plurality of wives, polygamy, or
bigamy, as they choose to call it. Now, then, we have not risen up
against the laws of the land; it is the laws of the land and the men
of the land that have risen up against the people of God, and have
brought their offensive warfare in this matter, and we are thereby
placed on the defensive. The nation have been pleased to say that we
shall not worship God according to the dictates of our consciences, as
required by some of the laws and ordinances of His Church; and have
made laws to prevent us from so doing, if possible. Hence it is that,
while we go before the courts we do not go as suppliants for something
extraordinary, or for something that other people have not got. We ask
to be preserved our rights, the rights that belong to every American
citizen. It is for this that we go through the courts, appealing from
the District Court to the Supreme Court of the Territory, and then to
the Supreme Court of the United States.

Vol. 26,  p.102
Now, is not this a great and an important lesson of experience and
instruction, and yet there is occasion, for all this is required in
the Book of Doctrine and Covenants. The Lord has said through the
Prophet Joseph to us, that we must importune at the feet of the
judges—do you remember it?—and at the feet of Governors—do you
recollect that—and at the feet of the President, and then, says He, if
your importuning does not prevail, and you do not obtain all things
which you have a right to, He will come out of His hiding place and
take the matter into His own hands. So you see we have some
importuning to do before, or at the feet of Judges, Governors, and
Presidents, in order to maintain the liberties guaranteed by the
Constitution of our country.

Vol. 26,  p.102
Right here I want to say a word or two especially in regard to the way
we have to do our importuning. I refer to a discourse by President
Young, in which be said he wished he had five hundred young lawyers
full of the spirit of the Gospel who would rise up and help to
maintain and defend our rights before the courts of our country. The
discourse was published in the Deseret News and republished in the
Journal of Discourses. It is public matter for anybody to read that
wishes to. But a few days ago, however, a Bishop remarked that it
looked very singular for one of the Apostles to raise up a lawyer, and
thought there must be a screw loose somewhere. It happens, however,
once in a while that some Bishop wants my son or some one else's son
to help defend them before the courts. (Laughter.) I wonder if there
is any screw loose there. Excuse me, brethren, for this reference; but
I wish we could have a goodly number of substantial young men growing
up in our midst who would become skilled and [p.103] mighty in the
law, and who could go into any of the courts and set forth the true
principles of justice and equity in all cases. We need more of such
men. We do not want men to become lawyers, turn infidels, and live for
nothing but the little money they can make. We want to raise up a
corps of young men armed with the Spirit of the Gospel, clothed with
the Holy Priesthood, who can tell the judges in high places what the
law is, and what equity is, and can plead for the cause of Zion, and
help maintain the rights of God's people. Hence you see we have got to
carry on these matters. Our rights are infringed, and we have got to
defend ourselves as best we can. We are told that we must plead with
the dignitaries of the earth; plead with them until their position on
our question is known; they have got to declare themselves.

Vol. 26,  p.103
There are different branches of the government, which are considered
co-ordinate. For instance—there is the legislative branch, namely,
Congress. Then there is the President, who represents the executive
branch. Then there is the army and navy, which is the arm of power to
carry out and maintain physical defenses. And then there is the
Supreme Court, the legal tribunal that stands at the very head, if you
please, and pronounces upon the constitutionality of the acts which
Congress passes. Hence we see our case has not only to be brought
before and had cognizance of in the Congress of the United States to
ascertain if they will make laws to oppress us, but these laws can be
taken to higher courts, to see whether they will maintain the rights
of God's people in the land. And does it seem a terrible thing that
one or two should get cast into prison? As President Cannon
contemplated this morning, half a dozen would cover all such cases
within the last twenty-two years, and the persons connected with the
most notable cases have come in and furnished the evidence for their
own crimination, under the promise that punishment would not be
inflicted. But like the Governor of Illinois, who pledged his honor
and the honor of the state to protect our Prophet and Patriarch, all
such promises were broken. Nevertheless, in this manner we have got to
test the purity or impurity, the integrity or otherwise, of the
different branches of the government under which we live.

Vol. 26,  p.103
God is going to make His people a great people. He has designed them
to be the means not only of revealing among themselves, what they are,
and what they are here for, but of making them a standing testimony of
the truth before the whole world. The great knowledge of which we have
become possessed cannot be hid under a bushel, cannot be hid up in a
dark place. Here we are in the heights of the continent, calling
Israel home, ready to impart the light that is within us, to all of
Adam's children who will receive it. Let us seek to be wise. The Lord
has told us of certain classes of defense which are better even than
the employment of weapons of war. And what is it? It is the gift of
wisdom." Wisdom is better than strength or weapons of war," said the
ancient man, who tested the matter and found it out. Now, let us
understand that the "fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom" and
a good understanding have all they who keep His commandments.

Vol. 26,  p.103
My brethren and sisters: let us not be discouraged in the least.
Remember that no great revolution [p.104] was ever achieved without
some fighting. Some battles have had to be fought, some victories had
to be achieved. It is while the war is going on that some get wounded,
and other contingencies arise, and some things necessarily happen that
are unpleasant. But after the war is over, and the new government is
instituted, the grand improvement is then felt, as it has been felt in
this nation ever since the thirteen colonies fought and maintained
their independence from the mother country. It is true we have been
oppressed a little. But our enemies do not make very much at it. We
live and thrive notwithstanding, do we not? How singularly the Lord
works with men. The people of the Southern States through the war and
since, have been limited or deprived of some of their rights. And some
few men—Senator Brown for one—are not afraid to rise up from their
seat and defend the right whether in behalf of Mormon or non-Mormon,
and expose the doings of self righteous men in New England, exposing
the fruits of their monogamous marriage relations as compared with our
marriage institution. The Lord has raised up men sometimes to maintain
the rights of His people. He will allow us to be pinched from time to
time as it may be necessary to unite us together, to make a wife low
her husband a little better, to make a husband love his wives and
children a little better, and to strengthen the bond of union in every
heart. For my part I rejoice in this work, and seek continually to
gather knowledge. I rejoice that I have lived to see the work of God
established on the earth. Let me tell you, my brethren and sisters,
the greatest affliction some of us have: it is some great fearful
apprehension that something is going to happen. We naturally borrow
trouble. We should not do that. Just consider that the work is the
Lord's. Be certain you do your duty every day. And when you lay down
at night do so with a clear conscience, and enjoy slumber and be
refreshed, and rise up in the morning, in the likeness of the
resurrection, prepared to renew the contest of life. Thus we should go
on step by step, adding faith to faith, keeping the commandments of
God, and purifying ourselves all we can. The Lord will bless us in
proportion to the degree that we endeavor to purify ourselves, and
keep His commandments. That is the great secret of our full acceptance
with God. We must purify ourselves as He is pure.

Vol. 26,  p.104
I do not consider it proper for me to occupy more of your time this
afternoon. I feel to say I rejoice in this work. And I say unto every
brother and sister that keeps the commandments of God, be joyful and
rejoice in Him. He has called Us to the work in which we are engaged,
and He is educating us, as I said before, in order that by and by He
may have a nation of kings and priests, judges and rulers to help Him
bear government and rule over this earth in righteousness, when the
curse shall be taken from it, and when truth shall prevail from one
end of the earth to the other. May it be our happy lot to be there and
rejoice with father Abraham and all his family, is my humble prayer,
in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.[p.105] 

John Taylor, October 20, 1881

The Work of God Only Partially Understood—Manifestation 
of the Father and Son to the Prophet Joseph—the Priesthood 
Conferred Upon Him—Kirtland Temple, and, the Ministrations of 
Moses and Elijah Benefits and Uses of Temples—Public and Private 
Improvements Advocated—Children Should Be Properly 
Taught—Wives Should Be Kindly Treated—
Exhortations to Virtue and Purity

Discourse By President John Taylor, Delivered at Malad, Oneida 
County, Idaho, Wednesday Morning, October 20th, 1881.

Reported By Geo. F. Gibbs

Vol. 26,  p.105
I AM pleased to have the opportunity of meeting with you. We have been
traveling during the summer through many of the various Stakes of
Zion, and we thought that our labor would not be complete without
visiting you. We have general and Stake Conferences, but the
circumstances and numbers of the people do not allow of them attending
these meetings, and therefore we think it well to come among you at
your own homes, to see you, and converse with you, and to feel after
your spirits, and that you may see and talk with us and feel after our
spirits, that we may be mutually benefited and blessed; and that we
may be the better prepared to operate together; for if we can
comprehend it we are engaged in a very great work. Not only we who are
here, for we form but a very, very small portion of the Latter-day
Saints; but the people that are Latter-day Saints in this Territory
and those that are in Utah, and that are in Colorado and Arizona, and
those that are scattered abroad in the different places throughout the
earth, wherever a branch of the Church is organized. We do not all
comprehend this work; in fact, comparatively a very few do. It is a
work in which not only the Latter-day Saints are interested, but
everybody else, if they could understand it; but they do not. And,
indeed, we can hardly understand it ourselves. We get a faint glimpse,
as it were, of certain truths, mixed up with many errors which we have
previously entertained; but it is very difficult for us to understand
correct principles; and if we would comprehend them at all, it must be
by a life of devotion to God, and by complying with His laws, some of
which Brother Joseph F. has spoken upon this morning, and which the
other brethren present talked about yesterday.

Vol. 26,  p.105
The object that God has in view is to benefit mankind as much as lies
in His power. We talk sometimes about moving heaven and [p.106] earth,
but God has moved heaven and earth for the accomplishment of that
object. Men in most instances have been blinded by the adversary who
leads them captive at his will, but they do not know it. And he
operates very frequently among us trying to lead us astray, and we do
not know it. It is a very difficult thing for us to comprehend the
position that we occupy to God and to His Church and Kingdom.

Vol. 26,  p.106
God desires our welfare, and He has instituted laws for that purpose;
He has introduced the everlasting Gospel for that purpose; and He has
restored the Holy Priesthood that existed anciently, together with all
the principles, blessings, powers, rites, ordinances, and privileges
that have graced the earth from the commencement of time. We can
hardly realize this important fact, but when you reflect you will see
some peculiar features associated with this work.

Vol. 26,  p.106
We all look upon Joseph Smith as being a Prophet of God. God called
him to occupy the position that he did. How long ago? Thousands of
years ago before this world was formed. the Prophets prophesied about
his coming, that a man should arise whose name should be Joseph, and
that his father's name should be Joseph, and also that he should be a
descendant of that Joseph who was sold into Egypt. This prophecy you
will find recorded in the Book of Mormon. He had very great and
precious promises made to him by the Lord. I have heard him say on
certain occasions, "You do not know who I am." The world did not like
him. The world did not like either the Savior, or the Prophets; they
have never liked revealed truth; and it is as much as a bargain for
the Saints even to bear the truth.

Vol. 26,  p.106
In the commencement of the work, the Father and the Son appeared to
Joseph Smith. And when they appeared to him, the Father, pointing to
the Son, said, "This is my beloved Son, hear him." As much as to say,
"I have not come to teach and instruct you; but I refer you to my Only
Begotten, who is the Mediator of the New Covenant, the Lamb slain from
before the foundation of the world; I refer you to Him as your
Redeemer, your High Priest and Teacher. Hear Him."

Vol. 26,  p.106
What next? Then came men who had held the Priesthood before. Who were
they? Moroni, an ancient Prophet who had lived upon this continent and
who had charge of the records from which the Book of Mormon was
translated—a fitting person to introduce the same principles again.
Afterwards it was necessary that the Priesthood should be conferred;
and John the Baptist came and laid his hands upon Joseph Smith and
Oliver Cowdery, saying, "Upon you, my fellow servants, I lay my hands,
and confer upon you the Aaronic Priesthood, which shall never be taken
From the earth again until the sons of Levi offer an acceptable
offering before me." That was the Lesser Priesthood—the
Aaronic—appertaining to the bishopric. And why was John the Baptist
chosen to confer this Priesthood? Because he was the last that held
this holy Priesthood upon the earth And why did he come? Because the
Priesthood administers in time and eternity; both the Aaronic and
Melchisedec. And he, holding the keys of that Priesthood, came and
conferred it upon Joseph Smith. When he had conferred this Priesthood
upon Joseph Smith, other things had to be conferred; that is, what is
called the Melchisedec Priesthood. But you understand [p.107] but very
little about that, as the Indian would say, about so much (meaning the
point of the finger). If you did you would think and act differently
from what you do. Who held the keys of that Priesthood? Peter, James
and John, who were three presiding Apostles. Did they confer this
Priesthood upon Joseph Smith? Yes; and if you were in Salt Lake City
and should go into the Assembly Hall, you might see these things
pictured out on the ceiling of that building.

Vol. 26,  p.107
What next? They built a Temple by and by, as we are doing now, in
Kirtland, Ohio. And in that Temple the Lord Jesus Christ appeared to
them again, the account of which you may read for yourselves in the
Doctrine and Covenants. Jesus appeared there, and Moses appeared
there, and Moses conferred upon Joseph the keys of the gathering of
Israel from the four quarters of the earth, and also the ten tribes.
And you are here because that Priesthood was conferred upon the Elders
who came to you with the Gospel; and when they laid their hands upon
your heads, among other things you received the Holy Ghost and the
spirit of the gathering. But you did not know what it was that was
working in you like yeast sometimes under certain conditions,
producing an influence causing you to come to Zion. Yet you could not
help it; if you had wanted to help it, you could not while you were
living your religion and were governed thereby, for that spirit
brought that influence and power along with it, and it carries it with
it wherever it goes. And as men received the Holy Ghost so they
received the spirit of the gathering, which was conferred by Moses
upon Joseph Smith, and by him upon others, and which created that
anxiety you all felt to gather to Zion.

Vol. 26,  p.107
What next? Elijah was to come to "turn the hearts of the fathers to
the children, and the hearts of the children to the fathers." This has
not been the case with this world, generation after generation, yet it
must be, for the same Prophet says that "If it is not, God will smite
the whole earth with a curse." There is a very trite saying, "every
man for himself and the devil for the whole," and I am inclined to
believe that there is more truth than poetry in it. God feels
interested in the welfare of all mankind as peoples and nations, white
and black of all classes and conditions, Jew and Gentile, bond and
free. He does not run on a narrow track as we do. We are too apt to
feel as the man did when he prayed, "O Lord, bless me and my wife, my
son John and his wife, us four and no more. Amen." That is the way we
feel. And if anything is introduced among the people that would be
calculated to promote the general good the first thing we do is to
screw ourselves up and begin to inquire, How is that going to affect
me, I wonder? Who cares about ,you? It is not for you we are
operating. It is not for you God is operating. It is not to make you
rich or to exalt you particularly that God is operating; but it is in
the interest of the whole haman family that has ever lived or ever
will live or that now live. That is the religion that I believe in. I
do not believe in this narrow tucked up thing that you can pinch up
and stick in your vest pocket, and nobody knows where it is. We want
something more liberal, something that will reach the wants of the
whole human family. But Satan has had so much power in [p.108] the
world; and God has been trying to frustrate his designs, and He will
do it as sure as He lives. He will accomplish that which He set out to
do when He organized this earth, and placed man upon it. And He will
keep striving and working at it until every knee shall bow, and every
tongue confess that Jesus is the Christ to the glory of God the
Father. Until every person in heaven and on the earth and under the
earth shall be heard to say, "Blessing and honor and glory, might,
majesty and dominion be ascribed to Him that sits upon the throne, and
unto the Lamb for ever." And He will do it in His own way and in His
own due time. And this principle that I have spoken of turning the
hearts of the fathers to the children, etc., is one of those methods
by which He will do it. How many thousands and millions of people have
died without a knowledge of the Gospel? Do you know? No, you do not.
But as Jesus has said, "Wide is the gate and broad is the way that
leads to destruction, and many there are that go in thereat. They have
found, as the antedeluvians did, a prison in which they are put, and
in which they will stop until they are redeemed by the holy
Priesthood. As Jesus went and preached to the spirits in prison after
He was put to death in the flesh, to those spirits that were sometime
disobedient in the days of Noah; so those men that go the broad way
will go into the prison house, and they will have to endure the wrath
of God. And whatever they think about it, after many, many years shall
have rolled away, when the due time of the Lord comes, this very
Priesthood that the world have despised and refused to accept, will he
their deliverers, by going, as Jesus did, and preaching to the spirits
in prison.

Vol. 26,  p.108
What else? We will administer for them on the earth. Here is the
turning of the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts
of the children to the fathers. The ancient Prophets and Patriarchs
and men of God who held the Priesthood and preached in and labored in
time are now operating in eternity; and those whose names I have
mentioned came to Joseph Smith and revealed to him what? Why, the
dispensation of the fullness of time, when God would not only gather
all things in one, but when Temples should be erected and the dead as
well as the living should be looked after; when saviors should come
upon Mount Zion, and the Kingdom be the Lord's. Others had their time.
They had the Mosaic time; and Moses who stood at the head of it, came
and conferred his authority upon Joseph Smith. They had their
prophetic time: and the Prophets came and conferred upon him the
prophetic influences. They had the Aaronic Priesthood; and those who
held it came and conferred it upon Joseph. They had the Melchisedec
Priesthood, and the keys thereof, and they came and conferred it upon
him. They had the gathering dispensation; and Moses was appointed, who
held that in his day, to confer it upon Joseph. This is not one
dispensation, but the dispensation of the fullness of times wherein
all things are gathered together into one. Then the hearts of the
fathers who are living in the heavens are turned to the children; they
are feeling an interest in their welfare, like a great many men whom
we know to-day, good men, but their sons do not do right. Adam had two
sons, one of whom was a wicked man, and the wicked one killed the good
one. At this stage of things I suppose the Devil thought he had a good
thing. But he did not. And [p.109] then he led the people into sin
until they were prepared to be overthrown by the flood. I suppose the
Devil laughed at the way things were going. But Jesus went and
preached to those spirits in prison. And the people that are
independent, who think they can get along without religion or without
God, will find that in time or eternity they will have to come to the
Priesthood of God.

Vol. 26,  p.109
I will go back to the things I was talking about, concerning the
hearts of the fathers being turned to the children, etc. This, when
fully accomplished, will reach all men that have ever lived. At the
present time we are connected with it to a certain extent, and the
Spirit of God leads us to build temples. Why is it that you go to work
and build temples? You hardly know. You see them; they are pretty nice
buildings. We talk about being saviors; but are we saviors unless we
save somebody! No. But we build our temples as the Lord has directed,
and then we administer in them for the living and the dead; and then
we are saviors upon Mount Zion. You here have this same kind of
feeling—have they not Bishop? [Answer: Yes, sir.] Moses conferred that
upon Joseph Smith, and Joseph conferred it upon the Elders, and they
preached to you, and you received the Holy Ghost. and when you
gathered together they began to talk about these things; and that
Spirit rested upon you, and you said, "I want a hand in it; I want to
receive blessings in that temple, and I want also to look to my
father's totally, and those I have been associated with who have died
without the Gospel." And that is the meaning of the turning of the
hearts of the fathers to the children, etc.

Vol. 26,  p.109
The world want to know what Mormonism is doing. Some of us hardly
know. But, it is known that we are building temples; but the Christian
world do not know what temples are for. If temples were built for them
they would not know how to administer in them. And we did not know
until God revealed it. And unless Elijah had come and conferred the
keys it would not have been revealed. Hence I was showing you who and
what Joseph Smith was. He has introduced the Gospel together with the
dispensation of the fullness of times, which embraces all other
things.

Vol. 26,  p.109
Then again, did Enoch build up a Zion? So we are doing. What is it?
The Zion of God. What does it mean? The pure in heart in the first
place. In the second place those who are governed by the law of
God—the pure in heart who are governed by the law of God. Shall we
build up a Zion? We shall; but we shall not, every one of us, have our
own way about it. We shall itel that we need the will of God; and we
shall feel that we require the Priesthood, under His direction, to
guide and direct us, not men who are seeking to aggrandize themselves;
but men who are seeking to build up the Church and Kingdom of God upon
the earth; men of clean hands and pure hearts, every one honoring his
Priesthood and magnifying it. Then we shall feel that we want to act
like little babes, to ask them for counsel and instruction, and then
be governed by it, under the counsel and direction of the Almighty and
the aid of His Spirit. Now, this is what we are building up, and they
built up a similar thing before the flood; and the Elders went forth
in those days as they now go forth; and they baptized people and laid
hands upon them, and gathered [p.110] them to Zion; and after a while
that Zion was caught up from the earth. And we will build up a Zion:
that is what we are aiming at. And that Zion also, when the time
comes, will ascend to meet the Zion from above, which will descend,
and both, we are told, will fall on each other's necks and kiss each
other.

Vol. 26,  p.110
These are some of the things we are after. And we are traveling about
to teach the people. Why? Because we want all to have the spirit of
Zion. We sing sometimes and talk about Zion, that she shall arise, and
the glory of God shall rest upon her. We want to lift up Zion. And we
want you Welsh and other folks to work to this end—I suppose most of
you are Welsh, and if you are not, you are Latter-day Saints, and if
you are not Latter-day Saints, you ought to be. And you ought to be
pure in heart, too; you ought to be living your religion, and if you
are not, you had better turn round and live right before God, and walk
worthily of the high vocation that he has conferred upon you. I have
not time to talk upon these principles: but I have said enough to give
you a general outline.

Vol. 26,  p.110
God is interested in this work, and the Lord Jesus Christ, and the
Patriarchs and men of God are interested in it; and we are interested
in it. And we have a little of that spirit upon us; and we would like
you to drink of it too. Having been baptized by the same baptism that
you may all partake of the same spirit, that we may build temples and
administer in them; and having received the Gospel, to feel free to
preach it to others. Our duty is to preach the Gospel to all men. Who,
the First Presidency? Yes, if there is nobody else. The Twelve? Yes,
it is their especial calling to preach it themselves or see that it is
preached to all the world. And, then, the Seventies, it is their duty
to go forth at the drop of the hat, as minute men, to preach the
Gospel to all nations, under the guidance of the Twelve. And, then, it
is for those who are in Zion, the High Priests, and others to go and
preach the Gospel. And we are doing this in spite of the opposition of
men, and in the name of God we will do it until He who directs us
shall say, "It is enough: turn now to Israel." When He says that, then
we will quit. And if they love the devil better than God, they can do
so and sup trouble and sorrow and calamity and war and bloodshed. For
nation will rise against nation, country against country; and thrones
will be cast down and empires will be scattered to the four winds, and
the powers of the earth everywhere will be shaken; and the Lord will
come forth by and by to judge the nations, and it behooves us to know
what we are doing, and while we profess to be the Saints of God not to
be hypocrites, but be full of truth and full of integrity and magnify
our calling and honor our God. This is what God expects of us. And
then to build. temples, and what then? Administer in them. Send the
Gospel to the nations of the earth. And then gather the people in.
What then? Build more temples. What then? Have men administer in them.
And when we get through with our relatives and friends, and trace back
our ancestry as far as we can, then we will call upon God to give us
information as to who need to be administered for in the heavens; and
we will work at it for a thousand years, until all the purposes of God
shall be accomplished, and everything spoken of in the Prophets shall
be fulfilled.[p.111] 

Vol. 26,  p.111
Now, you who live in this little place, look to it that you are found
in the line of your duty. You have a beautiful location, and I would
like to see you make the most of it. I would like to see at least a
hundred times more apple, pear and cherry trees planted out; and all
of your streets lined with shade trees. And improve your dwelling
houses. If you cannot find the style of a house to suit you, go off to
other places until you do find one, and then come back and build a
better one. Beautify this place, and make your homes pleasant and
agreeable, that you may have nice places for your wives and children,
and thus help to fulfill that Scripture which says, that Zion shall
become the praise of the whole earth; and that kings will come to gaze
upon her glory. I have already had many honorable men from many of the
civilized nations call upon me, and they generally express themselves
in this way: "What a beautiful place you have here, Mr. Taylor;" "O,
yes, (I would say) it is well enough for us, we can please ourselves,
it is very difficult to please others, we do not profess much. You
hear curious stories about us; but we would rather have our works
speak for us." There is nothing to boast of, and what there is we
should not have if God did not give it to us. For we are dependent
upon Him for all we have. We live and move in Him, and through Him we
have our being. And if we can operate together upon the principles of
virtue and holiness, and have more brotherly feeling, we should feel
much better. Some people say, I hate such a person. I would not like
to have that feeling about me, I don't know of a person upon the earth
whom I hate. What, not the wicked? No, I would say, "the Lord judge
between thee and me." For if they can afford to do wrong, I cannot.

Vol. 26,  p.111
I will talk about some other things. Go to work and build a
meeting-house half an inch bigger than this. (Laughter). Then you have
a public square, make some nice grounds in and about it. And then
beautify your private squares at your own homes. Let every man make
his own grounds pleasant and agreeable. And let every woman make her
husband as happy as she can. The sisters ought to be like angels,
ought they not Be full of good, kind, pleasant and agreeable feelings.
And we men who profess to be saints of God—saints of God! What an
expression! Do we understand it? There is a peculiar form of
expression in the German language. The term Latter-day Saint in the
German is: Der Heiligen der Latzten tage, which being interpreted is,
the holy of the last days. There is something very expressive about
that. We should be the holy of the last days, under the influence and
guidance of the Lord.

Vol. 26,  p.111
We talk about the Kingdom of God. God's Kingdom is not our kingdom.
Who manages, directs and controls? God. In whose interest? In the
interest of the community, and for the happiness and the welfare of
all Israel, and the whole of the human family, so far as they will let
Him.

Vol. 26,  p.111
I want to talk about a principle here. We get up sometimes a very rash
feeling against people who do not think as we do. They have a right to
think as they please; and so have we. Therefore, if a man does not
believe as I do, that is none of my business; and if I do not believe
as he does, that is none of his business. Would you protect a man that
did not believe as you do? Yes, to the last bat's end. He should
[p.112] have equal justice with me; and then I would expect to be
protected in my rights. We have in Salt Lake City, Methodists,
Presbyterians, Baptists, Roman Catholics, and all kinds. Do we
interfere with them? No, not at all. Nobody persecutes them, but they
do us in their weak way. They get up meetings and pass resolutions
against us, poor, miserable "cootes." They do not know any better;
they do not know nor understand the rights of men as American
citizens, much less about the Kingdom of God. So let them "resolute."
We believe in returning good for evil, right for wrong. Because they
lie about us, that is no reason why we should lie about them; it would
be bad enough many times to tell the truth about them, much less to
resort to falsehood. On the same grounds I would not wish to interfere
with their political rights, nor have them interfere with mine. I
think that is correct doctrine; it is good democracy and good
republicanism which we can all subscribe to. But because I would treat
them right I would not want them to teach roy children. I want good,
honorable Latter-day Saints to teach my children because I want them
taught correct principles and the fear of God along with their secular
education.

Vol. 26,  p.112
It has been published in our papers about different religious bodies
getting up resolutions against the "Mormons" to the effect that it is
necessary something should be done to them. Well, what about it? Oh,
let them "resolute;" our corn and potatoes grow just the same; so it
makes but little difference. All we say is, "hands off." We do not
want it to go any further than talk. And if blab-mouthed people who do
not like the truth choose to tell falsehoods about us, let them do so.
Who cares? I do not, and I do not think you care. And so in regard to
other things. What will we do? Try to educate ourselves and our
children, and get good teachers who fear God, who are honorable men
and women, and who take deilght to instil honorable principles into
our children. And set them good examples at home, you fathers and
mothers. You should never say a word or do an act which you would not
want your children to copy after. The idea of men who profess to fear
God, and some of them Elders in Israel, being addicted to swearing. It
is a shame and a disgrace to high heaven, and this is sometimes done
before their families; it is a shame. And then some men give way and
say they have a bad temper: I would sell it for nothing, and give
something to boot to get rid of it. I would be careful that all my
acts and doings were right, And it is right for heads of families to
get their families together every morning and evening, and pray with
them. Every man and woman to dedicate themselves to God; and in their
secret prayers to ask God's care over them during the day. That will
not hurt any of you. That was the doctrine that Joseph Smith taught
me; and I have always appreciated it. I would look upon it as a very
great trial if I were stopping at a place and if I could not have my
private prayers. If we cannot lean upon God, what is our religion
worth! Not much. We will treat our wives right. He is a mean man who
would abuse a woman. I never liked to see a big dog bite a little one;
but if a little dog bite a big one, it is not so reprehensible. And if
a man abuse a woman, who is the weaker vessel, it is an outrage to me.
Have you not made covenants with your wives for time and [p.113]
eternity. Yes, you have. Would you not like, when you get through, to
be able to say, Mary, Jane, Ann, or whatever the name may be, I never
injured you in my life. And if you are wives, would you not like to be
able to say, Thomas or William, I never injured you in all my life.
And, then, to spend an eternity together hereafter.

Vol. 26,  p.113
Then, lay aside your covetousness; that is idolatry. And while
laboring to be industrious, do not covet any man's house, nor his
farm, nor anything that is his; nor defraud one another, nor bite nor
devour one another. But love one another, and work the works of
righteousness, and look after the welfare of all, and seek to promote
the happiness of all. That is what God is doing. That is why He has
told us to go to the nations of the earth—and many of us have been
hundreds and thousands of miles Without purse or scrip. I have seen
you, lots of' you Welshmen, in Wales. And what was I doing there?
Preaching the Gospel. How? Without purse or scrip. Did God take care
of me? Always, and at every time and place; and I bear this record for
God and His Priesthood and His Kingdom, that I was never at a loss for
anything that I needed. He always took care of me, and I could do it
without begging too. I believe in the same God yet. And I believed
then I was benefiting mankind; and I believe in doing so now. But I do
not believe in our being led away by their evils. Keep yourselves
pure. Do not let corrupt men ingratiate themselves among you, to
defile you. Preserve your virtue, you men and you women; preserve your
virtue. and live uprightly before God. For as sure as you do not the
wrath of God will rest upon you; and the Spirit of God will be
withdrawn from you. Keep yourselves, therefore, pure, and be honest
and virtuous, and be honest with all men, and treat all men honorably.
We can afford rode that; and not be governed by their vices, nor
permit them to introduce them into our midst. We cannot afford to
follow after the ways of the Gentiles, nor to copy after their
illiberality. We want the principles of liberty to extent and to
expand so that all men can worship God as they please, without any one
to interrupt them.

Vol. 26,  p.113
Brethren and sisters, let us be virtuous and pure and holy, and God
will bless us and lift us up and the power of God will be with us; and
we will rejoice upon the mountains; and we will build our Zion upon
the principles of righteousness, and we will love and fear God all the
days of our lives. And by and by when the dead that are in their
graves shall hear the voice of God, the Saints of God shall come forth
to live and reign forever among the just who have lived in different
ages, and have the privilege to perpetuate the lives in the eternal
worlds, worlds without end. Amen.[p.114] 

H. W. Naisbitt, March 8, 1885

Communities Are Made Up of Family Organizations—
the Marriage Relationship Instituted By the Almighty—Descent 
of the Human Family From God—Plural Marriage System of Ancient 
Israel—Potency of Love—Eternity of Marriage Necessarily Leads to 
Plural Marriage—Polygamic Form of Marriage Most Prevalent 
in the World—From Whence Monogamy is Derived—
Monogamy Sometimes Necessary Fruits of Monogamy 
and Plural Marriage Compared—the Marriage Covenant 
Changed From a Religious Rite to a Civil Contract—Marriage 
Requires the Sanction of the Holy Priesthood—the 
Saints Should not Marry Outside the Church

Discourse By Elder H. W. Naisbitt, Delivered in the 
Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Sunday Afternoon, March 8, 1885.

Reportbd By John Irvine

Vol. 26,  p.114
MY brethren, sisters and friends: The congregation is large, and I
hope to be so directed by the Spirit, that all present who so desire
may be enabled to hear and understand.

Vol. 26,  p.114
The Sabbath is the day provided expressly for the reception of
spiritual food. The speakers, or those who may be called upon to
teach, need all the resources that are within their reach in order to
satisfy a Congregation of hungry souls, they need particularly the
faith and prayers of the Saints, the influence and power of the Holy
Ghost, the manifestation of the authority of the Holy Priesthood, so
that there may be instruction upon the important topics and principles
of the Gospel, not the theoretical ones alone, but those that are
interwoven with our daily life.

Vol. 26,  p.114
There is a vast amount of experience in the aggregate among the
people. Individual experience forms one of the treasure houses from
whence a speaker can draw the supplies that are necessary and
advantageous for a sympathetic audience. There is a great deal implied
in a congregation like the present one; there is much more implied in
the aggregation of congregations forming a community, from communities
to nations, from nations to mankind at large. The most narrow as well
as most dense communities are made up of the family organization.
There is found circle within circle, or as the Prophet had it, "wheel
within wheel;" and the homes of a community should be the outgrowth,
not of theories alone, but of the faith, knowledge, and understanding
of those relationships which exist there, [p.115] When these family
organizations are based upon knowledge they are likely to be more
permanent. If they are only thoughtless or theoretical, or if they
exist without information, circumstances, pressure, opportunities are
very likely to disintegrate them, to break them up, to dissolve them,
and so through indifference for each other substitute an anomalous
condition of selfishness amongst those members who otherwise should
form connected and interwoven circles.

Vol. 26,  p.115
In Christendom the marriage covenant is the foundation of the home.
The ideas Which men hold concerning it, lay at the foundation of all
social order, all unity and all government, and even the welfare of
future ages depends upon the theories cherished in regard to home and
family associations. The thoughts held and the practice growing out of
these, are surely higher than could be possible in the families of a
community where the sexual relations remain undetermined, where they
are without restraint and without order, there will inevitably be
chaos, disruption and contention, and the body politic would speedily
and inevitably under loose conditions, degenerate and pass away. But
this marriage organization and institution has existed from the
beginnng. It has been the binding and sealing power of the family; it
has perpetuated those families from the time that Eve was given to
Adam to the last marriage that took place in our own immediate
neighborhood. The Lord said that it was not good that man should be
alone. He gave to him as a helpmate one of His daughters by the name
of Eve. This relationship was then, instituted by the Almighty, and
therefore a man and his wife should really become one; their
interests, their labors should be blended; their responsibilities
should be mutual; and in thus helping and aiding each other they
should train the posterity that God might give them in His fear and in
the practice of righteousness, so that His rule and Kingdom might
exist and prevail upon the earth.

Vol. 26,  p.115
In all nations, from the highest civilized to the lowest tribal
relation, among the wanderers of the earth, there is more or less
semblance of this organization, this family compact, this united
responsibility; garnished in many lands with pomp and ceremony, and
with all the appliances and sanctities of religion. In others with
less, and still less of this, until we come to where with but little
ceremony the dusky Indian captures the maiden of his choice, and takes
her to the tent which he has erected for himself.

Vol. 26,  p.115
The Scriptures give an account simply of the woman Eve; declaring that
this name was given her of Adam, because she was "the mother of all
living;" but outside of biblical record there has been handed down
from time immemorial the idea that Adam had two wives, the narrators
go so far, or rather so near perfecting the tradition so as to give
their names, Lilith being said to be the name of one as Eve was the
name of the other, and while it may be difficult to harmonize all the
Rabbinical and Talmulic versions of this matter, it is said that
Joseph Smith the Prophet taught that Adam had two wives. Without
however, assuming or basing anything upon this theory, or upon this
tradition—which may be mythical in its character—it is nevertheless,
very evident that marriage was ordained of God; and when we take into
our hands the record of the Holy Scriptures that have been handed down
to us by our fathers, that have been [p.116] cherished in parts by the
ancient people of God, and in latter times consolidated; passing
through various channels under peculiar circumstances, and with an
apparent special providence continuing and protecting the same—we find
throughout the pages thereof that marriage everywhere for four
thousand years, at all events, was recognized as of divine origin. One
of the latest assertions in regard to it, as addressed to the early
Saints by Paul, was, that marriage was honorable in all, and further
that it was typical of that union and headship heidi by Jesus to the
Church, and from this comes an added force to the Savior's words, who,
when speaking on this topic said: "what God hath joined together let
no man put asunder."

Vol. 26,  p.116
The sanctity of the marriage relation had another feature in ancient
Israel: that great family of promise were divided into tribal
relations, and by these their genealogical tables were kept perfect.
Any marital connection or alliance, outside of that order was visited
with indignation, condemnation and punishment. Those who were guilty
of violating the order of marriage were looked upon as guilty of
something which destroyed the root and foundations of society. They
were held to be guilty of introducing things and practices which
vitiated the value of genealogical record, and which made the
perpetuity of families a comparative impossibility and had it not been
for tribal carefulness in this direction, for this supervision which
controlled and regulated the people of God, it would have been
impossible in the days of the Savior for the Apostles to have traced
His genealogy back to the early Prophets and Patriarchs. That which
men now apply only as a rule, in regard to stock, or to some of the
most ancient families of mankind, by the people of God, was looked
upon as the one perfect chain to demonstrate hereditary descent.

Vol. 26,  p.116
We are told in tracing one of the genealogies from father to son—or
from son to father, in a backward direction to Adam—that finally Adam
was said to be the son of God, and by a close application of the
principles of logic, it may be assumed that all the posterity of Adam
are by direct descent the sons and daughters of the living God. It
will also be found in the prophecies of Isaiah regarding the Savior,
that He should be called the "Wonderful, Counselor, the Mighty God,
the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace." When we come to His own
conversation, where His Apostles asked Him if He would show unto them
the Father, He said: "Have I been so long with you, and yet hast thou
not known me? he that hath seen Me hath seen the Father." This
statement is reiterated time and again in the Book of Mormon, and in
the sacred writings that we have received. Jesus Christ, the Son of
God, the Redeemer of the world, was not the Son only, but the
prophetic declaration was fulfilled in Him—He was verily and indeed
the Everlasting Father. So by the same application of logic and
inferential evidence from holy writ, wherever you find a man he is the
son of somebody, and his existence is perpetual and eternal. Every
Father becomes, by virtue of his position, an everlasting father. He
in this respect represents the same characteristic as that occupied by
the Great Father of us all. And throughout the countless ages of
eternity, any man who has ever assumed or occupied the position and
continues faithful to its responsibilities, [p.117] will forever
remain to his posterity "the Everlasting Father."

Vol. 26,  p.117
As far as we can glean from the sacred records, we find that this
relationship was established for the bringing upon this sphere of
action a posterity. The powers and functions which had been conferred
upon man and woman were exemplified in this direction, and when a
man's wife was barren, when any of these daughters of Israel in
ancient times were childless, it was considered to be a reproach to
them, yet in the exercise of faith and by the blessing of the
Almighty, and by obedience to the patriarchal order, many of these
ancient sisters, the progenitors of the Israel of the latter days,
were delivered from barrenness, and became the mothers of a vast and
ever increasing host of posterity. Those who are familiar with the
sacred Scriptures will remember one of the wives of Jacob; they will
remember the case of Hannah, the mother of Samuel the Prophet, and
there are others which are familiar to our minds which need not be
quoted. The desire for offspring among the wives of Israel was a
prevailing feeling, because it was understood that from that lineage
should come the Messiah of the latter days, and every daughter of
Israel was anxious that in a direct line she might be the honored of
God, in being the medium through which should come the Redeemer, the
promised Immanuel.

Vol. 26,  p.117
It ought also to be remarked in connection with this question, that
marriage was at times polygamic as well as monogamic—that is, right
away in the early history of the world there were men who had more
wives than one. Lamech was the first who is mentioned in Scripture.
And here it might be observed, although probably all understand it,
that the Bible does not profess to give a perfect history in detail of
the habits and practices of the ancient people of God, for these are
only secondary to the ever present assertions of divine interest in
and regulation of the human family. There are only revealings or
incidental glimpses here and there in regard to the principles of
social and domestic life, and hintings of some which have been kept
hid from then to now; but that marriage was the heritage of man is
certain, and that while under many circumstances it was monogamic,
there were also many cases in which it was of a polygamic character,
and in both instances it was given by command and then received the
approbation of the heavens. It was regulated and sustained by the
great lawgivers of ancient Israel, who were inspired to point out in
detail the limits of consanguinity, the times and seasons of
privilege, and what should be the method of securing posterity under
such and such circumstances; until the time came when Israel as a
nation enjoyed its highest glory, and then we find that this principle
(polygamy) formed one of the leading features of the household
extension in the kings of that time. David is a noted illustration.
Solomon was another, and in the comments of the Scriptures regarding
these two men, notwithstanding their multiplicity of wives, we find no
condemnation save in the fact that they in other respects violated the
fundamental law of ancient Israel. David, we are told, captured the
wife of another man by strategem and because he did this he tell under
condemnation. the son that was born to him of that connection died a
premature death; but afterwards when he repented, he married and still
retained that [p.118] self same woman, Bathsheba; the Lord blessed and
acknowledged David's repentance and her position by giving her for a
son the great Jedediah, or Solomon, and finally in a direct line
through her, came also the Redeemer of Israel. The Scriptures in
commenting upon David's practice say that in "none of these things did
he violate the commandments, save in the case of the wife of Uriah"
[1st. Kings, 15, 5.] We are also told that Solomon multiplied wives
and families unto himself, yet his reign formed an era in the national
life of Israel. It was during his administration as King and Priest
under the order of God, that that wonderful temple was built and
dedicated which received the sanction and approbation of the heavens;
of the resting upon it of the cloud by day so that the Priests could
not minister at the altar, and the descent of fire from heaven, which
consumed the sacrifice presented, were both tokens of divine
acceptance and recognition, and we have not found in reading the
history of Solomon that his conduct was condemned save in the fact
that he took unto himself wives of the outside nations contrary to the
law, which declared that the marriages of Israel should be within
their own immediate families, (Deut. 7th, 3rd,) and as a result the
record declares that it was these heathen wives which he took, those
women that ware captured in war or those that he had from choice or
were given to him for conciliatory alliance from surrounding nations
who led away his heart from the worship of the God of Israel, and
turned him to the practices of idolatry. With this exception the
presumption is from the evidence that his other marriages were
approved, and in them was his posterity perpetuated. It was the direct
result of the blessing of the Almighty, and through him, as he stood
in a representative position, we may surely assume what the feelings
of Israel were in regard to polygamy or the plurality of wives.

Vol. 26,  p.118
It is more than inferential evidence in favor of this principle which
grows from the consideration of the practice of Solomon and David, and
Abraham and Jacob, and Moses and Gideon, and Jehoida and Abdon, and
Rehoboam and Abijah, and Esau and Lamech, and Jerubbaal and Jair,
though some of these men were not examples in every act of their
lives, yet the facts are no more in favor of monogamists as to this
than in the day and age in which we live.

Vol. 26,  p.118
Unfair advantage has been taken by opponents of' this practice,
because of the Adamic era, but the Rabbinical tradition already
mentioned, while not conclusive, shows that no repulsion existed in
the minds of the honored priesthood of Israel; land, as the Rev. Dr.
Newman quoted the words of Lamech, so we may also have our opinion and
that is that his declaration possessed no reference whatever to his
plurality of wives.

Vol. 26,  p.118
However, in the Christian dispenstaion it has been assumed that this
practice had become almost obsolete; some have said that it died away
because it was deprecated by the Savior and by His Apostles, but there
appears to have been thoughts in the minds of the latter concerning
marriage which open to our minds many things in regard to that
institution. For instance we are told that man is not without the
woman in the Lord, neither the woman without the man. [1 Cor., 11,
11.] It takes the two, at least, to make a complete and rounded man.
When the first pair were created the Bible [p.119] expressly declares,
"male and female created he them," and called their name Adam. [Gen.
5, 2.] It included the two; it included the man and wife; and the
theory of the Gospel in Apostolic times was, that a man was an
imperfect being without the woman, and that a woman was also an
imperfect being without the man, and this perfect state could not be
realized or wrought out without the institution of marriage.

Vol. 26,  p.119
It is, then, by this marriage relation that men and women were in the
Lord according to the divine order, carrying out the examples of their
great predecessors, and of their Father in heaven. It may safely be
assumed that marriage with them was an eternal principle; that it was
not meant for time only, but for eternity; that it was a relationship
that was perpetuated, and that this not only included the man and
wife, but of necessity the entire family organization. For our God is
not the God of the dead but of the living, "and what he hath joined
together no man shall put asunder." To the older people here, who are
familiar with the facts made manifest in the human organization, it
may be said that there are certain elements of attraction which lead
the one sex towards the other. This attraction is designated by the
name of love. We are sometimes afraid to exhibit this characteristic;
we think it is unworthy of men or women; and that when a man is said
to be in love, or a woman, it is something that should be veiled from
the eyes and knowledge and understanding of everybody but themselves.
But insomuch as love is one of the great attributes of Deity, this
idea does not recommend itself. It is not only a great attribute of
Deity, but it is the greatest and most potent attribute to be found in
man's and woman's organization. To those who have been allured by its
power; to those who understand its force; to those who realize that it
is the parent of all action almost in life; how it leads men to
sacrifice, to labor, to effort, no argument is needed to show that it
is the greatest power of the human heart. For it men will endure any
amount of sacrifice; for it women will endure and submit to almost any
indignity. The fact is, it is the only element that will bind together
in its original purity the family circle: it is that which leads a man
to go forth in the battle of life to earn the bread that perisheth: it
is that which enables him to look upon his wife as paramount to all
else: it is that which enables her to watch by her infant children,
and in the moment of sickness, with sleepless nights and days of
vigilance, await until there is a restoration to health; it is this
that glorifies the family circle and makes it a little heaven upon
earth; and every man and every woman is cognizant of the fact, that
where love has died out from the altar of home, that home has lost its
greatest attraction. A man does not go there and look upon it as his
little resting place front the care and anxiety of the world when that
feeling has died out. No. He finds his pleasure in the club room, on
the race course, at the gaming table, in political life, in business,
or in many other directions, rather than in the little heaven called
home. Ah! sad indeed is the fate of those families where this
beautiful, this beneficent, this almighty, this glorifying principle
has failed, or finds no resting place therein.

Vol. 26,  p.119
Now, this is the key to marriage in the abstract. It is its
foundation. It coustitutes the glories of its architecture. it brings
upon it its [p.120] capstone, and finishes the edifice that God
Almighty hath ordained. Yet this element which lays at the foundation
and runs through the Whole fabric of married life, in and of itself is
not sufficient to produce and perpetuate that perfect happiness Which
men and women desire in this relationship. Man is a compound being.
Woman is a compound being. There are other feelings of the heart
beside affection and love, although these will cover a multitude of
sins. But it is necessary for the best interests of the family
relation that the tastes and habits, feelings and thoughts of the high
contracting parties should run pretty much in the same direction—that
is, so far as intelligence is received. Hence we have the apostolic
injunction given to the early Christians which said: "Be not unequally
yoked with unbelievers." This was one of the commands given to the
early Christians; because it was realized that though the fire of love
may burn fiercely in the early years of wedded life, yet unless there
is unity of sentiment, of thought and of action in regard to the
religion that married couples should possess, and that should be
imposed upon the children there will ever be a probability of
disintegration and disruption, and this rule had its counterpart, or
had its origin, in ancient Israel. It was not intended, as already
stated, that the sons of any of the tribes of Israel should take to
themselves wives of the nations that were round about them; they were
commanded strictly to keep with that family, and where they failed in
this, whether as individuals or in a national capacity, it brought
down upon them the blighting curse of the Almighty, and led them
finally to bondage, and to be carried away to the ends of the earth,
and so many families in our Israel, after years of suffering of
counsel and commandment, have become in a measure lost through the
influence of misdirected and disobedient love.

Vol. 26,  p.120
We all realize the influence that a woman exerts over a man. A man, to
be sure, exerts a good deal of influence over a woman. But I think the
bulk of experience will show that if even a good, devoted Latter-day
Saint woman should be foolishly guilty of marrying outside of the
Church, or marrying a man in the Church who is half hearted, that her
children will retain more of her individual impress than they will of
the father's. I think observation will establish this fact: that where
there is a devoted father, and an indifferent, unbelieving mother, the
probabilities are that disintegration will set into that family, and
that the majority of them will pass away from the influence of the
Church and from the institutions of the Gospel. Not that either of
these conditions is good—that is, they are not the best conditions.
The best conditions are where there is a devoted man and a devoted
woman, or women, all laboring in the interests of the Kingdom of God
upon the earth, and impressing their own individuality, by the powers
of an educational character upon the posterity that God may give them.

Vol. 26,  p.120
But in regard to this objectionable form of marriage called polygamic,
if this marriage is an eternal principle, it follows almost of
necessity that there will be a period in the experience of thousands
when it must be essentially and eternally polygamic. How many young
wives are there who leave this stage of action sometimes without
children, and sometimes leaving a little family? [p.121] And under
these circumstances a man marries again; he takes another wife and
raises up another family, and for two or three times or more this may
be the experience of some. Now, if marriage is not for time only, but
for eternity; if the marriage relation is continued, there is a
condition of things which demonstrates that in the life to come at all
events, marriage must be in many cases polygamic—that is, a man must
be possessed of several wives.

Vol. 26,  p.121
Now, our theories of heaven are, that there is nothing there save that
which is pure, save that which is ennobling, save that which is
progressive, save that which is according to the order of God. If, He,
then, in the eternities that are beyond the veil can admit of this
relationship by virtue of the fact that marriage is eternal, does it
not appear strange that such an order is decried by His children upon
the face of the earth.

Vol. 26,  p.121
Nor need it be urged, that in some experiences there is a reversal of
this order, that a woman may be the wife of several men while in the
flesh, and that as a consequence, this arrangement must also be
eternal. It has already been said that woman is subordinate to man,
she was given to be his helpmeet, he was to rule over her, to be the
head, as Christ is the head of the Church, that the man was not
created for the woman, but woman for the man. [See 1st Cor., 1 to 12.]

Vol. 26,  p.121
Besides in the keeping of genealogical record, in the tracing of
family or tribal relations, it is evident that a woman must be the
acknowledged wife of some one man, and that to him alone pertains the
eternity of the marriage covenant by the authority of the Holy
Priesthood. This query is however old in history, it is precisely the
one addressed to the Savior by the Sadducees, (who did not believe in
the resurrection, He, however, without condescending to explain the
sealing power to them declared that "when they rise from the dead they
neither marry nor are given in marriage," and the darkened inference
of Christendom has been, that all family organizations, all
characteristics of sex, all procreation of the species would be
obliterated as something pertaining only to the shores of time.

Vol. 26,  p.121
This polygamic form of marriage, however, when we come to consider
humanity, is far in excess of the monogamic. Its influence and power
and practice are felt around the globe, and we can judge of its nature
by that which we have seen and heard of in our own experience.
Ishmael, the son of Abraham, was of polygamic lineage. It was
prophesied of him that he should become the father of many nations,
and in the eastern lands of the earth he has multiplied exceedingly;
and to-day we find that the gigantic power of England with all its
wealth, with all its appliances of science and civilization, is held
in check by this selfsame Ishmael, the son of Abraham, the friend of
God, so that assumed degeneracy consequent on this system is not
established by facts.

Vol. 26,  p.121
In this land of ours, we find that monogamy is the rule; that there
are laws preventing a departure from this order, and that any
departure from that is visited with a good deal of criticism, with
some legislation, with some pains and penalties, and is made to the
nation a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense. Yet we might here
pertinently ask the American nation—"From whence did you derive your
monogamy? We might ask Old [p.122] England the same question. I would
like to ask if it has been accepted as the result of an intelligent
understanding of the two modes of marriage? Rather has it not been
inherited without investigation, without thought, without reflection,
without understanding the marriage covenant? We all know it is the
outgrowth of tradition; that it has been received from the fathers;
and so far from having been an intellectual reception of a principle,
fundamental and eternal, it possesses nothing of that character
whatever. Monogamy was practiced by the fathers, the same as the
religious of mankind were practiced by them, it was received and
accepted unhesitatingly without comment or consideration, without
understanding as to whether it was conclusively the best, or whether
it was the worst, or whether it was of God, or whether it was of man,
or whether anything different to-day might or might not be of Him.

Vol. 26,  p.122
Now, here is a little community called Latter-day Saints, who believe
in both orders. They have accepted marriage in the abstract. They do
not believe that society should run at loose ends in its sexual
relations. They believe that a violation of those laws is as much a
wrong to-day as it was in the days of ancient Israel, and they believe
further that all sexual irregularities should be visited by penalties
of divine sanction and appointment; and still more, that that which
was right, that which was commanded, that which was encouraged, that
which was practiced, that which was regulated among ancient Israel,
and that which will be practiced and is inevitable behind the veil,
cannot be an offense in the sight of God, in the day and age in which
we live.

Vol. 26,  p.122
But it may be said, why speak of this matter when there is so much
excitement in regard to it? For the best of all reasons, that this is
a free country, that free speech has never been forbidden, has never
been checked, has never been curtailed. It is the heritage we have
received from our fathers, and we are at liberty to speak of the
institutions that lay at the foundation of society, and to analyze and
understand them. There are thousands of our youth growing up that are
not familiar with the fundamental principles pertaining to marriage;
with the ideas and theories and practices of the nations that have
grown out of this relationship; and it needs that they should
understand why this turmoil exists, and whether there is a good
foundation for the position that men take everywhere in regard to that
principle, and which leads to the persecution of their fathers, and
the ostracism of their community.

Vol. 26,  p.122
When we come to the sacred books that have been received by the Church
we find that, in regard to this dual idea of marriage—marriage in the
monogamic form, and marriage in the polygamic form—the Book of Mormon
expressly declares that it was necessary in the first colonization of
this country that marriage should be monogamic, because the sexes were
equal, and the people realized that marriage was an indispensable
thing to both man and woman; but there is also indication that
necessity would give final enlargement to this practical question.

Vol. 26,  p.122
So it was when Noah came out of the ark, and there are other periods
in the history of mankind when nothing but monogamic marriage could
prevail without doing an injustice to those round about them. But
where there is no chance of this [p.123] injustice; where every man is
free; where every woman is free; where there are thousands of mankind
that never marry at all, and thousands of women who by law cannot
marry, there is room for the exercise of the polygamic form thereof;
so that, in argument, the sacred books of old Israel, the sacred hooks
of Christendem, the sacred books of the Mormons, or Latter-day Saints,
all tend to substantiate the idea that marriage in the abstract is of
God; and that it is or has been of Him, both in the monogamic and
polygamic form. Still further, these written revelations are not the
only evidence of the fact that monogamic marriage and polygamic
marriage are both susceptible of practice by the human family. Who is
there that is acquainted with himself or herself—where is the man and
where is the woman who does not realize, if they have attained to
mature years and experience, that all the functions of manhood and
womanhood can be subserved in both forms of marriage, and often better
in the polygamic. If in this ever present revelation of the Almighty,
of the finger of God in man's organization, and in woman's, it had
been decreed that polygamy was an immoral thing, and that it did
violence to either, then that would be evidence to go against the
sacred books that I we have received from the past, and from those of
the present; and if Joseph Smith had come forth claiming to be a
Prophet of God, and had given a revelation testifying to the necessity
and advantage of polygamic marriage, and this revelation had come in
contact with the revelation of man's experience, with the revelation
written in his own organization, then it would have nullified itself;
but it is in harmony with such a revelation, and shows the possibility
and susceptibility and natural character of marriage in the polygamic
relation. During a certain debate held in this house in regard to this
very question, Doctor Newman asserted that there were evidences
against this practice in the Bible. I consider that the Bible has been
read by the Latter-day Saints as much as ever it was read by Dr.
Newman, although they may not have done so in the original tongue—they
may not have Leviticus 18, 18—as he had it—but yet they have that
great gift of God which is called common sense, to say nothing of the
inspiration of His Spirit, and they are just as well able to
understand the revelations of the past as Doctor Newman with all his
knowledge of the original rendition and meaning of the Hebrew
character.

Vol. 26,  p.123
And if a tree is to be judged by its fruits, what of the whoredoms,
the adultery, the fornication, the prostitution of women in monogamic
nations? What of sexual diseases, of blighted lives, of martyred
women, of little graves dotting every hillside and the resting places
of the dead? What of foeticide, infanticide and abortion? What of the
decimated power and numbers of the best society, what of their liasons
and their divorce courts, and other damning features which cling
closely to the skirts of modern Sodoms, the paragons and promoters of
monogamic marriage?

Vol. 26,  p.123
Dr. Newman also made another remark something like this: that polygamy
was not intended for the poor man, that it was intended for the kings
of the earth, overlooking the fact, however, that Israel is a nation
of kings and priests; so that when he said that polygamy or the
practice of a plurality of wives was [p.124] intended only for kings,
it brought home a truth pregnant with thought; for God decreed that he
would gather His Israel from the poor of all nations, and so in Rev.
5, 10, they are represented as singing a new song, "Thou hast made us
Kings and Priests to God, and we shall reign on the earth;" and this
principle was to extend not through time only, but through the
countless ages of eternity, so that His people might occupy the
position of eternal fathers and eternal mothers, and be indeed Kings
and Priests for ever and for ever.

Vol. 26,  p.124
There are also other avenues of information besides those sacred
records, and besides those revelations written in the organization of
man and woman at large, and that is the revelation of individual
experience. There are many men and women who have practiced this
principle in the midst of Israel for thirty years and upwards. I have
heard their testimonies time and time again, and they declare that
their experience corroborated the exhortation, commandments and
practices of Holy Writ, and the revelations written in their own
organization; and they tell me that in this relation they have been
blessed, they have been prospered, they have had around them the
influence of the Spirit of the Almighty; that peace has been upon
their household and habitation, and that they have been enabled
through that principle to multiply their posterity upon the earth.
Where are these? They are everywhere throughout this Territory, and
their experience, corroborating those other revelations which I have
mentioned, forms a threefold cord that cannot by any process or by any
power be broken. I will say as the result of my own experience—for I
have lived in that relationship—that to me and to mine it was
productive of good, although it came in contact with our tradition.
Although it came in contact with the practices of the fathers, and
with our feelings, yet, in its experience it demonstrated itself to be
of God, and no better time have I had in thirty years of married life
than when I had three wives given me of God, and occupying but one
habitation. The power of God was in that home; the spirit of peace was
there, the spirit of intelligence was there; and we had our ever
present testimony that God recognised the patriarchal order, that
which had been practiced by His servants ages and ages ago and
revealed to us in the dispensation of the fullness of times; and
although two of these have gone behind the veil, they went there with
a consciousness of having done their duty in this life, and that they
would meet in the life beyond those who agreed with them in practice
and in faith; from this condition came the discipline of life, the
power of self-restraint, a tender regard for each others feelings, and
a sort of jealousy for each others' rights, all tempered by the
consideration that relations meant to be enduring claimed more love
and interest and soul than did monogamy under its best conditions.

Vol. 26,  p.124
Here, then, are some of the evidences in regard to this married
relation that forms the foundation of civilization and of human life,
and that lays at the foundation of the Government of God upon the
earth; according to our ideas concerning this relationship so will our
society and this community become. If we treat the marriage relation
with levity; if we should believe that it was but a civil contract,
and for time only, we should be weak as [p.125] others and should not
excel: if it is not part of our religion and of God, then it is not of
value to us. In my experience—and that is not a very lengthy one—I
have marked the change in feeling that has come over the nations in
regard to this marriage question. When I was a lad it was very unusual
for a man to take to himself a wife without the sanction of religion.
All the marriages of Old England had to be celebrated in the
Established Church, and a record was kept of them there, and of the
posterity issuing from that marriage, and when these died, their death
also was recorded, so that there was an unbroken chain of genealogical
evidence in that respect often of immense value for legitimacy and
other purposes. But by and by the spirit of religious liberty, as it
was called, began to spread. It is but a hundred years ago, or a
little over, since Methodism was established—the now dominant, or next
to dominant religious organization of Christendom. It began in a small
way; but it increased and spread abroad; it multiplied its converts,
its ministers and its chapels; it became a potent factor, in a
political sense, in the nation, and it was necessary that political
parties should conciliate and cater to this increasingly wealthy
religious organization; and when the Methodists wanted marriages
performed in their own, instead of going to the EstablishedChurches,
their power and influence, the influence of wealth and numbers, their
power as a political factor of the nation, gave them favor in the eyes
of the ministry and the legislature. By and by they were allowed the
privilege of marrying in their own churches and chapels, and by their
own ministers. And as it was with this body, so it was with the
smaller bodies, the satellites thrown off and revolving around the
great planets of religious organization in that country. And then as
this so-called religious liberty increased in spirit, scepticism began
to grow in the minds of many in regard to religious doctrines. There
were thousands of people that had no more faith in Methodism than in
the Established Church, or in Catholicism. They had more faith in Tom
Paine, and Voltaire, and Rosseau, and such men as Ingersoll, and their
liberty made it appear plausible to them that there was no necessity
to go to any church, or seek the aid of any minister, or have any
religious ceremony in connection with their own marriage or the
marriage of their families. So provision was made for this ever
increasing host of sceptics, and finally it was decreed that marriage
was nothing but a civil contract, not needing the service of a
minister, or the sanction of religion, but requiring simply that it
could be entered into after due notion was given, in a public place
and not before a worshiping assembly. In such cases marriage was
entered into as "a civil contract," and when this stage was reached,
inasmuch as it was but a civil contract, "only this and nothing more,"
the next step of necessity was, that it could be dissolved. Where is
there a contract of this nature that cannot be dissolved? If I am
engaged by an employer we can dissolve the engagement whenever either
of as is dissatisfied. And so this feature was applied to marriage;
the laws of divorce were introduced, and that which was once
considered discreditable, difficult and expensive, and would have been
sounded from one end of the land to the other as such, became common
and unworthy of remark.

Vol. 26,  p.126
Thus the bonds of society are [p.126] loosened; the sanctity of the
marriage relation is destroyed; and the world is filled with
entanglements that are the product of this civil contract business,
and even where this contract remains intact, there is a spirit made
manifest to avoid the responsibilities of marriage as to offspring,
and to live together in numberless cases without any marriage at all;
so that when the connection is broken it may be swept to the wind with
no results traceable or injurious to any of those concerned.

Vol. 26,  p.126
Now, for the safety of society, for the welfare of the human family,
for the love of order and responsibility upon the earth, for faith in
the revelations of God, and for high regard to the practices of His
anointed, I am in favor of the marriage relation. The Latter-day
Saints are in favor of the marriage relation, and they are utterly
opposed to sexual intercourse outside of that. And they do not believe
that marriage is a civil contract alone. Whatever power there may be
in the courts to enforce the claim of a with against a husband, or the
husband against the wife as a matter of protection, in the main,
marriage is of God, is of divine origin. Marriage requires the
sanction of the authority of the Holy Priesthood in order to give it
force, in order to make it valid in this life and the life to come,
and marriage—polygamic or monogamic, according to the necessities of
the case and the condition of those who enter therein—is in harmony
with all the laws of life; and despite what the world may say, those
that are of polygamic descent without knowing it are to be found among
the rulers of to-day—the most exalted and the most prominent in a
national sense—even in repudiating Christendom.

Vol. 26,  p.126
In the carrying out of this relationship the Latter-day Saints are
numerous ever where throughout this Territory: and it is incumbent
upon the rising generation that they should hold to those sacred views
that are held by their fathers; that they should marry within the
confines of the Church; that they should seek for their husbands or
wives, as the case may be, among those who have been obedient to the
principles of the everlasting Gospel, and who comprehend something of
the nature of the marriage covenant. Those of our posterity should not
depart from the ways of our Father; they should not be willing to take
up with the practices of Christendom. They should be under proper
restraint, proper control and direction in all the relationships of
life, because this parental relation among the faithful is an eternal
authority. Those children of ours, they never can get away from their
father and mother in this life, nor in the life to come. If they
should form connection with those outside of the Church and become
aliens to the Gospel, after along day of repentance they will have to
return and bow the knee if they would have access within that
organization, if they would enjoy all that belongs to that
relationship, if they would inherit the glory with which that
relationship is identified; they will have to repent, as it were, in
dust and ashes and come back to the family circle, compact and
covenant, wherein the Almighty gave them a being. And in this respect
it may be well to drop a hint in regard to the practices of some of
our sons and daughters in this city—where they step outside of what
some call priestly authority. When they come to get up amusements of
their own, they should see that that [p.127] only which pertains to
good order and good government are introduced. for those inevitably
tend to consolidation and unity. It would be well if our boys would
listen to their fathers' counsel; would respect the authority of their
fathers and mothers who are good Latter-day Saints; and when they want
enjoyment they should seek to keep within the circumscribed limits of
all reputable authority.

Vol. 26,  p.127
There are a great many thoughts arise in my mind, but I presume that I
have occupied all the time desirable and I do not wish to weary the
congregation. The subject I have touched upon, however, is a very
important one. It lies at the foundation of things, and, as I said
before, as it is comprehended by the human family, by us as Latter-day
Saints, so will be their position among the nations, so will be their
power in renovating society, and so will be their measure of
approbation by the heavens.

Vol. 26,  p.127
May God give us wisdom to so maintain ourselves in this relation
whether it be polygamic or monogamic—that we may gain His smile and
approbation, that we may feel His Spirit in our families, in our
hearts, in our going out and coming in, and may we realize that we
have the approbation of heaven, and the sanction of all the powers of
the eternities past, present and to come, as well as the example of
the Patriarchs and Prophets· And when this life shall come to its end
with us, may we be privileged to sit down with Abraham, Isaac and
Jacob, in the kingdom of our Father and God, and make part of a family
there, a great nation of Kings and Priests, associating with those who
have passed through much tribulation and washed their robes white in
the blood of the Lamb through the ordinances of the Gospel; which I
ask may be the case, through Jesus Christ, Amen.[p.128] 

John Taylor, October 6, 1883

Privilege of Meeting Together—We Are Here to Do Our 
Father's Will—All Dependent Upon God for Assistance, 
Guidance and Direction—the Lord Revealed to Adam the 
Purpose of Sacrifice—Adam, Before His Death, Called His 
Family Together and Blessed Them and Prophesied—Many 
Spirits Have Been Destined to Hold Certain Positions Among 
Men—Why We Are Gathered—We Must Follow the Teachings 
of the Spirit, and Honor the Priesthood in All Its Callings—
Prepare Ourselves to Enter Holy Places—the Priesthood 
Must not Tolerate Iniquity—the Church Must 
Be Purified—Concluding Exhortations

Discourse By President John Taylor, Delivered at a 
Priesthood Meeting, held in the Salt Lake Assembly Hall, 
Saturday Evening, October 6th, 1883.

(Reported By John lrvine)

Vol. 26,  p.128
IT is quite a privilege for us to meet together in such assemblies as
this—to associate with the Priesthood of the Son of God, which
Priesthood is also after the order of Melchisedec, and after the power
of an endless life. It is a great privilege for us to meet together,
to talk over the things pertaining to the Kingdom of God, and to
reason and reflect upon those things that God has revealed for our
salvation in time and throughout the eternities that are to come. It
is proper that we should comprehend the various positions of men in
relation to this Holy Priesthood, and further that we should
understand the various orders, callings, ordinances and organizations
associated with the Church and Kingdom of God upon the earth; that we
each of us may be prepared to magnify our calling, to honor our God,
and to pursue that course always which shall be acceptable in the
sight of our Heavenly Father.

Vol. 26,  p.128
We are here as Jesus was here, not to do our own will, but the will of
our Father who sent us. He has placed us here; we have a work to do in
our day and generation; and there is nothing of importance connected
with any of us only as we are associated with God! and His work,
whether it be the President of the Church, the Twelve Apostles, the
Presidents of Stakes, the Bishops, or anybody else, and we can only
thus be of any service by placing ourselves in a position to act as
God dictates us; as He regulates and manipulates the affairs of His
Church in the interests of humanity, in behalf of the living and of
the dead, in behalf of the world in which we live, and in behalf of
those who, have lived before us, and who will live after us. We can
none of us do anything only as we are assisted, guided and directed by
the Lord. No man ever lived that could. Adam could not. Noah could
not. Even Jesus could not.[p.129] Nor could the Apostles. They were
all of them dependent upon the God of Israel to sustain them in all of
their acts. And in regard to Adam himself, as we are, so was he very
ignorant of many principles until they were revealed to him. And if
they were revealed to him they did not originate with him; and so it
was with others. We find that Adam was directed of the Lord to do a
certain thing—that is, to offer up sacrifices—and when the angel of
the Lord came to him and said: "Adam why do you offer up sacrifices?"
Adam replied, "I do not know; but the Lord commanded me to do it, and
therefore I do it." He did not know what those sacrifices were for
until the Lord revealed unto him the doctrine of the atonement and the
necessity of the tall of man, and pointed out to him the way and
manner to obtain an exaltation. Then he and Eve his wife rejoiced
exceedingly at the mercy and kindness of the Almighty, and realized
that even in their fall they were placed in a position to obtain a
higher glory, and a greater exaltation than they could have done
without it. Now, who revealed this to them? The Lord, through the
ministering of an holy angel; and in relation to the dealings of God
with all of the human family it has been precisely the same. We are
told, for instance, that when Adam had lived to a great age—that three
years before his death he called together his family—that is, some of
the leading branches thereof who held the Holy Priesthood, mentioning
the names of many of the more prominent that had received certain
peculiar blessings from the hand of God—and there was manifested to
him all things that should transpire to his posterity throughout all
the future generations of time, and he prophesied of these things; and
also upon those who were with him, rested the spirit of prophecy, and
he blessed them, and they turned around and blessed him and called him
Michael the Archangel, the Prince of Peace, etc. By what spirit then
did Adam prophesy, and under what influence was he operating at that
time? We are told in Scripture that the testimony of Jesus is the
spirit of prophecy, and he in common with his sons who were then
associated with him were in possession of that spirit which
enlightened their minds, unfolded unto them the principles of truth,
and revealed unto them the things that would transpire throughout
every subsequent period of time. Who manifested these things? The
Lord. Who organized the world? The Lord. Who made man upon it? The
Lord. Who placed upon it the fowls of the air, the beasts of the
field, and the fish of the sea? The Lord. Who sustains all things by
his power? The Lord. Who controls the affairs of the world? The Lord.
To whom are we indebted for life, for health, and for every blessing
that we enjoy? To the Lord. He is the God of the earth, and the giver
of every good and perfect gift which we enjoy, and He desires to
gather together a people that will observe His laws, that will keep
His commandments, that will render obedience to His will, that will
submit to His authority, and for this purpose, in different ages of
the world, He has introduced the Gospel and has placed man in
possession thereof.

Vol. 26,  p.129
Now, what about the positions of men? Why, it is a good deal as spoken
of in the Scriptures and in the revelations which have been given to
us pertaining to these matters—that [p.130] many have been called and
chosen, and that many were elected and selected to fulfill certain
offices. It was so revealed to Abraham. He was told that there were a
great many spirits, many of whom were noble, who were destined to hold
particular positions among the children of men, and it was said to
him, "And thou Abraham wast one of these."

Vol. 26,  p.130
Now, there are events to transpire in this day as there have been in
other days; and we, the Elders of Israel of the Church of the living
God, have to build up the Church of God, the Zion of God, and the
Kingdom of God, and the Church has to be purified according to the
law, order, rule and dominion which God has appointed. It is not for
us—as the brethren have expressed it—to receive certain portions of
light and intelligence, and with regard to other portions follow the
desires of our own hearts, thus laying aside God, His rule, His
dominion and His authority. "Having begun in the spirit," as Paul
said, "are ye now made perfect by the flesh?" No, that is the wrong
way about; but on the contrary we ought to add to our faith virtue, to
virtue brotherly kindness, to brotherly kindness charity, to charity
godliness, that we may be full of the light and life, and of the
spirit and power of God, and approach more closely to the law of God,
and be governed thereby.

Vol. 26,  p.130
Why are we gathered here to the land of Zion? This is called the land
of Zion. We are called the people of Zion. What does Zion mean? the
pure in heart. Why are we gathered here? One of the Prophets in
talking about it, says: "I will take you one of a city, and two of a
family, and I will bring you to Zion." What then? "I will give them
Pastors according to mine own heart, which shall feed you with
knowledge and understanding." That is what we are here for. That we
may be fed with knowledge and understanding, that we may learn the law
of the Gospel, the law of the Zion of God, the laws of the Kingdom of
God, and that we may be instructed in all things tending to promote
the welfare, exaltation and happiness of ourselves, our wives, our
children, the people with whom we are associated, and the world in
which we live and act; and that we may operate for the benefit of
those who have lived, and stand as "saviors upon Mount Zion."

Vol. 26,  p.130
In all this, as has been said, there is an order. We are all dependent
the one upon the other. The head can not say to the foot I have no
need of thee, nor the foot to the head I have no need of thee, nor the
hand, the arm, the leg to the body, I have no need of thee. We are
formed into a compact body according to the law of God in the
organization of His Church, and it is for us to magnify the callings
unto which we are called, and unless we all of us are placed under the
guidance and direction of the Almighty, we cannot do so—that is, those
who do not yield themselves subject to the law of God, cannot do that
thing. But those who yield themselves subject to the law of God, can
do it and do it quite easily, for Jesus says: "Take my yoke upon you,
and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find
rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."
Now, if we yield obedience to God and to the spirits that dwell within
us, then will our light become like that of the just that shineth
brighter and brighter unto the perfect day; but if we do not yield an
obedience to the law and [p.131] word and order of the Church and
Kingdom of God upon the earth, the light that is within us will become
darkness, and then, as it is said, how great is that darkness! We see
sometimes men of that character. They are occasionally referred to as
cranks, or, as the Germans use that term, sick. They lose the light,
spirit and power of God, and they do not comprehend the order of the
Church and Kingdom of God, nor do they place themselves in the way to
obtain knowledge or these things. The first thing they begin to do is
to try to pervert the order of God, and to find fault with their
brethren in the Holy Priesthood—with their Bishops, with their
Bishop's Counselors, with the High Council, perhaps with the
Presidents of Stakes, as the case may be, or with the Apostles, or
with the First Presidency; no matter which, or how, or when, or where.
Now, if these men were walking in the light as God is in the light
they would have fellowship one, with another, and the blood of Christ
would cleanse them from all sin; but when they begin to murmur and
complain, to find fault and to give way to improper influences, they
give place to the devil, and he takes possession just as fast and as
far as he can, and forces upon them feelings, ideas and principles
that are at variance with the law and order, and word and will of God.

Vol. 26,  p.131
What, then, are we here for? What did Jesus come to do? He tells us
that He "came not to do His own will, but the will of His Father who
sent Him." How are we to obtain a knowledge of that will? I will tell
you what Joseph Smith told me. I have frequently mentioned it. Between
forty and fifty years ago he said to me this: "Elder Taylor, you have
received the Holy Ghost. Follow its teachings. Sometimes it will seem
to you as though it was hardly the right way. No matter, follow its
teachings, and it will always lead you right, and if you do so it
will, by and by, become to you a principle of revelation, so that you
will know all things that are necessary for you to become acquainted
with." Now, I know that is true. I know that he spoke the truth. And I
would say that it is the privilege of every Elder in Israel who has
received the gift of the Holy Ghost, to follow its teachings. What was
said by one of the old Apostles? "As many as are led by the Spirit of
God are the sons of God." Follow its teachings, therefore, and do not
give way to your own feelings, nor to covetousness, to pride, nor to
vain glory; for we none of us have anything to boast of. We have none
of us received anything but what God has given us. If we possess
light, or intelligence, or a knowledge of the things of God—which we
do—from whence did it emanate? From God our Heavenly Father, through
the medium that He has appointed. I do not wish to dictate to Him the
way these things shall be done. I never did. While Joseph Smith was on
the earth I looked to him as a Prophet of God, and I do not believe I
ever disobeyed Him in one solitary thing that he ever required at my
hands, and I have been put in some pretty tight places. But that was
my feeling, that was the idea I entertained towards the Priesthood of
the Son of God.

Vol. 26,  p.131
I have also lived in wards. I do not know that I have ever disobeyed
the requests of a Bishop. Why? Because he presided over me in a ward
capacity, and if he had a right to respect me as an Apostle, I had a
right to respect him as a Bishop,[p.132] and I always felt a desire to
comply with all the requirements that were made of me by any of the
proper authorities. I feel and always have felt the same towards
Teachers. If a Teacher came to my house—or Teachers, they generally
come two at a time—if I happened to be there I have told them that I
felt happy to meet with them, and I called together the members of my
family that were within my reach, and told them that the Teachers had
come to instruct us. Permit me here to ask, have not I a right—say as
the President of the Church, or as an Apostle, which I was for many
years—have not I a right, or my family a right to possess the same
privileges that others possess, and to have the Teachers come to
inquire after my welfare and that of my family, and to see that there
is no wrong existing—have not I that right? I think I have. If they
are the servants of God, have not I a right to listen to them? Yes, I
have, and I feel it my duty to receive them kindly, treat them
properly and listen to their teaching.

Vol. 26,  p.132
On the other hand, when the Teachers got through, I might give them a
little instruction, say as an Apostle, or as a brother—put it any way
you like; that while I and my family were receiving benefits from
them, it was my duty, on the other hand, to teach and instruct them in
some things that I thought might benefit them.

Vol. 26,  p.132
Now, these are correct principles in the Church and Kingdom of God.
The Teacher occupies his place; the Priest and Deacon occupy their
places; the Elder occupies his place; the Bishop his place; the High
Councils their places; the Presidents of Stakes their places, and
every one in his position ought to be honored—the Twelve in their
place, the First Presidency in their place—each one yielding proper
respect and courtesy and kindness to the other. And when we talk about
great big personages, there is no such thing. We are none of us
anything only as God confers blessings upon us, and if He has
conferred anything upon us, we will give Him the glory.

Vol. 26,  p.132
Having been called to these positions, God expects that we will honor
them; that we will esteem it an honor to be the messengers of
salvation, the legates of the skies, to the nations of the earth. We
have a great work to perform both at home and abroad, We are preaching
the Gospel to the inhabitants of the earth. Israel is being gathered
home to Zion. And in Zion we are rearing temples to the name of the
Most High God. And I will tell you how I feel—that as these temples
are advancing, while we are preparing holy places in which to
administer the ordinances of God pertaining to the living and the
dead—I feel that we ought to begin to prepare ourselves to enter into
these holy places, and to feel that we are the sons of God without
rebuke in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation. We ought to
wake up and put our houses in order, and our hearts in order; we ought
to conform to the word, the will, and the law of God; we ought to let
God rule in Zion, to let His law be written upon our hearts, and to
feel the responsibility of the great work we are called upon to
perform. We should see that our bodies and our spirits are pure, and
that they are free from contamination of every kind. We are here to
build up the Zion of God, and to this end we must subject our bodies
and our spirits to the law, to the word, and [p.133] to the will of
God. Being here in Zion we want to see that thing that Jesus told His
disciples to pray for take place. "Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done
on earth as it is in heaven." How was it done in heaven? God spake and
the worlds were formed according to His word. God said let us do this,
and that and the other, and it was so. Was there anybody in heaven to
object and say, "Don't you think you had better put it off a little.
Would not this be abetter way?" Yes, the devil said so, and he says so
yet, and he is listened to sometimes by sinners and sometimes by
Saints; for we become the servants of those whom we list to obey.

Vol. 26,  p.133
There are besides these other considerations in connection with these
matters.

Vol. 26,  p.133
The brethren who have preceded me this evening have referred to the
celestial terrestial and telestial kingdoms, and the laws pertaining
thereunto. We are told that if we cannot abide the law of the
celestial kingdom we cannot inherit a celestial glory. Is not that
doctrine? Yes. "But," says one, "Are not we all going into the
celestial kingdom?" I think not, unless we turn round and mend our
ways very materially. It is only those who can abide a celestial glory
and obey a celestial law that will be prepared to enter a celestial
kingdom. "Well," says another, "are the others going to be burned up,
etc.?" No. Do you expect everybody to walk according to this higher
law? No, I do not. And do I expect those that do not, are going into
the celestial kingdom? No, I do not. Well, where will they go? If they
are tolerably good men and do not do anything very bad, they will get
into a terrestrial kingdom, and if there are seine that cannot abide a
terrestrial law, they may get into a telestial kingdom, or otherwise,
as the case may be, etc., etc. Did you ever read in your Bibles that
"Strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life,
and few there be that find it." Did you ever read of the parable of
Jesus, where He speaks of the sower going forth to sow, and some seed
fell by the wayside, some among thorns, and some on stoney ground,
etc.? "But," says one, "we thought we had got it all" Yes: but the
thorns have grown up in many places and choked the good seed.
Sometimes you keep down your weeds in the field, but do they come up
again? Yes; fresh crops keep coming all the time; and I think, too,
that the wheat and the tares were to grow together for a certain
length of time.

Vol. 26,  p.133
Well, what shall we do? Shall we go to work and get angry against
people that do not do exactly right? No. They can only do right as God
helps them to do it. They can only do right as they seek to God for
His help to enable them to do so; they can only do right as they are
sustained by the power of God; and if we allow covetousness, pride,
envy, jealousy, hatred, malice, lasciviousness, drunkenness,
Sabbath-breaking, or any other influence to corrupt and lead us astray
from the light of truth and the sweet consoling influences of the
Spirit of God, we shall get into darkness, and then, as I said before,
if the light that is within us becomes darkness, how great is that
darkness! It is for us to do right—to observe the law and to keep the
commandments of God. It is right also for the Presidents of Stakes and
for the Bishops to see that none of these things that I have referred
to be permitted among the people over whom they preside. What! Shall
we not let the drunkard [p.134] wallow in his drunkenness ? No; deal
with him according to the law of God. Shall we not let the lascivious
man wallow in his corruption No. According to certain principles that
are laid down in the book of Doctrine and Covenants in regard to those
things, those who have entered into the new and everlasting covenant,
and have taken upon themselves certain obligations, if they commit
adultery it is positively said they shall be destroyed. Now, can you
change that, or can I change it? No, I cannot, and you cannot; and you
have no right to permit men to break the Sabbath, nor to do many of
those acts that many of the Saints are doing. What are Apostles,
Prophets, Pastors, Teachers, Evangelists, etc., placed in the Church
for? What were they for in former days? For the perfecting of the
Saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of
Jesus Christ. What are the High Councils and Bishops' Counsels for but
to adjudge all these things? What are the Teachers and the Priests
for? To assist the Bishops in their endeavors to promote purity and
virtue, holiness and righteousness among the people. That is their
office, and if they do not fulfill that office they are not magnifying
their calling. They have no right to condone the sins of men. The law
of God is perfect converting the soul, and we must be governed by that
law and carry it out, or he made amenable unto the Lord our God for
the course we pursue, or for neglecting to perform our duties. That is
the way I look at these things, and if that is not the case, why are
these laws given to us. Are they the laws of God? We so understand
them. Then let us perform our duties and seek to magnify our callings
that we may stand approved and acknowledged of the Lord.

Vol. 26,  p.134
When I speak of these things, I do not believe in any kind of tyranny.
I believe in long-suffering, in mercy, in kindness, in gentleness, and
in the love and fear of God. I do not believe that the Priesthood was
given to man to exercise dominion and authority over the souls of
other men. Everything ought to be done with kindness and
long-suffering, yet with fidelity to God. The Church must be purified
from iniquity of every kind, that we may stand before God "a glorious
Church, not having spot or wrinkle, or any such thing;" that when we
get our temples finished we may enter therein, approach the living
God, and call upon Him for blessings, for life and salvation for
ourselves and others, for deliverance from our enemies, and God will
hear our prayers if we will only be obedient and observe His law. God
is on our side. All heaven is on our side. The ancient Prophets and
Patriarchs, and the Son of God and God the Father, are enlisted in the
cause of Zion. It is for us to be true to ourselves, and I ask no odds
of this world or of its powers. ("Amen") God will take care of His
Saints, but we must be careful to be Saints.

Vol. 26,  p.134
"Arise! therefore, ye Elders of Israel—ye Priests, Teachers and
Deacons, ye Presidents of Stakes, Bishops and High Counselors, ye
Apostles and First Presidency, and all of us—Arise! and let us go to
work with a will to do the will of God on earth as it is done in
heaven: for if ever that is done, where is it to start, do you think,
if it does not begin here among us? God expects it at our hands. We
are full of weaknesses and imperfections, every one of us; but we want
to learn the word, the will, and the law of God, and to conform to
that word and will and law. Let that law be [p.135] written upon our
hearts. Let us seek to magnify our callings and honor our God, and the
Lord will take care of the balance. We need not trouble ourselves much
about our enemies. They have their ideas, we have ours. We will do as
we have done. We will do the best we can with them, put our trust in
the living God, and pursue a course that is wise, prudent and
intelligent. We will glory not in ourselves, but in the Lord of Hosts.
We will dedicate ourselves, our wives, our families, our houses and
our lands, and all that we possess to the Lord, and feel that we are
His children. If we do this, He will bless us with life, health and
prosperity. He will control the efforts of our enemies in the future
as He has done in the past. And here I feel to call upon every soul to
bless and magnify the God of Israel for His mercies extended to us in
the past; for putting a hook into the jaws of our enemies that they
have not had power to harm us, and He will continue to do it, if we
will continue to be faithful, only much more so; and woe unto them
that fight against Zion, for the Lord God of Hosts will fight against
them. Amen.[p.136] 

George Q. Cannon, January 18, 1885

Importance of Our Sunday Schools and Mutual 
Improvement Associations—the Good Work Done 
By Them in Qualifying Young Men to Be Missionaries—
Necessity of Teaching Our Children the Principle of Virtue—
Determination of Our Enemies to Destroy the Work of God—the 
Lord Will Build Up His Kingdom in His Own Way—He Will Stand By 
Us If We Are Valiant—God Raised up Men to Form the Constitution 
and Establish the Government of the United States—Self-Preservation 
Requires Us to Be United—All Reputable Men Among the Latter-Day 
Saints Hold the Priesthood—We Have to Contend With Mobocracy 
in Legal Form and Guise—this Work Depends Upon God—
Our Enemies Have No Power to Injure Us—No One Has 
 Prospered in Opposing the Work of God—the Lord Will 
Stand By Us in the Hour of Need—Conclusion

Discourse By President George Q. Cannon, Delivered in the 
Tabernacle, Ogden, Sunday Morning, January 18th, 1885.

(Reported By John Irvine)

Vol. 26,  p.136
I AM pleased to have the opportunity of meeting with the Latter-day
Saints this morning in Ogden, and of listening to the reports which
have been made by the brethren respecting the Sunday Schools, and the
Young Men's Mutual Improvement Associations. These institutions
furnish an index to the growth and development of the people, and the
future character of those who are now and who will be members of the
Church in years to come. I think a very fair estimate can be formed of
what our people will be by closely observing the condition of the
Sunday Schools and the Mutual Improvement Associations; because those
children and those young men and young women who are now members of
these schools and associations will in a very few years take their
place as active members in the community, and the character of the
community be largely dependent upon their characters and upon the
development which they have made in the directions that these
institutions seek to form them. I look upon it myself as exceedingly
important that our schools should be properly conducted, and that our
associations should receive that attention from those who have
influence and knowledge that will make a proper impression upon the
minds of those who are members. In whatever capacity I might be acting
in the Priesthood, with the proper feeling of anxiety about the
[p.137] growth and development of the people, I could not fail to take
interest in all these associations, and to see that they were properly
conducted as far as my influence would extend. I do feel this
interest. I have for many years felt it. It has been one of the great
delights, I may say, of my life for many years, to see the growth and
development of our Sunday School interest.

Vol. 26,  p.137
For many years, while laboring in the ministry abroad I saw how small
was the amount of fruit resulting from the labors of myself and other
Elders in the world; that we labored sometimes for years and were only
able to bring into the Church a comparative few, and then, out of
those that were converted and brought into the Church, there was a
large percentage who did not remain, but who lost the faith and fell
away. I became convinced in my mind that more satisfactory results and
a larger amount of fruit could be obtained by devoting attention to
the cultivation of our children, and for years before I had the
opportunity, I had resolved in my own mind that if I were ever
permitted to remain at home long enough I would devote attention to
the cultivation of the young. I think that which has been done in this
direction has amply rewarded every man and woman who have taken
interest in this cause. You can better tell, probably, than I can—or
at least some of you can—what the effect upon our community is—the
effect of the Sunday School, and of the teachings of the Sunday
Schools. You are familiar with the children. You can contrast their
present condition with the condition of children a few years ago, and
by making this contrast you can estimate, at pretty near its true
value, that which is and has been done. So far as my observation is
concerned I am satisfied that a great amount of good has been
accomplished. I have been on missions when Elders have come from the
valley—young men—and I have been very much ashamed to see their
ignorance in regard to the doctrines of the Church, and of the history
of the Church, and their ignorance of the Scriptures. I have felt that
it was almost a shame that young men brought up in Zion should go as
missionaries and be so ignorant concerning the most vital points
connected with our religion. I am happy to believe that that has
passed away to a very great extent, and that those who now go out in
the capacity of missionaries do so with a more thorough understanding
respecting the history of the Church, the doctrines of the Church, and
a wider intelligence concerning everything connected with the Church
than was formerly manifested. In our Sunday Schools I have listened to
children being catechised, and their answers upon points of history of
the Church, and other matters, have been given with a correctness that
could not be excelled, if equalled by many of the Elders of mature
years if they were interrogated upon the same points. Every one who
has visited Sunday Schools must be convinced of this. Therefore, when
we hear, as we do to-day, that in some of your settlements nearly all
the children are enrolled in the Sunday Schools, it speaks well for
the future of the children. If these schools are properly conducted
the effect must be immense in lifting them up from ignorance and
giving them correct knowledge concerning the doctrines and history of
the Church, and indoctrinating them in the principles which we view as
so important for men and women to understand. It is therefore very
[p.138] gratifying to hear such reports, and that which we have heard
to-day respecting the schools in Weber Stake is a very fair sample of
the reports which are made in other Stakes.

Vol. 26,  p.138
We have to-day, so far as statistics inform us, nearly 50,000 children
in Sunday Schools. These 50,000 children will in a very few years be
men and women, taking their place in society, probably married, and
their influence will be felt upon the future families of the people,
and if they are properly taught in the principles of the Gospel and
are fortified against sin, and are taught the evil effects that will
result from the practice of everything that is wrong, we can imagine
what an effect this will have on the entire body of the people! It is
therefore very encouraging to all those who take an interest in the
growth of Zion, in the development of the work of God, to know that
our children, in Primary Associations, in Sunday Schools, and in Young
Men and Young Women's Mutual Improvement Associations, are receiving
the instruction that is best adapted for their future good and
happiness.

Vol. 26,  p.138
There are a few points that I have always deemed as of the utmost
importance that our children should be taught; the more so because
such teaching guards them against some of the growing evils of the age
in which we live. It has seemed to me sometimes that if the Lord had
not established this Church at the time He did, the future of our race
would be in some respects very dark and hopeless to contemplate. The
growth of intemperance, the spirit of infidelity concerning God and
concerning everything pertaining to God and to righteousness, the
wonderful spread of corruption, the low value placed upon virtue, and
the increase of the evils that result from the absence of virtue, are
of such a nature that, if you look outside this Church, the picture is
a most discouraging one. God has established this Church and He has
told us from the very beginning that the chief corner stone, it may be
said, of this great edifice that He has reared and is rearing, is
virtue. Early in the history of the Church the Prophet Joseph received
revelations to this effect: that he who looked upon a woman to lust
after her should deny the faith, and unless he repented, he should be
cast out. What an amount of purity is embodied in this statement or
the Lord to us in this revelation! A man must not only refrain from
doing that which is wrong with the opposite sex; he must not only
refrain from carrying his lust into the actual commission of crime,
but he must be so pure in heart that he shall not look upon the other
sex with a lustful eye and a lustful desire. If he does so, we are
told by the Almighty that he shall deny the faith. Now, I cannot
imagine how the Lord can make more plain to us than He has done in
these revelations—for it is repeated more than once in the revelations
that we have received—the importance of virtue, the importance of
purity, purity in thought as well as purity in action. The frequent
apostasies from this Church, the many who have left the Church, denied
the faith, lost the Spirit of God, the most of them, no doubt, are
traceable to the commission of this sin. It is, as I have said, the
crying sin of the age. Outside of this Church virtue is not fostered
as it should be. Of course there are exceptions. I do not mean to say
that all people are corrupt; I would not be so sweeping; but in
society generally there is not that [p.139] value placed upon virtue
that should be, and in many circles the virtue of man is derided. A
man who claims to be virtuous, or who desires or seeks to be virtuous,
finds himself alone, as it were, among his fellows. Therefore, it is
of the utmost importance that we, in training our children, should lay
deep and solid in their minds the importance of virtue. They should be
taught that their whole lives as Latter-day Saints depend upon the
cultivation and preservation of this principle; and that if they are
guilty of wrong in this direction, unless there is sincere and
heartfelt repentance before the Lord, lie will undoubtedly withdraw
His Holy Spirit from them and leave them to themselves to become a
prey to those wicked influences that are seeking constantly to take
possession of the hearts of the Saints of God.

Vol. 26,  p.139
Now, we can best do this in childhood; we can teach our children in
childhood and in youth, and as they grow to manhood and to womanhood
we can fortify them against those evils. It has been necessary,
apparently,—for the Spirit has seemed to indicate the necessity of
this,—that there should be greater strictness enforced among our
people. There has been a growth of wrong-doing in many quarters that
has been most painful to all those who have the welfare of the Saints
of God at heart, and who desire the prosperity of Zion. Many cases
have come to the knowledge of the First Presidency and of the Twelve
and of other leading men wherein people have been compelled, in order
to conceal their wrong-doing, to marry, and even then have failed to
cover it up. Now, such a condition of things if permitted to continue
in our midst, unchecked, would be productive of the most terrible
consequences. The Spirit of God would undoubtedly be so grieved that
it would forsake not only those who are guilty of these acts, but it
would withdraw itself from those who would suffer them to be done in
our midst unchecked and unrebuked; and from the President of the
Church down, throughout the entire ranks of the Priesthood, there
would be a loss of the Spirit of God, a withdrawal of His gifts and
blessing and His power, because of their not taking the proper
measures to check and to expose their iniquity.

Vol. 26,  p.139
My brethren and sisters: I suppose you must be impressed, as I am,
with this truth, that our only source of strength is, that we shall
live so that the spirit and power and gifts of our religion and the
favor of our God shall be extended unto us and be in our possession.
There never was a more critical period in many respects in the history
of the Church of Jesus Christ than that which we now witness. I never,
in my recollection, or in reading the history of the Church have seen
a time nor heard of a time when the adversary of God's Kingdom was
more determined, apparently, to destroy the work of God than he is at
the present time. On every hand there are the most persistent efforts
made to check the growth of the Kingdom of God, and not only that, but
to destroy this religion, the religion of Jesus Christ, and to throw
obstacles in the pathway of its progress; and to actually deprive
members of this Church of every right that men and women value—every
political right, every civil right—to place us in bondage, and to make
it odious in the eyes of mankind to be Latter-day Saints, or to have
any faith in the religion that God has revealed to us, and of which we
are so proud, and for which we are, as a rule, so thankful.[p.140] 

Vol. 26,  p.140
Now, we do not have wealth with which to combat the designs of our
enemies; we do not have numbers; we do not have influence; there is no
strength that we have that men value and that men seek for in a
contest such as that in which we are engaged. We possess no advantage,
none whatever, that men place value upon. But we possess advantages
that we understand, and which we as Latter-day Saints highly value,
and they are the best advantages, however much they may be disliked by
the world. However little importance they may attach to the advantages
that we possess, we know that in a contest such as this in which we
are now engaged they are of the utmost importance.

Vol. 26,  p.140
To begin with we must, as I have said, be a virtuous people. We must
love virtue better than we love our lives. We must be so pure, not
only in our actions, but in our thoughts, that God's favor will be
with us, and His Spirit rest down upon us, and we must live the lives
of Latter-day Saints, carrying out in our lives the principles that
God has revealed. This is our only strength. Let us be deprived of
this and we are weak, because, as I have said, we possess no other
advantage. If we prevail, as undoubtedly we shall, it must be because
of God's help; it must be because He is at our right and at our left,
and His power is round about us and near unto us. Looking at our
position from a human standpoint everything looks dark. Men to-day are
calculating on the destruction of this people. They think that we
shall at least be compelled to abandon some features our religion. In
some places and with some people it is Church and State they complain
of. In other places it is that we practice plural marriage. In other
places there are other reasons assigned for their dislike to us—we are
too united; we do not divide into parties, wherever we go we cling
together, and do not assimilate with the rest of our fellow citizens,
but are a party of ourselves, and are dangerous because of this. And
various accusations are made as justification for the treatment that
is extended to us. Men whose lives are so vile that they would not
bear the least examination, much less exposure, make the charge
against us that we practice plural marriage, and therefore that we
should be dealt with in the harshest and most severe manner. On the
other hand, men who are constantly seeking for political influence,
who do not scruple to use that influence in the most reprehensible
manner, and to the utmost extent possible, and frequently preachers,
too, charge that we unite Church and State. They would gladly use the
influence that we have if they had it, and use it in a manner so
obnoxious to individual liberty, that it would bear no comparison to
the manner influence is used among the Latter-day Saints. That would
be all right if they used it, but it is all wrong if we use it. And so
it is with everything else. If they could unite a people together as
we are united that would be perfectly justifiable; but because
Latter-day Saints unite together, that is exceedingly wrong,
especially when they do so as a religious community.

Vol. 26,  p.140
For myself I want to do that which God directs. That is the wish of my
heart. I want to honor my God if I know how to do it. I believe this
entire people have the same feeling. They desire to do the will of
God, if they can find out what that will is, and if He will
communicate it to us, as I know He does, I am satisfied that the great
majority of the [p.141] Latter-day Saints will do that will regardless
of consequences. It is the attempt to do that, that has brought us
into disrepute.

Vol. 26,  p.141
God, in building up His Kingdom, does not take pattern from men. He
does not ask counsel from men as to how that Kingdom shall be built
up, and the methods that shall be employed to establish it. He is
going to build His Kingdom up in His own way, and if it does not suit
men or the nations of the earth, why, I suppose they will have to be,
as they have been and as they are sometimes at present, angry with
those who strive to do that which He requires. I know this that many
things that men admire are an abomination in the sight of God; many
things that they think most admirable God holds as an abomination.
Therefore, in building up His Church and His Kingdom He is going to
take His own plan of doing it, and for one, so far as I can I feel
willing to allow Him to dictate how it shall be done, and then leave
the consequences to Him. I know that He will bring off those who put
their trust in Him victorious, and He will ask no odds of the nations
of the earth. He delights in a people who are courageous and valiant,
who are not afraid. He delights in people of this kind. The greatest
blessing almost that we read of that was ever given to a man in the
flesh was given to a man possessed of this courage. You will remember
him, doubtless, when I mention His name. His name was Nephi. He was
the son of Helaman, and had a brother named Lehi. He was the
grandfather of Nephi, who was the President of the Twelve whom Jesus
chose on this continent. Read the life of that man, and observe the
blessings that God bestowed upon him. God gave him great power because
of his valor and fearlessness in His cause, and it is so with every
Prophet and with every man of God of whom we have any record, and it
is so with every people and generation who put their trust in the
Lord, and are valiant for His cause. He will give them great blessings
and power, and He will bring them off victorious. He has done so in
the past. He is doing so now, and He will do so in the future; and
whenever you find a man or a people weakened and limber-backed,
nervous, their hands shaking and their hearts trembling, you will find
a people that have not very much of the strength and power of God with
them; but when they are full of courage, zeal and determination, God
is with them, He strengthens them, and gives them victory. He will do
it every time, with every individual. You read the history of Elijah,
and see how valiant he was, and how God blessed him, and I might go on
and enumerate a great many more men who have been distinguished in the
world's history because of their valor. God stood by them always, and
will stand by us if we are valiant. Look at the men who have been most
valiant in this Church in defending, advocating and practicing the
principles which God has revealed, and doing this, too, in the face of
mankind who have been determined that we shall not do these things,
and see, how God has blessed and sustained them in so doing.
Therefore, having had this experience in these matters, it is for us
to be valiant in the cause of God, to show our faith by our works, and
not be Latter-day Saints with our lips alone, but be Latter-day Saints
in all the acts of our lives, in all our words, and in everything
there is connected wish us. Let [p.142] us not imagine that God has
established His work to take pattern in its methods of procedure and
management after the corrupt nations of the earth. He has not done so.

Vol. 26,  p.142
We live under a Government, the best that ever was formed by man upon
this earth—a Government in which every human being can live without
interfering with the rights of others in the practice of the
principles which God reveals. God has purposely arranged this. He
raised up wise men to lay the foundation of this Government, and He
defended them against the mother country, and enabled them to achieve
victory ever the greatest power there was upon the face of the
earth—the power of Great Britain. He gave them power to form a
Constitution under which every man and woman can dwell in perfect
freedom—that is, if they wanted to do right. This land has been
dedicated to liberty, dedicated by the Lord our God, and by men who
have lived upon this land, to liberty, and as long as this land shall
be a land of liberty it will be a blessed land to the inhabitants
thereof; but when it ceases to be a land of liberty, then as sure as
God has spoken, this Government will go down—that is, any Government
will, that will war against the principles of liberty—and the men who
are now engaged in their assaults upon us because of our religion, are
traitors to this Government, and they are the most deadly enemies to
the Government of the United States that can be found anywhere upon
the face of the earth. They are laying the axe at the root of the
tree, and are taking measures to destroy this Government, because it
can only, as I have said, be preserved by maintaining the principles
of liberty that are contained in the Constitution which God gave to
the land, or which He inspired men to frame for the land. But in our
contention for liberty—for we to-day are the defenders of the
Constitution, and we shall have Constitutional principles to maintain
and defend in the courts of the nation, we are being forced into this
duty and position—God will bless us and preserve us, and carry us off
triumphantly, and the words of Joseph, which were inspired by the
Almighty, will be fulfilled to the very letter, namely, that the
Elders of this Church will be the men who will uphold and maintain the
Constitution of the United States, when others are seeking to trample
it in the dust, and to destroy it. We are a free people—let others
seek to bring us lute bondage as they may—we are a free people, with
the perfect right to worship our God and to carry into effect the
principles that He has revealed. And if the whole world array
themselves against us, and the combined power of the nation pits
itself against this work, they must go down in the struggle, because
they are occupying a false position. If fifty hundred millions of
people were to say the contrary, no matter, the principle still
remains true, that under the Constitution in this land, a man has a
perfect right to do that which God requires at his hands as long as he
does not intrude upon the rights of his neighbor.

Vol. 26,  p.142
If one man stood alone in this position, and millions of men were to
say it is not so, that lone man would still be right. We have that
right. God has given it to us under the Constitution of the land in
which we dwell, and if men enact laws and idle one taw upon another
until they reach to the sky, it would not change this. It is an
eternal [p.143] principle, and it will stand—this principle of
liberty, the liberty that God has given unto every haman being—the
right to do that which seemeth good in his own sight, to follow the
dictates of his own conscience, as long as, in so doing, he does not
trespass upon the rights of his fellow man. We stand by that
fearlessly, and stand by it for ourselves, and for our children after
us. I would not abate one iota, not a hair's breadth, myself, in this
feeling. I would feel that I was a traitor to myself and to my
posterity if I were to yield in the least upon this. We must maintain
our rights, not aggressively, not in any quarrelsome spirit, but in a
spirit of quiet firmness, quiet determination to maintain our rights,
to contend for them, and to never yield one hair's breadth in
maintaining them. This is our duty as individuals and as a people, and
in thus determining, we band ourselves together more closely.
Complaints are made of us that we are so exclusive. Why, in the very
nature of things we should be fools to be otherwise than exclusive. We
cannot help it. We are driven into exclusiveness by the acts of our
enemies, and by the pressure that is brought to bear upon us. A flock
of sheep when attacked by dogs or wolves, huddle together, and seek to
protect themselves by getting into a cluster. So it is with us. It is
the law of preservation, that we should get close together when we are
assaulted as we have been. We can not put trust in others who are not
of us to any extent. There are, however, many honorable men, hundreds
and thousands of them. If there were not, we would not send
missionaries out as we do. We believe they are just as honest as we
are, just as sincere as we are, and desire as much to do right as we
do.

Vol. 26,  p.143
I believe there are millions of them in the earth, men and women,
whose desires are as good as the best Latter-day Saints. They desire
to do the will of God, and to keep His commandments as much as any of
us do, and are as sincere in it; but many people are ignorant and do
things through ignorance which are wrong. But, as I say,
self-preservation demands that we should cling together; that we
should be united; that we should sink all personal differences; that
we should have no preference that we would not be willing to forego
for the sake of the Kingdom of God. It is an important time with us.
We have enemies all around us. A determination is made manifest to
destroy every one of our liberties, if possible, and to bring us into
bondage. That is the design, if it can be accomplished. But it will
not be accomplished. You will see it will fail, it will signally fail,
and God will preserve us in our liberties, and especially will He do
this if we keep His commandments, and do that which He requires at our
hands.

Vol. 26,  p.143
A great many people seem to think, and some who are among us act upon
the thought, that because a man holds the Priesthood, and is a
religious man, and practices religion, that he should not have any
voice in matters that belong to civil government. In Washington the
charge has been frequently made that all the leading offices of the
Territory of Utah were held by Mormon Elders, Mormon Bishops and
others. I have frequently said, in answer to this, before committees
of the Senate and House, that if we did not take Mormon Elders we
would have no officers, for the reasons that, as a rule, every
reputable man in Utah Territory, when he attains the age of majority,
holds the office of an [p.144] Elder, or some other office in the
Priesthood. This explanation gave a very different view to men who did
not understand our organization, and whose ignorance was taken
advantage of. In the world there are a few men in religious societies,
who hold leading positions, hold what we would call, if in our Church,
the Priesthood, and the rest are debarred, and are mere laymen. But it
is not so with us. The bulk of the Mormon people hold the Priesthood,
and every man of repute of any age is an officer in the Church. It is
said that the members of our Legislature are men who are prominent in
the Priesthood. How could it be otherwise? If a man is energetic and
has any talent he of course holds some position in the Priesthood, and
he is very apt to hold some prominent place. But does this prevent him
from acting in a civil office, and from dealing justly and wisely for
the good of the people? No, we have proved to our entire satisfaction,
that this is not the case.

Vol. 26,  p.144
When we look at Utah Territory to-day, and compare it with other
Territories it will be conceded by everybody who is impartial that the
position of affairs here is equal to, if not much better than the
position of affairs in any other Territory and in many of the States.
Has that been because there has been a union of Church and State. No,
it is not due to that; for that has never existed here. Has it been
because there has been one man dictating everything—has it been due to
that entirely? No; for no one man has done this. But it has been
because the men who have acted in these capacities have been men of
wisdom, and the people have had confidence in them. Wherever we go as
a people, we carry with us our religion." You cannot dissever our
religion from our lives. It is a part of our lives, and, of course,
because of this, we are exposed to those charges that are marlo
against us. Yet at the same time, I do not believe there is a people
to be found within the confines of the Republic who draw the line more
strictly between religious and civil affairs, and between Church and
State, than do the Latter-day Saints.

Vol. 26,  p.144
We are living in peculiar times. I think the youth of this
community—those who are growing up now—should closely observe that
which is being done. It is an important epoch. Events are taking place
now that are worthy of our remembrance, and we are being put in a
position to be tested thoroughly. The contest seems to be narrowed
down to this point—whether we shall be able to live as a people and
enjoy our rights as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints, or not. Formerly, the question was soon solved. A
mob would form itself against us, and by force of superior numbers,
and backed by a public opinion that was too strong for us to contend
with, we had to vacate our homes and flee. The alternative was
presented to us of flight, or the abandonment of our religion. This is
not quite the alternative now presented before us. The question is,
will you abandon your religion? Will you renounce those principles
that God has revealed to you, and which He has declared are essential
to salvation and exaltation in His Kingdom—will you renounce them?
Will you renounce obedience to the Priesthood of the Son of God? If
you will I expect you can enjoy some sort of peace—a peace that would
be the peace of death. Who will accept it? Will any true Latter-day
Saint? No;[p.145] no true Latter-day Saint will accept that. What
next? You cannot have your rights as citizens. You must be put under
bonds. You must have penalties affixed to your practice or to your
faith. If you continue to be Latter-day Saints you must be
discriminated against. That is another alternative presented to us.
Will we accept that? Yes. I believe that I speak your feelings. I
believe I give voice to them when I say that you are willing, all of
you, to take this choice and these consequences. What next? Will a mob
come and drive us from our homes? Not yet. You will see fun whenever
that occurs. That is not in the programme as I view it at present. No
mobs. What then, shall we do? We shall have to contend in the courts;
we shall have to make this a legal fight. It is mobocracy in legal
form and in legal guise that now attacks us. It comes to us in a shape
that we can meet better than we could the old forms, when a mob banded
together and came in such overwhelming numbers that we could not
resist it. It may be just as wicked. The present mode of attack may be
just as cruel; the ultimate object may be just as bad in every sense
and in every respect; but it can be met in a different form and in a
different way. We have to contend now for our rights in the courts of
the land; we must see whether there is a willingness on the part of
those who hold authority as judges, to give us our rights, and in this
way we shall test the nation; our Government, and prove whether there
is a willingness on the part of those who administer the government to
give us those rights that belong to us as American citizens. If they
do not, who will be the sufferers! We shall suffer to some extent; but
our sufferings will be light compared with those that will fall upon
the men who shall prove untrue and recreant to the principles of
liberty and truth.

Vol. 26,  p.145
Now, I look forward myself with great pleasure to the future Every
step of this kind that we take is an assurance of that which is to
come, We cannot press forward as a people; we cannot become the people
that God designs we shall be, and that He has predicted we shall be,
without having just such contests as these. They are the natural
consequences of the position that we occupy, and of the growth and
development of this people. But the same God that protected this
Church when it was but a small handful, a few individuals, still
reigns, and His promises are as much to be relied upon as they were
when the mob drove the Latter-day Saints out of Missouri; as much to
be relied upon as when, in that dark hour, the mob killed our Prophet
and our Patriarch, and afterwards compelled the Saints to flee from
their homes; as much to be relied upon as when we came to these
valleys; they are just as reliable to-day as they were then. It is for
us to so live that when we call upon Him that we do so with an
assurance that we have done our duty, that there is nothing lacking on
our part so far as human and mortal beings can do. We have our sins,
our frailties, our many weaknesses; but God looks down in mercy upon
them when we repent of them, and show a disposition to put them away
from us. When we are in this condition we can call upon Him and leave
ourselves to His mercy, with the full assurance that He has always
stood by His faithful people, His faithful servants and handmaidens,
and that He will not forsake them in any hour of extremity or of
peril. He will stand by them; He will [p.146] hear their prayers; and
at the very time when it will seem the darkest, when it will be as
though there is no power to save, God's arm will be stretched out for
our deliverance, and we shall be rescued and be triumphant. He will so
control circumstances and arrange affairs, that, at the very moment
when the adversary will be glorying in triumph, and gloating over the
prospect before him, He will then be ready to extend His arm of
deliverance in our behalf, and rescue us from the power of those who
desire our destruction.

Vol. 26,  p.146
As I said in the beginning, if this work depended on us alone we would
soon go down. It depends upon God. He is at the head of it. He is
behind it. He is all around it. He established it. He has controlled
circumstances thus far in a most wonderful manner; and when I look at
that which has been done in this country, with all the efforts that
have been made by the wicked, one act after another, one act of wrong
piled on top of another, and see the meager results to show for their
base course, I feel to praise God with all my heart for His goodness
and mercy to us.

Vol. 26,  p.146
A Governor of this Territory perjured himself to do us a great wrong.
He gave the certificate of election to a man who was not elected,
thinking, in so doing, he, was dealing Mormonism—or the Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints—a deadly blow. What has been the
result? Who is injured? Is anybody injured? I do not, myself, know of
anybody that is injured, except the man who did this perfidious act,
who perjured himself by violating his oath of office. I do not know of
any one else. Certainly the people of Utah are not. Go buick, and look
at Judge McKean's, rulings and acts. We had a reign of judicial terror
in the Third Judicial District for about eight months, and no man knew
when he was to be pounced upon. Prominent men were indicted and put
under bonds, some for one thing and some for another. Who has been
injured by this? Has any one been injured? We have not. We have ate,
and slept, and enjoyed ourselves, and been as happy as men could be. I
am sure President Young, when he was living, was a happy man. It did
not interfere with his happiness and enjoyment, and others who were
indicted in like manner, they enjoyed themselves, and the people have
not been injured. We have had a great deal of this kind of experience.

Vol. 26,  p.146
Now we are passing through a similar condition of affairs to some
extent. We shall come out of this just as we have come out of other
perils and trials and ordeals. We shall gain experience, and it will
increase our faith to see the power of God manifested, and to see how
wonderfully He controls the acts of men for His glory and for the
accomplishment of His purposes. Look at the hubbub that has been
raised in Congress. There has been a tremendous amount of pressure
brought to bear upon that body in regard to the Mormons. Delegation
after delegation has gone from Utah to Washington and appeared before
Committees, for the purpose of getting bills made into laws. It will
be most interesting reading in years to come, the various bills that
have been presented to Congress against Utah. Every sort of scheme has
been resorted to. You cannot think of anything, scarcely, that has not
been embodied as a feature in some of these bills. And with what
result? Have we slept any less? Have [p.147] we been anymore unhappy?
Have we had any less prosperity? Has the sun shone loss upon us? Has
Heaven withdrawn its smile from us? Have our fields been less
fruitful? Have our children been less numerous? Has any blessing that
we value been withheld or withdrawn from us because of these things!
If they have I am not aware of it. I cannot think of any evil that has
come upon us as a people. I look over the past; I review the acts of
the wicked; I review their combinations; I review the many
conspiracies that have been formed, the many determinations that have
been reached to destroy us, to cripple us, to deprive us of our
rights, and I must confess to you this day, my brethren and sisters,
in the presence of our Father, that I cannot think of a single thing
that has been done that we could call injurious to us as a people; not
a single thing. With all the force that has been arrayed against us,
with all the threats that have been made about us, we have lived, we
have prospered, we have increased, we have been blessed of the Lord.
You know how blessed you have been in your families, in your homes.
You know how much peace has reigned there; how much you have had in
your hearts, and in your meetings, and in your associations. You know
how free you have been from fear and from trepidation. You have not
suffered in your feelings, for God has given unto you a peace that the
world cannot bestow, that the world cannot take away. The world has
not given unto us those blessings; the world cannot take them away
from us; they are ours, given unto us by God our Eternal Father. They
will still be given unto us. God's promises will be verified to the
very letter.

Vol. 26,  p.147
But you watch the men who have fought against this work. Watch the men
who have apostatized from this work. Ask yourselves what their fate
has been. Where are the men who have sought to oppress the people of
Utah? Where are they to-day? Who is there among them that has
prospered in this work of oppression? Go through the list of
Governors, Judges, and other officers. Go through the list of those
who have held any office, and who have sought the oppression of the
people and the destruction of their liberties, through their spirit of
antagonism to the work of God, and their desire to destroy it—go
through the list of them, and ask, who among them has had prosperity
and has been blessed, and to whom we can look and say, "Oh, how
successful that man has been; how he has prospered in fighting the
Mormons!" Is there any such man among them? You are familiar with the
names of apostates who have left this work through fear or some other
cause, corrupt in their lives or for some other reason? Can you recall
among the long list of men who have come out and pitted themselves
against this work of our God, any who have prospered and had happy
lives? Is there any of them with whom you, the humblest of you to-day,
the humblest, the poorest of you Latter-day Saints—is there one of
them with whom you would exchange places to-day? Not one. I am sure
that I can reply for the whole of you—that is, there is not one in
that long list of names of men who were once members of this church,
who have come out against it, with whom you would exchange places; not
one.

Vol. 26,  p.147
Why then, should we fear? Why should we tremble? Why should we be
afraid of that which is threatened? I tell you in the name of the Lord
He will stand by us, He will [p.148] stand by all His people. There is
this peculiarity about our God. He is not like the devil. When the
devil gets a man in a tight place he leaves him there; he encircles
him in his net, he lets him get entangled in its meshes, and then
leaves him to himself. That is the devil's way. He deserts those who
follow him when they most need his help. But with God, in the time of
the greatest extremity, in the time when help is most needed, then He
is close to His faithful servants and His faithful children; then is
the time that He stands by them. In the deepest waters He is with
them; in the midst of the heaviest and sorest afflictions He is at
their right hand and at their left; He is around about to sustain and
carry them off victorious.

Vol. 26,  p.148
God help us to be true and faithful to the cause that He has
established, that in the end we may be permitted to sit down with him
and His Son in His Kingdom, is my prayer in the name of Jesus, Amen.

John Taylor, February 1, 1885

Visit to the South—Persecution in Arizona—An 
American Siberia—Persecutions in Missouri and Illinois 
not the Result of Polygamy—Affecting Reference to the Martyrdom 
of Joseph and Hyrum—Judgment Begins at the House of God—No Man 
Has a Right to Attempt to Control Another's Belief or Conscience—
Ex Post Facto Application of the Edmunds Law—Attempts 
of the Speaker to Conform to the Law As Far As 
Possible—Outrages Heaped Upon the Latter-Day 
Saints—No One Ever Punished, According to Law, 
for Killing a Mormon—the Saints Counseled to 
Endure Their Afflictions, Take Care of Themselves, 
and Serve God—Conclusion

Discourse By President John Taylor, Delivered in the 
Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Sunday Afternoon, Feb. 1, 1885.

Reported By John Irvine

Vol. 26,  p.148
I HAVE been very much interested in the remarks made by Brother
Erastus Snow, who has addressed us.

Vol. 26,  p.148
These are precious principles which only the Saints know how to
comprehend and appreciate. We are told "that the natural man [p.149]
perceiveth not the things of God, neither can he know them, for they
are spiritually discerned," and therefore those outside of that
influence and spirit which is communicated to the Saints of the Most
High, through obedience to the Gospel of the Son of God, find it very
difficult to understand them. But we comprehend them, because God has
given unto us His Spirit, which takes of the things of God, and shows
them unto us.

Vol. 26,  p.149
I and a few others have been away from here for some time, visiting
among our southern brethren; Brother Snow, who has just spoken to you,
was one of the party. It appears rather an inclement season of the
year to go on a journey of that kind; but circumstances seemed to make
it necessary that we should go and look after the interests of the
people, socially and politically; for notwithstanding our religious
ideas, we still have certain rights, privileges and immunities, which
belong to us as individuals and as citizens of the United States, in
common with others. And seeing that flyings were quite loose in those
far-off settlements, and that men and their families were being
subjected to various kinds of outrage, usurpation and imposition, in
many instances under the form of law, it seemed necessary that
somebody should attend to these matters, and I thought it best for me
to go, in company with others of our brethren, to ascertain what was
the true position of affairs, and to give such counsel as the
circumstances might demand. We found that a great many outrages had
been perpetrated upon many of our brethren; that they had been dealt
with contrary to law, and in violation, as has been referred to, of
the rules of jurisprudence governing such matters; that a vindictive
and persecuting spirit had been manifested, and that several of the
brethren had been sent off to a distant land from their own. I did not
know but that they were without a prison in Arizona, when I heard of
these things, and that therefore they had sent a number of honorable
men who differed from them in their religious sentiments off to
Detroit. I had these things inquired into and found they had a good
Penitentiary in Arizona, and that there was no necessity for any such
outrage as this to be perpetrated upon decent men. I was sorry to find
that things had been conducted in this unusual and vindictive manner,
and without any ostensible reason for such extra-judicial acts. Not
only because injustice had been heaped upon honorable men, but also
because of the position in which it places the nation which was once
the pride and glory of all lovers of freedom and equal rights, and
boasted of as being "the land of the free, the home of the brave, and
an asylum for the oppressed." These foolish men are now seeking to
carry out the enormities that existed among what was called the
civilization and intelligence of ancient barbarism, then, as now,
under the name of Christianity, and other euphonious appellations
which are common to us, and that we are well acquainted with. I was in
hopes that things were not so bad as they were represented to be, but
I found that I was mistaken in that matter, and I was sorry to find
myself so mistaken.

Vol. 26,  p.149
In relation to this anomalous form of proceeding they are now copying
the example of Russia, which is generally considered an arbitrary
government, and where despotism has been supposed to reign supreme;
they have in that nation a place[p.150] callled Siberia, to which they
banish men, under a despotic rule, without much formality of trial. I
was hardly prepared to-day to suppose that we needed an American
Siberia under the form and in the name of liberty and the rights of
men. But this is the fact. We have herein America to-day an American
Siberia in Detroit, to which place, upwards of two thousand miles from
their homes, men are banished for a term of years; and what for?
Because they have the temerity to worship God according to the
dictates of their own conscience, and cannot fall down and worship
before the Moloch of an effete Christianity.

Vol. 26,  p.150
These extraordinary proceedings that have been going on in this
Territory, in Arizona and in other places, simply exhibit the very
principle that Brother Snow has been speaking of. I need not tell you
about affairs that have transpired here. You are quite as well
acquainted with them as I am, and ought to be better: for I have been
away from here for about four weeks visiting the Saints in our
southern settlements, and we have had a most pleasant visit. Outside
of these extraordinary proceedings, we found the people prospering
very well, with pleasant homes and bright prospects before them. We
had with us several of our best brethren, and we visited really of our
settlements in that district of country, the residents of which were
very much gratified at our appearance in their midst, and for the
counsels they received. But I found that such had been the outrages
committed that it was impossible almost for any man standing in an
honorable position to maintain his position unless he broke the law by
resisting the officers, and they thought it not prudent to do so, and
so did I. It may suit others to violate the law, to trample upon human
rights, and desecrate the sacred term of liberty, and this is
frequently done by the arbiters and minions of the law in the name of
justice; but we profess to be governed by higher, by nobler and more
exalted principles, and to move on a higher plane; and if Jesus could
afford to endure the attacks of sinners against Himself, we, if we
have the Gospel that we profess to have, ought to be able to endure a
little of the same thing. There is nothing new in these affairs,
nothing strange in this at all. Many of you have had much to do with
these matters. Some of these grey-headed men that I see before me know
a little more about those matters than some of the younger portion do.
Many of you have been driven from your homes, robbed of your property,
dispossessed of your possessions and had to flee from your homes to
these mountain valleys, and seek an asylum among the red savages which
was denied you by your so-called Christian brethren. Before you came
here you were banished from the State of Missouri into the State of
Illinois. What for? Because you had the audacity to worship God
according to the dictates of your own conscienses. I have had to flee
from blood-thirsty bandits time and time again. Brother Snow had to do
it, and many of you grey-headed men and women have had to do it. What
for? Because of polygamy? No, there was no such thing then alleged.
What for? Because you had the hardihood, in this land of freedom, to
worship God according to the dictates of your own consciences. For
this crime you had to leave your homes, and you were despoiled and
robbed and plundered, and had to flee as exiles into another land. I
had to do it you [p.151] have had to do it. You fled from Missouri to
Illinois, and then from Illinois to this land, and why? Why did you
leave Illinois and come here? Did you injure anybody? No. They killed
your Prophets, and I saw them martyred, and was shot most unmercifully
myself, under the pledge of protection from the Governor, and they
thought they had killed me; but I am alive yet by the grace of God
(sensation). Why had you to leave? Because they murdered your
Prophets, and wanted to possess themselves of your property; murder
and spoliation generally go together. And because they killed them,
they accused you of doing some wrong, said you must leave your homes,
and there was nobody found in all that wide land to check the outrages
of those red-handed assassins, to administer justice and to preserve
you in your rights. I do not know any other reason; I never did know
any other, and never expect to be informed of any other.

Vol. 26,  p.151
The history of these things is quite familiar to you as Latter-day
Saints, and you do not think it anything strange. Some of our young
people think that the present proceedings are very remarkable. But
many of us, grey-headed folks, have seen plenty of such proceedings,
and have had really experiences of this kind; they are nothing new to
us at all. And did we ever expect them to get better? We have not so
understood it. We are told in the Scriptures, and we have kept
teaching it all the while, that "the wicked would grow worse and
worse, deceiving and being deceived." That is doctrine which I have
believed in for the last 50 years and I have had a good deal of
testimony and practical confirmation on that point. We expect that
these things will transpire. We have been told about secret
organizations. that should exist, and they are beginning to permeate
these United States, and are laying the foundation for disruption,
disintegration and destruction. It is not necessary that Congress and
the Judiciary should set examples of tyranny and violation of
Constitutional law, and attack the fundamental principles of free
government and the rights of man; far there is plenty of that kind of
spirit abroad; yet men who profess to be the conservators of the peace
and the maintainers of law join in these nefarious, unholy; tyrannical
and oppressive measures. There are any number who are ready to follow
in their footsteps, and the whole nation to-day is standing on a
volcano; but they do not seem to comprehend it. Well, are we
surprised? I am not. It is strictly in accordance with my faith: it is
strictly in accordance with the Old Testament Scriptures; and it is
strictly in accordance with the Book of Mormon; it is strictly in
accordance with the revelations given to us by Joseph Smith, and all
these events that have been predicted will most assuredly transpire.
But I suppose it is necessary that "judgment should first begin at the
house of God," and if it does, "where will the wicked and the ungodly
appear," when it comes upon them? We are told that the wicked shall
slay the wicked. We need not trouble ourselves about the affairs of
the nations, the Lord will manipulate them in His own way. I feel full
of sympathy for the nation in which we live, and for other nations, in
consequence of the troubles with which they are beset and which are
now threatening them; yet they do not seem to comprehend the position.
I know a little of some of the things that will [p.152] transpire
among them, and I feel sorry. Do you feel sorry for yourself? Not at
all, not at all. Do you feel sorry for your people? Not at all, not at
all. The Lord God has revealed unto us great and eternal principles
which reach beyond this earth into the eternal heavens, and which have
put us in possession of light and truth and intelligence, and promises
and blessings that the world are ignorant of and do not and cannot
comprehend. I feel every day to bless the name of the God of Israel,
and feel like shouting, "Hosanna! Hosanna!! Hosanna!!! to the God of
Israel, Amen and Amen," Who will rule among the nations of the earth,
and manipulate things according to the counsel of His own will. These
are my feelings in regard to these matters. But then I feel interested
in the welfare of my brethren and sisters, and when I see their rights
interfered with and trampled ruthlessly under foot, I feel that there
is something at work that ought not to be, and yet that is quite
necessary to teach us some of the principles of human nature, that we
may be able to discern between the good, the virtuous, the upright and
the holy; and the impure, the foolish, the vindictive, the corrupt,
the lascivious, and those who are trampling under foot the laws and
principles of eternal truth. God has revealed unto us certain
principles pertaining to the future which men may take objection to.
He has revealed unto us certain principles pertaining to the
perpetuity of man and of woman; pertaining to the sacred rights and
obligations which existed from the beginning; and He has told us to
obey these laws. The nation tells us, "If you do we will persecute you
and proscribe you." Which shall we obey? I would like to obey and
place myself in subjection to every law of man. What then? Am I to
disobey the law of God? Has any matt a right to control my conscience,
or your conscience, or to tell me I shall believe this or believe the
other, or reject this or reject the other? No man has a right to do
it. These principles are sacred, and the forefathers of this nation
felt so and so proclaimed it in the Constitution of the United States,
and said "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of
religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof." Now, I believe
they have violated that, and have violated their oaths, those that
have engaged in these things and passed that law, and those that are
seeking to carry it out. Congress and the President of the United
States and the Judiciary, and all administrators of the law are as
much bound by that instrument as I am and as you are, and have sworn
to maintain it inviolate. It is for them to settle these matters
between themselves and their God. That is my faith in relation to this
matter. Yet by their action they are interfering with my rights, my
liberty and my religion, and with those sacred principles that bind me
to my God, to my family, to my wives and my children; and shall I be
recreant to all these noble principles that ought to guide and govern
men? No, Never! No, NEVER! NO, NEVER! I can endure more than I have
done, and all that God will enable me to endure, I can die for the
truth; but I cannot as an honorable man disobey my God at their
behest, forsake my wives and my children, and trample these holy and
eternal obligations under foot, that God has given me to keep, and
which reach into the eternities that are to come. I won't do it, so
help me, God.[p.153] [Here the speaker vigorously struck the book on
the desk, and the large audience responded with a loud "Amen."] The
Constitution expressly says that no law shall be passed impairing the
obligation of contracts. But we have entered into covenants and
contracts in our most sacred places, and that, too, in many instances,
before there was any law prohibiting the same, and yet the attempt is
now being made to give the Edmunds law an ex post facto application
and to punish us for these contracts which were not criminal, even
from the standpoint of our enemies, at the time they were formed. I
myself married my wives long before there was any law upon the
subject, and really of you did the same, yet by an ex post facto
application of laws since enacted the attempt is now made to punish us
as criminals. I have never broken any law of these United States, and
I presume that some of you, whom our enemies now seek to criminate and
drag into court as violators of law, can say the same. Under the
present system of things in this Territory, harlotry and adultery are
vindicated sustained and unblushingly protected, and honorable and
virtuous wedlock is trampled upon, condemned and punished. Well, what
will you do? I will obey every Constitutional law so far as God gives
me ability. What else will you do? I will meet these men as far as I
can without violating principle, and I have done it. When this
infamous Edmunds law was passed, I saw that there were features in
that which were contrary to law, violative of the Constitution,
contrary to justice and the rights and the freedom of men. But I said
to myself I will let that law take its course; I will place myself in
accordance with it, so far as I can. Did I do it? I did. I remember
talking to Mr. Pierrepont, who was Attorney-General under President
Grant's administration. He with his son called upon me. They dined
with me, and perhaps I can explain my views on this subject by
repeating our conversation as well as any other way. I have a sister
keeping my house for me—the Garde House. When Mr. Pierrepont came in,
I said:

Vol. 26,  p.153
"Mr. Pierrepont, permit me to introduce you to my sister, who is my
house-keeper. It is not lawful for us to have wives now. And when the
Edmunds law was passed I looked carefully over the document, and saw
that if I was to continue to live in the same house with my wives that
I should render myself liable to that law. I did not wish—although I
considered the law infamous—to be an obstructionist, or act the part
of a Fenian, or of a Nihilist, or of a Kuklux, or communist, or Molly
Maguire, or any of those secret societies that are set on foot to
produce the disintegration of society and disturb the relations that
ought to exist beween man and man, between man and woman, or man and
his God. I desired to place myself in obedience or in as close
conformity as practicable to the law, and thought I would wait and see
what the result would be; and that if the nation can stand these
things I can or we can. These are my feelings. Men and nations and
legislators often act foolishly, and do things that are unwise, and it
is not proper that a nation should be condemned for the unwise actions
of some few men. Therefore I have sought to place myself in accord
with that law. I said to my wives: "We are living in this building
together. We were quite comfortably situated, and we might so have
continued, but I said to them [p.154] that under the circumstances it
will be better for me or for you to leave this place; you can take
your choice. They had their homes down here which they now inhabit;
which were quite comfortable. So I said to them, you can go there and
I will stay here, or you can stay at the Gardo House and I will go
there or somewhere else; for I wish to conform to this Edmunds law as
much as I can."

Vol. 26,  p.154
I am always desirous to let everything have its perfect working. We
talk sometimes about patience having its perfect work. If we have laws
passed against us I like to see them have a fair opportunity to
develop and see what the result will be. These were my feelings then,
and they are my feelings to-day.

Vol. 26,  p.154
Well, do you think, then, that the people have been outraged? I most
certainly do. The usage has been in all legal trials among all
civilized nations to presume that all men are innocent until proven
guilty; but we now have test oaths introduced, which is another
violation of the Constitution and by which an attempt is being made to
hold all men guilty until they prove themselves innocent. Again: there
is a usage which has existed among the civilized nations, and in this
nation also, that a man must be tried by a jury of his peers, selected
from the vicinage, but the juries selected for our courts are composed
to-day of our bitter persecutors and our most relentless enemies, and
in many instances selected from the lowest and most debased men who
can be found or picked up from the gutters. We also have another class
of courts improvised for the occasion in the shape of "U. S.
Commissioners' courts," which are operated and run after the order of
the ancient notorious "Star Chamber." Such institutions provoke the
contempt of all honorable men, and the parties assuming such offices
place themselves in a position to be despised of their fellows. I
might enumerate many other outrages, but time will not permit on this
occasion. No man's liberties are safe under such. administration. What
will be the result? The result will be that those that sow the wind
will reap the whirlwind. When men begin to tear down the barriers and
tamper with the fundamental principles and institutions of our
country, they are playing a very dangerous game, and are severing the
bonds which hold society together, and the beginning of these
irregularities is like the letting out of water. The next step that
followed the Edmunds Act, was the introduction of a test oath. The
legislation already provided was not good enough for some of our
officials here and another portion of the Constitution must be broken
to introduce a test oath without any authority. I think this was
introduced by our Governor. Then comes another class of men called
Commissioners, rather a new idea in American Government. Yet it was
thought necessary that extraordinary operations should be entered into
in relation to the Mormons. Why? Because it is necessary that they
should be dealt with differently from anybody else.

Vol. 26,  p.154
Now, I have seen some of my brethren shot to pieces in cold blood and
under the protection of the State Government, and the promise of the
Governor made to myself and Dr. John M. Bernhisel, who is sometime ago
dead. In Missouri a great deal of that thing was done. In Georgia
lately, and in Tennessee acts of the same kind have been perpetrated.
Now, I want to know if [p.155] anybody can tell me—here is a large
congregation, and many thousands of you acquainted with our history—I
want to know if any one of you can tell me of any individual that was
ever punished according to law for killing a Mormon. Speak it out, if
you know it. I do not know of any such thing. Brother Snow says there
is not an instance on record. Well, I would rather be on the side of
the Mormons in that case than on the side of those who are their
persecutors and murderers, for they have got something to atone for
yet, which we have not under those circumstances. We have got through
with our part of it. The other is not through with yet. There are
eternal principles of justice and equity that exist in the bosom of
God, and He, in His own time, will manipulate these things according
to the counsel of His own will; and with what measure men mete, as
sure as God lives, it will be measured to them again, pressed down and
running over.

Vol. 26,  p.155
Very well, what would you advise us to do? Are we suffering any
wrongs? Yes. Well, what would you do? I would do as I said some time
ago. If you were out in a storm, pull up the collar of your coat and
button yourself up, and keep the cold out until the storm blows past.
This storm will blow past as others have done; and you will see that
many of the miserable sneaks who are active in those measures, and who
are crawling about your doors, and trying to spy into your houses,
etc., will be glad to crawl into their holes by-and-by. Well, what
will you do? Get angry? No, not at all. Let these men have their day
and pursue their own course; we will protect ourselves from them as
well as we can. Why, some of our folks in the South were actually
trying to seek an asylum in another land away from the persecutions of
free, America, and I do not know but that we shall have a lot of
pilgrim Fathers again here in this country, fleeing, not from England
by way of Holland, nor from France, nor from, any of those countries
where they used to persecute people and proscribe them for their
religion, but from America, "The land of the free, the home of the
brave, and the asylum for the oppressed"—fleeing from there because of
their religious sentiments. What an idea! Who could have thought of
it? People say that history repeats itself. It is so doing in our day.
Well, what would you do? Observe the laws as much as you can. Bear
with these indignities as much as you can. But it would not be well
for these men to perform their antics anywhere else than among the
Saints, or they would dangle to the poles, lots of them, by the neck,
if they attempted any such acts. No people would endure these things
as the Latter-day Saints do. Will you endure them? Yes, a little
longer. Wait a little longer. And after you have borne with a good
deal, then endure "as seeing Him that is invisible," and cultivate
those principles that Brother Snow has so beautifully set before us,
and feel, "Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute
you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my
sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad for great is your reward in
heaven; for so persecuted they the Prophets which were before you."
Well, what would you do? Would you resent these outrages and break the
heads of the men engaged in them, and spill their blood? No. Avoid
them as much as you possibly can—just as you would wolves, or hyenas,
or crocodiles, or snakes, or [p.156] any of these beasts or reptiles;
avoid them as much as you can, and take care they do not bite you.
[Laughter.] And get out of the way as much as you can. What? won't you
submit to the dignity of the law. Well, I would if the law would only
be a little dignified. But when we see the ermine bedraggled in the
mud and mire, and every principle of justice violated, it behooves men
to take care of themselves as best they may. That is what I have told
people while I have been in the south—to take care of their liberties,
to put their trust in the living God, to obey every constitutional
law, and to adhere to all correct principles. But when men tamper with
your rights and with your liberties, when the cities are full of spies
and the lowest and meanest of men are set to watch and dog your
footsteps; when little children are set in array against their fathers
and mothers, and women and children are badgered before Courts, and
made to submit, unprotected, to the gibes of libertines and corrupt
men; when wives and husbands are pitted against each other and
threatened with pains, penalties and imprisonment, if they will not
disclose that which among all decent people is considered sacred, and
which no man of delicacy, whose sensibilities had not been blunted by
low associations, would ever ask; when such a condition of affairs
exists, it is no longer a land of liberty, and it is certainly no
longer a land of equal rights, and we must take care of ourselves as
best we may, and avoid being caught in any of their snares. I cannot
think that this crusade is aimed entirely at us; from many
circumstances that have transpired, I have been led to believe that
whilst we are made the victims, these proceedings are introduced as a
political ruse, for the purpose of embarrassing the incoming
administration. What would you do? Would you fight them? No. I would
take care of myself as best I can, and I would advise my brethren to
do the same. Would you resist law? No. As I said before, I can stand
it if they can. It is for us to do what is right, to fear God, to
observe His laws, and keep His commandments, and the Lord will manage
all the rest. But no breaking of heads, no bloodshed, no rendering
evil for evil. Let us try and cultivate the spirit of the Gospel, and
adhere to the principles of truth. Let us honor our God, and be true
to those eternal principles which God has given us to hold sacred.
Keep them as sacredly as you would the apple of your eye. And while
other men are seeking to trample the Constitution under foot, we will
try to maintain it. We have prophecies something like this somewhere;
that the time would come when this nation would do as they are now
doing—that is, they would trample under foot the Constitution and
institutions of the nation, and the Elders of this Church would rally
around the standard and maintain those principles which were
introduced for the freedom and protection of men. We expect to do
that, and to maintain all correct principle. I will tell you what you
will see by and by. You will see trouble, trouble, trouble enough in
these United States. And as I have said before I say to-day, I tell
you in the name of God, Woe! to them that fight against Zion, for God
will fight against them. But let us be on the side of human liberty
and human rights, and the protection of all correct principles and
laws and government, and maintain every principle that is upright and
virtuous and honorable, and let the world [p.157] take the balance if
they want, we don't want it. We will cleave to the truth, God being
our helper, and try to introduce principles whereby the will of God
will be done on earth as it is in heaven. And we will obey every
institution of man for the Lord's sake so far as we can without
violating our consciences and doing things that are wrong and
improper.

Vol. 26,  p.157
God bless you and lead you in the paths of life, in the name of Jesus.
Amen.

George Reynolds, March 29, 1885

The Work of the Lord in the Sandwich Islands 
and in New Zealand—the Inhabitants of These Islands 
Probably Off-Shoots of the Nephites and Lamanites, and 
Consequently of the Blood of Israel—the Gentile Nations Have 
Measurably Rejected the Gospel, Hence Their Disunion and 
Scepticism—We Can Only Be United on the Principle 
of Righteousness—in God is Our Only Trust—We Cannot 
Compromise With Evil—Our Mission is to Do Good—Causes of 
Opposition to the Gospel—Education Can Only Modify, But the Holy 
Ghost Changes the Nature of Man—the Principle of Revelation 
Distinguishes Us From the Rest of the World—the 
Path of Duty is the Path of Safety and Blessing

Remarks By Elder George Reynolds, Delivered in the 
Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Sunday Afternoon, March 29th, 1885.

(Reported By John Irvine)

Vol. 26,  p.157
I STAND before you this afternoon, my brethren and sisters, with the
desire in my heart that while I do so I may speak to the stregthening
of the faith of the Saints of God, and, therefore, I crave an interest
in your faith and prayers, that whatever time I occupy I may do so in
a way and manner that shall tend to the building up of God's kingdom
here upon the earth.

Vol. 26,  p.157
We have been interested in hearing the report of Brother Edward
Partridge, who has just returned from a mission to the Sandwich
Islands, where the work of the Lord has been received for many years,
in a very gratifying manner by the remnant of the house of Israel who
dwell thereon. It is also noticeable that the Maoris, a people of a
kindred race to the Hawaiian, who inhabit [p.158] the islands of New
Zealand, many hundred miles to the southward in the Pacific Ocean, are
also receiving the glad tidings of the Gospel of Christ with joy, and
that hundreds are there being added to the Church at the present time.
It has long been the belief of the Latter-day Saints that these races
are offshoots of the great people who once flourished upon this
continent; who were brought out of the land of Jerusalem under Lehi,
Mulek and others, and who have inhabited this land from about 600
years before Christ; that people whose remnants are now found
scattered far and wide over the North and South American continents.
There appears to be a great similarity in the habits, customs, manners
and language of the natives of those two groups of islands; which
similarity, in many respects, extends to some of the races that
inhabit this continent. And for these and other reasons we believe
that in these islanders flows the blood of Israel to a great extent;
and where it does, those who are thus blessed by being the children of
the fathers to whom the promises were made, as races receive the
truths of the Gospel much more readily and apparently, notwithstanding
their many weaknesses, cleave unto them much more devotedly than do
very many of those who embrace its saving principles among the Gentile
nations. It would seem as though at the present time the Gentile
nations of the earth were turning from the truths of the Everlasting
Gospel; they have measurably rejected them; and the consequence is we
find to-day that there is an increase of scepticism, that there is an
increase of a spirit opposed to good order, to obedience, to faith,
and to many other admirable characteristics of generations gone by.
The present is an age of unrest, of turmoil, of contention, of a lack
of faith, not only in religious matters, but in almost everything
else. We may be said to be living in a period of transition, and that
transition does not always appear to be in the most desirable
direction. But this spirit of doubt and incredulity, of uncertainty
and unrest is more manifest regarding religious subjects than any
other questions that attract the attention of mankind; and is perhaps
more manifest in those nations to whom the Gospel has been preached
for many years than in any other parts of the world. This is the
natural result of the course the people of those countries have taken.
Having rejected the principles that God in His kindness has caused to
be revealed, His Spirit, which is the Spirit of life, light,
intelligence and truth, is of necessity measurably withdrawn from
them, and they are left to themselves to serve God as best they may
when they will not serve Him as He requires. The consequence is
division and subdivision in the churches; for every man's opinion is
as good as that of his neighbor; and there remains no trustsworthy,
much less infallible, standard by which to guage the beliefs of
mankind; consequently every man walks in his own way and professes
such a belief as best suits his fancy. But with us it is different.
And the very fact that we are united with regard to that which God
requires at our hands in all things is a rock of offence to many; it
is regarded as an evil by those who do not love us; by those who make
it their business to bring evil accusations against us. Our union is
an opposite condition of affairs to that which exists among the sects
in the Christian world, and being contrary they imagine ought to be
sigmatized' [p.159] decried and derided. But in our union lies our
strength; because we cannot be united on any other principle thorn
obedience to the law of the Lord. There is no spirit but the Spirit of
the Most High God that will make this people one. They can trust in no
one but in God our Father who has revealed His mind and will to them,
and has established in their midst the principles that will make them
wise unto salvation, if they will but give heed to them. It is
useless, worse than useless, for us to attempt to be united on any
principle but the principle of righteousness and godliness. We can
find no union in doing that which is displeasing in the sight of God;
we can find no union in following any course other than that which God
has marked out. We cannot be united in anything but the truth. The
truth will not only make us free, but it will make us united, and we
cannot be united, however much we may strive, on the principles of
error, because there is no bond of union in them. There is only one
path that leads to exaltation; one path by which we can become like
unto our Father and our God, and if we ever attain to that which we
are seeking—eternal life in His presence—we must walk in the path
which He has marked out, and in no other, for no other will will lead
us back into His presence. We must every one walk in that path, and as
we must all walk in it, therefore we must be united. Our union must be
in God, our trust must be in Him. We are, I presume, from present
circumstances, learning that lesson very rapidly. I have noticed on
the coins of this nation the inscription, "In God we trust." Perhaps
that motto may have been applicable at the time it was first placed on
the money of the United States, but at present it does not appear to
be so; for this nation and other nations seem to be rapidly losing all
trust in God. They are willing to trust in themselves, in their own
strength, in their own wisdom, in their own ways, in their own methods
and their own plans, rather than trust in the word of the Lord, for
that the great majority of their peoples will not have. But we, the
Latter-day Saints, are learning rapidly that we can trust no one, save
God our Father, and those whom He appoints to be His representatives
upon the earth. Let us look around in the world. What do we find
to-day? Is there any power upon earth to which we can look for succor
or aid, for guidance or inspiration under the circumstances through
which the Church of Jesus Christ is now passing? If there is where is
it? Where on the face of this wide world can we look for sympathy, for
help, for support? We cannot outside of ourselves. As has ever been
the case those that are not for us are against us. But we are learning
the lesson that God is with us; that He will deliver us; that this is
His kingdom; and the nearer we live to Him the greater will be the
deliverances that He will bring to pass in our favor.

Vol. 26,  p.159
I have met a few in our midst who seemed to have an idea that there
was a Gospel of compromise, if I may so use the term, that might be
advocated. In all the history of this world, from its creation to the
present, I have never read of, never heard of the time when God
Almighty compromised with the Evil One; when he was willing that evil
should have a place in the midst of His people; when He was willing
that any of the principles of eternal truth should be relinquished by
those of His sons and daughters, to[p.160] whom He had revealed them.
No. The word of instruction, the word of revelation, the word of
counsel has always been for man to live by every word that proceeds
from the mouth of God; to keep inviolate the ordinances of God; to
preserve the principles of truth and righteousness intact, and never
to consider for one moment that man can gain his salvation by giving
up or resigning any principle or law that God has said is necessary
for the accomplishment of His purposes, which purposes we understand
to be the salvation of mankind and the redemption of the world. Any
plan less than the one devised by Him is imperfect; anything else will
not save the first one of us. It is God's law and God's law alone that
will deliver Israel from his enemies. It is by perfect confidence in
the word of the Lord, and by willing, humble obedience to all His
requirements, accepting all His providences as for our best good, that
we shall be delivered. Do you ever recollect Have you ever heard of a
time in any age or dispensation since this earth first rolled forth
from the presence of God, that men professing to be His servants have
gained anything in this life or for the next by faltering in their
obedience to the requirements of heaven, by laying aside the armour of
faith, by turning from that which they had espoused, and which they
realized to be of God? If you have ever heard of such a people, if you
have ever known such a time, your reading and your experience have
been different to mine. Judging by the experience of the Saints in the
past, and judging by our own experience in this dispensation—as far as
I know it has all gone to prove that the closer we cleave to the Lord,
the nearer He will draw unto us, the greater will be the
manifestations of His power in our behalf, and the sooner will be our
triumph over those who seek to injure us.

Vol. 26,  p.160
We have no conflict with the world only as they may bring it upon us.
We are the friends of all mankind. We are sent forth to preach life
and salvation to every soul who will hearken and obey. Our mission is
one of good will to all men the wide world over. We seek the hurt or
injury of no people upon the face of the earth. The principles that we
proclaim are those which the Sav