Journal of Discourses Volume 18

BY PRESIDENT BRIGHAM YOUNG, 

HIS COUNSELORS, AND THE TWELVE APOSTLES.

REPORTED BY D. W. EVANS GEO. F. 
GIBBS, AND OTHERS.

AND RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED TO THE LATTER-DAY 
SAINTS IN ALL THE WORD

VOL. XVIII

LIVERPOOL: 

PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY JOSEPH 
F. SMITH, 42, ISLINGTON.

LONDON: 

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

1877.[p.iii] 

Preface

Vol. 18,  p.iii
WE now present the Eighteenth Volume of the to
the Saints, and to all lovers of the Truth.

Vol. 18,  p.iii
We feel confident that the important instructions on principle and
doctrine therein contained, relative to the building of Temples, the
salvation of the dead, the introduction of the Order of Enoch, and the
general progress and development of the great Latter-day Work, will
prove as interesting, gratifying and beneficial to the Saints and to
posterity, as those that have been previously published through this
medium.

Vol. 18,  p.iii
We regret that the circulation of the is so
limited. Its importance would warrant a thousand-fold greater
extension of this work. We anticipate a time, not distant in the
future, when a copy of the present volume will be more precious than
gold. It is even now almost impossible to obtain a complete series.
Copies should therefore be carefully preserved by all subscribers.

Vol. 18,  p.iii
We also, with feelings of regret, chronicle here, which we think a
befitting place, the death—on July 5, 1876—of Elder David W. Evans, to
whom for many years we have been indebted for the reports of the
discourses of the First Presidency, the Twelve Apostles and others.
His death being the cause of the temporary suspension of the
publication of this journal.

Vol. 18,  p.iii
In his demise the Saints have sustained the temporal loss of a
faithful and worthy brother, and the public a devoted and able
servant.

THE PUBLISHER[p.1] 

John Taylor, April 8, 1875

Man, the Offspring of God, a Dual Being—Immediate 
Revelation—Operate With the Priesthood

Discourse By Elder John Taylor, Delivered at the Forty-Fifth 
Annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, 
in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Thursday Morning, April 8,
1875.

(Reported by David W. Evans)

[Continued From Page 376, Vol. 17.] 

Vol. 18,  p.1
We talk sometimes about the Priesthood. Who are we? Who are these
Latter-day Saints before me to-day? Are they not the Priesthood? Are
you not, really and truly, a kingdom of Priests? Do you not belong to
the First Presidency, the Twelve, the High Priests, the High Council,
the Elders, Priests, Teachers and Deacons, or hold some office in the
Church and kingdom of God? Is not this really and truly a fact? To a
very great extent it is, not exclusively or entirely. Have you not
received this Priesthood? Are you not responsible to God to carry out
his purposes and designs, so far as they have been committed unto you,
in relation to the building up and establishing of his kingdom and the
introduction of righteousness upon the earth? Are you not engaged in
these things? If you are not you ought to be, this is your calling and
profession. What shall we do then? Humble ourselves before God, every
one of us. We all need it. Humble yourselves, repent of your sins, and
evils, and waywardness, of your iniquities, falsehood, covetousness,
pride, haughtiness and corruptions of every kind, and lay them aside,
and become men of truth, integrity, virtue, purity and honor, that
yore hearts and spirits and feelings may be pure before God. Say to
the Lord—"Search me, oh God, and prove me, and if there is anyway of
wickedness within me bid it depart, and let me live my religion, honor
my God, walk in obedience to his laws, magnify my Priesthood, and
prepare myself and my posterity for an inheritance in the kingdom of
God. Let me associate myself with those men of God who have gone
before, and with God, and with Jesus, who is the Mediator of the New
Covenant, that, all combined, we may roll on [p.2] the work of God,
and accomplish his purposes here upon the earth.

Vol. 18,  p.2
Why, some of these men you heard Elder Hyde talking about here the
other day are beginning to visit the Lamanites. Somebody asked me why
they did not come to some of us. Said I—"I do not know, but I think
that if I was the father of these folks I should go to them first,
seek after them first." But no matter, let them operate and us
operate, and God operate, and don't let us stand in the way of God.
Let us humble ourselves; let us reverence the Priesthood and honor
those who are keeping the commandments of God and managing the affairs
of his Church and kingdom on the earth. Let us operate also with the
living Priesthood of all ages; with Adam, Seth, Enoch, Noah,
Melchizedek, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, the Prophets, Jesus, his Apostles,
with Ether, Jared and his brother—Lehi, Alma, Moroni, Mormon, the
Prophets and Apostles on this continent, and men that have held the
same Priesthood that we do, and with them help our heavenly Father to
establish and roll on this kingdom; to save the living and the dead
and bring in everlasting righteousness, in the name of Jesus. Amen.

George Q. Cannon, April 8, 1875

There is Cause for Rejoicing—the Hand of Divine Providence 
Over the Saints—Pleased With Being a Territory—
Maintain the Right—Be True to Principle

Discourse By Elder George Q. Cannon, Delivered at the 
Forty-Fifth Annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of 
Latter-Day Saints, in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake 
City, Thursday Afternoon, April 8, 1875.

(Reported by David W. Evans)

Vol. 18,  p.2
There have been a number of items of interest touched upon by the
brethren who have spoken during this Conference, and as it is a time
when we meet together for the purpose of receiving general
instructions, it seems to me very desirable that the time should be
occupied in dwelling ripen principles which immediately pertain to our
condition and present circumstances. In the remarks which I shall make
this afternoon, I trust I shall be led to speak upon those things
which immediately concern us, and which pertain to our daily lives.

Vol. 18,  p.3
I rejoice exceedingly in this opportunity, that is, the opportunity of
[p.3] being present at Conference. I believe that I can appreciate it
better than I could possibly have done had I been here all the time
during the winter. I have, however, during my absence, enjoyed myself
better than I could have expected. I have felt that the Lord has been
with us as a people, that his power has been manifested in our behalf,
and that, so far as the prospects of Zion in the future are concerned,
we have abundant reason to be thankful and rejoice. I know that the
hope is indulged in in many quarters that the Latter-day Saints are
fast losing that faith for which they have been noted, and by the
operation of which they have been enabled to accomplish the labors
that have devolved upon them in the past in this country as pioneers,
and as pioneers in the religious world. I am quite willing, myself, if
it is any satisfaction to any individual to entertain this idea, that
he should do so; but for myself, and I believe I speak the sentiments
of the people, I never, in my life, saw greater cause for rejoicing in
the cause of God than I do to-day. I am not in the least discouraged,
but, on the contrary, I feel exceedingly encouraged. I know, it seems
to me, better than I ever knew, that God is with this people, that he
hearkens to their prayers, and that he watches over them. It is true
that there are influences operating upon us at the present time that
we have only recently had to contend with, they are comparatively new
influences and, to a certain extent, the Latter-day Saints are
unaccustomed to them, especially the rising generation. But it has
been taught us from the beginning that Zion is to become a great power
in the earth, and that she will triumph; but I cannot conceive how
Zion can become that which we have expected, or that it will achieve
the destiny predicted concerning it, unless it be by passing through
ordeals such as those we already have to encounter, and others, still
greater, that are yet in the future, by which Zion will show its
superiority over every institution and power that exists on the face
of the earth.

Vol. 18,  p.3
I have expected for years that the seclusion which we sought in coming
to these mountains would be terminated. Everything in the predictions
of the holy Prophets concerning the work of God in the last days
conveyed this idea to my mind. I looked upon our retreat here as a
temporary one, for I well knew from the character of the people and
their achievements that, in a short time, we should have the world
trooping to us; we should be like a city set on a hill, we could not
be hid, and that the eyes of men would be attracted Zionward,
therefore I have not been disappointed in witnessing that which we see
around us to-day. It has come probably in some form that I had not
looked for, because I could only take a general view, the details I
did not understand, but that we should pass through ordeals that
should test us, test our faith, test our institutions, test the
character of our doctrines, test the practical value of everything
connected with us, I never had a doubt; and so far as the future is
concerned I look forward to an increase rather than a decrease of
these things, to an increase of tests, a multiplication of ordeals
that will be calculated in their very nature to test and try us and
the system with which we are identified to the perfect satisfaction of
every one connected with it. How else could we expect that Zion should
become a power in the earth? How else could we expect that that
respect should be accorded to Zion which we are led to believe [p.4]
will be the case? How else will the wisdom and power that God will
bestow upon his people be made clear in the eyes of this nation and of
the nations of the earth only by these practical tests, by these
trials, by surmounting these difficulties, and by showing a capacity
to meet, grapple with and overcome every emergency and contingency
that may arise? Can we achieve that distinction which is inevitably in
store for us as a people if the predictions of the Prophets be
fulfilled short of such an experience as this? I think not. The
enemies of this work may indulge in whatever anticipations of our
discomfiture or downfall they please, but as for us, let us take a
practical, sensible view of the work with which we are identified, and
prepare ourselves accordingly, so that when the hour of trial shall
come, be it severe or not, we may be prepared therefor, having
strength and faith sufficient to endure it, and to bear witness unto
all men that we have not cherished this faith in vain.

Vol. 18,  p.4
There is this peculiarity about this work, that no power that has yet
arrayed itself against it has succeeded in its attempts to gain
advantage over it. It is true there have been seemingly temporary
successes; there have been times when mobs and violent men have
achieved a temporary success and when they have flattered themselves
with the idea that their designs against this work have been
successful. But one peculiarity has ever marked the career of this
people, that is, that events in our history which have seemed to be
deadly blows against us and the work in which we are engaged, have
turned out to be magnificent successes for us as a community. Trace
our history from the beginning, peruse it carefully, draw the lessons
from it which I believe are intended to be conveyed by it, and what do
you see? The Church and Zion of God emerging from the difficulties,
trouble and seeming disaster sought to be brought upon it by its
enemies, brighter, stronger, more firmly planted, more untied than it
was when the difficulty commenced, or the trouble was first visited
upon us. The loss of houses and lands, expulsion from homes that were
dearly bought, had no such effect upon this people, produced no such
thrill and such deathlike sorrow in the hearts of the Latter-day
Saints as did the martyrdom of our beloved Prophet and Patriarch; had
we lost our dearest friends; had we lost everything that we valued on
earth, it seems to me it would not have compared with the poignant
sorrow, the deeps heartfelt anguish that prostrated this people in the
depths of humility when the news of the cruel murder of their beloved
leaders reached them; yet deadly as that blow was, to all human
appearance prostrating the entire people, who felt that they had lost
those who stood nearest to God and nearest to them, God in his mercy,
out of that great affliction brought forth a great triumph and raised
up a man to take the place of the Prophet, who has been in some
respects like Elisha following Elijah, possessing, as Elisha desired
it might be the case with him, a double portion of the spirit that
rested down on his master, Elijah. And God has led us, God has
prospered us, and God gave us success that seemed to be commensurate
with the depth of our anguish and sorrow, and lifted us up from the
depths of humility into which we had sunk, and placed us upon the
heights of gladness and joy, and caused us to rejoice as we could not
have done probably under [p.5] other circumstances. And so, when we
were driven out of civilization so-called; when we wended our weary
way through the wilderness, not knowing where we were going, it seemed
as though the last blow had been struck and we had been left a prey to
internal dissensions or to the violence of the savages. But God in his
mercy, out of that seemingly great affliction, has brought forth great
blessing and glory to us, and has honored us, has enriched us, has
raised us up and endowed us with blessings that we could not have had
where we lived; so that that great blow aimed at us by our enemies has
been over-ruled to be the means of great and wonderful blessings to
us, and as an entire people we rejoice today in the possession of a
land that God has given unto us, to which he led us and which he
designated by the finger of inspiration as the land which we should
occupy, and which we this day possess despite all the machinations of
the wicked and their efforts to strip us of all power herein. Until
this day he has given unto us the supremacy in this land, from north
to south, from east to west, and he has made it productive and fertile
for our sakes. When we reflect upon our history since we came here;
when we think of the many plots and schemes, of the many men who have
lent themselves to these plots, who have done all in their power
against and to entrap this people; when we reflect upon it all, so far
as I am concerned, I am filled with amazement, and with thanksgiving
to God our Eternal Father for his goodness and mercy unto us as a
people. I know, as well as I know that I live, that no human power
could have saved us time and time again as we have been rescued that
there is no wisdom of man that was equal to the emergencies in which
we have been placed; but God, in his infinite mercy and wisdom, in his
kindness and watch-care over us as a people, has, at the very moment
when salvation was needed, stretched forth his Almighty arm. He has
rescued us from the grasp of the destroyer when it seemed as though
destruction was inevitable and we could not escape. The last five
years have been as fruitful, probably, as any period in our history in
events of this character. Time and time again has it seemed as though
destruction was sure to come upon us, as though there were no way
possible for us to escape; but God has heard our supplications and has
opened the way of deliverance in a most wonderful manner, and has
rescued us from the grasp of those who would destroy us. Others may
not see the hand of God in these things; they may say that these
things come about from and are the results of natural causes, but
those who have prayed to God, whose hearts have been drawn out in
supplication to him and who have waited tremblingly for the salvation
which he has promised, have seen and they cannot but acknowledge the
hand of God in these deliverances, because, as I have said, they have
watched, waited and prayed anxiously and earnestly in the name of
Jesus for deliverance, and when it has come their faith has been
strengthened and their joy increased in the Holy One of Israel;
because he has heard and answered their prayers: and to-day the
Latter-day Saints are the people of all people upon the face of the
earth who know that God lives, because he hears and answers their
prayers. And he, it seems, is determined to have a people upon the
earth who will be compelled to put their trust in him and not in man,
because man's power would utterly [p.6] fail to save them, and no
power but his can do it. When I look at all these things it is a
matter of surprise to me that men cannot see the hand of God in this
work. Yet there are many whose hearts have been touched by the
evidences of God's favor unto us, and they have been surprised and
have expressed their wonder that we have been so signally delivered as
we have been.

Vol. 18,  p.6
Now there is a great future in store for us as a people. God has said
so, and his words cannot fail in being fulfilled. There is a destiny
in store for this people that few can comprehend. We have to teach the
world lesson after lesson that they have entirely forgotten, or that
they never knew. We have to teach them and show them by our example
that there is such a thing as living faith, that there is such a thing
as trusting in God, being saved by him, that there is such a power as
faith in the land, and that prayer, when offered in faith, is
effectual in reaching him. We have to show the nations of the earth
that God with a small people can accomplish wonderful results. When I
think of our numbers, how few we are,—we are a great people in some
respects, but in numbers we are few and feeble—yet with this few
people what is God doing in the earth! What a name he is gaining for
his people, his servants! You may travel throughout the earth, in
every land, among every people, and let it be known that you are a
Latter-day Saint, and you will find that the fame of the people has
preceded you, and you will find yourselves distinguished from
everybody else. It is exceedingly wonderful that a people so small,
numerically so insignificant, a people not wealthy, but it may be said
poor, are so noted in the earth. Yet this is the fact, that God
intends to make us still more so, he intends to give us a name and a
place among the nations of the earth that shall be distinguished above
all other people. We are accused, you know, of being disloyal. This
has been a story told of us, a charge repeated against us from the
very beginning, because men have thought it would be most effective in
destroying our influence. The idea prevails in many quarters that we
are scarcely as true to the government as we should be. I have heard
it stated that were it not for these troops at Camp Douglas, Utah
Territory would rebel. By such nonsense as this do men who oppose us
seek to deceive the world at large respecting us and our motives and
feelings. I have had occasion frequently to talk upon this subject. I
have told men that, from my early boyhood, I have been taught to
believe that the constitution of the United States was revealed of
God, and that the destiny in store for the Latter-day Saints was to
uphold constitutional government upon this land; and, that being the
case, how could it be reconcilable with the idea that we were disloyal
to the Government? But there is a class of men who consider everybody
disloyal who does not dance to their tunes, and who does not re-echo
the sentiments which they express and seem to entertain. We have a
class of men among us here who talk about the one-man power and the
tyranny that exist in the Utah Territory, but at the same time if an
official were to come here and associate with citizens of this
Terrritory, "Mormon" citizens I mean, they would put him under a ban
and brand him as disloyal and unfit to hold an official position under
the Government. And why? For years here it has been considered by
certain officials as one of the best recommendations to the favor of
those in power to hate and abuse the "Mormon" [p.7] people of Utah
Territory; and if a man were to dare to associate with "Mormons," were
to speak kindly of or to associate with them, and to treat them as he
would other people he would be ostracised and banished, so far as
association with them is concerned a non-intercourse act would be
passed immediately. And these very individuals talk about the
intolerance of the Mormons.

Vol. 18,  p.7
We have these things to contend with, we have these lies to live down,
and as far as we are concerned, let them always be lies; let no man
have it in his power to say that the Latter-day Saints are an
intolerant, prescriptive or an unjust people. Never let this be said
of us with truth; but if it be said, let our enemies continue to lie
about us until they are tired of it, or until the world become
sickened with the falsehoods that are told concerning us. And for us,
let us pursue the path that God has marked out, being liberal,
truthful, upright, dealing fairly, honestly and tolerantly with every
man, so that every class of men who come into our midst may learn that
we have received a religion that admits of toleration in the broadest
sense of the word.

Vol. 18,  p.7
It has been a matter of considerable satisfaction to me to state that
in Utah Territory our pulpits, stands, tabernacles and meeting-houses
have always been open to every sect and denomination to come and
preach their peculiar views, creeds and doctrines, and that our people
have turned out in large congregations to listen to speakers or
preachers of other denominations advancing their doctrines; and that
not only have congregations of adults been furnished, but the children
of the Sunday schools have frequently been assembled in the New
Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, that they might purposely hear and become
familiar with the ideas and views entertained by other religious
denominations. This stands out in marked contrast with the practice of
almost every other sect, and it gives the falsehood to the stories
which have been so frequently told about us.

Vol. 18,  p.7
Now respecting all these things that we are passing through, I
recognize the hand of God in them all. I think that we have learned
lessons of late that have been profitable to us. For instance, we now
know and, while the recollection of the past few years is vivid in our
minds we shall continue to know, how to value a just man who sits as a
judge, and it may be that it will be so impressed upon us, that when
power shall come into our midst, and come it will, as inevitably as
the sun rises in the morning over the eastern hills so sure will power
come unto us; but when it does come I trust that the recollection of
the past will be vivid in our minds and that we will always seek to
deal justly and fairly with all who may seek justice at our hands. It
has been said that when we acquire power we shall be intolerant, as
other sects have been. The Puritans, who fled from England because of
religious persecution became, in turn, themselves the persecutors when
they had the power. Roger Williams fled from them and took refuge in
what is now Rhode Island. They persecuted the Quakers and others who
came within their borders with an intolerance that was quire equal to,
if it did not exceed, the intolerance to which they themselves had
been the victims. And it has been said concerning us, that if we had
the power, we would probably tread in the same path, that persecution
would only harden us and make us deal with others with a severity
which we would not know anything [p.8] about had we ourselves not been
victims beforehand. But I think that God in his mercy will strip us if
there be any vestige of this about us; I hope he will, at any rate. If
we achieve the destiny that is in store for us, certainly to maintain
that character and to retain that power, it will be necessary that we
should be just, upright, forbearing and tolerant, and that we should
be willing that every man in this broad land should worship God
according to the dictates of his own conscience, whether his god be
the workmanship of his own hands, whether it be the sun, the moon,
some animal, or the God of heaven, with Jesus his Son, that we shall
be willing that every man should worship God according to his own
feelings upon the subject, so long as he does not interfere with us,
or with others. I think we have learned this lesson in part. I think
the lessons that have been impressed upon us have had an effect in
this direction, at least they have had the effect to broaden us; and
every lesson of this kind will have such a result as this with us as a
people, and on this account I am thankful for them. 

Vol. 18,  p.8
I am thankful to-day that we are not a State. There have been times
when I have wished exceedingly that we might be released from
territorial vassalage and be incorporated in the Union as a sovereign
state. I have desired, and labored for it; but this last winter I have
been exceedingly thankful that Utah was a territory and not a state.
We are told to acknowledge the hand of God in all things, and I do not
see why we should not acknowledge it in being kept in this condition
of tutelage and vassalage as well as in anything else. But it may be
asked—"Why do you think our condition better as a territory than as a
state?" When I heard of events in Louisiana, the federal troops
maintaining a government there, against which I was informed, and as I
believed, the mass of the people revolted, I thought to myself—Better
be an insignificant territory than a state if we cannot have the right
of choosing our own rulers and have them act in the offices to which
they are elected. Thanks to our insignificance federal troops have not
interfered with us here; but if we had been a State, with two votes in
the Senate, a vote or two in the House, and electoral votes in the
Presidential Election there might have been a temptation to have done
with Utah as with other states. But we had no vote; our delegate in
Congress had no vote; we had no senatorial representation; we had no
vote at the Presidential Election, and this denial to us of our
rights, by keeping us in a Territorial condition, has thus far helped
to save us. With such a feeling as there has been in this city and
territory, for contesting elections, when they have been
overwhelmingly on one side—twenty thousand and upward against two or
three thousand; when men will contest elections under such
circumstances, and endeavor by unjust means to wrest the power out of
the hands of the people and defeat the will of the majority; when they
will do this, as has been done in this Territory, it would not need a
very strong pretext to have them to go farther, to have thorn appeal
for Federal interference, and to try and induce the government to
say—"Those whom you call the minority are the majority, they have been
unjustly dealt with; affidavits have come here showing that the polls
have not been managed properly, the ballots have not been deposited as
they should be, and we must decide against you "Mormons" and the men
whom you have elected, and put [p.9] your opponents into power." I do
not say that this is the case in Louisiana, I do not pretend to decide
upon that question, it admits of a good deal of argument; but I have
been told by members of Congress who visited there—the Committee sent
by Congress to investigate matters, that if the federal troops had
been withdrawn from Louisiana this winter twenty-four hours would not
have elapsed until the McEnery government would have been put in
power, and the whole difficulty would have been solved. But the
presence of federal troops maintained a government that could not be
maintained in and of itself. What is the use, then, of being a State
government if the Federal government is to interfere in this manner in
State affairs? And with the causes that exist in Utah Territory to
make interference popular and a thing to be approved of by thousands,
a State government would not be so desirable. I have, therefore, so
far as my own feelings have been concerned, been very much pleased at
being a territory. I have seen the hand of God and his wisdom in this
thing, when if my wish or my will could have been gratified we should
have been a State long ago.

Vol. 18,  p.9
The Lord, in his mercy, will preserve us from these evils; in his
overruling wisdom and providence be will deliver us until the time
shall come for us to be a state if that be his will, and I doubt not
that we shall be surprised at it ourselves. I have come to the
conclusion, as one individual, that I shall not be anxious on this
subject in the future, and shall leave it to the overruling providence
of God to bring about when it shall seem good unto him.

Vol. 18,  p.9
As to some of the States in the South they are in such a condition
that we, if we were in the same, should think our lot dreadful. I have
heard stories of usurpation and tyranny by officials in those states
that have caused me to think that, notwithstanding all that we have
had to endure in Utah Territory, our lot has been a fortunate one
compared with that of others. They have drunk the cup of humiliation
to its very dregs. You know there was a time here when it seemed as
though every effort was made to bring us under military rule in this
Territory, and when the provocations endured by the people here come
to be read in history surprise will arise in the mind of the reader,
and admiration for the people who so patiently endured the wrongs that
were imposed upon them, especially when it is remembered what power we
hold here. Why, think of it, a few years ago a Governor came to this
Territory immediately after a long and bloody Indian war, in which our
citizens were masssacred, their property stolen, their settlements
robbed and their stock driven off; and immediately after that war a
Governor came here who prohibited the militia, every able-bodied man
in the Territory, from bearing arms—a most unheard of tyrannical
exercise of power; and then a Secretary, while acting governor,
afterwards repeated the santo proclamation. And this people have borne
it patiently and never lifted their hands against these contemptible
tyrants. It was doubtless hoped that we would commit some overt act to
provoke trouble, so that the federal troops could be brought in and be
placed under the control of these officials, who for once in their
lives happened to hold position. Not only this, but on one occasion
when certain citizens met together as a company, to celebrate the fact
of their band having got a new set of instruments a federal judge
committed them to a military prison [p.10] for violating this
proclamation, as though a proclamation of the Governor was law! With
as great propriety might an Executive claim that he has the power to
restore the curfew, and say—"You must have your fires extinguished by
eight o'clock at night, or we will put you in a military prison; and
you must rise in the morning at the tap of the bell, or we will treat
you as criminals." If a Governor's proclamation is law, and is to be
respected as such, where will it end? Will it end with the
imprisonment of men who act as militia men? No; if such acts of
usurpation continue, no citizen will be safe, and they will end in the
overthrow of liberty and constitutional right wherever permitted.

Vol. 18,  p.10
We have borne these things, and we have borne others, the recollection
of which, were I to recite them to you, would make our blood boil. It
is not necessary that I should do so; but in talking thus do we talk
disloyally? American citizens have the right to talk about officials
who trample upon their rights in this manner; we all have the right to
question the acts of men in power; it is a right given to us, and the
man is not worthy of the name of freeman who will not thus criticize
acts of oppression and, in a proper manner, resent them and show his
abhorrence of them. It is because they are violative of the
fundamental principles of our government that I thus talk about them:
and in any other Territory than this they would have provoked a storm
of indignation that would have overwhelmed their authors. One of the
lessons we have to learn is to have patience, but not to stop
remonstrating, not stop talking, not stop appealing, not hold our
tongues and let our children grow up with the belief that these things
are right. No, proclaim against them, let it be known that they are
wrong, that they are contrary to the law of the land, to the
Constitution and to the principles of our government; let this be
known, and let our children understand what is right, and all men
recognise the fact that we understand our rights, whether they are
denied to us or not.

Vol. 18,  p.10
I expect to see the day when the Latter-day Saints will be the people
to maintain constitutional government on this land. Men everywhere
should know that we believe in constitutional principles, and that we
expect that it will be our destiny to maintain them. That the
prediction will be fulfilled that was made forty-four years ago the
seventh of last March, wherein God said to Joseph Smith—"Ye hear of
wars in foreign lands; but behold I say unto you, they are nigh, even
at your doors, and not many years hence ye shall hear of wars in your
own lands;" but the revelation goes on to say that the day will come
among the wicked, that every man that will not take his sword against
his neighbor, must needs flee unto Zion for safety. A portion of that
revelation has been fulfilled, the remainder will be. The causes are
in operation to bring it about. We are not alone in the thought that
the republic is drifting steadily in that direction; that we are
leaving the old constitutional landmarks, and that the time is not far
distant when there will be trouble in consequence of it, when there
will be civil broils and strife; and, to escape them, we believe, men
will be compelled to flee to the "Mormons," despised as they are now.
Does this seem incredible? Why, look you, to-day, throughout our
Union, the Latter-day Saints are the most lightly taxed of any people
upon the face of this continent. I do not know a community as free
[p.11] from debt as we are. There are one or two States I believe free
from debt, but they have had to tax heavily to free themselves. But as
a Territory we have never been in debt, and although we have had many
temptations to drift in that direction, not a bond belonging to the
Territory has ever been issued; not a dollar is owing that cannot be
paid. Our cities are out of debt; our counties are out of debt, and I
hope they will continue so. Our legislators, county courts and city
officers will doubtless take special pains to keep down expenses and
let us be burdened as little as possible with taxation, so that we may
be a happy and a free people. Let taxes accumulate, and there is a
constant temptation for officers to steal your taxes; there must be
men elected to take care of your taxes, and there will be hundreds of
leaks by which your means will go without benefit to the community,
therefore, let us be a lightly taxed people. We are that to-day, and
that is one evidence of the good government there is in this
Territory. We have peace here, and we should have little or no
litigation if it were not forced upon us, and our courts, so far as
litigation is concerned, would have very little to do from the
Latter-day Saints; we would settle our difficulties by arbitration,
and prevent litigation and money being spent therein. All the
tendencies of this people are towards peace, and their aim is to
preserve peaceful relations with each other and with the outside
world, and we have shown this all the day long.

Vol. 18,  p.11
What is the case elsewhere? Why corruption stalks through the land,
and taxation and debt are increasing. It is considered a light thing
for a man to get his hand into the government treasury; that is all
right, and if so he steal the funds of a city, county or State, they
do not call it stealing, however: O no, that is a vulgar name; it will
do for the man who robs his neighbor's hen roost, but they have more
fashionable language for the acts to which I refer.

Vol. 18,  p.11
Men in public life, under the present reign of extravagance, can not
meet their expenses, therefore they are exposed to temptation and are
led to take advantage of their position. This is not always the case,
there are many exceptions; but this is the case too frequently, and
good men mourn over and regret it, and they would like to stem the
tide and arrest this downward tendency.

Vol. 18,  p.11
This is a lesson that we have to profit by; our officials must be
careful, and we must maintain a standard of honesty that does not
exist anywhere else. It will not do for the idea to prevail that
because a man has an office he has the right to enrich himself from
that office. This has not been the case in this Territory thus far;
and we may reasonably expect it will not be.

Vol. 18,  p.11
Now, my brethren and sisters, let us live for the destiny that is in
store for us. Let us remember that God has a great future for this
people, and that how soon it will be granted unto us depends upon
ourselves. If we were prepared for it I know that that time would soon
come, and we should have opportunities given us of doing good that we
do not have to-day. But I am told that one of the effects of this
ordeal through which we are passing, is that there are some young men,
and possibly young women, who yield to certain temptations. Young men,
who formerly would have been ashamed to be seen smoking on the streets
or entering a billiard, a gambling, or a drinking saloon, are now seen
in such places, and they do not scruple to use the name of God in
vain, or to swear and be profane, and there are some [p.12] who seem
to imagine that it is an evidence of independence and smartness to
indulge in these things; and it may be that they go a little further
and are guilty of other acts of greater turpitude than these.

Vol. 18,  p.12
No man loses credit by being true to his principles. If he is a
Latter-day Saint, let him act out his principles wherever he goes. If
he does not believe in drinking intoxicating drinks, let him refrain
from doing so everywhere; if he does not smoke, refrain from smoking;
if he does not swear—which no man ought to do—let him refrain from it,
no matter where he is, and let him be true to the principles of his
religion always and under all circumstances, and he will gain
influence that he would not have otherwise. Let us as a people take a
course of this kind. But there is this tendency—"O, we must be like
somebody else." You, can see that tendency at the present time in many
things besides men's conduct. There are men here who would change our
city and make it like places they know. They would cut down our
streets until they would not be fifty feet wide, and cut down our city
blocks until they were like other city blocks, and would narrow our
sidewalks, cut down our shade trees, and completely change the
character of everything there is about us. They would rob the city of
every distinctive feature, and fill the city with nest holes of vice.
You can see this tendency here to imitate and do as somebody else
does, instead of ourselves being the standard; instead of recollecting
that. God has chosen us and placed his name upon us, that he has
called us to be his Saints, and that it is our duty to maintain our
principles, and carry them out in our lives, doing that which is
right, regardless of whether it may suit other people or not. It is
our duty to have some mind of our own, and if we have a good thing not
to be willing to part with it because other people make sport of it. I
like our city, our sidewalks and the width of our streets; others may
not, but that is the pattern and plan upon which the city was laid
out. I would like to see everything connected with our city—and I
speak of this because it is a case in point, and I merely speak of it
to illustrate everything else—I would like to see us carry out that
which is right ourselves. If we have ideas of our own, cling to them,
and not abandon them, because they do not happen to be popular. And so
with our practices. A man who does not smoke is not any worse for it;
he is no less a gentleman when he goes into company because of that.
He is no less a gentleman because he does not drink or because he does
not swear, because he does not go into a gambling house or a house of
ill-fame; and how can a man who calls himself a Lather-day Saint,
think that he is any more of a gentleman or any better a man because
he can do these things when he, in and of himself, knows they are
wrong. God has taught us that it is not good for us to do these
things; he has given us counsel, he has given us a word of wisdom, and
the man who thus disregards the word of God and his counsel does not
show very great respect to him, and I do not imagine that God is going
to show very great respect to him.

Vol. 18,  p.12
Let us be true to our principles; men admire sincerity, truth and
uprightness, and they admire a Latter-day Saint who abides by his
principles much more than they admire one who is not true to that
which he professes; and you will never lose anything by telling who
you are and what you are in a respectful manner, and maintaining that
which is right.[p.13] Of course we need not be bigoted or offensive,
or run to any extremes.

Vol. 18,  p.13
May God bless you, my brethren and sisters, fill you with the Holy
Spirit, and with desires to teach your children the ways of
righteousness, and enable you to bring up a generation that is
healthy, pure, virtuous and full of integrity in this land which God
has given unto us. That he may thus bless and preserve us is my prayer
in the name of Jesus. Amen.

George Q. Cannon, April 9, 1875

Co-Operation a True Principle—Saints Must Be Self-Sustaining—
Patronize Home Manucacturers—Home Industrial Institutions

Remarks By Elder George Q. Cannon, Delivered at the 
Forty-Fifth Annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of 
Latter-Day Saints, in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake 
City, on Friday Afternoon, April 9, 1875.

(Reported by David W. Evans)

Vol. 18,  p.13
We have abundantly proved in our experience that if we do not sustain
ourselves, no other people will sustain us, and that we must be
united, as was said this morning, in our temporal as well as in our
spiritual affairs; and that if we would build up and strengthen
ourselves in the earth, it must be by union of effort, and by
concentrating our means in a way that shall produce the best results
for the work with which we are identified. Co-operation, or a union of
effort, has been proved in our experience, when properly carried out,
to be most successful. With small means and limited incomes we can
accomplish, by wisely uniting our efforts, great results, and to bring
about greater union should be our continual effort. As has been said,
there may be failures and mismanagement occasionally, but the
principle itself is a true one, and it recommends itself to every
reflecting mind. We, however, in our mercantile operations in this
city and Territory, have been more than ordinarily successful. I have
heard reproaches indulged in, or rather reflections cast, upon our
general co-operative institution. I think it has been one of the most
successful establishments and institutions that we ever have had among
us, and I do not know that it has been equalled anywhere, when we
reflect that in the short space of three years those who invested
[p.14] their means in that institution made one hundred per
cent.—doubled their original stock; and when the financial crisis came
in the east—the panic as it was termed, and many strong houses went
down before it, our institution was able to withstand the storm, and
tide over, and has met every dollar of its indebtedness promptly, or
at least to the satisfaction of its creditors. We have been subjected
to a great deal of expense in various ways; but the experience of the
past few years enables us to see now how this expense can be
curtailed; and profiting by this wisdom and experience, as a community
we should take the necessary steps to establish, or rather to arrange
it so that it will give the greatest satisfaction. A good deal might
be said on this subject in this connection, but as we shall have a
meeting very shortly in relation to our co-operative business affairs,
probably that would be the proper place for remarks of this character.
But I would say, as one individual, to all the Saints—Let us by every
means in our power, that is, by collecting the little means that we
have, seek to build up and strengthen these institutions in our midst,
and they will prove profitable to us, and be a great blessing to the
entire community and to Zion.

Vol. 18,  p.14
At this afternoon's session of the Conference the authorities of the
Church will be presented, and it is desirable that there should be a
general attendance of the members of the Church, as far as they can
possibly come.

Vol. 18,  p.14
To refer again to this subject of co-operation. We have seen its good
effects in the settlements throughout the entire Territory. I consider
that if it had not been for our institution regulating prices and
governing and controling the mercantile interests of this Territory,
we should have lost, by having to pay high prices, thousands and
thousands of dollars that we have saved. In Brigham City particularly,
judging by accounts that we have heard, have the principles of
co-operation been exceedingly beneficial to the people, because of the
perfection to which they have been carried out. The great difficulty
with us heretofore has been that, as a people, we have not had capital
to achieve any very great results. No one man, until quite recently,
has had sufficient means to carry on any great undertaking; but by the
masses of the people uniting under a co-operative plan, and putting
their funds in the hands of those who are judicious and good business
men, we can establish every kind of manufacture that is necessary in
this country to make us self-sustaining. The manufacture of iron into
hollow-ware, and every thing of this character that is made of iron;
the manufacture of rails for our railroads, of woolen goods of the
best character, the establishment of sheep and cattle herds, of cheese
factories and tanneries, and of every branch of manufacture that is
adapted to our climate and Territory can be carried on upon this
principle, and efforts should be made by us as a people to establish
and make them successful. I took down with me, when I went to
Washington last fall, a suit of clothes manufactured here in this
Territory—the wool was grown here, the cloth was made at President
Young's factory, and the clothes were made by our tailors. There was a
good deal of discussion in the early part of the session concerning
the resumption of specie payments. I remarked to a good many of my
friends that if I were a believer, as some of them were, in the power
of the General Government to make laws respecting such [p.15] matters,
I should be in favor of making a law that would prevent the
importation into this country of anything that we could make
ourselves; and I believe that specie payments will be postponed until
there is a stop to the extravagance which reigns throughout the
country. The stream of gold which ought to be setting in the direction
of the United States, in consequence of the multiplicity of our
productions and the greatness of our trade, is constantly flowing
toward Europe; and while this is the case, we may struggle in vain to
get back to specie payments. That which is true concerning a nation is
true concerning us as a Territory. If we would be independent, if we
would keep the circulating medium in abundance in our midst, we must
stop the stream that is flowing from the Territory, and every dollar
that we spend here in sustaining a home institution, for making
clothes, paying the cloth manufacturer for his cloth, the wool-grower
for his wool, the tanner for his leather, or the shoemaker for making
that leather into shoes and boots, is that much saved to the entire
community. One very prominent free-trade member of the House, during a
discussion on this subject last session, remarked that the suit of
clothes he had on cost him but a comparative small amount, and that he
had them sent from Canada. Some one replied, by way of joke, that he
had probably bought a second hand suit; but there is no doubt the
clothes were new. But suppose they cost less in Canada than the same
suit would in the States, can not you and every body see, without
lengthy reflection, that that money all went into foreign hands, and
did not benefit the people of this country? The producer of the wool,
the manufacturer of the cloth, and the maker of the clothes in Canada
received the benefit. But supposing that thirty-five or forty dollars
had been paid for that suit of clothes in the United States, or in the
community where the purchaser lived, you can readily perceive that by
the circulation of that money in his immediate vicinity, he, himself,
if he were in any business, would receive the benefit of the
expenditure, and that the extra cost would not be an entire loss to
him like paying it out to a foreign community. And so it is with our
own manufactures. We talk about brooms and about cheese, butter and
other things which can be brought from the east at lower figures than
we can produce them; but it is better for us to pay twenty-five per
cent. more, and I do not know but even a larger per centage, for our
home productions, than to send the money away to a distant community
where it is circulated and we receive no benefit from it. If we bought
home made cheese, and had to pay ten or fifteen cents a pound more for
it (which, however, we are not required to do) than if it were brought
from abroad, it is not an entire loss to the community, for we all
derive some benefit from the means so spent, because it is circulated
amongst us, and if we have anything to sell we get prices in
proportion for it, and thus we sustain ourselves. Men may say that
such and such things can be bought cheaper abroad than they can be
bought at home, and therefore it is better to buy them; but I say that
it is suicidal for any community to pursue such a policy, and we, with
the experience that we have had in this country on these points for
upwards of a quarter of a century, should begin to learn wisdom, and
begin to foster home manufactures and home institutions. Our
co-operative [p.16] institutions should take into consideration the
people's good, and, if there is ink, matches, cloth, leather or
anything else to sell that is manufactured in this country, they
should give the preference every time to the home manufactured article
so far as possible, and endeavor to stimulate and foster home
production and not operate against it.

Vol. 18,  p.16
By this means we build ourselves up, and the people themselves, where
they are ignorant, will soon perceive the propriety and the advantage
of taking this course; whereas if we pursue the old and opposite
course we shall be impoverished and stripped of our means, and, having
no branches of home manufacture, we shall continue to be a poor,
dependent, helpless people.

Orson Pratt, April 11, 1875

Gathering of Israel—the Work of the Father Commenced—
Three Nephite Apostles Never to Taste of Death—the Ten 
Tribes Come to Zion From the North Countries

Discourse By Elder Orson Pratt, Delivered in the New 
Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Sunday Morning, April 11, 1875.

Reported by David W. Evans

Vol. 18,  p.16
If the congregation will give their attention I will read a few
passages from the last chapter of Isaiah, commencing in the middle of
the 18th verse. [The speaker read from the 18th verse, commencing—"It
shall come," &c., unto the end of the 20th verse.]

Vol. 18,  p.16
There are some very great and important events predicted in these few
lines which I have read, concerning the gathering of all nations and
tongues, but more especially the gathering of the house of Israel, a
sign being promised—that when that period shall arrive, in the
purposes of God, a sign shall be given to the children of men, that
they may know when these great events are to take place. In this
passage we are not told what the sign shall be, we merely have it
promised; but we would naturally draw the conculsion that it will be
something of a peculiar character, something that can be distinguished
by the nations, kindred and tongues of the earth preparatory to the
great gathering that is promised in the Scriptures of truth, "I will
set a sign among them." And after setting this sign he will send
missionaries to Tubal, to Javan, [p.17] to the isles that are afar
off, to Tarshish, Pul and Lud, and to them that draw the bow." And it
is said concerning the missionaries who are thus sent forth, that
"they shall declare my glory among the Gentiles." Then, when the sign
is set, the missionaries are sent forth and the glory of God begins to
be declared among the Gentiles, the Lord will bring about the
gathering of his people Israel, bringing them upon horses, in
chariots, in litters, upon swift beasts and upon mules to his holy
mountain in Jerusalem; and he will gather all nations and tongues when
that dispensation shall come.

Vol. 18,  p.17
The Lord has set that sign; the Lord has sent forth the messengers
here spoken of to the various nations, as predicted, and already the
voice of these messengers is heard in the uttermost, parts of the
earth, declaring the word of the Lord among the Gentiles, preparing
them for the great event predicted by the mouth of Isaiah the Prophet.

Vol. 18,  p.17
Do this people desire to know what the sign predicted by the mouth of
Isaiah means? Do you wish to know the nature of that sign? Let me
refer you to the words of the everlasting God that have been uttered
from the heavens, declared in this record brought forth in the last
days, the Book of Mormon. Let us refer to a prediction uttered by the
mouth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, when he appeared personally
upon this great western continent, and taught the ancient nations of
America. He has told us by his own mouth what the sign should be for
the gathering of all the dispersed of his people, the house of Israel.
I will read the words of our Savior to the ancient inhabitants of this
western continent. "Verily, verily, I say unto you, all these
things"—the things which he had been speaking about to the
multitude—"shall surely come, as the voice of the Father hath
commanded me. Then shall this covenant which the Father hath
covenanted with his people be fulfilled; and then shall Jerusalem
begin to be inhabited with my people, and it shall be the land of
their inheritance. And verily I say unto you, I will give you a sign
that you may know the time when these things shall be about to take
place, that I shall gather in from their long dispersion, my people, O
house of Israel, and shall establish again among them my Zion. And
behold this is the thing which I will give unto you for a sign, for
verily I say unto you that when these things which I declare unto you,
and which I shall declare unto you hereafter, of myself, and by the
power of the Holy Ghost, which shall be given unto you of the Father,
shall be made known unto the Gentiles"—that is, when this book, called
the Book of Mormon, should be made known unto the Gentiles—"that they
may know concerning this, my people, who are a remnant of the house of
Jacob, and concerning this, my people, who shall be scattered by them
in the latter days. Verily I say unto you when these things shall be
made known unto them of the Father, and shall come forth of the Father
from them unto you."

Vol. 18,  p.17
Now, such is the sign. First, this work will be made known to the
Gentiles, and will come forth from the Gentiles unto the Indians. "For
it is wisdom in the Father that they should be established in this
land, and be set up as a free people by the power of the Father, that
these things might come forth from them unto a remnant of year seed,
that the covenant of the Father may be fulfilled which he has
covenanted with his people, O house of [p.18] Israel. Therefore when
these works, and the works which shall be wrought among you
hereafter"—that is, the works which were performed during the first
three or four centuries of the Christian era on the American
continent, recorded in their records called the Book of Mormon—"when
these works and the works which shall be wrought among you hereafter
shall come forth from the Gentiles unto your seed, which shall dwindle
in unbelief because of iniquity."

Vol. 18,  p.18
Now this dwindling in unbelief of the American Indians is very evident
even to the antiquarians of our country, all of whom will admit that
once a civilized nation dwelt on this continent. No learned man living
disputes this. Why do they suppose any such thing? The ruins of their
ancient cities, palaces and temples, proclaim in the ears of all
living that once there dwelt on this hemisphere a great and powerful
people, who were civilized and understood the art of constructing
beautiful and substantial buildings. But now, O! how degraded, fallen
and sunk into the very depths of darkness are the descendants of that
once great, powerful and exalted people! "They shall dwindle in
unbelief because of iniquity;" because they rejected the Gospel. In
the fourth century of the Christian era they apostatized from the
religion of their fathers; they were cursed by the Almighty, a skin of
darkness came upon them; they were cursed in all that they set their
hands to do, and the withering curse of the Almighty has been upon
them from generation to generation, until the present day. They were
to dwindle in unbelief because of iniquity.

Vol. 18,  p.18
"For thus it behooveth the Father that it should come forth from the
Gentiles, that he may show forth his power to the Gentiles, for this
cause, that the Gentiles, if they will not harden their hearts, that
they may repent, and come unto me, and be baptized in my name, and
know of the truth of my doctrine that they may be numbered among my
people, O house of Israel."

Vol. 18,  p.18
Such is the object of bringing this work forth to the Gentiles first.
That is why God prepared the way for a great and powerful nation, free
from all other nations under heaven, to be established here on this
continent. The great purpose which God had in view was to set up a
kingdom in the latter days in which there should be full and complete
religious liberty and freedom of conscience, that the kingdom might go
forth unto the ends of the earth; "and when these things shall come to
pass, that thy seed"—the American Indians—"shall begin to know these
things. It shall be a sign unto them, that they may know that the work
of the Father hath already commenced, unto the fulfilling of the
covenant which he hath made unto the people, who are of the house of
Israel."

Vol. 18,  p.18
Now then, here is a prediction in Isaiah, that before the Lord gathers
Israel he would set up a sign, showing not only to us but to all
people, nations and tongues in the four quarters of the earth that he
is about to gather together all the people of the house of Israel.
That sign is when these American Indians shall begin to know the
Gospel taught and practiced by their ancient fathers. "When that day
shall come it shall come to pass that kings shall shut their months,
for that which had not been told them shall they see, that which they
had not heard shall they consider; for in that day, for my sake, shall
the Father work a work which [p.19] shall be a great and marvelous
work among them; and there shall be among them which will not believe
it, although a man shall declare it unto them. But behold, the life of
my servant is in mine hand," &c.

Vol. 18,  p.19
We will now pass on to the next page. "And then shall the work of the
Father commence at that day, even when this Gospel shall be preached
unto the remnant of this people"—unto the Indians—"verily I say unto
you, at that day shall the work of the Father commence among all the
dispersed of any people, yea even the tribes which have been lost,
which the Father hath led away out of Jerusalem, yea the work shall
commence among all the dispersed of my people, with the Father to
prepare the way whereby they may come unto me; that they may call upon
the Father in my name, and then shall the work commence with the
Father among all nations in preparing the way whereby his people may
be gathered home to the land of their inheritance. And they shall not
go out in haste, nor go by flight, for I will go before them saith the
Father, and I will be their rearward."

Vol. 18,  p.19
Forty-five years have passed away since God brought forth this sign,
the Book of Mormon, and sent missionaries to the nations—to Tarshish,
Pal, Lud, Tubal, Jayan, and to the islands afar off, that have not
heard his tame neither have seen his glory and these missionaries have
declared his glory among the Gentiles. Forty-five years of
proclamation to the nations of the Gentiles! Forty-five years of
warning to all nations and tongues! Now after so long a period has
elapsed since God brought forth this wonderful sign, he has begun to
work among the remnants of the house of Israel the American Indians,
upon this continent, by his own power. What is it that has stirred
them up to believe in this work? Has it been your exertion? Not
altogether; yet, no doubt, you, in some small degree, as far as your
faith would permit, have helped on the work among these wild tribes.
You have sought to recover them, you have fed and clothed them to some
extent; you have told them occasionally about the records of their
fathers; you have tried to bring them to repentance; but, after years
of labor, you have said—"Alas! alas for them! What can be done to
reclaim a people so tar fallen into the depths of ignorance and
corruption?" Your hearts have been almost discouraged so far as your
own labors were concerned. But how soon and how marvelously, when the
time had come, has the Lord our God begun to operate upon them as
nations and as tribes, bringing them in from hundreds of miles distant
to inquire after the Elders of this Church. What for? What do they
want with the Elders? They want to be baptized. Who told them to come
and be baptized? They say that men came to them in their dreams, and
spoke to them in their own language, and told them that away yonder
was a people who had authority from God to baptize them; but that they
must repent of their sins, cease their evil habits and lay aside the
traditions of their fathers, for they were false; that they must cease
to roam over the face of the land, robbing and plundering, and learn
to live as the white people.

Vol. 18,  p.19
Who are these men who have been to the Indians and told them to repent
of their sins, and be baptized by the "Mormons?" They are men who
obtained the promise of the Lord, upwards of eighteen centuries ago,
that they should be [p.20] instruments in his hands of bringing about
the redemption of their descendants. The Lord God promised them the
privilege of working for and in behalf of their descendants in the
latter days; and they have begun the work. All this was foretold in
this record, the Book of Mormon.

Vol. 18,  p.20
Now I will read a little for the benefit of the Latter-day Saints, for
though they have this record lying upon their shelves, I fear there
are some who are careless about reading its contents, and perhaps do
not understand the signs of the times, and the fulfillment of the
purposes of God, which are here so clearly set forth. Jesus appeared
on this American Continent soon after his resurrection, three
different times that are recorded, and how many other times that are
not recorded, I do not know. But be showed himself to them and brake
bread with them. But the third time he came to the Twelve whom he had
chosen on this land,—as he was about to leave them he put a very
important question to them. He said unto his twelve disciples,
speaking unto them one by one—"What is it that you desire of me, after
that I am gone unto the Father?" And they all spake save it were
three—"We desire that, after we have lived unto the age of men, that
our ministry wherein thou hast called us may have an end, and that we
may speedily come to thee in thy kingdom." And he said unto
them—"Blessed are ye because ye have desired this thing of me;
therefore after that ye are seventy-two years old, ye shall come Unto
me in my kingdom, and with me ye shall find rest." And when he had
spoken these words unto the nine, he then turns to the three and said
unto them—"What will ye that I shall do unto you when I am gone to the
Father?" And they sorrowed in their hearts, for they dare not speak
unto him the thing which they desired. And he said unto them—"Behold I
know your thoughts, and you have desired the thing which John, my
beloved, who was with me in my ministry before I was lifted up by the
Jews, desired of me, therefore more blessed are ye, for ye shall never
taste of death." These three men had the promise that they should
never taste death; "but," said the Savior unto them—"ye shall live to
behold all the doings of the Father unto the children of men, even
until all things shall be fulfilled according to the will of the
Father, when I come in my glory with the powers of heaven. Ye shall
never endure the pains of death, but when I shall come in my glory ye
shall be changed in the twinkling of an eye from mortality to
immortality; then shall ye be blessed in the kingdom of my Father. And
again ye shall not have pain while ye shall dwell in the flesh,
neither sorrow, save it be for the sins of the world; and all this
will I do because of the thing which ye have desired of me; for ye
have desired that ye may bring the souls of men unto me while the
world shall stand; and for this cause ye shall have fulness of joy,
and ye shall sit down in the kingdom of my Father; yea your joy shall
be full, even as the Father hath given me fulness of joy; and ye shall
be even as I am, and I am even as the Father, and the Father and I are
one; and the Holy Ghost beareth record of the Father and me; and the
Father giveth the Holy Ghost unto the children of men because of me."

Vol. 18,  p.20
What a glorious promise was made to these three men! Did they receive
any change? Yes, they did; not to immortality however, but a change
sufficient was wrought in their [p.21] bodies that death should not
have power over them. But let us read a little further, it is very
interesting. "And it came to pass that when Jesus had spoken these
words, he touched every one of them with his finger save it were the
three who were to tarry;" that is, he touched the nine who were to
preach until they were seventy-two years old and who were then to be
taken home to God, "and then he departed, and behold the heavens were
opened and they (the three) were caught up into heaven, and saw and
heard unspeakable things. And it was forbidden them that they should
utter; neither was it given unto them power that they could utter the
things which they saw and heard; and whether they were in the body or
out of the body they could not tell, for it did seem unto them like a
transfiguration of things." That is the way that they received their
partial change. "But it came to pass that they did again minister upon
the face of the earth; nevertheless they did not minister of the
things which they had heard and seen, because of the commandment which
was given them in heaven."

Vol. 18,  p.21
Now these men lived in the first century of the Christian era on this
continent; and when that generation all passed away they also lived in
the second century of the Christian era, and ministered to the ancient
inhabitants on this land. And when the second century had all passed
off the stage of action they also lived in the third century; and in
the fourth century the Lord took these three men from the midst of the
remnant of Israel on this land. Where did he take them? I do not know,
it is not revealed. Why did he take them away? Because of the apostacy
of the people, because the people were unworthy of the ministration of
such great and holy men; because they sought to kill them; because
they cast them into dens of wild beasts twice; and these met of God
played with these wild beasts as a child would play with a suckling
lamb, and received no harm from them. They cast them three times into
a furnace of fire, and they came forth therefrom and received no hurt.
They dug deep pits in the earth and cast them therein, supposing that
they would perish; but by the power of the word of God that was in
them, they smote the earth in the name of the Lord, and were delivered
from these pits. And thus they went forth performing signs, wonders
and miracles among this remnant of Israel, until their wickedness
became so great that the Lord commanded them to depart out of their
midst. And ;he remnant of Israel, from that day to the present—between
fourteen and fifteen centuries—have been dwindling in unbelief, in
ignorance, and in all the darkness which now surrounds them; but
notwithstanding their darkness and misery, the three Nephites, for
many generations, have not administered to them, because of the
commandment of the Almighty to them.

Vol. 18,  p.21
But are they always to remain silent? Are there no more manifestations
to come from these three men? Are they never again to remember the
remnants of the House of Israel on this land? Let us read the promise.
"Behold I was about to write the names of those who were never to
taste of death, but the Lord forbade; therefore I write them not, for
they are hid from the world; but behold I have seen them." Mormon saw
them nearly four centuries after they were caught up into heaven, and
after they received their partial change. Mormon saw them and they
administered unto him. He says—"Behold I have seen them and they
[p.22] have ministered unto me; and behold they will be among the
Gentiles, and the Gentiles knoweth them not." They will, no doubt,
call them poor deluded Mormons, and say that they ought to be hooted
out of society, and that they ought to be persecuted, afflicted, and
hated by all people. "They will he among the Gentiles and the Gentiles
knoweth them not. They will also be among the Jews, and the Jews shall
know them not. And it shall come to pass when the Lord seeth fit, in
his wisdom, that they shall minister unto all the scattered tribes of
Israel, and unto all nations, kindreds, tongues and people, and shall
bring out of them unto Jesus many souls, that their desire may be
fulfilled; and also because of the convincing power of God which is in
them; and they are as the angels of God. And if they shall pray unto
the Father in the name of Jesus, they can show themselves unto
whatsoever man it seemeth them good; therefore great and marvelous
works shall be wrought by them before the great and coming day when
all people must surely stand before the judgment seat of Christ. Yea
even among the Gentiles shall there be a great and a marvelous work
wrought by them, before that judgment day."

Vol. 18,  p.22
Now, having read these things, let us come back again to this
spiritual movement that we hear of among the remnants of Jacob, in
these western deserts, in the northwest hundreds of of miles, in the
west and in the southwest. It is not confined to hundreds, but
thousands testify that men have appeared individually in dreams,
speaking their own language and, as Brother Hyde said last Tuesday,
these men tell their descendants what their duties are, what they
should do, and how they should hunt up this people, repent of their
sins, be baptized, etc. And the parties who have been thus instructed
time and time again, have fulfilled the commandments that they
received, and some of them have come hundreds of miles to be baptized,
and they are now desirous of laying aside their savage disposition,
their roaming habits, and they want to learn to cultivate the earth,
to lay down their weapons of war, cease stealing and to become a
peaceable good people.

Vol. 18,  p.22
The work thus commenced will not stop here. The Book of Mormon
says—"When thy seed shall begin to know these things, it shall be a
sign unto them, that they may know that the work of the Father hath
already commenced unto the fulfilling of his covenant which he hath
made with his people who are of the House of Israel." This remnant,
the American Indians, do not comprise all Israel, they are but a small
remnant of one single tribe, namely the descendants of that Joseph who
was carried into Egypt. Away in yonder north countries, where I do not
know, but away in those regions are ten tribes of the house of Israel.
How do you know they are in the north country? Because this Bible has
told us that in the latter days they should come out of the north
country, and if they were not in the north country they could not come
from there. Jeremiah says in his thirty-first chapter—"Behold I will
bring them from the north, the blind and the lame with them, and the
woman with child; they shall come, a great company out of the north
countries." Where will they go to? Will they go immediately to
Palestine, where they formerly had their inheritance? No. Jeremiah
tells us where they will go; he tells us there is to be a place called
Zion before these tribes come out of the north countries, and when
they [p.23] come with a great company, the blind and the lame with
them, and the Lord God leads them with supplication and with tears and
with prayers, bringing them forth from those dreary, desolate, cold
arctic regions: when that day shall come there shall be a Zion
prepared to receive these ten tribes, before they finally go back to
Palestine. Is there anything in the Scriptures about this? Yes. In the
same chapter of Jeremiah we read that "they shall come and sing in the
height of Zion." Zion, then, will have to be built up before they
come; Zion will have to be reared somewhere and prepared to receive
them; and it will be a holy place, and it will be a holy people who
will build up Zion, so much so that the Lord will bring these ten
tribes in to the height of Zion, into the midst of it.

Vol. 18,  p.23
What will then take place? They shall flow together to the goodness of
the Lord, for the wheat, the wine, the oil, for the young of the
flock; their souls shall be as a watered garden, and they shall not
sorrow any more at all. Why? Because they have got among a good
people, where there is no need to sorrow; they have come up into a
land that is choice above all other lands, a land that brings forth
wheat, and grapes for the producing of wine, where flocks, herds, &c.,
are multiplied, and their souls will be like a watered garden, and all
the sorrows they have experienced for twenty-five hundred years, in
the cold regions of the north, will be done away; and they will not
sorrow any more at all.

Vol. 18,  p.23
This same thing is predicted in the sixteenth chapter, as well as in
the thirty-first of Jeremiah. The Lord says in the sixteenth
chapter—"Behold the days shall come when it shall no more be said the
Lord liveth that brought up the children of Israel out of the land of
Egypt;" but instead of that saying, there will be another more
glorious saying, namely, that "the Lord liveth who brought up the
children of Israel from the north country, and from all other
countries whither he has driven them." But will that do away the
former saying—"The Lord liveth who brought up Israel out of the land
of Egypt?" Yes. Some may suppose that as the Jews retain that saying
to this day it never would be done away. The Jews, wherever they may
be scattered, whether in Christian lands, or among the heathens where
they are anxious to convert them to idolatry, say, "We worship that
God who brought up our fathers out of the land of Egypt, and wrought
signs, wonders and mighty deeds in bringing them forth, leading them
through the waters of the mighty deep into the Promised Land,
Palestine." But notwithstanding they have retained this saying, it
will be one day done away, superseded by the manifestations of God's
power in bringing Israel from the north country and all other
countries whither they have been scattered, and gathering them to
their own land. The Israel of the latter day has got to cross the sea
dry shod, just as ancient Israel did. It is thus predicted in the
eleventh chapter of Isaiah. After saying that the Lord would lift up
an ensign for the nations, he declares, "I will gather the outcasts of
Israel and the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth,
and I will cause them to pass through the river in its seven streams,
and I will smite the tongue of the Egyptian sea, and an highway shall
be cast up unto Israel that was left from Assyria, like as it was to
Israel when they came out of the land of Egypt." They shall go over
dry shod. They will not have to [p.24] refer back three or four
thousand years to the miracles wrought anciently by the God they
worship, but they will tell of things wrought in their own day, which
have taken place while they themselves live. "The Lord liveth that
brought up Israel out of the north country; the Lord liveth who, in
our day, smote the tongue of the Egyptian sea, and also the river Nile
in its seven mouths; the Lord liveth who, in our day, cast up a
highway in the midst of the great deep, for his chosen to come over."

Vol. 18,  p.24
Now I will quote a parallel prophecy, delivered to Joseph Smith, one
of the greatest Prophets who has lived on the earth in any generation,
save it be our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Some forty-three years
ago, in speaking of the lost ten tribes of Israel, the Lord says—"They
who are in the north countries shall come in remembrance before the
Lord, and their Prophets shall hear his voice, and shall no longer
stay themselves; and they shall smite the rocks, and the ice shall
flow down at their presence. And an highway shall be east up in the
midst of the great deep. Their enemies shall become a prey unto them,
and in the barren deserts there shall come forth pools of living
water; and the parched ground shall no longer be a thirsty land. And
they shall bring forth their rich treasures unto the children of
Ephraim my servants. And the boundaries of the everlasting hills shall
tremble at their presence." To show that they come with power, they
come on a highway cast up for them; the ice feels the power of God and
flows down, making room for them; and the barren deserts of the north,
wherever they may go and need water, will yield forth pools of living
water to quench their thirst. As they come to sing in the height of
Zion, the everlasting hills, this great Rocky Mountain range,
extending from the arctic regions south to the central portions of
America, will tremble beneath the power of God at the approach of that
people. Then will be fulfilled the saying of David, that the mountains
shall skip like rams, and the little hills like lambs, before his
people. The very trees of the field will clap like hands, as the
Psalmist David has said. Then will he fulfilled the passage that was
quoted yesterday by brother Woodruff—"Sing O heavens, be joyful O
earth, and break forth into singing O mountains, for the Lord hath
redeemed his people," &c. And when they get to Zion they will begin to
say—"The place is too strait for me, give place to me that I may
dwell;" then the saying will go forth—"Behold I was a captive. Zion
was a captive, moving to and fro, tossed to and fro, and not
comforted. Behold I was left alone." But where have this great company
been, where has this mighty host come from? They have come from their
hiding place in the north country; they have been led thence by the
Prophets of the Most High God, the Lord going before their camp,
talking with them out of the cloud, as he talked in ancient days with
the camp of Israel, uttering his voice before his army, for his camp
will be very great. So says the Prophet Joel, trod his prophecy will
be fulfilled. When they return to Zion to sing in the height thereof,
"They will fall down there and be crowned with glory by the hands of
the servants of the Lord, even the children of Ephraim."

Vol. 18,  p.24
Now what does this mean? A people that have had such mighty power, a
people before whose camp the Lord of hosts has been seen, and his
glory by day and by night; a [p.25] people before whom the mountains
and the hills tremble and flee; shall a people of that description
fall down and be crowned by another people? Who are this other people,
that is, these highly favored children of Ephraim? What particular
blessing has the Lord for Ephraim? He holds the birth-right. "Ephraim
is my first-born," saith the Lord in the 31st chapter of Jeremiah. The
first-born in the great latter-day work, holding the keys of blessings
for all the twelve tribes of Israel. God has an order in his kingdom.
Certain blessings can be received in one way; other blessings are
ordained to be received. in another form, by certain authorities that
are appointed, and who hold the keys pertaining to these blessings.
God did not take away the birth-right of Reuben, the first-born of
Israel, and tranfer it to the heads of the sons of Joseph for a
purpose that was of no particular account; but he transferred the
birthright from Reuben to Joseph that they might hold it as the
first-born among all the tribes of Israel, to bless them in the latter
days.

Vol. 18,  p.25
How long will they who come from the north countries tarry in the
heights of Zion? Sometime. They have got to raise wheat, cultivate the
grape, wine and oil, raise flocks and herds, and their souls will have
to become as a watered garden. They will dwell in Zion a good while,
and during that time, there will be twelve thousand chosen out of each
of these ten tribes, besides twelve thousand that will be chosen from
Judah, Joseph, and the remaining tribes, one hundred and forty-four
thousand in all. Chosen for what? To be sealed in their foreheads. For
what purpose? So that the power of death and pestilence and plague
that will go forth in those days sweeping over the nations of the
earth will have no power over them. These parties who are sealed in
their foreheads will go forth among all people, nations and tongues,
and gather up and hunt out the house of Israel, wherever they are
scattered, and bring as many as they possibly can into the. Church of
the first-born, preparatory to the great day of the coming of the
Lord. One hundred and forty-four thousand missionaries! Quite a host.
All this has got to take place. There are persons in this congregation
who will be in the midst of Zion, when the ten tribes come to Zion
from the north countries, and will assist in bestowing the blessings
promised by the Almighty upon the heads of the tribes of Israel. There
are servants of God in the midst of this congregation who will lay
their hands upon many of each of these twelve thousand, chosen out of
the ten tribes, and set them apart as missionaries to visit the
nations of the earth and hunt up the remnants of the seed of Jacob.

Vol. 18,  p.25
Having spoken concerning the gathering of the ten tribes, I will refer
again to their Prophets. "Their Prophets shall hear his voice." Do not
think that we are the only people who will have Prophets. God is
determined to raise up Prophets among that people, but he will not
bestow upon them all the fulness of the blessings of the Priesthood.
The fulness will be reserved to be given to them after they come to
Zion. But Prophets will be among them while in the north, and a
portion of the Priesthood will be there; and John the Revelator will
be there, teaching, instructing and preparing them for this great
work; forte him were given the keys for the gathering of Israel, at
the time when he ate that little book while on the Isle of Patmos. At
that time, John was a very old man; but the Lord told him [p.26] that
he must yet prophesy before many kingdoms, and nations, and peoples,
and tongues, and he has got that mission to perform, and in the last
days the spirit and power of Elias will attend his administrations
among these ten tribes, and he will assist in preparing them to return
to this land. Whether missionaries will be sent from Zion to hunt up
these dispersed tribes in the north I do not know; but one thing I do
know, from that which is reported by those who have tried to find a
passage to the pole, that there is a warmer country off there, and
that birds of passage go north to find a warmer climate. That I know
from the writings of intelligent men who have been on voyages of
discovery. And I know, furthermore, that they have crossed by means of
dogs and sledges a certain portion of this great band of ice and have
come to an open sea, which proves that there is a warmer country
further north. There is a tract of country around the pole, some seven
or eight hundred miles in diameter, that no man among the nations.
that we are acquainted with, has ever explored. But how much of that
land may be fit for habitation I am not prepared to say, for I do not
know. I know it would be a very easy matter for the Lord God, by the
aid of great mountain ranges encircling them around about, to produce
a band of ice which would prevent other nations and people very easily
reaching them. I also know that it would be a very easy matter for the
Lord God to cause deep and extensive valleys, very deep in comparison
with high ranges of mountains around them, where the temperature would
be comparatively mild, the same as in these mountains here. We see all
the rigors of an arctic winter on our eastern ranges of mountains,
while at the same time here are deep valleys in which there is a
comparatively warm climate, which makes me think of that which was
spoken by the mouth of Isaiah the Prophet in referring to the
latter-day work. He says that "when it shall hail, Coming down upon
the forests, the city shall be low in a low place," where the climate
is warm.

Vol. 18,  p.26
Let me say a few more words in regard to certain things that have
already taken place, predicted in the Book of Mormon by our Lord and
Savior Jesus Christ, when he appeared on this western hemisphere and
taught this remnant of Israel. He told them of certain events which
should transpire before the remnants of Joseph should be converted. He
says—"Verily, verily, I say unto you that I have other sheep which are
not of this land"—meaning America—"neither of the land of Jerusalem,
neither in any parts of that land round about whither I have been to
minister. But they of whom I speak have not as yet heard my voice,
neither have I at any time manifested myself unto them; but I have
received a commandment of the Father that I shall go unto them and
they shall be numbered among my sheep, and there shall be one fold and
one shepherd, therefore I go to show myself unto them." After leaving
this continent, he went to the lost tribes and placed one measure of
leaven in the meal that was in that country, having already planted a
little leaven among the Jews at Jerusalem, and another little portion
of leaven here in America, after which he goes to the lost tribes, and
plants leaven in the third mess of meal, and left it to work. He
says—"I command you that you shall write these sayings after I am
gone, that if it so be that my people at Jerusalem, they who have seen
me, and been with me in my ministry, do not ask the Father [p.27] in
my name, that they may receive a knowledge of you by the Holy Ghost,
and also of the other tribes which they know not of, these sayings
which ye shall write shall be kept and shall be manifested unto the
Gentiles, that, through the fulness of the Gentiles, the remnant of
their seed who shall be scattered upon the face of the earth because
of their unbelief, may be brought in, or may be brought to a knowledge
of me, their Redeemer. And then will I gather them in from the four
quarters of the earth, and I will fulfill the covenant which the
Father hath made unto all the people of the house of Israel."

Vol. 18,  p.27
Now I want you to take particular notice of the following paragraph,
or a portion of it, which I will read. "But woe, saith the Father,
unto the unbelieving of the Gentiles"—having reference more
particularly to the Gentiles of this great nation—"for notwithstanding
they have come forth upon the face of this land, and have scattered my
people who are of the house of Israel, and my people who are of the
house of Israel have been cast out from among them, and have been
trodden under foot by them, and because of the mercies of the Father
unto the Gentiles, and the judgments of the Father upon my people who
are of the house of Israel, verily, verily, I say unto you, that after
all this, and I have caused my people who are of the house of Israel
to be smitten, and to be afflicted, and to be slain, and to be cast
out from among them"—just as our forefathers have done for two or
three generations past in smiting, destroying, casting out and driving
the poor American Indians—"thus commanded the Father that I should say
unto you at that day, when the Gentiles shall sin against my
Gospel,"—meaning sinning against this fullness of the Gospel, that is
the Book of Mormon, when it shall be sent forth in the latter
days)—"when the Gentiles shall sin against my Gospel, and shall be
lifted up in pride above all nations, and above all the people of the
whole earth, and shall be filled with all manner of lyings and deceit,
and of mischiefs, and all manner of hypocrisy, and murders, and
priestcrafts, and whoredoms, and of secret abominations, and if they
shall do all these things, and shall reject the fulness of my Gospel,
behold, saith the Father, I will bring the fulness of my Gospel from
among them."

Vol. 18,  p.27
This prophecy has been fulfilled. It was delivered and in print before
there was any Latter-day Saint Church in existence. Now how did Joseph
Smith, a farmer's boy, know naturally anything about the Lord's taking
this work—the Book of Mormon—and this people who believe in the
fullness of the Gospel and the bringing of them out from this Gentile
nation to these solitary regions? How did he know this so far back as
the year 1830? How did he know this before the Church was organized
with six members? Yet it has all come to pass. How unlikely it was for
such a thing to come to pass, if there was no God in it! If the
Gentiles should reject this Gospel which the Lord has brought forth by
his power; "and shall be lifted up in the pride of their hearts above
all nations, peoples, kindreds and tongues, and shall be filled with
all manner of lyings, deceits, mischiefs, hypocrisy, murders and
whoredoms, and shall reject the fulness of my Gospel, Behold, saith
the Father, I will bring the fulness of my Gospel from among them."

Vol. 18,  p.27
For twenty-seven years the Lord has been fulfilling this directly
before the eyes of all this nation. Little did they think when they
came upon [p.28] us in Nauvoo, and drove us out from our homes and
firesides and told us to flee away beyond this great chain of rocky
mountains, that they were fulfilling this great prophecy uttered
before this people had an existence. "I will bring the fulness of my
Gospel from among them;" and mark the next sentence—"and then I will
remember my covenant." When? When he gets the people out from the
midst of this nation. "Then I will remember my covenant which I made
unto my people, O house of Israel, and I will bring my Gospel unto
them." Has it been fulfilled? Yes. It is over a quarter of a century
since the Lord brought us out, and laid a foundation for us to live
here; and we have been enabled by his power to erect towns villages
and cities, to open up farms, add begin to live, and we have got a
broad foundation laid; and now, the next thing is—"I will bring the
fulness of my Gospel unto thee, O house of Israel;" that is, unto the
Indians; in other words—they shall come unto a knowledge of the
fulness of my Gospel. "Yet if the Gentiles will repent and return unto
me, saith the Father, behold they shall be numbered among my people,
the house of Israel."

Vol. 18,  p.28
That is the only hope that we Gentiles have. No hope for us whatever,
no hope for this great and powerful nation, only by being numbered
with these poor, degraded, despised, outcast, dark, and benighted
Indians. Are you willing to be numbered with them? In what respect?
Not to come down to their customs and habits, their uncleanness,
filth, wickedness, darkness and ignorance; but be numbered with them
in the inheritance of this great continent, which was given to them by
promise, the same as Palestine was given to Abraham and Isaac. God
gave it by the mouth of Jacob, who pronounced it upon the head of his
son Joseph, it was promised that he should have a separate land from
that given to Abraham and Isaac. Read it in the 49th chapter of
Genesis. The Lord gave North and South America to these Indians,
nearly six hundred years before Christ. And he promised that the
Gentiles, in the latter days, who should come upon the face of this
land, if they would repent when this Gospel should come forth unto
them, they should have the privilege of receiving their inheritance in
common with this remnant of Israel—these Indians. But if they did not
repent there is another decree. And what is that? "They shall be
utterly cat off from among my people." Thus it is predicted and you
have read it for forty-five years. In another place the Lord says—" If
they will not repent, behold I will cut off the cities of their land,
I will throw down all their strongholds, and I will cut off their
horses out of the midst of them, and I will execute vengeance and fury
upon them such as they have not heard of. In another place, which I
have not time to turn to and read, it says—"And it shall come to pass
that every soul that will not repent of their sins and come unto my
beloved son, will I cut off from among my people, O, house of Israel,
and it shall be done unto them even as Moses has said, they shall be
cut off from among my people."

Vol. 18,  p.28
Now Moses has told us of that time, and it is repeated again in the
3rd chapter of the Acts of the Apostles, that the Lord would raise up
a Prophet, and it should come to pass that every soul that would not
hear that Prophet should be cut off from among the people. We are told
that that Prophet was Jesus, and we believe it. Jesus Christ was that
Prophet, [p.29] and the day is to come, as sure as the Lord lives in
yonder heavens, when every soul that will not repent, and receive his
work, will be literally cut off from among the people, just as Moses
has predicted. And it shall come to pass that "kings shall shut their
mouths, for that which had not been told them shall they see, and that
which they have not heard shall they beheld," a marvelous work and a
wonder, a work that the Lord would perform in the latter-days. A
strange work, a strange act, so-called by Isaiah the Prophet.

Vol. 18,  p.29
O that I had time to go into the numerous prophecies in the Book of
Mormon, and point out the desolations that are to come upon this
nation and this generation, if they do not repent! But every jot and
every tittle that has not been fulfilled since the coming forth of the
Book of Mormon, will be fulfilled to the very letter. Zion will arise,
clothed with the glory of her God; the Lord will be her defence; he
will be her shield and her buckler; and the power of his own right
hand will protect his people. And it shall come to pass that every
nation, and every kindred and tongue and people that will fight
against the people of God, and against his Zion, will perish out of
the earth, and all nations that "fight against Mount Zion shall become
as the dream of a night vision. Like a hungry man who dreams and
thinks that he eats, but he wakes and his soul has appetite;" so, in
the latter-days, it shall be with not only one nation but all the
nations that fight against Mount Zion. God has stretched forth his
hand to exert, the powers of the heavens, and he will fulfill and
accomplish his work; and there is no power beneath the heavens that
can stay his almighty hand.—Amen.

Wilford Woodruff, June 27, 1875

Little Children Are Innocent, and All Will Be Saved—God, 
a Personage of Tabernacle—the Life of the Savior, a 
Life of Suffering—Second Coming of Christ

Discourse By Elder Wilford Woodruff, Delivered June 27, 1875, 
in the Second Ward School-House, Salt Lake City, at the Funeral
Services 
of John Houseman, Aged Six Years, and Willie Franklin, Aged Four 
Years, Sons of William and Ann Wheeler, Burned to Death at 
Warship, Summit County, U. T., June 24, 1875.

(Reported by David W. Evans)

Vol. 18,  p.29
I am entirely dependent this morning upon the Spirit of the Lord to
guide and direct me in what I may say upon this painful occasion.
Those who have assembled here—Brother and Sister Wheeler, and their
[p.30] friends who mourn with them, are dependent upon the same source
for comfort in their serious bereavement; and in fact we are all
dependent upon the blessing and Spirit of the Lord in all the labors
of life, and I hope that, in our services this morning, a large
measure of that Spirit will be imparted unto us.

Vol. 18,  p.30
I feel disposed to read the first chapter of Job as a preliminary to
any remarks I may make. [The speaker read the first chapter of the
Book of Job.] We also see in reading the history of Job that the devil
did not finish with him there, as it seems the devil had another
conversation with the Lord on this subject, in which he informed the
Lord that a man would give anything for his life and that if he, the
devil, touched Job's flesh, he would certainly curse God. And it seems
from reading this history that the Lord put Job into the hands of the
devil, to do as he pleased with him, only to spare his life. Of course
the history is familiar to you all who have read the Bible, and you
are aware that the devil smote Job, and he was covered with boils from
the crown of his head to the soles of his feet, so that he was in
great distress, trouble and tribulation, yet in the midst of it all he
did not sin, but acknowledged the hand of the Lord.

Vol. 18,  p.30
I may say with regard to the case which has brought us together this
morning, it is a little similar to that of Job. We meet with some
strange things in the history of our lives in the dispensations and
dealings of God with men. In the case before us we are called to mourn
the loss of two children taken from Brother and Sister Wheeler, we may
say as suddenly and, in one sense of the word, as miraculously, as
were the sons and daughters of Job. His affliction consisted not only
in the loss of two children, but of all his children and also of all
the possessions that he had, yet still, under all this he said—"Naked
came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither; the
Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the
Lord."

Vol. 18,  p.30
I know very well it is hard for any person to be called to pass
through the scenes that we sometimes are called to pass through in
this life, it is so in the case before us this morning. The loss of
these little children, taken away as they were, is certainly painful,
not only to the parents, but to every person who reflects; and it is a
very hard matter for any of us to enter into and appreciate the depth
of sorrow which parents feel on occasions like this, it is difficult
to bring the matter home to our own hearts unless we have been called
to pass through similar affliction and sorrow. At the same time there
is no doubt that we all sympathize with our friends when called to
pass through trials and bereavement. And I will here say to Brother
and Sister Wheeler, and to all my friends, there are a great many
worse things in this world than the case we are now called to mourn.

Vol. 18,  p.30
Our children are taken away from us in infancy and childhood, and they
are taken away as Job's were, in one sense of the word, through the
dispensations of Providence, causing us severe trials. This we will
acknowledge; but, as I have already said, there are many things in
this world that are far more painful and afflicting than to have our
children burned to death. My friends may ask—"What is Brother Woodruff
driving at in this remark?" I will tell you. I have lived in these
valleys twenty-seven years, since the pioneers came here. I have seen
a whole generation of men and women grow up in [p.31] these valleys of
the mountains, and they have become parents. I have seen some, I will
not say a great many, but I have seen some young men, I say nothing
about maidens, who have met with untimely deaths and who have gone to
the grave disgraced, and a dishonor to themselves and to their
parents. Circumstances of this kind are far more painful to any parent
in the world than it is for their children to meet with sudden death
by accident or any other way. I do not make these remarks to apply to
Brother and Sister Wheeler, for none of us know what course our
children will take. We set good examples before them, and we strive to
teach them righteous principles, but when they come to years of
accountability they have their agency and they act for themselves.

Vol. 18,  p.31
Many things are transpiring in the earth to-day which we should regard
as great calamities and as grievous to be borne if we had to pass
through them. Think of these late earthquakes in South America, eight
thousand people out of ten thousand in one city sunk in the earth in a
few moments. And then, the tremendous floods that are sweeping over
France and other parts of the earth, causing the death of hundreds and
thousands of men, women and children. All these things are in
fulfillment of the revelations of God, and of the judgments which he
has promised should come upon the earth in the last days. One of the
purposes which the Lord has in view in gathering his Saints to the
valleys of the mountains is that they may not share in the sins or
partake of the plagues of Babylon; therefore we have reason to rejoice
before the Lord because of his mercies and blessings unto us. And with
regard to a case like this before us this morning—the loss of those
children—I want to say a few words for the consolation of those who
are sorrowing. In the first place these children are innocent before
the Lord; as to their death and the cause thereof, that is in the
hands of God, and we should not complain of the Lord or his
dispensations any more than Job did. These children have been taken
away very suddenly, and in such a manner as to cause great sorrow and
distress to their parents, but there is this consolation connected
with the matter—they are innocent, they are not in transgression. They
have paid the law of death which God passed on Adam and all his
posterity; but when their spirits left their bodies and got into the
spirit world their trouble and affliction were over. Their death was a
very painful one, but their suffering is now over, and in a few years
from now they will come forth out of their graves in the morning of
the resurrection, not marred by fire or any element, but clothed with
glory, immortality and eternal life, in eternal beauty and bloom, and
they will be given into the hands of their parents, and they will
receive them in the family organization of the celestial world, and
their parents will have them for ever. They will live as long as their
God lives. This, to Latter-day Saints, who believe in the
resurrection, should be a source of comfort and consolation.

Vol. 18,  p.31
Why our children are taken from us it is not for me to say, for God
never revealed it unto me. We are all burying them. I have buried
one-third of the children that have been given unto me. I have had
some thirty children born to me, and ten of them are buried, all of
them young. The question may arise with me and with you—"Why has the
Lord taken away my children?" But that is not for me to tell, because
I do not know; it is in the hands of the [p.32] Lord, and it has been
so from the creation of the world all the way down. Children are taken
away in their infancy, and they go to the spirit world. They come here
and fulfill the object of their coming, that is, they tabernacle in
the flesh. They come to receive a probation and an inheritance on the
earth; they obtain a body or tabernacle, and that tabernacle will be
preserved for them, and in the morning of the resurrection the spirits
and bodies will be reunited, and as here we find children of various
ages in a family, from the infant at the mother's breast to manhood,
so will it be in the family organization in the celestial world. Our
children will be restored to us as they are laid down if we, their
parents, keep the faith and prove ourselves worthy to obtain eternal
life; and if we do not so prove ourselves our children will still be
preserved, and will inherit celestial glory. This is my view in regard
to all infants who die, whether they are born to Jew or Gentile,
righteous or wicked. They come from their eternal Father and their
eternal Mother unto whom they were born in the eternal world, and they
will be restored to their eternal parentage; and all parents who have
received children here according to the order of God and the holy
priesthood, no matter in what age they may have lived, will claim
those children in the morning of the resurrection, and they will be
gives unto them and they will grace their family organizations in the
celestial world.

Vol. 18,  p.32
With regard to the future state of those who die in infancy I do not
feel authorized to say much. There has been a great deal of theory,
and many views have been expressed on this subject, but there are many
things connected with it which the Lord has probably never revealed to
any of the Prophets or patriarchs who ever appeared on the earth.
There are some things which have not been revealed to man, but are
held in the bosom of God our Father, and it may be that the condition
after death of those who die in infancy is among the things which God
has never revealed; but it is sufficient for me to know that our
children are saved, and that if we ourselves keep the faith and do our
duty before the Lord, if we keep the celestial law, we shall be
preserved by that law, and our children will be given unto us there,
as they have been given here in this world of sorrow, affliction, pain
and distress. It has no doubt been a marvel many times, in the minds
of men and women, why God ever placed men and women in such a world as
this, why he causes his children to pass through sorrow and affliction
here in the body. The Lord has revealed something to us concerning
this matter, and we have learned enough about it to know that this
thing is necessary. We know that we are created in the image of God,
both male and female; and whoever goes back into the presence of God
our eternal Father, will find that he is a noble man, a noble God,
tabernacled in a form similar to ours, for we are created after his
own image; they will also learn that he has placed us here that we may
pass through a state of probation and experience, the same as he
himself did in his day of mortality. And time and again it has been
revealed in the revelations of God given in our day, as well as in the
Bible and Book of Mormon, that these things are necessary in order to
enable us to comprehend good and evil, and to be prepared for glory
and blessings when we receive them. As the Apostle argues very
strongly in the Book of Mormon—"If we never taste the bitter how will
we know [p.33] how to comprehend the sweet? If we never partake of
pain how can we prize ease? And if we never pass through affliction,
how can we comprehend glory, exaltation and eternal blessings?"

Vol. 18,  p.33
The Lord has said concerning Jesus, that he descended below all things
that he might rise above all things, and comprehend all things. No man
descended lower than the Savior of the world. Born in a stable,
cradled in a manger, he traveled from there to the cross through
suffering, mingled with blood, to a throne of grace; and in all his
life there was nothing of an earthly nature that seemed to be worth
possessing. His whole life was passed in poverty, suffering, pain,
affliction, labor, prayer, mourning and sorrow, until he gave up the
ghost on the cross. Still he was God's firstborn son and the Redeemer
of the world. The question might be asked why the Lord suffered his
Son to come here and to live and die as he did. When we get into the
spirit world, and the vail is withdrawn, we shall then perhaps
understand the whys and wherefores of all these things. In the
dispensations and providences of God to man it seems that we are born
to suffer pain, affliction, sorrows and trials; this is what God has
decreed that the human family shall pass through; and if we make a
right use of this probation, the experience it brings will eventually
prove a great blessing to us, and when we receive immortality and
eternal life, exaltation, kingdoms, thrones, principalities and powers
with all the blessings of the fulness of the Gospel of Christ, we
shall understand and comprehend why we were called to pass through a
continual warfare during the few years we spent in the flesh.

Vol. 18,  p.33
It certainly does require a good deal of the Spirit of the Lord to
give comfort and consolation to a father and mother mourning for the
loss of their children; and without the Gospel of Christ the
separation by death is one of the most gloomy subjects it is possible
to contemplate; but just as soon as we obtain the Gospel and learn the
principle of the resurrection, the gloom, sorrow and suffering
occasioned by death are, in a great measure, taken away. I have often
thought that, to see a dead body, and to see that body laid in the
grave and covered with earth, is one of the most gloomy things on
earth; without the Gospel it is like taking a leap in the dark. But as
quick as we obtain the Gospel, as Soon as the spirit of man is
enlightened by the inspiration of the Almighty, he can exclaim with
one of old—"Oh grave, where is thy victory, Oh death, where is thy
sting? The sting of death is sin, and the gift of God is eternal life,
through our Lord Jesus Christ." The resurrection of the dead presents
itself before the enlightened mind of man, and he has a foundation for
his spirit to rest upon. That is the position of the Latter-day Saints
today. We do know for ourselves, we are not in the dark with regard to
this matter; God has revealed it to us, and we do understand the
principle of the resurrection of the dead, and that the Gospel brings
life and immortality to light. We have received the Gospel, and if we
are true to the principles of that Gospel as long as we live, we shall
be made partakers of immortality, exaltation and glory.

Vol. 18,  p.33
I know very well that the loss of their children in this terrible
manner is a sad affliction to brother andsister Wheeler. It was a sad
affliction for Job when his children and [p.34] possessions were taken
from him in an hour, but yet he had sense or knowledge enough to
understand and say that when he came into the world he possessed
neither children, houses, lands, horses, oxen, camels nor asses, lint
that all his wealth had been given to him by the Lord, and that the
Lord had taken them away and blessed be his holy name. I will say to
our mourning friends, your children are taken away and you can not
help it, we cannot any of us help it; there is no censure to be given
to parents when they do the best they can. A mother should not be
censured because she can not save her sick child, and we have to leave
these things in the hands of God. It will be but a little time until
they will be restored to us; in a little time brother and sister
Wheeler will again have the children whose loss they now mourn.

Vol. 18,  p.34
With regard to the growth, glory, or exaltation of children in the
life to come, God has not revealed anything on that subject to me,
either about your children, mine or anybody else's, any further than
we know they are saved. And I feel that we have to put our trust in
the Lord in these afflictions, we have to lean upon his arm and to
look to him for comfort and consolation. We do not mourn under these
afflictions as those who have no hope; we do not mourn the loss of our
children as though we were never going to see them again, because we
know better. The Lord has taught us better, and so has the Gospel; the
revelations of Jesus Christ have shown us that they will be restored
to us in the resurrection of the just. And I will here say with regard
to the Gospel of Christ, that it is one of the greatest mysteries
under the heavens to me why there are so few of the human family,
whether in the Christian, Pagan or Jewish world, who take any interest
in eternal things, in the state of man after death. If we read the
Bible we learn that Noah, filled with revelation, and with the Gospel
in his hand, although he labored a hundred and twenty years, could not
gets solitary soul except his own family to go with him for salvation.
It was similar in the days of the Patriarchs and Prophets, and if we
come down to the days of Christ, we find that his testimony was
rejected by the rabbis, high priests and the great mass of the people,
and he chose for his Apostles twelve poor fishermen, and they and very
few of the people, comparatively speaking, were all that received the
teachings of Jesus and followed him through the regeneration; while
the whole Jewish nation, with these few exceptions, were ready to put
their Shiloh to death, and he was the person upon whom the salvation
of the whole house of Israel depended. It is just so to-day. The great
majority of the people reject the words of life and salvation which
are proclaimed unto them. God, in these last days revealed the Gospel
of Jesus Christ to Joseph Smith by the teachings of angels out of
heaven, and its principles are made known to the world, and there has
never been a congregation of Gentiles, from that day to this, to whom
the Elders of Israel have borne record of these things, but what the
Spirit of God has also borne record of the truth of their testimony;
and herein lies the condemnation of this generation, for "light has
come into the world, but men love darkness rather than light, because
their deeds are evil." I ask, in the name of God and humanity, why is
it that intelligent beings, [p.35] made in the image of God, take no
interest in their condition after death? They know they are going to
die, and, if they have any sense or reflection, they know they will
live after the death of their mortal bodies; still men will sell their
eternal interest for money, for a few hundred or a few thousand
dollars they will sell all the interest they have in the eternal
world; in fact, they take no interest in their eternal welfare. Their
cry is—"Give me gold, silver and honors the few years I spend here,
and eternal life may go where it pleases, I have no interest in that."
I ask again, why is it that the human family take no interest in these
things? We have preached over forty years. I have been engaged in that
work over that time, and have proclaimed the words of eternal life to
millions of people, and have traveled more than a hundred thousand
miles in so doing, and, as the Prophet has said, I have found one of a
family and two of a city who have had eyes to see, ears to hear, and
hearts to understand, and they have been gathered up from the various
nations of the earth into the mountains of Israel, and here to-day we
have a little handful of people, out of the twelve hundred millions
who dwell upon the earth, who feel an interest in building up the Zion
and kingdom of God upon the earth, and who are desirous of being saved
in that kingdom.

Vol. 18,  p.35
Now I would rather be poor all the days of my life, I would rather go
through poverty and affliction, it matters not how severe, even to the
sacrifice of my own life, than lose salvation and eternal life,
because I have faith in it and always had. I always have had faith in
the Bible and in the revelations of God since I was a boy like these
sitting on these seats, eight or ten years old, when I went to the
Presbyterian Sunday school and read about Jesus Christ. I believed
then that he was the Savior of the world; I believed that the Old and
New Testament was true. I believe it to-day. What would it profit a
man to gain the whole world and lose his own soul? What will a man
give in exchange for his soul? When he comes into the presence of God
he can't buy it. This is the position of the world. There is none of
us going to live but a little while; we shall all pass away soon, and
our eternal destiny depends upon the few days, weeks, months or years
that we spend here in the flesh. Do you not think it will pay a man or
a woman to keep the commandments of God? It will, and when we enjoy
the Holy Spirit, when we are trying to live our religion here on the
earth, we are the happiest people on God's footstool, no matter what
our circumstances may be. I do not care whether we are rich or poor,
whether in happiness or affliction, if a man is living his religion
and enjoys the favor and Spirit of God, it makes no difference to him
what takes place on the earth. There may be earthquakes, war, fire or
sword in the land, but he feels that it is all right with him. That is
the way I feel to-day.

Vol. 18,  p.35
With regard to the Gospel of Christ, it is a thing that we should all
labor to maintain the few years that we spend here. When I get through
with this life and go into the spirit world, I do not want to miss
what I have in anticipation. I have always desired to see the Savior,
Father Adam, Enoch, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and those old Prophets we
read about in the Bible. I desired this before I heard this Gospel, I
desire it to-day; and I do not wish to miss this, for nothing in this
world would pay me for such a sacrifice. But I know that it requires
constant [p.36] warfare, labor and faithfulness before the Lord in
order for us to keep in fellowship with the Holy Spirit, and to live
in such a manner that we may obtain these blessings. Jesus
says—"Strait is the gate and narrow the way that leads to eternal
lives, and few there are who find it, while broad is the way that
leads to death, and many there be who go in thereat." The road to
death is broad enough to catch the whole world, and they do not like
to walk in the strait and narrow one, they do not like to keep the
celestial law. I have met with professed ministers of the Gospel, in
my travels, at whose tables I have eaten and drank, and I have given
them the Book of Mormon and the Book of Doctrine and Covenants, and
have talked to and labored with them, and I have known some of them
spend days and days in this warfare, trying to decide which to do,
whether to receive the Gospel of Christ and take the reproach of the
world, or reject it; and I may say that in nine cases out of ten they
have come to the conclusion to reject it. When I visited Fox Island
the first time, I went to the house of Mr. Newton, a Baptist minister;
and I stayed with him. But first I went to his church and heard him
preach, and when he got through I wanted to bear record of the Gospel,
for I had a message to that people, and I appointed a meeting for four
o'clock in the afternoon, and I preached the Gospel to them, and Mr.
Newton took me to his home and I gave him the Book of Mormon and the
Book of Doctrine and Covenants, and for ten days that man walked about
his room until midnight trying to decide what he should do. The Spirit
of the Lord bore record to him that my testimony was true, and he felt
that if he obeyed the Gospel which I had proclaimed unto him he would
lose his good name and honor among men, but that if he did not receive
it, he would be damned. Finally he rejected it, and the consequence
was that he became a vagabond, and a miserable outcast. I baptized all
his flock who owned any portion of the meeting-house, and if he had
embraced the Gospel and been gathered with them he would have been
here and saved in the kingdom of God, instead of the vagabond that he
has since become. I merely mention this to show how the minds of some
men are acted upon by the tidings of the Gospel. Some of them feel
that it would be a great reproach to obey that Gospel and to keep the
commandments of God. Bless your souls, we who obey the Gospel of
Christ are all in good company. Whenever you are persecuted for
righteousness sake, said Jesus, rejoice and be exceeding glad for so
persecuted they the Prophets and Apostles which were before you.

Vol. 18,  p.36
I will say to all, whether in the church or in the world, it will pay
you to keep the commandments of God. Here is a man who has a wife that
he thinks a great deal of; they have lovely children, and the ties of
affection bind them closely. Now should not such a man have respect
enough for God to keep his commandments and so secure to himself his
wife and his children in the celestial world after the resurrection?
But you cannot get worldlings to believe in such a principle; the
people, as I said before, have not interest enough in the things of
the kingdom of God to be Willing to keep the commandments of God.

Vol. 18,  p.36
I say to the Latter-day Saints, we should he faithful to our God. We
are blessed above all the people that breathe the breath of life upon
the earth, and we are blessed above all other dispensations and
generations [p.37] of men, for the Lord has put into our hands the
power to build up his Zion upon the earth, never more to be thrown
down, and this is what no other generation has ever been called to do.
But although this is the mission of the Latter-day Saints, we have a
continual warfare to wage—a warfare with the powers of darkness, and a
warfare with ourselves. The ancients had a similar experience to pass
through—they had their day of trials, troubles and tribulations. Enoch
labored three hundred and sixty-five years in building up Zion, and he
had the opposition of the whole world. But the Lord blessed him so
that he maintained his ground for that length of time, and gathered
together a few out of the nations of the earth, and they were
sanctified before the Lord, and he had to take them sway, and the
saying went forth—"Zion is fled." So you may trace down all the
Prophets. Read the history of Ezekiel, Jeremiah, Isaiah and others,
and you will find that it was a warfare with them all the way through.
And so with Jesus and the Apostles. But all those dispensations have
passed and gone into the spirit world, and they have their eyes upon
us, and in fact God our heavenly Father and all under him—the whole
heavenly host, have their eyes turned towards the Latter-day Saints,
because this is the great dispensation of which Adam, Enoch and all
the ancient patriarchs and Prophets have spoken, in which shall take
place the final redemption of the House of Israel, the restoration of
their kingdom, the rebuilding of their city and Temple, the
restoration of their oracles and Priesthood, of the Urim and Thummim,
and the preparation for the final winding up scene in the last days;
all these things will take place in the dispensation in which we are
permitted to live.

Vol. 18,  p.37
Let us, then, try and fulfill and perform our duties as good
Latter-day Saints. Let us bear with each other's faults, and bear the
yoke of Christ, live our religion and keep the commandments of God.
Let us try and bring up our children in the nurture and admonition of
the Lord. Let us set them good examples and teach them good principles
while they are young. They are given to us by our heavenly Father;
they are our kingdom, they are the foundation of our exaltation and
glory; they are plants of renown, and we should strive to bear them up
before the Lord, and teach them to pray to, and to have faith in, the
Lord as far as we can, that when we are passed and gone and they
succeed us on this stage of action, they may bear off the great
latter-day work and kingdom of God upon the earth. I do not believe
that the day is very far distant when the revelations which God has
given concerning the last days will have their fulfillment. I believe
there are many children now living in the mountains of Israel who will
never taste of death, that is, they will dwell on the earth at the
coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. I will acknowledge that there is a
great deal to be done, and the Lord has not revealed to man the day or
the hour, but he has revealed the generation; and the fig trees are
now putting forth their leaves in the eyes of all the nations,
indicating the near approach of the second coming of the Son of Man.
It is my faith that hundreds and thousands of the children that have
been given to us will be alive in the flesh when Christ comes in the
clouds of heaven in power and great glory. The Lord will not
disappoint the inhabitants of the earth in these last days in regard
to his second coming, any more than he has with regard to other great
events and dispensations.[p.38] 

Vol. 18,  p.38
We live in a very important age and generation; we live in the day and
time when God has set his hand to fulfill a measure of prophecy and
revelation to man, in the great dispensation of all dispensations. As
an individual I do not believe that many more years will roll ever the
heads of the inhabitants of the earth before the resurrection will be
upon them, and then these children, which we are called to bury
to-day, will come forth from their graves, clothed with glory,
immortality and eternal life. You may ask why I believe this. I
believe it because the revelations of God say so. I read the
Scriptures, and I believe that the revelations and prophecies therein
contained mean what they say, and I also believe that the saying of
every Prophet or Apostle spoken under the inspiration of the Holy
Ghost will have its fulfillment, and, as Paul said, no prophecy of
Scripture hath any private interpretation, but holy men of old spake
as they were moved upon by the Holy Ghost. They spake the mind and
word of the Lord, and none of their sayings will fail to be fulfilled,
for the Lord has said—"Though the heavens and the earth pass away, my
word shall not fail, but shall be fulfilled." That is the way I read
prophecy and revelation.

Vol. 18,  p.38
The Jews will be moved upon by and by, and they will return to the
land of their fathers, and they will rebuild Jerusalem. These
Lamanites here will receive the Gospel of Christ in fulfillment of the
revelations of God. The Prophets which have been shut up in the north
country with the nine and a half tribes led away by Shalmanezer, King
of Assyria, thousands of years ago, will come in remembrance before
God; they will smite the rocks and mountains of ice will flow down
before them, and those long lost tribes will come forth in your day
and mine, if we live a few years longer, and they will be crowned
under the hands of the children of Ephraim—the Elders of Israel who
dwell in the land of Zion. And by and by the testimony of the Gospel
will be sealed among the Gentiles, and the Gospel will turn to the
whole house of Israel, and the judgments of God will back up the
testimony of the Elders of this Church, and the Lord will send
messengers who will go forth and reap down the earth. The unbeliever
may say that what we term judgments have always prevailed more or less
among the nations, and that God has nothing to do with them, they are
all natural. Well, if they have always prevailed, they will prevail to
a greater extent in these last days than ever before, until everything
that God has spoken shall have come to pass. Judgments await the
world, and they await this nation, and the day is at hand when the
Lord will sweep the earth as with a besom of destruction. In the
vision which the Lord gave to Enoch, he saw the heavens weeping over
the earth because of the fall of man; and when Enoch asked the
Lord—"When will the earth rest from under the curse of sin?" the Lord
told him that in the last days the earth should rest, for then it
should be redeemed from the sin, wickedness and abominations that were
upon it. The earth is now pretty near ripe, and when ripened the Lord
will cut them off. These things are before the Latter-day Saints, but
the world do not believe in them any more than they believed in the
message of Noah or Lot.

Vol. 18,  p.38
Brethren and sisters, let us read the revelations of God for
ourselves, and when we read them, let us believe them, and try to live
in such a [p.39] way that we may be ready for whatever dispensation
the Lord may have in store for us, and so that we can acknowledge his
hand as Job did, and not find any fault with him because of his
providences toward us. If we cannot comprehend them now, we shall be
able to do so in a little while. The Lord may have purposes in view in
his dealings with us that we do not understand; I presume he has. In
fact, the whole of the dealings of God to man are a mystery. There is
a vail over the world, and it is ordained of God that it should be so,
for if it were not so, and if men could comprehend eternal things, as
God comprehends them, there is no man on the earth, no matter how
wicked he may be, but what would be willing to keep the commandments
of God, and to pass through anything that God ordained, for therein he
would see there was salvation and eternal life. But God has an order
in these matters, as he revealed unto Joseph Smith. He said unto
Joseph—"I will prove you whether you will abide in my covenant; if you
are not willing to abide in my covenant even unto death, you are not
worthy of me." And it is so with the Saints. If they are not willing
to abide in the covenants they have made with God, even unto death if
necessary, they are not worthy of him. Jesus laid down his life to
redeem the world, and passed through suffering and affliction all his
life in order that he might fulfill the mission which was given him.
So it is with us. The Lord says—"I am going to prove the children of
men." There are a few individuals in this dispensation who will
inherit celestial glory, and a few in other dispensations; but before
they receive their exaltation they will have to pass through and
submit to whatever dispensation God may decree. But for all this they
will receive their reward—they will become Gods, they will inherit
thrones, kingdoms, principalities and powers through the endless ages
of eternity, and to their increase there will be no end, and the heart
of man has never conceived of the glory that is in store for the sons
and daughters of God who keep the celestial law. And yet God has a
vail over all in regard to these things. The whole world will be
judged according to the deeds done in the body, and they will inherit
kingdoms according to the laws which they have kept, every man being
preserved by the law which he has observed, and all will be saved in
some glory, except the sons of perdition.

Vol. 18,  p.39
Now, brethren and sisters, the Gospel of Christ is before us. We are
all passing along, and it will only be a little time before a good
many of us will be on the other side of the vail. Our friends are
passing off every day, and we look in vain for many with whom we have
been familiar in years that are past. If I go into a congregation of
ten thousand and enquire for the Saints I knew in Kirtland, and
request them to lift up their hands, it will be like a standard bearer
on the mountains, there is only here and there one. You ask a
congregation how many of them knew Joseph Smith, and it is only here
and there one, they are passing away to the other side of the vail. It
is so with us all, we are hastening to the end of life's journey, and
a good many of us are on the downward grade. I ask that what little
time I live, I may keep the faith and have the fellowship of the Holy
Spirit and of the Saints of God, that when I get through I may be
satisfied with life, satisfied with my acts, that I may receive a
welcome into the Kingdom of God. That is all I ask and all I labor
for. As for riches and [p.40] wealth, I do not want them if they will
damn me. I would like to have enough to clothe, shoe and feed my wives
and children, and to make them comfortable, if I can get it honestly
before the Lord; but I would rattler myself and them all be in poverty
than to have wealth and be destroyed. Riches are dangerous unless we
can use them so as not to destroy us; if we cannot use them to the
glory of God and for the building up of his Kingdom, we are better
without them. I do not expect to live a great many years longer. The
young, the middle-aged and the old are dying off. For many years of my
life the gospel of Jesus Christ has been a consolation to me. I have
spent a good deal more than half of my life in laboring in this
Church. I labored to find this Church, I may say, from my childhood
up, and many a midnight hour have I plead with the Lord, in the
wilderness, in the woods, and in my mill, and under various
circumstances, that the Lord would let me find a people who contended
for the faith once delivered to the Saints. I desired this from
reading the Bible, and from the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, for in
the pages of that sacred book I learned that a people once lived upon
the earth who had communion with God, and they had power to command
the elements, and they obeyed them; they conversed with angels, and
had the gifts and graces of a religion which had power and salvation
in it. I could not find this on the face of the earth. I prayed to the
Lord to let me live to find such a people, and he promised that I
should, and I have lived to find them. I have seen the faces of
Prophets and inspired men, and it has been a great consolation to me.
I have my failings and imperfections, and I expect that we are all
subject to them, more or less. I want to overcome them, because I
desire to partake of eternal life. I also desire this for the Saints
of God and for the honest and meek of the earth everywhere.

Vol. 18,  p.40
I have labored many years, and traveled without purse and scrip,
preached without money and without price, for the purpose of saving my
fellow-men. I labor on Mount Zion to try and save the dead; I spend a
good deal of time in this. It is a consolation to me, I pray God my
heavenly Father to bless you and all the Latter-day Saints, and that
he will give us enough of his Holy Spirit to keep us in the path of
duty and rectitude, virtue and righteousness, that we may be justified
before him. I pray my heavenly Father that he will bless Brother and
Sister Wheeler in their bereavement, and give them his Holy Spirit,
that, when they lie down at night and rise in the morning and miss
their children they may feel to commit themselves into the hands of
the Lord, and realize that their separation from their little ones is
not for ever, but that in a little while they will be restored to
them. This applies to us all in the loss of our children. We lay them
away in the grave, but they will come forth in the morning of the
resurrection, and if we are faithful to the truth, we shall receive
them and rejoice with them; and when we have passed through the
sorrows of mortality and have the joy and glory of the celestial
kingdom conferred upon us we shall then know that the afflictions of
mortality have prepared us for and enabled us to appreciate the
blessings which God has in store for the faithful.

Vol. 18,  p.41
May God bless us, and give us his Spirit, for Jesus' sake, Amen.[p.41]


Orson Pratt, July 11, 1875

Immediate Revelation—Spiritual Gifts Necessary in the 
Christian Church—Apostacy—the Restoration of the Gospel—All 
Things to Be Gathered in One—Divine Authority—Marriage—
Celestial Marriage—Baptism for the Dead

Discourse By Elder Orson Pratt, Delivered in the New Tabernacle, 
Salt Lake City, on the Occasion of the Attendance of the 
New England and New York Editorial Excursion 
Party, Sunday Afternoon, July 11, 1875.

(Reported by David W. Evans)

Vol. 18,  p.41
I will call the attention of the congregation to a portion of the word
of God contained in the 19th chapter of the Gospel according to St.
Matthew. [The speaker read the 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 verses.]

Vol. 18,  p.41
I have read these passages of Scripture in order to dwell, this
afternoon, if the Lord will, and his Spirit shall so direct my mind,
upon the subject of marriage, and to show wherein the people called
Latter-day Saints differ in their views from other Christian
denominations in relation to this great and divine ordinance, and to
make such other remarks, not particularly connected with the subject,
as the Spirit of the Lord may direct.

Vol. 18,  p.41
First, however, before taking up this divine ordinance, it may be well
to state, in brief terms, some of the views of the Latter-day Saints
in regard to the doctrine which they have embraced. I shall endeavor
to be very brief on every point, in order to enumerate, as far as
possible, the variety of doctrines and principles which we have
embraced, that are peculiar to us as a people. I will commence by
saying, that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has not
grown out of the various religious societies that now exist, or that
have existed, in Christendom; neither has it grown out of any of their
institutions. Our Priesthood, our doctrine, our authority, the
organization of our Church, and everything connected therewith, have
been something revealed directly from the heavens. Perhaps you may
inquire—"Have you not been guided more or less in relation to these
principles by the book which is called the Bible?" I answer that, in
the organization of the kingdom of God on the earth in the nineteenth
century, we have been guided by direct revelation to us from heaven.
We do not profess that our doctrines and principles are entirely
distinct and something entirely different from those which are
recorded in the Bible, we are far from making any such profession; but
we believe that the same God who organized his kingdom in ancient
times, and revealed his will to the inhabitants of the earth, has
revealed, in these last days, principles [p.42] in accordance with
those revealed in former times, and that he is a consistent Being, and
that he would not communicate a Gospel for the inhabitants of the
earth to observe in the 19th century that was not revealed and
understood in former ages. The name Gospel, therefore, which God has
revealed anew in our day, when compared with the Gospel contained in
the New Testament, is found to accord in every principle, and in all
its ordinances and institutions, with ancient Christianity.

Vol. 18,  p.42
This Church was organized on the 6th day of April, 1830. The very day
of the month on which it should be organized was pointed out by new
revelation; the officers that were placed in the Church were
appointed, and the names of many of them were given by new revelation.
The duties of these officers were also appointed by direct revelation
from heaven. God organized the Church with Apostles in it, the same as
he organized his ancient Church; he organized it with Revelators and
with Prophets, inspired from on high, the same as he organized the
ancient Christian Church. He commanded the people to believe in his
Son Jesus Christ, as the great Redeemer who died in the meridian of
time for the sins of mankind. He commanded, by new revelation, that we
should believe in the same Redeemer and in the same atonement; he
commanded us to repent of all our sins, forsake all unrighteousness,
cease to do evil and learn to do well, and to reform our lives in
every respect, the same as he commanded the people in the ancient
dispensation of the Gospel. By new revelation we were commanded to be
baptized by immersion in water, for the remission of our sins, the
same as he commanded the people in ancient times to attend to the same
divine ordinance. By new revelation, he commanded his servants the
Apostles, and those to whom he gave power and authority, to lay hands
on all baptized believers, and to confirm upon them the baptism of
fire and the Holy Ghost, the same as was practiced among the Saints in
ancient times. By new revelation the Lord promised that certain signs
should follow the believers among all nations, kindreds, tongues and
people to whom this Gospel should be sent. All that would believe, men
and women, were promised certain signs, among which I will name that
they should cast out devils, speak with new tongues, and if they
should take up serpents, or drink any deadly thing, it should not hurt
them, they should lay their hands upon the sick and they should
recover. The same promise was made by our Savior under the ancient
dispensation of the Gospel. He commanded his servants, in these days,
to go forth and preach to the Gentile nations first; and when we had
faithfully borne our testimony to them, and they were sufficiently
warned, then we were to turn to the scattered and dispersed remnants
of Israel in the four quarters of the earth, and preach the Gospel to
them. He commanded, by new revelation, that his servants should say
unto the inhabitants of all the earth that would believe, repent, be
baptized, and receive the Gospel of the Son of God, that they should
leave their respective nations, and gather together in one place,
which the Lord, by new revelation, should appoint.

Vol. 18,  p.42
All this was given by new revelation. Does it agree or disagree with
the Scriptures contained in the Bible? Judge ye for yourselves. Did
the ancient Christian Church have inspired Apostles, who had power to
call upon God and receive new revelation [p.43] from him? So does the
modern Christian Church, which God has reorganized on the earth; claim
to have the same officers, Apostles, not in name merely, but inspired
from heaven, to receive new revelations, as the ancient Apostles were.
Is there any disagreement, then, between the former pattern and the
latter-day pattern? Did the ancient Christian Church have a multitude
of inspired Prophets, men and women, who could prophesy concerning
future events? So the latter-day Christian Church, organized by new
revelation, has an abundance of Prophets and Prophetesses to whom the
future has been opened, and they foretell future events; hence there
is no disagreement between the ancient pattern and the latter-day
pattern. Did the Apostles lay on hands for the reception of the Holy
Ghost, and did the Spirit of God descend from the heavens, and fall
upon the baptized believers through the laying on of hands? So in the
latter days have the same blessings been given among all the nations
and people and kindreds and tongues, wherever this Gospel has been
preached. No difference, then, so far as this is concerned.

Vol. 18,  p.43
Did the ancient Christian Church have a great variety of members
possessing a variety of spiritual gifts? So does the latter-day
Christian Church believe in the same thing. Did any in the Christian
Church presume, in ancient times, to take unto themselves the
authority of the ministry, without being called of God by new
revelation? Never, no never! All were called by new revelation to
officiate in the various offices of the Church, after the same pattern
that Aaron was called. "No man," says paul, "taketh this honor unto
himself, but he that is called of God as was Aaron." Everybody knows,
from the history given, how Aaron was called by new revelation. Have
any among all the peoples and nations of the earth authority to
administer baptism? Yes. Who are they? Those who are called by new
revelation, and none else. Have any authority to administer the Lord's
Supper among all the Christian nations of the earth? Yes. Who are
they? Those to whom the Lord has spoken, whom the Lord has called as
he called Aaron. Have any Christian denominations who deny new
revelation, authority to administer this sacred ordinance? Not one
upon the face of the whole earth. Are ordinances, administered by
those who deny new revelation, accepted by the Most High? Not one of
them. Why? Because God does not sanction that which is not appointed
by him.

Vol. 18,  p.43
Perhaps some may inquire, if this does not cut off the Christian
Church from the face of the earth? I answer, it does, unless God has a
Christian Church with revelators and Prophets in it, and whose
officers are called by new revelation. Inquires one—"Do you mean to
say that we have had no true Christian Church on the earth for a great
many centuries?" I do mean to say this, unless there have been persons
authorized, according to the requirements of the holy Scriptures. If
we can find a Church anywhere on the face of the earth that has
Apostles in it, and revelators, and inspired men, then we have a true
Christian Church; but if we can not find this, then we have no such
Church. If we can find a church that has the gifts and the signs
spoken of by the New Testament, we can find a true Christian Church.;
but if we can't find such, we have no reason to believe that there is
such a Church on the earth. "But," says one, "we call [p.44] ourselves
Christians." That is avery easy matter; but calling yourselves
Christians or Christian churches does not make you such. Inquires
one—"Is it not contrary to the Scriptures to suppose that the world
would be left for so many centuries without a Christian Church?" No;
it is in accordance with the Scriptures, for they foretell the
Apostacy, the falling away and the darkness that should reign over the
nations, and show that instead of having true teachers, men would heap
to themselves teachers without authority from God, uninspired men,
whose ears would be turned away from the truth unto fables. This great
apostacy commenced about the close of the first century of the
Christian era, and it has been waxing worse and worse from then until
now. A short time after the death of the last of the Apostles, the
Christian Church, what few of them remained, were persecuted from
mountain to mountain, from den to den, from one cave of the earth to
another, and from nation to nation until they were entirely
exterminated and rooted out of the earth. Well, what was left? An
apostate Christianity, a Christianity without revelators, without any
voice of God, without any Prophets to unfold the future, without
visions, without any communications from the heavens. Apostacy
succeeded the Christian Church and has borne rule over all the nations
of the earth; and these Scriptures have been fulfilled; for they say
that a certain power should arise, and make war with the Saints and
overcome them, and they should be given into the hands of that power.

Vol. 18,  p.44
But is our earth always to be left without the Church and kingdom of
God, and without Apostles, Prophets, or a voice from the heavens? No.
John saw in his vision on Patmos how the Gospel should again be
preached among the nations, after great Babylon should arise, after
she should persecute the Saints and destroy them from the earth, and
present her golden cup full of filthiness and abominations for all
nations to drink thereof.

Vol. 18,  p.44
After he had seen this, he saw how the Christian Church should again
return to the earth. In the fourteenth chapter of Revelations and
sixth verse, he says—"I saw another angel flying through the midst of
heaven, having the everlasting Gospel to preach to them that dwell on
the earth, unto every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people,
saying with a lead voice, "Fear God and give glory to him, for the
hour of his judgment is come." And another angel followed this one
that had the Gospel, saying—"Babylon is fallen, is fallen." Why?
Because she hath made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of
her fornication.

Vol. 18,  p.44
Immediately after this the Son of Man was seen by John, sitting upon a
white cloud, coming in his glory and power to destroy the nations of
the earth. Here, then, were three great events portrayed by the
ancient Apostle John, which should take place just prior to and at the
time of the coming of the Son of Man. The Gospel is to be brought by
an angel. For whom? Per all people. Now, if there had been any people,
nation, kindred, or tongue, in any part of the earth that had the
Gospel, and had the authority to administer its ordinances, there
would be no necessity for this angel's coming, all we would have had
to do, would be to hunt up that people, and there, among them, we
should have found Apostles, Prophets, revelators, and men having power
to call upon God, and get revelation; and then persons [p.45] would be
called by new revelation to the ministry. But no such people existed,
and hence, when the angel brings the Gospel, it has to be preached to
all people, nations and tongues, under the whole heavens.

Vol. 18,  p.45
Now the Latter-day Saints have happened to live in the day when the
Lord has sent this angel, and when he has again established his
Church, and has commanded his servants to go forth, calling them by
name, to preach the Gospel to the people, without purse and scrip, to
organize his people among all nations and to say unto them—"Gather out
from all these nations unto one place." "But," says one, "what does
this mean? Did the ancient Apostles and the ancient Christian Churches
gather?" I answer that the same doctrines which they taught are taught
in these days; yet when it comes to some of the great temporal
principles of salvation God has varied in his plans in every
dispensation. To Noah a command was given to build an ark; that was
the way in which was to be effected the temporal salvation of all
believers in his day. Abraham was commanded to leave his country,
kindred and friends; that was a command of a very different character
to the one given in the dispensation of Noah. In the days of Moses,
another command was given quite different from that given to either
Noah or Abraham, and so on down. In the days of Jesus, so far as
temporal salvation was concerned, the believers were permitted to
remain at Corinth, Ephesus, Galatia and in all the countries wherever
the Christian Church was organized; there was no gathering in that
day. But the last dispensation is to be a dispensation of gathering
together of all of the people of God. It is spoken of by Paul in the
first chapter of his epistle to the Ephesians, where it is said "that,
in the dispensation of the fulness of times, the Lord will gather
together in one all that are in Christ, whether they be in the heavens
or upon the earth, that they may all be gathered in one."

Vol. 18,  p.45
Now if this angel who brought this Gospel from the heavens, and
commanded this Church to be organized, had left out this gathering
together in one, we would have had reason to suppose him to be an
impostor. Why? Because the great essential feature of the latter-day
dispensation was a gathering together in one of all things in Christ.
That is the reason why these vales are filled with inhabitants of
different nations and tongues; they have heard in different parts of
the earth the sound of the Gospel which God has brought to light in
these latter-days by an angel; they heard the voice of the Lord
calling upon them to flee from Babylon, and to gather together in one,
and that is why they are here. This agrees with the testimony of John,
that, after the angel came, the Gospel should be preached to all
nations. He heard a great voice from heaven, saying—"Come out of her,
my people, lest ye be partakers of her sins and receive of her
plagues; for her sins have reached to the heavens, and God hath
remembered her iniquities." That voice, recollect, was not to be a
cunningly devised fable, got up by a certain number of divines or
theologians, according to their own wisdom; it was to be a voice from
heaven, a new revelation, commanding the people to do this. About a
hundred thousand of the Latter-day Saints, dwelling in this mountain
region, building up towns and cities for some four or five hundred
miles in extent, have heard the voice of the Lord from the heavens and
have gathered out. You [p.46] have heard the proclamation, when the
latter-day kingdom was established, to take your lumps and go forth to
meet the Bridegroom. Instead of staying in Europe, Asia, Africa,
Australia, or among the islands of the sea, you have been commanded to
take your lamps and gather out; this is like the fish net that was
cast into the sea, and gathered all kinds, both good and bad." "Do you
mean to say," says one, "that there are some gathered among you who
are bad?" Yes; if there were not the parable of our Savior would not
be fulfilled. But by and by there will be a sorting out, and the bad
will be cast away unto their own place, while the good will be
gathered into vessels and be saved.

Vol. 18,  p.46
This will be fulfilling the words of the Prophet Isaiah, in the 43rd
chapter—"I will gather them from the east, and from the west, I will
say to the north give up, and to the south keep not back. Bring my
sons from afar, and my daughters from the ends of the earth, even
every one that is called by my name."—Says one—"Do you really think
there will be no Christians left in the north, nor in the south, nor
in the east, nor in the west, but that every one that is called by the
name of the Lord will be gathered in one?" Yes, that is what we
believe, and that is one of the peculiarities of what the world call
"Mormonism," we do not believe there will be a Christian left on the
whole face of the earth, but what will be gathered together. "Well,"
says one, "if that is true, if Isaiah told the truth about that, and
the day is at hand for his prophecy to be fulfilled, the nations will
truly be in an awful dilemma, when every Christian is gathered out." I
think they will, I think you draw a very correct conclusion.

Vol. 18,  p.46
Why does the Lord gather them out? As the Prophet Isaiah has said in
another place, he gathers them out to the mountains, and they say one
to another—"Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord and to the
house of the God of Jacob." What for? "That he may teach us of his
ways, and that we may walk in his paths." It seems, then, that the
Lord will have one people somewhere on the face of the earth, up in
some mountainous region, who are going to teach the nations his ways,
and how to walk in his paths.

Vol. 18,  p.46
Now, if we can find out where that mountain is where the Lord is going
to have a house built, and to which the nations shall gather, it will
be well for us to open our eyes and to see whether we are gathering
together to learn the ways of the Lord.

Vol. 18,  p.46
Perhaps you may enquire, "What peculiarities are to be taught in the
mountains different from what are taught abroad?" I answer,
undoubtedly there will be a great many; and among the rest is that of
marriage, and now we come to the words of our text. You may ask, "Do
you not marry here in the mountains, as we do in the East?" In reply,
I will say, in the first place, that marriage is a divine ordinance,
as you see by the words of my text,—"What God hath joined together,
let not man put asunder." Now how does the Lord join together persons
in marriage? Does he ordain a justice of the peace, who avows himself
to be an infidel, and does not believe in God, or his Son Jesus
Christ, or in the Gospel of life and salvation? Has such a man the
authority of God to join the sexes together in marriage? Suppose that
such pronounce the marriage ceremony, what has the Lord to do with it?
Does the Lord inspire the infidel,—one who has no faith nor confidence
[p.47] in him, to join together the sexes in marriage? I think not.

Vol. 18,  p.47
But suppose we pass by the infidel who holds the authority of the
civil law to administer the ordinance of marriage, are there not many
persons among the Christian nations, who do believe in God and his Son
Jesus Christ, who are justices of the peace, and who have authority,
under the civil laws of the country, to administer the ordinance of
marriage? I answer—there are many who hold this authority under their
respective governments; we do not dispute this. The infidel I was
speaking of, who is a justice of the peace, has authority by the laws
of his State or county, to administer and officiate in the ceremony of
marriage. But God has nothing to do with it; it answers the ends of
the civil law, and that is as far as it goes.

Vol. 18,  p.47
Now suppose you take those persons who are not infidels, but who
profess to believe in God, and they hold authority, under their
various governments, to pronounce a man and woman husband and wife,
has the Lord anything to do with that? He has if he has appointed that
minister or justice of the peace; if he has given him a revelation
authorizing him to officiate in the ordinance of marriage, then he has
authority to do it, according to the mind and will of God. But on the
other hand, if God has said nothing to him, he has no divine
authority—and if he is a sectarian he is sure to reject all
revelation, unless it happens to be in the Bible, and the Bible calls
no man by name in the 19th century to officiate in marriage, neither
in baptism nor any of the ordinances of the Gospel—his faith in the
Lord Jesus Christ does not give him divine authority to administer the
ordinance of marriage. Nevertheless the individuals whom he marries
are married according to the laws of the country, and the marriage is
legal so far as the laws of the country are concerned; but if God has
not spoken to those men, if he has not given them revelation
authorizing them to do this, their ceremony, so far as God is
concerned, would be just the same as though it was administered by a
heathen priest, just the same as though it was ministered by an
infidel, for God has nothing to do with it.

Vol. 18,  p.47
Who is it then, that the Lord joins together? It is those who are
married by one authorized of God to officiate in that sacred and holy
ordinance, and the Lord could not do this, without he gave new
revelation; hence you begin to understand what our views are as
Latter-day Saints in regard to the nature of marriage. Inquires
one—"Do you mean to say that there have been no marriages legal in the
sight of God for nearly seventeen hundred years past, among all the
nations?" Yes, that is what we say. Those old and middle-aged men, who
were married in the nations before they heard the sound of the Gospel,
were married legally according to the laws of man, and their marriages
will stand all the controversies of the law, and their children are
legal heirs to their property; but they are not joined together of the
Lord.

Vol. 18,  p.47
Now let us come to a marriage where the Lord officiates. It is
indirectly referred to here, in this 19th chapter of Matthew—"In the
beginning God made them male and female." And who officiated in the
first great marriage ceremony? It was the Lord. Probably, if there had
been any man on the earth at that time who held the keys, authority
and power, the Lord would not have come and officiated directly; but
inasmuch as the marriage was between the first pair who dwelt upon
[p.48] the earth, and there was nobody else to officiate, the Lord
took it in hand to officiate himself; and after he had formed the
woman he brought her to the man, and the man said—"This, now, is bone
of my bone and flesh of my flesh, therefore she shall be called woman,
because she was taken out of man."

Vol. 18,  p.48
Now let us inquire in regard to the perpetuity of this first marriage,
for all Christendom, and I do not know but all heathendom, have got
the curious idea into their heads that marriage pertains only to this
little speck of time called our present life, and that by and by the
grim monster Death will come along and part man and wife asunder, and
that is the end of the marriage union. Such is the idea of all
Christendom, and that is the way they marry; it is after this form
that justices of the peace, the professed ministers of the Gospel, and
all the judicial authorities of the various states, territories,
nations, countries and empires of the world have officiated in the
marriage ceremony—"I join you together," or, "I pronounce you husband
and wife," as the case may be, "until death shall you part." Oh
indeed! It is a very short time to be married, is it not? We might die
in the course of a day or two after being married, then the contract
is run out, no more claim after that, according to their ideas. But
now, in relation to this first marriage between Adam and Eve, who were
they? Two immortal beings. What! Does God marry immortal beings? Yes.
We have no account of his coming officially to marry a couple of
mortal beings; I do not know that we have any such account anywhere.
But these two personages, Adam and Eve, were immortal. Says one—"I
never knew before that immortal beings were to be connected as
husbands and wives, I thought marriage pertained to mortality, and
until death should us part, and that was the end of it." I know that
we have had a great many erroneous ideas about baptism, about the
laying on of hands, about marriage, and about a great many things, all
of which came in consequence of the darkness that is spread over the
nations, since ancient Christianity was rooted out of the earth. Two
immortal beings—Adam the bridegroom, Eve the bride, stood up together,
and the Lord gave the bride to the bridgroom. For how long, I wonder?
If he had learned the ceremony of these Protestant and Catholic
denominations, he might have said—"I pronounce you husband and wife
until death shall separate you." No, I think he had never learned
that; death had not then come into our world; the forbidden fruit had
not been eaten then; there were no fallen beings then on the earth, no
mortality yet upon the face of our fair creation, but two immortal
beings who were capable of enduring to all ages of eternity were
united together in marriage.

Vol. 18,  p.48
This, then, was marriage for eternity, not for a little speck of time,
not for a hundred or a thousand years, not for a million years, but
for all eternity, to be as durable in its nature, action and effects
as the immortal beings themselves. "But," inquires one, "are you sure
that Adam and Eve were immortal?" I am; the Scriptures inform me that
by transgression sin came into the world, and death by sin. If sin had
not come into the world there would have been no death. "But, do you
really think that Adam and Eve Would have been alive to-day?" Yes. Can
you reflect in your minds upon a period in the future, when they would
not be immortal, when they would be overcome? Can you point out [p.49]
the time when they would no longer be husband and wife? Never. When
did the Lord give the commandment to be fruitful and multiply, etc.?
lie gave it to them as immortal beings. Supposing it had been possible
for Adam and Eve, before they fell, to have had children, what kind of
children would they have been? Would mortal children have descended
from immortality without any transgression? Would people of flesh and
blood and bones come into the world from immortal parents? No. We must
suppose, then, that when God said to Adam and Eve, "be fruitful and
multiply" that he spoke to them as beings that were not fallen.

Vol. 18,  p.49
Perhaps you may enquire, how long would they have multiplied and
fulfilled this commandment? I answer, as long as eternity endures Can
you tell how long that will be? "Do you mean to say there would be no
end to their increase?" None at all. If they had fulfilled that great
commandment, and had multiplied their posterity, their children would
have been immortal, as well as the parents, and there never would have
keen a period throughout all the endless ages of eternity but what
they would have continued to increase their children—their own sons
and daughters.

Vol. 18,  p.49
Perhaps you may say—"I really thought that mankind now, over the face
of the earth, were fulfilling that great first commandment." You have
been highly mistaken; we have not one of us fulfilled it. "Do you mean
to say that all these people here who have been married and have
multiplied sons and daughters throughout all this Territory, have not
been fulfilling the command given to Adam?" Not one pair of us, we
were not in a condition to do it; we shall be by and by, however, when
we get our immortal bodies, as Adam had his. But while we are here, we
are permitted to multiply—what? Poor, weak, pusillanimous, fallen,
sickly bodies, calculated to last at the longest, seventy, eighty, or
a hundred years, and then crumble back to their mother earth. Are you
going to substitute such an offspring as this to fulfill the great
first commandment that was given to immortal man? Oh no, the Lord will
accept no such substitution as this.

Vol. 18,  p.49
But how can we fulfil the commandment then? I will tell you how—be
married for all eternity, as your first parents were, and then, when
you come up in the morning of the first resurrection, and God again
restores to you your bodies, male and female, you can fulfil that
commandment that was given in the beginning, to the first immortal
pair.

Vol. 18,  p.49
Shall we continue to multiply through all eternity? Yes; there never
will be a time when those who are really married for eternity will
cease to multiply their species, not children subject to pain, disease
and death, but children of immortality. Millions on millions will be
multiplied, worlds without end, by each pair of immortal parents, and
their children will be as immortal as themselves. Then the commandment
will be fulfilled.

Vol. 18,  p.49
Perhaps some of you may say—"Your remarks explain a certain passage we
have often read, the 11th chapter of Paul's first epistle to the
Corinthians, and 11th verse, which says—'Neither is the man without
the woman in the Lord, neither is the woman without the man in the
Lord.' We never knew what that meant before, but it seems that you
Latter-day Saints have got a clue to it." It seems then that if we
wish to fulfil the object of our creation, and if we are truly in the
Lord, then [p.50] we must go into the eternal worlds as married, not
for time; not by some justice of the peace that is an infidel; not by
a man that has no right to join us together under the revelation and
authority of the Most High; but we must be married for eternity by a
man who has the right to speak, being commanded of the Lord, holding
the keys of authority and power, who can say to the man and woman, I
pronounce you husband and wife for time and all eternity. Then you
will be married according to the pattern given; then you will have a
claim upon each other after death. But have married people, in the
nations, a claim upon each other after death? I mean those who have
not been married after the pattern and authority of heaven. By no
means. Their contracts are made only for a little space, some twenty,
thirty, fifty or seventy years, as the case may be, then death comes
along and the contract runs out; and when you come up in the
resurrection who are you? Have you any wife there? Oh, no. Why not?
Because you were not sealed or married, to each other by divine
authority, that is the reason. What position will you occupy? If you
have been pretty good people and have kept the commandments of God as
far as you understood them, and have done well in many respects, you
may have the opportunity of becoming angels; but there is quite a
difference between angels and those who have the privilege of endless
increase, and of being crowned as kings and priests in the eternal
worlds. Whom do you suppose you will reign over? Will you get somebody
else to multiply and spread forth their offspring, and then give that
offspring to you? Will you go to your neighbors and say,—"Come, you
were married for eternity when you were back in yonder world and you
have come forth, having a claim to your wife or wives in the morning
of the resurrection. I did not attend to that matter while there, and
I was not married there according to the first pattern that was given
in the Bible, and inasmuch as I failed in doing this will you,
neighbor, give me part of your children? I should like to be a king,
and have some subjects to reign over, will you part with some of your
children?" "Oh no," says the neighbor, "if you neglected, in yonder
world, the divine ordinances pertaining to the probation, you must
bear the loss, I cannot spare any of my children. They belong to me;
they are under my patriarchal government, they will be my kingdom and
I shall reign over my own offspring for ever and ever."

Vol. 18,  p.50
What will this poor man do then? Why he will have to be an old
bachelor, if we may use the expression, and continue that way to all
ages of eternity. He will do for a servant, and they will have a great
many servants there. A man of God has a great kingdom, and his kingdom
spreads forth, and his subjects multiply like the stars of heaven, or
the sands upon the seashore, and he will naturally want some who have
bodies of flesh and bones to go and minister for certain purposes; and
those who have deprived themselves of the benefits of marriage for
eternity, will do first-rate for that, if they have been righteous
enough to get into a position where angels are. 

Vol. 18,  p.50
There were some in the days of our Savior righteous enough for that,
but through the apostacy that had prevailed some three centuries
before he came, they had lost the authority of obtaining this higher
glory, and when Jesus spake to them about the resurrection of the
dead, he said—"In the resurrection they neither [p.51] marry nor are
given in marriage." To whom was he talking? Not to the righteous, but
to some of the members of the pious denominations that happened to
exist in that day, that had in some measure lost the spirit of the
Lord. Such never having been married for eternity in this world could
rise no higher than angels in the next world; and if they became
righteous enough to become celestial angels, they would be servants
for ever. Servants to whom? Those that are worthy to receive a kingdom
and a glory, that have attended to their ordinances and to the
commandments of God, and have been led by him in all things pertaining
to marriage as well as other things.

Vol. 18,  p.51
Let us now come to another item that grows out of marriage for
eternity. For instance, there are a great many in this congregation
who were married by the Gentile laws, by justices of the peace and
various other officers, in England, Scotland, Wales, Denmark, and in
the various nations of Christendom. They come up here with their
wives, many of them just as good people as can be found anywhere on
the earth. Were they married by divine ordinances? Did God join them
together? No. Are they, therefore, to be condenmed? No. Why not?
Because God did not send the word to them. When the word goes forth
from the Lord Almighty to a people, and light comes into a nation and
among a people, then comes condemnation if that light is rejected, but
not till then.

Vol. 18,  p.51
The word of the Lord told you to gather up here. What for? That you
might, among other things, be married according to the law of God. I
am endeavoring to tell you some of our peculiarities. We do believe
that every man who gathers up with the Saints, whether married by the
Gentile law or not, should he married by one holding divine authority
to officiate, and thus have the ordinance, the ministration sealed on
earth that it may be sealed in the heavens; then it will stand; but
everything that is not done by the authority of God will not stand,
but will be shaken; and when the day of the resurrection shall come,
it will only be that which God has appointed that will endure the
test. In that day, when they come up out of their graves, there will
be no chance for people to be married, any more than there will be for
them to be baptized. If people do not get baptized here in this life,
they will have no chance to be baptized there. And Jesus says, that if
you are not born of the water and of the spirit, you can not enter
into the kingdom of heaven, that is, into the highest kingdom, the
highest glory, the third heaven; you can not enter there, consequently
you must not put off baptism until the resurrection day, and say you
will attend to it then, for that will be too late for baptism, and
also for marriage.

Vol. 18,  p.51
Here is another question. A great many of those good people abroad,
who, with their ancestors, back for seventeen hundred years, while God
had no authority or Church on the earth, have gone down to their
graves, without knowing anything about the pattern of marriage as
recorded here in the Bible, which is eternal in its nature. What are
you going to do with them? I answer, it would look rather hard if
there was no provision made for them, would it not? There are about
seventeen centuries or generations, and if we compute a thousand
million of people for every generation, coming upon and passing away
from the earth, we shall have about fifty thousand million altogether,
[p.52] who have gone down to their graves without baptism, without the
administration of the ordinances, without divine authority to
administer in their marriages! Do you suppose that the Lord has made
no provision for all these things? All must have a chance. There is
not an individual that ever lived upon the earth, from the days of
Adam down to this time, whether it was among the heathen or savages,
who never heard of Jesus or of the true God, and who went down to his
grave in total ignorance; there never was a man or woman on the face
of the globe, but what will have an opportunity, either in this life
or in the life to come, to obey and enjoy the benefits of the Gospel
of Salvation.

Vol. 18,  p.52
"But did you not say that there was no opportunity for them to attend
to these ordinances in the life to come?" I did. "Then why did you
say, that there will be an opportunity for them?" There is quite a
difference between having an opportunity, and attending to the
ordinances. You can not attend to the latter in the life to come.
Parties who have died in this generation or in the generations passed,
without having an opportunity to be baptized by a man holding
authority, will have an opportunity of hearing the Gospel in the life
to come; but they can not attend personally to the ordinances thereof.
Why? Because. God has ordained that men, here in the flesh, shall be
baptized in this life; or, if they die without a knowledge of the
Gospel and its ordinances, that their friends in the flesh, in the day
of his power, when he brings forth the everlasting Gospel, shall
officiate for them, and in their behalf. This is another peculiarity
of the doctrine of the Latter-day Saints—baptism for the dead. 

Vol. 18,  p.52
You see a Temple building here, east of this tabernacle, and a great
many inquiries are made respecting the nature of this building. Some
suppose that we are going to hold meetings in it, and preach to the
people; but no, that pertains to the tabernacle. God has pointed out
the uses of a Temple by new revelation, the same as he pointed out the
object of a tabernacle in the days of Moses, and the object of the
Temple of the Lord in the days of Solomon; and among those objects he
has told us that in the basement of the Temple there should be a
baptismal font. What for? That those who are living here on the earth
may be baptized for and in behalf of those who die without a knowledge
of the Gospel.

Vol. 18,  p.52
Does that reach back to all generations who have died in ignorance?
Yes. To all our ancestors? Yes; it reaches back to our fathers, our
grandfathers and their progenitors away back to ancient days, when the
Priesthood was upon the earth. Baptism for the dead! The same thing
was attended to in ancient; times, so that we have not got a new
pattern, it is the old pattern renewed. Paul says, in the 15th chapter
of the first of Corinthians—"Else what shall they do who are baptized
for the dead? if the dead rise not at all, why are they then baptized
for the dead?" Sure enough! it was a strong argument to prove the
resurrection of the dead, that the people who belonged to the ancient
Christian Churches had the privilege of going and being baptized for
those who had died before the Gospel came among them.

Vol. 18,  p.52
Now do you not see that we are not so uncharitable as a great many
would suppose? Instead of sending all the generations who lived in
former ages to hell, because they did not happen to hear the Gospel,
and because there was no Christian Church [p.53] upon the earth; I say
that, instead of sending them all to an endless hell, God has made
provisions that the living may act for and in behalf of the dead. The
ordinances thus attended to here on the earth in behalf of the dead,
will be recorded and scaled here by proper authority; and what is thus
recorded and sealed here will be recorded and sealed in the heavens in
behalf of those individuals; and if those spirits who are in prison
and in the eternal worlds will repent when the Gospel is taken to
them, they can have the benefit of the ordinances administered for and
in their behalf here, and they will have part in the first
resurrection.

Vol. 18,  p.53
Then again, if baptism for the dead is true, every other divine
ordinance is equally true and necessary for the dead, for one is just
as consistent as the other. The laying on of hands in confirmation
upon a person that is living here in the flesh, for and in behalf of
those who are in their graves, is just as consistent as baptism for
the dead.

Vol. 18,  p.53
Again, if our fathers and mothers, grandfathers and grandmothers, have
died without being married by divine authority, the same authority
that would cause a people to act for the dead in relation to baptism,
would cause them to act for and in behalf of the dead in relation to
their marriage ceremonies too. Such a plan gives them all a chance.
For there are no marryings, nor baptisms, nor confirmations, in and
after the resurrection. The resurrected dead can do none of these
things; but if it is done here for them, and they will accept of it,
it will be acknowledged in the heavens. Hence, here is another
peculiarity of the Latter-day Saints pertaining to the Temple, the
house of the Lord to be built in the tops of the mountains in the
latter days, as Isaiah says in the second chapter—"Many people shall
say, Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of
the God of Jacob, that he may teach us of his ways, that we may walk
in his paths." A Temple, therefore, instead of being a place for
teaching and preaching, is a place for the administration of holy
ordinances.

Vol. 18,  p.53
Another question. A great many have wondered why so many people in the
eastern, southern and middle States have been stirred up for a number
of years past in searching out their ancestors. Now the Lord does a
great many things unknown to the people, and this is one of them. The
people do not know why they are interested in their ancestry, but they
are wrought upon by some invisible operation, and they feel very
anxious to know about their progenitors. I think that some four
hundred different families have already got extended family records,
tracing their ancestry back from generation to generation to the first
settlements of the New England States, and then back into Old England
if it is possible, to make out the connection. Do they know what they
are doing this for? No; they feel wrought upon, that is all they know
about it. Now I will tell you why it is, for a great many of the
people in this congregation, and many who are scattered through the
villages, towns and settlements in this Territory, emigrated from the
New England States, and they had fathers and mothers, grandfathers and
grandmothers, and ancestors, now in their graves, who were just as
pure, upright, virtuous and honest in their feelings as we their
children are. Now we are going to act for them. We have not time to
search up all these genealogies, but all we have to do is to go and
get the books which the Lord has wrought upon them to get up,
containing the names of hundreds [p.54] and thousands of the dead, and
we will receive baptism, confirmation and marriage for eternity, and
all the ordinances of the Gospel for them, that they, if they will
receive what is done for them, may come forth in the resurrection, and
inherit all that their children will inherit. Why? Because they were
worthy of it. Our pilgrim fathers were a good people, just as worthy
as we are, but unfortunately they did not happen to live in the time
that God has set for establishing his kingdom on the earth, and
sending his angels from the heavens.

Vol. 18,  p.54
Thus you see that this Gospel reaches after the dead as well as the
living. Our Savior set the example in regard to this matter, for we
are told that when his body lay in the tomb, his spirit was not idle;
and instead of going off into the heavens and sitting down there for
three days and three nights in perfect idleness, he had something to
do, and while his body lay in the tomb, his spirit went and opened the
prison doors in which were confined those who were drowned in the
flood. What! Were they in prison? Yes. Did Jesus truly visit them?
Yes. Did he preach to them? Yes. Where have we this recorded? In
Peter's declaration. He says that, "Jesus was put to death in the
flesh, but quickened in the spirit, by which he also went and preached
to the spirits which were in prison, which sometime were disobedient
when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while
the ark was preparing." Oh indeed; He went to those old antediluvians
then, that had not received their resurrection, and preached to them.
What did he preach to them? The following verses tell us what he
preached. What would you think he preached? Says one—"If he followed
the examples of our sectarian preachers, he would go and tell them
that their doom was irrevocably fixed, that they were cast down to
prison, never to be recovered; that as the tree falls so it lies, and
that there was no hope in their case." Well, that was not the kind of
preaching that Jesus did to the antediluvian spirits. "For, for this
cause," says Peter, "was the Gospel preached to them that are dead,
that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, and live
according to God in the spirit." Though they were in the spirit world,
without any bodies, yet they had the privilege of hearing the same
Gospel that Jesus preached to those here in the flesh. They could
repent, for that is an act of the mind; they could believe in Jesus,
for that is also an act of the mind; but the spirits could not be
baptized, for that is an act of the body, it is something that
pertains to this life. Jesus could preach repentance to them, he could
preach the same Gospel to those antediluvians that he had preached to
men in the flesh, and they could then be judged according to men in
the flesh, and live according to God in the spirit. Men in the flesh
could be baptized for them, and they could come forth and receive all
the blessings of those who received the Gospel in the flesh.

Vol. 18,  p.54
There are a few more remarks which I would like to make, if time will
permit, upon a subject which grows out of this eternal marriage or
union between the male and the female. For instance, here is a good
young man who courts up a wife in the kingdom of God. He says to her,
"Let us go and be married for time and all eternity, according to the
requirements of heaven." Very well; they are agreed in it; they attend
to the ordinance, and it is sealed upon their heads and recorded
[p.55] for their benefit. We will say that, in the course of two or
three months after this marriage, some accident befals the wife and
she dies. They loved each other and were married for all eternity, and
he mourns over the fact that in his youth, in the very prime of his
manhood, he is left alone, a widower. Now is it right for him to marry
another wife after having been married to one for time and for all
eternity? Is it right for him again to receive a young lady for a
wife? "Oh, yes," you answer, "it is perfectly right, because that
would not be living with two on the earth at the same time." Very
well, he goes and marries again; and now the question arises, suppose
that they only marry for time, or until death shall part them—we will
suppose this, because the man already has a wife on the other side of
the vail—what is to become of the second wife in the morning of the
resurrection? Can you answer that question? If he only marries her for
time, she has no husband when the resurrection comes. Perhaps she is
just as good a woman as the wife the man married first for all
eternity. What are you going to do with her? Shall she be left in a
condition where she can have no posterity, no endless increase, no
kingdom in connection with a husband, and no husband? Shall she be
left throughout all the future ages of eternity without any such
privilege, while the first wife, no better than she is, is married for
all eternity, and inherits all the blessings arising therefrom? Would
not there be partiality in this? There certainly would. How are you
going to remedy this? We answer, when this widower takes this second
wife, let her also be married to him for time and all eternity, the
same as the first; then, by and by, when the resurrection comes, there
come up the two women. What will you do then? This introduces
plurality into the next life, does it not? Polygamists in the next
world? It certainly does; and these two women, both having received
this man as their husband for all eternity, one of them will now be in
just as good a condition as the other.

Vol. 18,  p.55
Let this principle be extended. There are some cases in life where two
women might die, and a man be still left in his young days without a
wife, and he marries a third and perhaps a fourth; in the resurrection
they are contemporaneously his wives. Plurality, therefore, would be
perfectly consistent in the world to come, but, "Oh," says a
sectarian," "how awful it is in this world!"

Vol. 18,  p.55
Thus you see that the very moment we admit the eternity of marriage,
the very moment that we admit that Adam and Eve were immortal beings,
when they were married, and we undertake to follow that pattern,
plurality necessarily comes along; either marriage has no bearing upon
eternity, and no bearing upon immortality and immortal beings, or else
plurality of wives necessarily must exist in eternity.

Vol. 18,  p.55
Says one—"Turn it about the other way, then we shall have plurality of
husbands." Let me say to the congregation that the object of marriage
is to fulfill the commandment which God gave to immortal beings. Could
a woman multiply faster by having two husbands? Everybody knows that
in this respect there is a difference between the male and the female.
In this life, at any rate, if one woman had two husbands, instead of
making her more fruitful, the probability is that it would prevent her
raising any offspring at all; and if she did, how would the father be
known? And hence, God has strictly forbidden, in [p.56] this Bible,
plurality of husbands, and proclaimed against it in his law.

Vol. 18,  p.56
I should be glad to touch upon a great many other points, in relation
to plurality, but time will not permit. You have heard partially
explained some of the peculiarities of the faith of the people called
Latter-day Saints. Now what is necessary in regard to polygamists? Our
enemies say, "There should be a law passed that all polygamists should
be shut up in prison from five to ten years, as the case may be, and
pay a heavy fine." Very well; this is the voice of the people. But
does the voice of the people rule in a manner that is inconsistent
with the Constitution of our country, by taking away the rights of the
minority? Is it the order of our government that the minority must
have their rights wrenched from them because the majority decide
against them? Let me ask, suppose the majority of the people should
decide against infant sprinkling, many look upon that with the utmost
horror, and it is only a small minority in our nation that believe in
that awful doctrine, suppose the majority should take it into their
heads that those who practise infant sprinkling should be imprisoned,
they have the same right to do that as to do the other thing which I
have named.

Vol. 18,  p.56
Again, there is a certain class of people, and they are far in the
minority in this great nation, who believe in dancing on the
Sabbath-day. I allude to the Shaking Quakers. Would it be right to
pass a law against this small minority, and say they shall be
imprisoned, because the voice of the people in general happens to
denounce their practice of dancing as a crime? "But then," says one,
"polygamy is a crime." Who told you so? Does the Bible tell you so? Oh
no, neither the Old nor the New Testament; no Prophet, no revelator,
no Apostle, no man of God, nor Jesus himself, nor any angel ever
denounced it as a crime, but on the contrary they advocated it, and
the Lord himself administered in this divine ordinance. He gave to
Jacob his four wives and children, so Jacob tells us in Genesis.

Vol. 18,  p.56
Titan we might continue and show that every Christian denomination in
the United States possesses peculiarities which the majority do not
believe in, and which they are convinced should be denounced by the
civil law as criminal, and that those who practice such peculiarities
ought to be imprisoned for doing so. But because the majority of
people condemn a principle, that is no proof that it is a crime.
Supposing that the great majority of the people condemned the
principle of baptism by immersion, would it be right to pass laws
punishing those who practice it? No, the Constitution of our country
was framed to protect the people in every item of doctrine that they
might glean out of this Bible, and instead of condemning these
doctrines as criminal, all the States and all the Territories ought to
leave Bible principles as matters of conscience; especially the great
principle of marriage should be left open and free to all, either to
marry one wife, or two or three, or a dozen, as the case may be, only
making laws in relation to criminal abuses of the marital state, and
in regard to property, how it should descend to the children, etc. But
the very moment that they pass laws that are proscriptive and
restrictive in their nature, condemning principles that are not
condemned in the Bible, taking away the privileges of the people to
believe that which is contained in the word of God, religious liberty
is in danger, and there is no telling where that infringement [p.57]
will lead to. By and by they may have a blending of Church and State;
and no one must believe anything, unless it be doctrines or creeds got
up by the State, or by Congress, or by some legislative body; and
everybody must bow to that, or be fined, or imprisoned, or be burned,
butchered, or hung.

Vol. 18,  p.57
That our great, and free country may never be afflicted with such a
species of despotism, is my most earnest prayer. Amen.

Orson Pratt, July 25, 1875

Resurrection of the Saints—Second Advent of the Messiah—
Preparatory Work—Return of the Jews to Jerusalem—
Gathering of The Saints to Zion—Christ's Personal, Reign

Discourse By Elder Orson Pratt, Delivered in the New Tabernacle, 
Salt Lake City, Sunday Afternoon, July 25, 1875.

(Reported by David W. Evans)

Vol. 18,  p.57
I will read a few verses in the latter part of the fourth and in the
fore part of the fifth chapters of Paul's first epistle to the
Thessalonians. [The speaker read from the 13th verse of the 4th
chapter, to the 6th verse of the 5th, both inclusive.]

Vol. 18,  p.57
I have read these few passages of Scripture relating to the great day
of the coming of our Lord, according as it is predicted by. the mouth
of the ancient Apostle, and also concerning a very important event
which will then happen, namely, the resurrection of the righteous
dead—those who are in Christ; and also another event closely connected
with the resurrection—namely, the ascension of the Saints then living
upon the earth, to meet the Lord at his coming. These events are
looked for by most of the Christian world, indeed we may say that all
the Christian world, who do not spiritualize the Scriptures, are
looking for events similar to those here described. They believe,
according to the New Testament, that there is a time-fixed in the mind
of the Almighty, when the heavens shall be parted as a scroll is
parted when it is rolled up, and that the heavens, invisible to us
now, will be unveiled before the eyes of all people; that the armies
of heaven, the spirits of just men made perfect, through obedience to
the law of God, will be revealed; that the angels who stand in
authority in the presence of God and do his bidding, will also be
numbered with that great company which will be revealed from the
heavens. We also believe, and so do the inhabitants of the Christian
world at large, that [p.58] there will be an audible sound of a
trump—the trump of the archangel—in the heavens at the time this grand
scenery is opened to mankind; that at the sound of that trumpet the
dead in Christ will come forth from their silent dusty tombs; that at
the sound of that trump the Saints then living will be instantaneously
caught up to meet the Lord in the air. This doctrine is believed in by
Christians generally who do not spiritualize altogether the sense and
meaning of the Scriptures.

Vol. 18,  p.58
It may be well for us, in the examination of that great event, the
second coming of Christ, to refer to some of the predictions of
inspired writers in regard to the time of our Savior's revelation from
the heavens. I do not mean to say the day nor the hour of his coming,
for that is unknown, no man that lives on the face of the earth knows
anything about the day or the hour; neither will there be any man on
the earth prior to the coming of the Lord who will know the day and
the hour, for it is hidden from mortal man. However, the age in which
that great event will take place is very clearly revealed in both the
Old and the New Testament. That age is to be characterized by certain
events, predicted by the inspired writers, which are unmistakable in
their nature, and which can be easily understood by all, both learned
and unlearned. These events are to be so conspicuous that I presume
there will not be a nation, people, kindred or tongue upon the face of
the whole earth but what will know that, according to the Scriptures,
some great event is about to take place, for every people in that day
will be more or less enlightened in the Scriptures, for before that
great day shall come, missionaries will be sent to the uttermost parts
of the earth, to testify to all people concerning the Gospel of the
Son of God, and they will cry in the ears of all living, saying unto
them—"Prepare ye, prepare ye, for the great and coming day of the
Bridegroom." They will have a preparatory message to deliver to all
nations.

Vol. 18,  p.58
When the Lord, in the meridian of time, came and took upon himself a
mortal body, he saw proper to send as his forerunner one of the
greatest Prophets that ever was born into our world—John the Baptist,
and he went, announcing, by the inspiration of the Spirit and by the
power of his holy calling, that there was one to come after him who
was mightier than he, whose shoe latchet he was not worthy to unloose;
and that when he should come he would thoroughly purge his floor, and
that he would baptize with fire and with the Holy Ghost. Said John—"I
merely come to prepare the way. I am the voice of one crying in the
wilderness, prepare ye the way of the Lord and make his paths
straight. I come preaching unto you repentance, and baptism for the
remission of sins, but he who comes after me, holding higher authority
and a greater Priesthood, shall baptize you with a baptism that is
greater than that of water—the baptism of fire and the Holy Ghost."

Vol. 18,  p.58
Now, if the Lord, when he came the first time, in his humility and
meekness, born in a manger, of parents of low estate, saw that it was
necessary to prepare the way before him by raising up one of the
greatest Prophets that ever came into the world, why should it be
thought unreasonable that he should also raise up a latter-day Prophet
to prepare the way before one of the mightiest and grandest events
that ever has taken place, or that ever will take place on our earth
in its temporal condition? If the heavens are to be revealed; if the
face [p.59] of the Son of God is to be unvailed; if the glory of his
countenance is to outshine the sun in his strength; if be is to come
in flaming fire, while the very heavens themselves shall shake by his
power, and the earth reel to and fro like a drunken man the mountain
themselves, feeling his power, are sunk and the valleys are raised up;
if all these grand events are to attend the second advent of the Son
of God, is it unreasonable that he should raise up a great Prophet in
the latter days to make preparations for so great an event? Or will he
let the world pass on in blindness and darkness without any signs of
the times, without any warning voice, without any inspired man sent of
God to wake them up from their condition, and to prepare the way for
his coming? To me it looks consistent and reasonable that such a
preparatory work should be sent forth among the children of men, and
it looked consistent to the ancient inspired writers, hence they have
left an abundance of testimony on record in this good book (the Bible)
concerning this preparatory work.

Vol. 18,  p.59
One of the means which God will use to prepare the way before his
second coming, is to send angels from heaven with a proclamation, not
to benefit a few individuals, not for one nation alone, but to all the
inhabitants of our globe, and that too before he comes. Do you want to
know where this prediction is recorded? Let me refer you to the
fourteenth chapter of the revelations given to St. John on Patmos. Did
St. John behold, in vision, the coming of the Son of God? He did. How
does he describe it in that fourteenth chapter? He said, as you will
find by reading the chapter through, that he saw one sitting on a
white cloud, having a sharp sickle in his hand. He had reference to
the time when Jesus should come in the clouds of heaven; however,
before John saw the personage sitting on the cloud, he saw a
preparatory work commence, as it is declared in the sixth verse, in
which the Prophet says—"I saw another angel fly in the midst of
heaven, having the everlasting Gospel to preach unto them that dwell
on the earth, unto every nation and kindred and tongue and people,"
declaring that the hour of God's judgment was come.

Vol. 18,  p.59
Now if that angel does not come and bring the Gospel, then the Son of
Man will not come; no trumpet will sound and call forth the nations of
the righteous from their sleeping tombs; there will be no destroying
the wicked as stubble from the face of the earth; no shaking of the
heavens and causing the earth to tremble and to remove to and fro.
None of these events will transpire if no angel comes, for one is just
as certain as the other; and to show that one is to precede the other,
there must be a time for this everlasting Gospel to be preached to
every nation, kindred, tongue and people after the angel appears with
it. That will take some length of time, however rapidly it may go
forth, for the more preaching of the Gospel would be of no benefit,
unless there were persons authorized to administer its ordinances. The
angel might preach, but who could obey it? No one. It is true that we
might repent if we heard the angel proclaim it by his own voice, as he
flew from nation to nation and from kingdom to kingdom; and we might
also believe in Jesus Christ, but how could we be baptized for the
remission of our sins? Would the angel come down from heaven and take
every believing penitent person and baptize him himself? How long
would it take an angel to go over all the nations and [p.60] baptize
all the penitent believers? It would take ages and ages for him to do
it personally. But it is very evident to every one who reflects upon
these passages, that when that angel comes with the everlasting
Gospel, there will be authority given to man on the earth to
administer the ordinances of that Gospel, to build up the Christian
Church again on the earth as it was built in ancient times, a
Christian Church organized according to the pattern that God has given
in the New Testament; a Christian Church having Apostles inspired from
heaven; a Christian Church with Prophets called of God to prophesy
future events; a Christian Church possessing the gifts and graces of
the ancient Gospel in all their beauty, power and fulness, as they
were possessed in ancient times. These works and these ordinances must
be administered by man, and not by the angel who brings the Gospel.
Will that be a preparatory work?

Vol. 18,  p.60
What other preparations are necessary to be made besides the preaching
of this Gospel to all nations? Supposing that among the nations of the
earth there were to be raised up a true Christian Church, is there
anything particular for that Christian Church to do after having
received the ordinances of the Gospel in order to more fully prepare
them for the coming of the Son of God? I answer, yes. The Christian
Churches built up in the four quarters of the earth after the angel
comes, will be required to gather from all these nations unto one
place. That is something which no Christian denomination believes in,
or if they do believe in it they do not practice it, for the members
of Churches called Christian remain in the respective nations where
they receive the truth; it is true that individuals may emigrate, but
as Churches they do not. But rise Scriptures, speaking of the great
day of the coming of the Lord, say there is to be a gathering from all
the nations of the earth unto one place of those who bare taken upon
them the name of the Lord Jesus. That great gathering is referred to
in the chapter I have quoted from, also in another chapter in which,
referring to the downfall of spiritual Babylon, it is declared that
there shall be a gathering of the people, and that too by inspiration,
by the command of the Almighty; it will not be left to the wisdom of
man, but it will be directed by—"Hear ye the word of the Lord," as
declared to John on the Isle of Patmos. He says—"I heard a great voice
from heaven saying—'Come out of her, my people!'" What people? "My
people." Who are God's people? Those who obey the everlasting Gospel
which the angel brings by authority. "Come out of her, my people, that
ye be not partakers of her sins and that ye receive not of her
plagues. For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath
remembered her iniquities;" and now, you who are Saints, you who have
obeyed the Gospel restored by the angel, come out of her, for the Lord
is going to punish great Babylon. How is he going to punish her? By
casting her down, and causing her overthrow. After speaking of the
bringing of the Gospel by an angel, the very next verse says—"There
followed another angel." What, two angels come. Yes, and mark the
message of the second one. "There followed another angel, saying,
'Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all
nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.'"

Vol. 18,  p.61
The description of this fall of Babylon is given in various places
[p.61] in John's revelations. Awful and most terrible judgments will
fall upon Mystery Babylon the Great. She is to be punished with
plagues of various kinds; a grievous sore will fall upon her people,
so much so that they will blaspheme God, but they will not repent of
their sins. They are to be punished with having the fountains and
rivers turned into blood, and the waters of the great ocean are to
become as the blood of a dead man, and every living thing that is
therein will die; and one of the last plagues and judgments that will
he poured out upon her will be devouring fire, and she will sink as a
millstone, and her name will be blotted from under heaven and all that
are connected with her.

Vol. 18,  p.61
Before these terrible judgments are sent forth upon the nations of the
earth, God will save all who receive the everlasting Gospel by
gathering them to one place, where they can serve him and keep his
commandments. He will not merely give them some idea, by reading the
Scriptures, that he desires them to gather, but John says there will
be a great voice from heaven proclaiming—"Come out of her, my people,
that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her
plagues."

Vol. 18,  p.61
Then there is to be a gathering of the people of God in the latter
days? Yes. Do you marvel to see this people coming forth from all the
various nations, leaving the homes of their ancestry, the graves of
their ancient fathers, leaving their acquaintances and friends, and
gathering up here into these mountain vales? Do you see it? Do you
marvel at it? Remember, O ye inhabitants of the earth, who are looking
upon these things, that you are beholding the fulfillment of prophecy,
prophecy spoken by the Apostle Paul, in the first chapter of his
epistle to the Ephesians. Paul saw the gathering; he saw that it would
be a new dispensation, a dispensation to come after his day. Let me
repeat Paul's words—"That in the dispensation of the fullness of times
he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are
in heaven, and which are on earth." Thus you see that all things in
Christ are to be gathered together in one. What does this include? Are
the inhabitants of heaven to be made one with the inhabitants of the
earth that are in Christ? Yes. The dispensation of the fullness of
times is to bring about one of the grandest events that our earth has
ever experienced—the union of all things in Christ, both in heaven and
upon earth. Are the Saints in Christ? As many of you as have been
baptized into Christ have put on Christ, consequently if you are in
Christ, if you live in the dispensation of the fullness of times, you
will be required to take part in this great and grand gathering
together of those who are on the earth. But how about all things in
Christ in heaven, are they to come too? That is what I have been
explaining. When Christ comes the inhabitants of heaven will come with
him. The spirits of the righteous of all dispensations, who have not
already received a resurrection, will then come forth, and when the
trump of the archangel shall sound, the dead in Christ shall rise
first. Then those spirits which appear in the heavens will take
possession of their renewed immortal bodies which will spring forth
from the tomb, and they will be with those who are gathered here on
the earth. Then the dispensation will be complete—all things in
Christ, whether in heaven or on earth, will be gathered in one.

Vol. 18,  p.62
Enquires one—"Do you really think that we poor mortals, frail as
[p.62] we are with all our imperfections, that have come because of
the fall, are going to associate with those high and exalted beings
that dwell in the presence of God in the eternal worlds? Are we to be
gathered with them?" Yes. Why not be with them? If our hearts are pure
as their hearts are pure, if we have received and obeyed the truth,
and have been sanctified by it, shall we not have boldness in that
day? Or shall we hang down our heads, and shrink with shame, before
the face of Him who sits upon his throne. If we have received the
truth we shall look upon the face of our Redeemer with all the joy
that we look upon the face of a kind and benevolent parent here on the
earth. There will be no fear, no shrinking, but we shall feel that he
is indeed our Redeemer and that we are his sons and his daughters, and
that, having obeyed his doctrine, we are prepared to associate with
him and to dwell in his presence. Oh, how happy the ancient Apostles
were when they saw their risen Redeemer! There was no shrinking. They
were out fishing on a certain time, and when they had learned that
their Redeemer was on the shore, and calling to them, they could not
wait for the ship to reach the shore, but they must plunge into the
sea, to try and get there as soon as possible. Their Redeemer was
there, and instead of shrinking they were eager to behold him once
more. Then, do not, for a moment, suppose that the people of God who
keep his commandments and live in the latter days, in the great and
grand dispensation of gathering, will shrink when the heavens shall
unvail the face of the Son of God. They will be prepared to take these
resurrected beings by the hand, and they will go forth and salute
Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, for they are in the kingdom of God. Jesus
said, although they were polygamists, that they are in the kingdom of
God. We shall be very glad, in the day when the heavenly hosts are
revealed to men, to take them by the hand and to sit down with them,
as Jesus has said—"Many shall come from the east and from the west,
and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of
heaven." It will be some pleasure then to be in the company of
polygamists, will it not?

Vol. 18,  p.62
Now, as I go along with item after item of the work preparatory to the
coming of the Savior, I want to ask what the belief of this people is,
and whether we are or are not fulfilling the word of the Lord which I
have quoted? Joseph Smith brought forth the Book of Mormon,—the Lord
calls it the everlasting Gospel, because it is the same Gospel which
Jesus himself preached to the ancient inhabitants of this continent,
and to the people who dwelt anciently on the continent of Asia. It was
brought forth in these latter days by his power, by an angel sent from
heaven, and revealed to this generation. And have missionaries been
sent forth? Yes. What for? To carry this Book of Mormon, containing
the everlasting Gospel, to every nation, kindred, tongue and people.
And these missionaries, as far as time would permit, have fulfilled
the missions that were given unto them.

Vol. 18,  p.62
We first began to preach this Gospel in the little town where this
Church was organized with six members only, on the 6th day of April,
1830. A few missionaries then began to teach in the neighborhood, next
in the county, next in the adjoining county, next in the adjoining
States, next in the adjoining Territories, next in British America,
and finally across the great ocean among the European nations. Have
[p.63] these missionaries visited and preached to any other people
besides those living on the continent of Europe, and those of the
United States and the Canadas? Yes. They have preached this same
GoSpel contained in the Book of Mormon on the Islands of the sea, in
Australia, New Zealand, the Society Islands, Sandwich Islands—where
thousands have received this Gospel and been baptized. Missionaries
have also carried this everlasting Gospel to the northern portions of
Europe—Norway, Denmark and Sweden; also into the German States, to
Austria, Italy, Switzerland, France, some of the islands of the
Mediterranean, to Hindostan, and in fact wherever there has been a
sufficient degree of liberty to permit the proclamation of the Gospel,
thither have missionaries, called of God to declare the message of
life and salvation to the people, been and proclaimed it.

Vol. 18,  p.63
Wherever we have preached this Gospel, the word has so been published
by command of the Almighty, saying—"Come out, my people, from the
nations you now inhabit." "Where shall we go?" "Go to the place which
I have appointed by revelation, by the voice of my servants, by my own
voice—to the mountains of the new world, where my kingdom shall be
established as a stone cut out of the mountain without hands." Daniel
predicted that, in the last days, the kingdom of God should be
established upon the earth, and that, in its commencement, it would be
like a little stone cut out of the mountains without hands, but that
it would gradually gain power and greatness among the people; and the
reason that you have gathered to these mountains from the various
nations in which you obeyed the Gospel is that you may assist in
establishing and building up that kingdom spoken of by Daniel. Not a
week has elapsed since some seven or eight hundred, from the northern
regions of Europe, arrived in our city. A few days after their arrival
we look around and we scarcely notice that there is any addition.
Where are they? Friends have taken them by the hand and invited them
to their homes. Any more coming? Yes, numerous hosts are coming. We
have sent across the Atlantic ocean between one and two hundred ships,
most of them loaded, to the fullest extent that the law would allow,
with Latter-day Saints gathering together to one place in fulfillment
of the predictions of the ancient Prophets.

Vol. 18,  p.63
Says one—"How long will this continue?" Until the people are
thoroughly warned. At the present time there are some nations who will
not permit any religion to be proclaimed within their borders except
that which is established by law. When God shall east down thrones,
which he will soon do; when he shall overturn kingdoms and empires,
which time is very near at hand, then other governments will be formed
more favorable to religious liberty, and the missionaries of this
Church will visit those nations. Already we find greater religious
liberty advocated in the northern portions of Europe where formerly
imprisonment was the penalty of declaring any other religious doctrine
than that which was permitted by their laws. Austria, that great Roman
Catholic power, containing thirty-one millions of Catholics, is
increasing in religious liberty. Spain, which for centuries has
persecuted everything but the established religion, where countless
martyrs have been tortured and put to death by the so-called "Holy
Inquisition," is at present forming a constitution which proposes to
grant a large share of religious liberty.[p.64] And so we might
enumerate what God is doing among these despotic powers, overturning
and changing long-established usages and institutions, that His
servants may go by His own command, to deliver the great and last
message of the Gospel to the inhabitants of the earth, preparatory to
the coming of his Son.

Vol. 18,  p.64
Alter the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled, which period is set in
the mind of God, another scene will open up before the world, in the
grand panorama of the last days. What is that? The downfall of the
Gentile nations. Says one—"Whom do you call Gentiles?" Every nation
excepting the literal descendants of Israel. We, the Latter-day
Saints, are Gentiles; in other words, we have come from among the
Gentile nations, though many of as may have the blood of Israel within
our veins. When God has called out the righteous, when the warning
voice has been sufficiently proclaimed among these Gentile nations,
and the Lord says "It is enough," he will also say to his servants—"O,
ye, my servants, come home, come out from the midst of these Gentile
nations, where you have labored and borne testimony for so long a
period; come out from among them, for they are not worthy; they do
lint receive the message that I have sent forth, they do not repent of
their sins; come out from their midst, their times are fulfilled. Seal
up the testimony among them and bind up the law." What then? Then the
word of the Lord will be—"O, ye, my servants, I have a new commission
for you. Instead of going forth to convert the Gentile nations, go
unto the remnants of the house of Israel that are scattered in the
four quarters of the earth. Go and proclaim to them that the times of
their dispersion are accomplished; that the times of the Gentiles are
fulfilled; that the time has arrived for my people Israel, who have
been scattered for generations in a dark and cloudy day, to gather
unto their own homes again, and to build up old Jerusalem on its
former heap. And then will commence the gathering of the Jews to old
Jerusalem; then the ten tribes in the northern regions, wherever they
may be, after having been concealed from the nations for twenty-five
hundred years, will come forth and will return, as Jeremiah has said,
from the north country. A great company will come, and they will sing
in the height of Zion, and "flow together for the goodness of the
Lord, for wine and for oil, and for the young of the flock; and their
souls shall be as a watered garden, and they shall not sorrow any more
at all." What a happy time for them, when they come from their cold
quarters in the north! The Jews dispersed among the Gentiles will not
come and sing in the height of Zion, or but very few of them, they
will go to Jerusalem. Some of them will believe in the true Messiah,
and thousands of the more righteous, whose fathers did not consent to
the shedding of the blood of the Son of God, will receive the Gospel
before they gather from among the nations. Many of them, however, will
not receive the Gospel, but seeing that others are going to Jerusalem
they will go also; and when they get back to Palestine, to the place
where their ancient Jerusalem stood, and see a certain portion of the
believing Jews endeavoring to fulfill and carry out the prophecies,
they also will take hold and assist in the same work. At the same time
they will have their synagogues, in which they will preach against
Jesus of Nazareth, "that impostor," as they call him, who was
crucified by their fathers.[p.65] 

Vol. 18,  p.65
After awhile, when tens of thousands of them have gathered and rebuilt
their Temple, and re-established Jerusalem. upon its own heap, the
Lord will send forth amongst them a tremendous scourge. What will be
the nature of that scourge? The nations that live in the regions round
about Jerusalem will gather up like a cloud, and cover all that land
round about Jerusalem. They will come into the Valley of Jehoshaphat,
east of Jerusalem, and they will lay siege to the city. What then? The
Lord will raise up two great Prophets, they are called witnesses, in
the Revelations of St. John. Will they have much power? Yes, during
the days of their prophecying they will have power to smite those who
undertake to destroy them, and until their testimonies are fulfilled
they will be able to keep at bay all those nations besieging
Jerusalem, so that they will not have power to take that city. How
long will that be? Three and a half years, so says John the Revelator.
If any man hurt them, they shall have power to bring upon that man,
nation or army, the various plagues that are there written. They will
have power to smite the earth with plague and famine, and to turn the
rivers of water into blood. And when they have fulfilled their
prophecy, then the nations that have been lying before Jerusalem so
long, waiting for an opportunity to destroy the city, will succeed in
killing these two Prophets, and their bodies, says John's revelations,
will lie in the streets of Jerusalem three days and a half after they
are killed. What rejoicing there will be over the death of these men!
Those who have been waiting so long and anxiously for this to take
place, will no doubt send gifts one to another, and if the telegraph
wires are not destroyed, they will telegraph to the uttermost parts of
the earth that they have succeeded in killing the two men who had so
long tormented them with plagues, turning the waters onto blood, etc.
But by and by, right in the midst of their rejoicing, when they think
the Jews will now certainly fall a prey to them, behold there is a
great earthquake, and in the midst of it these two Prophets rise from
the dead, and they hear a voice up in the heavens saying—"Come up
hither;" and they immediately ascend in the sight of their enemies.

Vol. 18,  p.65
What next? Notwithstanding all this, those nations will be so
infatuated, and so determined to persecute the people of God—as much
so as Pharaoh and his army in ancient days—that they will say—"Come,
now is the time to pitch into the Jews and destroy them." And they
will commence their work of destruction, and they will succeed so far
as to take one half the city, and while they are in the very act of
destroying Jerusalem, behold the heavens are rent, and the Son of God
with all the heavenly hosts appears, and he descends and rests upon
the summit of Mount Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east. And
so great will be the power of God that will then be made manifest,
that the mountain will divide asunder, half going towards the south,
and half towards the north, producing a great valley going east and
west, from the walls of Jerusalem eastward.

Vol. 18,  p.65
What next? The Jews that are not taken captive by these nations, will
flee to the valleys of the mountains, says the Prophet Zechariah; and
when they get into that great valley, where these personages are who
have descended, they expect to find the Deliverer which their Prophets
have spoken of so long.[p.66] But they do not for a moment suppose
that it is Jesus, oh no, Jesus was an impostor. The personage they
have been looking for some eighteen hundred years is the true Messiah,
and now, say they—"He has come to deliver us." But how great will be
their astonishment when, while looking at their Deliverer, they see
that his hands are marred considerably! Say they, one to
another—"There are large scars in his hands; and there is another
large scar in his side, and behold his feet, they are scarred also!"
And, as the Prophet Zechariah has said, they will begin to enquire of
him—"What are these wounds with which thou art wounded?" And he
replies—"These are the wounds with which I was wounded in the house of
my friends."

Vol. 18,  p.66
What then? Then they begin to believe, then the Jews are convinced, I
mean that portion of them who formerly despised Jesus of Nazareth, and
being convinced they begin to mourn, and they mourn every family
apart, and their wives apart. The family of the house of Levi apart
and their wives apart; the family of the house of David and their
wives apart, and all their families that remain will mourn, they and
their wives apart, and there will be such mourning in Jerusalem as
that city never experienced before. What is the matter? What are they
mourning about? They have looked upon him whom their fathers pierced,
they behold the wounds, they are now convinced that they and their
fathers have been in error some eighteen hundred years, and they
repent in dust and ashes.

Vol. 18,  p.66
The next step for them will be baptism for the remission of their
sins. They look upon him whom their fathers pierced and they mourn for
him as one who mourns for his only son, and, as Zechariah says, they
are in bitterness for him. But repentance alone would not be
sufficient, they must obey the ordinances of the Gospel; hence there
will be a fountain opened at that time on purpose for baptism. Where
will it be opened? On the east side of the Temple. A stream will break
out from under the threshold of the Temple, says the Prophet, and it
will run eastward, and will probably pass directly through the deep
valley made by the parting of the Mount of Olives. It will run
eastward, and as you go down from the Temple a few thousand cubits it
increases so rapidly that it becomes a great river that cannot be
forded.

Vol. 18,  p.66
This is the fountain that Zechariah says is open to the inhabitants of
Jerusalem and to the house of David for sin and uncleanness. "How is
it that" says one? "Water for sin and uncleanness? Why yes, baptism
for the remission of sins. Then the Jews will receive the Gospel and
they will be cleansed from all their sins by being baptized in water
for their remission. Then will be fulfilled the words of the Prophet
Isaiah, when speaking of Jerusalem—"For henceforth there shall no more
come into thee the uncircumcised and the unclean." But the name of the
city from that day will be—"The Lord is there;" that is, the Lord will
be personally there, there with his Apostles and with all his ancient
Saints, for Zechariah says that when he comes and stands his feet on
the Mount of Olives, all his Saints will come with him.

Vol. 18,  p.66
We have found out the place where Jesus will descend, and we have
found out who comes with him. Now we enquire will he remain on the
earth after he thus descends? Yes, he will remain on this earth as
literally and personally as he went [p.67] around in ancient times,
and taught the people from house to house and synagogue to synagogue.
And in that day there shall be one Lord, and his name one. There will
not be any heathen gods, for there will be no heathens; no idolatrous
worship, but one Lord, and his name one.

Vol. 18,  p.67
And this water which breaks out from the threshold of the Temple, will
not only run eastward but westward also, and there will be a great
change in the land there, certain portions rising up, others lowered,
rough places made smooth and mountains cast down; and half the waters
of this spring which will burst forth, will go towards the former sea
and half to the other sea; in other words half towards the Dead Sea
and half toward the Mediterranean.

Vol. 18,  p.67
From that day forward there shall be written upon the bells of the
horses and upon the vessels of the house of the Lord,—"Holiness to the
Lord;" and thenceforth all the people who are spared from the nations
round about, will have to go up to Jerusalem year by year to worship
the King, the Lord of Hosts.

Vol. 18,  p.67
These are some of the grand events spoken of in this Bible; these are
events that the Latter-day Saints believe in, and that so far as it
lies in their power, they are trying to fulfill. If we are not Jews we
are not required to go to old Jerusalem but we are required to build
up a Zion; that is spoken of as well as the building of Jerusalem.
Zion is to be built up in the mountains in the last days, not at
Jerusalem. Read the fortieth chapter of Isaiah, where he speaks of the
glory of the Lord being revealed, and all flesh to see him when he
comes the second time and how the mountains and hills should be
lowered and the valleys be exalted; and in the same chapter the
Prophet also says that, before that great and terrible day of the Lord
Zion is required to get up into the high mountains. Isaiah predicts
this. Says he, in his fortieth chapter—"Oh Zion, thou that bringest
good tidings, get thee up into the high mountains."

Vol. 18,  p.67
Thus you see that the people who organize Zion through the everlasting
Gospel which the angel brings, have good tidings to declare to all the
inhabitants of the earth. But these people are required, according to
this prophecy, to get up into the high mountains. You Latter-day
Saints are four thousand three hundred feet above the level of the
ocean, scattered over four hundred miles of Territory, north and
south, and you are extending your settlements continually, and are
building up some two hundred towns, cities and villages in the
mountains of the great American desert, fulfilling the prophecies of
the holy Prophets.

Vol. 18,  p.67
By and by you will leave this country. Says one—"What, are the Mormons
going to leave Utah?" Oh yes, most of us; we are going to leave, but
we shall disappoint some of you. You want to know which way we are
going? We are going by and by eastward. I do not say hat we shall go
directly from this city eastward, but we shall, after a while, be in
Jackson County, in the western borders of Missouri. Why are we going
there? Because it is the great central gathering place for the Saints
of latter days, for all that will be gathered from South America,
Central America, Mexico, the Canadas, and from all the nations of the
Gentiles—their head quarters will be in Jackson County, in the State
of Missouri. We shall roll down from the mountains, and though we may
be considered but a little stone cut out of the mountains without
human ingenuity, without mankind undertaking [p.68] to carry on this
work of their own accord, the time will come when God will cause the
stone of the mountains to roll, and then it will roll down and build
up the central city of Zion, and that, too, long before this gathering
from the distant nations shall cease. I do not know how much before
the ten tribes will come from the north; but after Zion is built in
Jackson County, and after the Temple is built upon that spot of ground
where the corner stone was laid in 1831; after the glory of God in the
form of a cloud by day shall rest upon that Temple, and by night the
shining of a flaming fire will fill the whole heavens round about;
after every dwelling place upon Mount Zion shall be clothed upon as
with a pillar of fire by night, and a cloud by day, about that period
of time, the ten tribes will be heard of, away in the north, a great
company, as Jeremiah says, coming down from the northern regions,
coming to sing in the height of the latter-day Zion. Their souls will
be as a watered garden, and they will not sorrow any more at all, as
they have been doing during the twenty-five hundred long years they
have dwelt in the Arctic regions. They will come, and the Lord will be
before their camp, he will utter his voice before that great army, and
he will lead them forth as he led Israel in ancient days. This long
chain of Rocky Mountains, that extends from the cold regions of the
north away into South America, will feel the power of God, and will
tremble before the hosts of Israel as they come to sing on the heights
of Zion. In that day the trees of the field will clap like hands, says
the Prophet, and in that day the Lord will open waters in the
wilderness, and streams in the desert, to give drink to his chosen,
his people Israel. And when they come to the height of Zion they shall
be crowned with glory under the hands of the servants of God living in
those days, the children of Ephraim, crowned with certain blessings
that pertain to the Priesthood, that they could not receive in their
own lands. In that day will be set apart twelve thousand out of each
of these ten tribes—one hundred and twenty thousand persons ordained
to the High Priesthood, after the order of the Son of God, to go forth
to all people, nations, kindreds and tongues, for the salvation of the
remnants of Israel in the four quarters of the earth, to bring as many
as will come unto the Church of the firstborn. Thus God will have
twelve thousand out of all the tribes of Israel to fulfill his
purposes; and when they have completed his work here on the earth,
they will be called home to Zion, be crowned with glory and stand upon
Mount Zion and sing the song of the redeemed, the song of the hundred
and forty-four thousand, and the Father's name will be written in
their foreheads.

Vol. 18,  p.68
By and by, when all things are prepared—when the Jews have received
their scourging, and Jesus has descended upon the Mount of Olives, the
ten tribes will leave Zion, and will go to Palestine, to inherit the
land that was given to their ancient fathers, and it will be divided
amongst the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob by the inspiration
of the Holy Ghost. They will go there to dwell in peace in their own
land from that time, until the earth shall pass away. But Zion, after
their departure, will still remain upon the western hemisphere, and
she will be crowned with glory as well as old Jerusalem, and, as the
Psalmist David says, she will become the joy of the whole earth.
"Beautiful for situation is Mount Zion on the sides of the north, the
city of the great King."[p.69] 

Vol. 18,  p.69
Zion will be caught up when Jesus comes, to meet him. Jesus will
descend not only upon the Mount of Olives, but he will descend and
stand upon Mount Zion. But before he stands upon it, it will be caught
up to meet him in the air. Will the buildings of Zion be caught up?
Yes. And its land? Yes. And Jesus will stand upon Mount Zion,
according to the prediction of John the Revelator, and he will reign
over his people during a thousand years; and his associates will be
the resurrected righteous of all former dispensations, those, among
others, who dwelt on this continent before the flood. Says one—"Do you
mean to say that America was inhabited before the flood?" Yes, Adam
dwelt on this continent. I do not know that the Garden of Eden was
here but we know from what God has revealed to us, that before Adam
closed his days he dwelt on a certain portion of this continent with a
great number of the righteous. All the righteous that lived on this
continent before the flood, those who lived upon this continent who
were righteous, who came from the Tower of Babel after the flood, and
lived here some sixteen hundred years, before the nation was
destroyed. All the Prophets, and wise, and good men of these several
periods, will be permitted to reign as kings and priests upon this
western hemispere during the period of Christ's reign on the earth.
The Israelites, too, the remnants of Joseph, the forefathers of these
poor degraded Indians, who are righteous, will come forth also to
reign as kings and priests on this land.

Vol. 18,  p.69
We might continue this subject much further. We might portray before
you the duties that will be performed by these resurrected righteous
who reign as immortal beings on this continent and on the eastern
continent. We might portray some of the great doings that will be
accomplished by the King of kings and Lord of lords, when he shall sit
upon his throne in the Temple at Jerusalem, surrounded by his Twelve
Apostles, who will also sit upon twelve thrones to judge the twelve
tribes of Israel. We might also relate to you concerning the judges
and the thrones of those that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus
and for the word of God, who will reign on the western hemisphere as
well as on the eastern; but time will not permit us to continue this
subject any further.

Vol. 18,  p.69
May God bless the Latter-day Saints in the kingdom of God established
here in the tops of the mountains; bless you in your residences, in
your towns, in your cities, in your villages, and throughout the
length and breadth of the land, and increase and multiply you as the
stars of heaven that cannot be numbered, until the kingdoms of this
world shall become the kingdoms of our God and his Christ, and the
Saints shall reign forever and ever. Amen.[p.70] 

Brigham Young, August 31, 1875

Present Revelation Necessary to Lead the Church—the 
Apostleship—Present Revelation Necessary for All—Evils 
of Waste, Intemperance, and Extravagance—True 
Reformation is to Cease From Doing Evil

Discourse By President Brigham Young, Delivered in the 
Old Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Aug. 31, 1875. 

(Reported by David W. Evans)

Vol. 18,  p.70
Brethren and sisters, we have met here to talk over the principles of
our faith, and if we say that we are going to be Saints, and that we
are going to live our religion, we do not expect to give ourselves the
lie, to eat our own words and to falsify our characters and our
testimonies before God; but we expect to live our religion as well as
we know how. We want you who wish to be Saints, to know, that we will
do everything in our power to help you to live so, that you will be
entitled to, and enjoy, the revelations of the Lord Jesus; that every
man and every woman may know and understand their duty before God,
pertaining to themselves and what is required of them, just as much as
your humble servant who is talking to you.

Vol. 18,  p.70
It is a great privilege to know the mind and will of God, and this
privilege we enjoy, and I wish that all good people of every nation,
sect and party would so live that they might understand the will of
the Lord for themselves; but in bestowing this upon us the Lord
requires us to live accordingly, and he has placed us and all people
under this obligation.

Vol. 18,  p.70
It is my duty to know the mind of the Lord concerning myself and also
concerning this people; and I think I know it just as well as I know
the road home. I do not know the path from that door to my own home
any better than I know how to dictate this people, if they will only
hearken to me. This is a great blessing and a great privilege, and if
I were to reject it and take a course to deprive myself of the spirit
of revelation, according to what the Lord has given to me, and to
magnify the Priesthood that I received through his servant Joseph, I
would be taken forthwith from this world, I would not remain here at
all to darken the minds of, or to lead astray, any of the members of
the kingdom of God. According to the revelations that I and others of
my brethren and sisters have received, through the Prophet Joseph and
others who have lived upon the earth, if I observe my duty, I shall
have the privilege of living and enjoying the society of my brethren
and sisters, and of instructing them; but let me neglect this and I
shall be removed out of my place forthwith.

Vol. 18,  p.71
Now it is no more my duty to [p.71] live so as to know the mind and
will of the Lord than it is the duty of my brethren, the rest of the
Twelve. I say the rest of the Twelve, because I am the President of
the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles on the earth, and the only one that
the Lord has ever acknowledged. It is true that Thomas B. Marsh was
once President, but the Lord never acknowledged any man by revelation
as President of that Quorum but myself. At the death of Joseph I
stepped out from that position in the advance, according to the
organization of the Church, for the sake of preserving the flock of
God, but not according to my wishes, nor the desire of my heart, but
it was my duty. When I heard of the Prophet's death I said—"What will
become of the people? What will the Saints do now that the Prophet has
gone?" It was my whole desire to preserve the sheep of the flock of
God, and it is so to-day. Brother Kimball also stepped into the first
Presidency, and we called others and ordained them to take our place
for the time being, that the Church might be fully organized, and we
expect to ordain more when we feel like it; but because a man is
ordained an Apostle it does not prove that he belongs to the Quorum of
the Apostles. I just mention this that you may understand it.

Vol. 18,  p.71
Now, in regard to the Twelve Apostles, it is their imperative duty to
live so that they will know the mind and will of the Lord concerning
them in the discharge of their duties as a quorum, and also as
individuals; and they are under just the same obligations to live so
as to enjoy the spirit of revelation that I am. And so it is with the
Seventies, the High Priests, the Elders and the Bishops. It is the
imperative duty of a Bishop—called to preside over a ward—to live so
that he will know the mind and will of God concerning his ward just as
much as I do concerning this people. But when Bishops say they are
willing to do as brother Brigham says, and that is the end of their
researches to know the mind and will of the Lord, they will always be
making mistakes, always doing something that they will regret; they
will neglect their duty here and there, and when they make a move it
will not be right unless brother Brigham is there to tell them the
words they should say and the acts they should perform; and hence the
necessity of them living day by day so that they will know the mind
and will of the Lord for themselves.

Vol. 18,  p.71
And so you may follow on through every quorum there is in the Church,
not only Seventies, High Priests, Elders and Bishops, but also the
Priests, Teachers and Deacons, who administer to the people in going
from house to house. It is their duty to live so that they know and
understand the mind and will of the Lord concerning the people to whom
they administer, as much as it is mine to know the mind and will of
the Lord concerning the entire people. And it is the duty of every
father and mother to live so that they may have the mind and will of
the Lord concerning their duties to their families. If they are not
called to exercise the priesthood which they hold, more than to
administer to their children, it is their duty to live so as to know
how to teach, lead and advise their children; and if they are disposed
they may have the privilege, for it is God's mind and will that they
should know just what to do fur them when they are sick. Instead of
calling for a doctor you should administer to them by the laying on of
hands and anointing with oil, and give them mild food, and herbs, and
[p.72] medicines that you understand; and if you want the mind and
will of God at such a time, get it, it is just as much your privilege
as of any other member of the Church and kingdom of God. It is your
privilege and duty to live so that you know when the word of the Lord
is spoken to you and when the mind of the Lord is revealed to you. I
say it is your duty to live so as to know and understand all these
things. Suppose I were to teach you a false doctrine, how are you to
know it if you do not possess the Spirit of God? As it is written,
"The things of God knoweth no man but by the Spirit of God."

Vol. 18,  p.72
Now I want to say a few words to the sisters, though I will say that I
do not feel the least like chastising either my brethren or my sisters
this morning. I feel kind, and I do not want to say words to them that
they would think harsh or unkind. But I will say, to both brethren and
sisters, that whenever any of us spend means needlessly, say to the
amount of one cent, dime, or dollar, we consume it upon the lusts of
our flesh. Here is a man, for instance, who has an appetite for
tobacco, and, during a year, he spends ten or twenty dollars in cigars
and tobacco, which do him no good, but injure him; do you think that
such a may will be brought to an account hereafter for that waste?
Such means does not go to build temples, or to help to sustain Elders
who have gone abroad to proclaim the gospel; it is not applied to
assist in feeding or clothing their wives or children, to find them a
little fuel in the winter, when it is cold, or to get them a cow, so
that they can have milk and a little butter to make them more
comfortable; but it is spent in the purchase of tobacco and is utterly
wasted; and they who get rid of their means so foolishly will most
surely be brought to account therefor. The same may be said of money
spent in the purchase of beer. It is a mild drink, and is very
pleasant and agreeable to a great many; but when a man pays his fifty
cents, his dollar or his ten dollars for beer it goes into the hands
of the grocery keepers and they send it off, and it does no good to
the community. The beer itself does no good, it injures the system of
those who habitually indulge in the use of it, and, whether they think
of and realize it, or not, they will be brought to account for the
means they have thus wasted.

Vol. 18,  p.72
Here in the midst of the Latter-day Saints, where we can know and
understand the mind and will of the Lord concerning us, many of us
have not taken the pains to ask what the Lord wants us to do or what
not to do; and if we are extravagant in the use of tea or coffee,
which do us no good, but which injure our systems, we shall certainly
be brought to account for it. Parties may say—"We did this
thoughtlessly and ignorantly; we did not think there was any harm in
drinking tea, coffee, beer or a little liquor, or in smoking or
chewing tobacco; and having worked for our wages, we considered that
we had a right to spend a portion of them in these luxuries, if we
were disposed to do so." But Justice will say, "If you had enquired
you might have learned that the use of these things was not only no
good to you, but was absolutely injurious, and that the means used in
purchasing them was utterly wasted, and hence you who have been guilty
of this folly must be brought to an account for it."

Vol. 18,  p.72
We might follow this subject through all the varied ramifications of
our practice in life, but it is not necessary on this occasion.
Suffice it to say that we want to understand [p.73] and do better than
we have done, and to be governed by the dictates of good, solid, sound
sense in the use of the wealth, privileges and talents that are given
to us in our present life. Let me ask, what is real wealth? Do you
know? I say that time is all the wealth we have; and to illustrate,
let us suppose that all the inhabitants of the earth were, to-day, in
the same position that our first parents were in when they were placed
in the Garden. Here is the naked earth, without any improvements
whatever; and the people, being without experience, have not the
ability to raise anything to eat, to build dwellings to reside in, or
to gather up or utilize the stock that is running at large. Would a
people in that condition have any wealth? No; but you put them in
possession of ability to work with their hands and to raise their food
and clothing from the earth, also materials to build their houses, lay
out their streets, make their gardens, farms, etc., and they will soon
accumulate by their labor, and hence, you can easily see that all the
wealth there is on the earth consists of the bone, sinew and time of
the people. That is the capital stock of every individual and of every
nation, and all the capital stock they have. If they have
money—seeming wealth—it may go from them, they do not know how
quickly. Cities may burn up; thieves may steal their gold and silver,
and their greenbacks may be burned up with their banks, and then their
wealth is gone, or rather that which is the representative of wealth;
but they still have the ability and the bone and sinew necessary to go
to work to rebuild their cities and to make new farms, to mine out
gold and silver from the mountains to make vessels for convenience,
for table use, or for ornaments—ear rings, nose jewels, bands for
their wrists, ankles, etc. But it must all be done by labor.

Vol. 18,  p.73
The enquiry rises—Who gives the ability to labor? Who gives us the
physical power to cut down trees, to saw them into lumber, and to
shape the lumber for use, so that we can make improvements in
building, fencing, and everything. that labor can be used for? Is this
ability our own individual property, independent of God and every
other being? Not at all, we are dependent upon him for strength,
health, life and every power and faculty we possess. Hence we may say
that Time is really all the capital stock that is possessed by any
people or nation, by Saint of sinner, good or bad. Time and the
ability to labor are the capital stock of the whole world of mankind,
and we are all indebted to God for the ability to use time to
advantage, and he will require of us a strict account of the
disposition we make of this ability; and be will not only require an
account of our acts, but our words and thoughts will also be brought
into judgment.

Vol. 18,  p.73
Now, returning to the subject of wasting means, suppose that in the
providences of God, I have been able to gather means around me, and I
fancy and am able to pay for a breakfast that would cost a hundred
dollars, and I say to my wife—"Prepare me such and such a breakfast,"
and I actually eat a breakfast that has cost a hundred dollars, the
question arises—Am I justified, have I to give an account of this? I
am not justified, and I certainly shall have to give an account. A
fifteen or twenty cent breakfast would satisfy the demands of my
nature, and would be just as good for my system as the hundred dollar
breakfast, so that by indulging in such a luxury I waste ninety-nine
dollars and eighty cents, it has gone to the winds, gone to [p.74] the
enemy. Now what is my duty? I say that after eating my fifteen or
twenty cent breakfast, if I have a hundred dollars that I can afford
to spend therein, my duty is to give the residue towards sustaining
the poor, building Temples, school-houses, sustaining the teachers,
maintaining the orphan child, so that it may have an education,
sending an Elder to preach the Gospel, and sustaining his family while
he is away, or something or other that will advance the kingdom of God
upon the earth.

Vol. 18,  p.74
Or again, suppose I say to a tailor—"I have some grey cloth, and I
want you to make me a coat just according to my own notions." "Very
well, what will you have?" "I want you to make the coat of this grey
cloth, and I want you to take this piece of blue cloth and cut it into
narrow strips about a third of an inch wide, and strip my coat all
around, and ring it around, and put a puff here and another there, and
I want home-made epaulets on, and I want you to put fifteen or twenty
dollars worth of work on this coat," most of which, after all, is of
not the least use in the world. Am I justified in doing this, and
shall I or shall I not, have to give an account of thus spending my
means and using the time of the tailor for naught? I think I shall,
and I may say, as far as I am concerned, I know I shall have to give
an account. But the people do not think of this.

Vol. 18,  p.74
Now, then, leaving the useless things which the brethren use—tea,
coffee, tobacco, beer, whiskey, etc., I will allude to some that the
sisters use and wear, such as tea, coffee, snuff, tobacco, opium, and
then the ruffles, bows, puffs, trimmings, and this, that, and the
other that they wear on their dresses that are useless. What shall we
do in regard to these things? My senses tell me that the children of
Zion should forsake every needless fashion and custom which they now
practise. My wives dress very plainly, but I sometimes ask them the
utility of some of the stripes and puffs which i see on their dresses.
I remember asking a lady this question once, and enquired if they kept
the bed bugs and flies away. Well, if they do that they are very
useful; but if they do not, what use are they? None whatever. Now,
some ladies will buy a cheap dress, say a cheap calico, and they will
spend from five to fifteen dollars worth of time in making it up,
which is wasting so much of the substance which God has given them on
the lust of the eye, and which should be devoted to a better purpose.
I have had an observation made to me which I believe I will relate; I
never have done it, but I believe I will now. It has been said to
me—"Yes, brother Brigham, we have seen ladies go to patties in plain,
home-made cloth dresses, but every man was after the girls who had on
a hundred dollars worth of foil-the-roll, and they would dance with
every woman and girl except the one in a plain dress, and they would
let her stay by the wall the whole evening." It may be in some cases,
but should not be. It adds no beauty to a lady, in my opinion, to
adorn her with fine feathers. When I look at a woman, I look at her
face, which is composed of her forehead, cheeks, nose, mouth and chin,
and I like to see it clean, her hair combed neat and nice, and her
eyes bright and sparkling; and if they are so, what do I care what she
has on her head, or how or of what material her dress is made? Not the
least in the world. If a woman is clean in person, and has on a nice
clean dress, she looks a great deal better when washing her dishes,
making her butter or cheese, or [p.75] sweeping her house, than those
who, as I told them in Provo, walked the streets with their spanker
jib flying. It adds no beauty to a lady or gentleman to have a great
many frills on their dresses or coats; beauty must be sought in the
expression of the countenance, combined with neatness and cleanliness
and graceful manners. All the beauty which nature bestows is
exhibited, let the dress be ever so plain, if the wearer of it be only
neat and comely. Do not fine feathers look well? Yes, they are very
pretty, but they look just as well on these dolls, these fixed up
machines which they have in the stores, as anywhere else; they
certainly add nothing to the beauty of a lady or gentleman, so far as
I ever saw.

Vol. 18,  p.75
Now, then, labor is our capital, and the source and creator of all the
wealth that we possess; and I feel it a duty to say to the sisters as
well as the brethren, that we must stop the course that has been so
generally pursued among the Latter-day Saints, of spending time and
means for nothing. I will mention one article to illustrate, and that
is the sewing machine. A sewing machine that costs twenty-two dollars
to manufacture, we pay one hundred and twenty-five dollars for; for
one that costs fourteen dollars to manufacture, we pay eighty-five
dollars; and for one that costs sixteen dollars, we pay one hundred.
And then, when a man gets his wife a sewing machine, she will spend
from five to fifteen dollars worth of time in making a dress. This is
wasting time; and we want the brethren and sisters to understand that
when they waste time, they are wasting the capital stock which God has
given them to improve upon here upon the earth. Says one—"I have
nothing to do." You very easily can have if you wish for it.

Vol. 18,  p.75
Now for the men. I have been into houses which have not had the least
convenience for the women, not so much as a bench to set their water
pails on, and they have to set them on the floor, and yet their
husbands will sit there year after year, and never make so much
improvement as a bench to set the pail on. Yet they have the ability,
but they will not exercise it. They ought to make every hour of the
day useful, and if they have nothing else to do, they should spend
their time in making improvements in and around their homes. They
might fix the garden fence, hoe the garden, set out trees and
cultivate and attend to them, fix the yard and make it look neater,
fix up the house and make it more convenient for the wives and the
children. A certain portion of the time should also be spent in
storing their minds with useful knowledge, reading the Bible, Book of
Mormon, and other Church works, and histories, scientific works and
other useful books. I have seen people live year after year in a log
house, with never so much as a nail to hang a broom on, and the broom
is first in one corner and then in another, on the floor or out of
doors. Never had a place to put the discloth in, or to hang it on, and
it would be—"Susan, where is the dishcloth?" or—"Sally," or "Peggy,
where is the broom?" "I don't know, there is no place for the broom;"
and a man living there year after year, who never seemed to wake up
the senses in him enough to drive a peg into the crack of a log to
have a place to hang a broom or a dishcloth on, or to make a bench for
a water or a milk pail. I have seen such men, year after year, without
a chair in their houses; and if you ask them why they do not go to
work and make some chairs they will say—"We don't know how." Then
[p.76] why not go to work and learn? Do as I did when I went to learn
the carpenter and joiners' trade. The first job my boss gave me was to
make a bedstead out of an old log that had been on the beach of the
Lake for years, water-logged and watersoaked. Said he—"There are
tools, you cut that log into right lengths for a bedstead. Hew out the
side rails, the end rails and the posts; get a board for a head board,
and go to work and make a bedstead." And I went to work and cut up the
log, split it up to the best of my ability, and made a bedstead that,
I suppose, they used for many years. I would go to work and learn to
make a washboard, and make a bench to put the wash tub on, and to make
a chair. This is spending time usefully; but when we spend our time
for naught we waste that which God has given us as our capital stock
with which to make ourselves useful in life, and to give to our
fellow-beings that which belongs to them.

Vol. 18,  p.76
Now, we want the sisters, as well as the brethren, to use their
capital stock to the very best advantage. And we wish them to make
their own fashions in regard to dress; but if they will not do that,
then copy the fashions of Babylon only so far as they are useful; then
stop, go no further, and sustain and uphold trade with the outside
world only so far as it is really necessary. If the sisters remain
with us they will do as they are told; and if they do this we say—You
are at perfect liberty to go and renew your covenants by baptism; but
if you will not live according to the instructions that are given, we
object to you renewing your covenants; we do not wish you to say one
thing and do another. We shall require the sisters to take hold and do
something for themselves. Where does our knitting come from? Everybody
goes to the store to buy knitted goods; but this is not right, we
ought to knit our own stockings. If the sisters want some little hoods
or jackets for their children they go to the store for them, they are
very cheap there. Yet we raise the best of wool here, and we are
spinning it just as nice as in any factory in the world. We have
knitting machines and all the material necessary, and we have also the
ability to knit or weave all the hoods, jackets, drawers, undershirts,
etc., that we need; and if the sisters will do their duty, they will
do their own knitting and prepare this Fall to raise silk another
year. I have been at thousands of dollars expense in encouraging the
people here to raise silk, but they do not do it, and in this respect,
as in many others, they have neglected their duty, for it is their
duty to take hold of this industry. The sisters will say to their
husbands—"I want so and so, and I want you to give me the money to buy
it." Instead of this, I say, let the sisters go to work and raise some
silk, and this will find them and their children profitable
employment. If you have not got any mulberry trees, plant out some
immediately, they are here by the hundreds and thousands in nurseries,
and as soon as possible raise silk, and that when raised and
thoroughly cured, will bring the money. Then you can raise the money,
without having to call on your husbands. Now if a man buys a sewing
machine for his wife, she wants a hired girl to run it; at least, I
will say that some women take this course, and they spend their time
uselessly and waste the capital stock which God has given them. This
is the course that some pursue instead of doing good. We want a
turning point to arrive for women of this class, and for all to be
guided in their [p.77] conduct by the dictates of good, sound sense;
and as the sisters like to be noticed by the brethren, I will say that
they who keep themselves neat and clean, and whose countenances are
bright and clear, are the ones that will be noticed by the good.

Vol. 18,  p.77
Now, sisters, if you will consider these things you will readily see
that time is all the capital stock there is on the earth; and you
should consider your time golden, it is actually wealth, and, if
properly used, it brings that which will add to your comfort,
convenience, and satisfaction. Let us consider this, and no longer sit
with hands folded, wasting time, for it is the duty of every man and
of every woman to do all that is possible to promote the kingdom of
God on the earth.

Vol. 18,  p.77
Without going further into the details regarding the duties of this
people we can say, in a very few words, that our Father in heaven,
Jesus, our elder brother and the Savior of the world, and the whole
heavens, are calling upon this people to prepare to save the nations
of the earth, also the millions who have slept without the Gospel, and
here we are neglecting our duty, wasting our time, running here and
there as though there was nothing to do only to serve ourselves. We
have glory, immortality and eternal lives to gain, and it is our duty
to take a course to gain them, that we may enter into the highest
state of intelligence and enjoy the society of the pure and those who
dwell with God.

Vol. 18,  p.77
You have now heard some things that we want of the sisters. I will now
say a word to the brethren. If any brother is found drinking with the
drunkard we certainly shall look after him; and my counsel and advice
are for every man and every woman to pause well before they go and
renew their covenants, and know whether they are going to be Saints or
not. A person may say—"If I have strength I am going to be a Saint."
The drunkard may say—"I mean to reform;" the swearer may say—"I mean
to reform;" the liar says—"I mean to reform;" and the thief may say—"I
mean to reform." There is no man or woman on the earth in the habit of
stealing, but what can cease the practice right square if they are
disposed. And so with the liar, he can stop lying, and lie no more,
and tell the truth. It only wants the will to do it, and that will
brought into exercise to enable the liar to be truthful, the thief to
be honest, and the swearer to stop his evil speaking. So with the
ladies. If they only have the will, and will exercise it, they can
cease spending their time in useless fashions, and they can turn their
attention to storing their minds with all useful knowledge, then adorn
themselves with all that is necessary to make themselves neat, nice,
comely and commendable to the eyes of God and angels, and of the good
everywhere. Then they will be right. I pray the Lord to bless you,
preserve you and guide your entire lives thus we may be saved in the
Kingdom of our God. Amen.[p.78] 

John Taylor, August 31, 1875

The United Order—How Unity is to Be Attained—Reform 
Necessary—the Order of the Kingdom of God—Stewardships

Discourse By Elder John Taylor, Delivered in the Old 
Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Aug. 31, 1875. 

(Reported by David W. Evans)

Vol. 18,  p.78
In relation to the rules that we have heard read over, there is
nothing in them but what, as Latter-day Saints, we have always
professed to believe in. Some of us have been around teaching these
principles among the people; and I have sometime spoken of them as
baby rules, that is, as rules which people like the Latter-day Saints,
who are in possession of correct principles, ought always to be
governed by; Latter-day Saints, who have been faithful from the
commencement of their career in the Church, have been governed by
these very principles that we are now talking about.

Vol. 18,  p.78
We profess to be governed by the laws of God, and to be associated
with the Church and kingdom of God upon the earth; we profess to be
related, more or less, to other parties who have held the same
Priesthood, powers, light, and intelligence that we possess; those who
understand themselves profess to be associated, more or less, with the
Church of the first-born, with Jesus, whom Paul calls the Mediator of
the New Covenant, and with God, the Father of all; and our religion
and the revelations that have been given to us are for the express
purpose of leading us to a union among ourselves, with those who have
gone before, and with Jesus, and God the Father, who are all of them
interested, as we ought to be, in seeking to carry out the designs and
purposes of the Almighty upon the earth. Those parties who have lived
before, lived not for themselves, but for God. When Jesus was upon the
earth he said—"I came not to do my will, but the will of the Father
who sent me," and every man who is associated with the Church and
kingdom of God expects and understands, if he understands things
correctly, that he is part of the great household of faith, belonging
to a celestial kingdom that he anticipates inheriting, and that he
ought to be governed by celestial laws, by which other intelligences
who have lived before have been governed. Those men of whom Paul
speaks, all of whom died in faith and in hope of a better inheritance,
did certain things by which they proved to the world that they desired
a city whose builder and maker was God, wherefore Paul tells us that
God was not ashamed to be called their God, for he had prepared a city
for them. We read of the Zion that was built up by Enoch, and that
this Zion and the people that were united [p.79] with Enoch, who were
subject to the same laws which God is seeking to introduce among us,
were caught up into the heavens. We have been expecting all along to
build up a similar Zion upon these mountains, and we have talked a
great deal about going back to Jackson County. We can not build up a
Zion unless we are in possession of the spirit of Zion, and of the
light and intelligence that flow from God, and under the direction of
the Priesthood, the living oracles of God, to lead us in the paths of
life. We do not know them without, and we need all these helps to lead
us along, that by and by we may come to such a unity in our temporal
and in our spiritual affairs, and in everything that pertains to our
interest and happiness in this world and in the world to come, that we
may be prepared to enter a Zion here upon the earth, help to build
Temples of the Lord and to administer in them, and so operate and
co-operate with the Gods in the eternal worlds, and with the
Patriarchs, Prophets, Apostles, and men of God, who were inspired by
the spirit of revelation in generations that are passed and gone; we
want to be one with them, one with God, and one with each other, for
Jesus said,—"Except you are one you are not mine." Then the question
arises, if we are not Jesus', whose are we?

Vol. 18,  p.79
It is evident, in relation to the position that we have been in, that
all kinds of confusion, folly, vanity, evil, pride, haughtiness,
covetousness, drunkenness, and every kind of sin have existed among
us, as a people. I am not surprised that the President should feel
inclined to shake off many of these things. Why? Because, if they are
permitted in the Church and kingdom of God, and the servant of God and
his coadjutors do not lift up their voices against them, God would
hold them responsible.

Vol. 18,  p.79
Does President Young want to bear the sins of the people? No. Do the
Twelve and others want to bear the sins of the people? No. It is for
the President to point out the way of life, and for all of us to walk
in it. This is the order of God, and every man and woman should
fulfill the various duties that devolve upon them.

Vol. 18,  p.79
Now then, in regard to our temporal affairs, these are the things
which seem to perplex us more or less. We have been brought up in
Babylon, and have inherited Babylonish ideas and systems of business;
we have introduced, too, among us, all kinds of chicanery, deception
and fraud. It is time that these things were stopped, and that matters
assumed another shape; it is time that we commenced to place ourselves
under the guidance and direction of the Almighty. You can not talk in
many places about temporal matters, but everybody is on the alert at
once, and the idea is—Do you want my property? No. Do you want my
possessions? No, no; there is no such feeling, but we do want men and
women to give God their hearts, we do want people, while they profess
to fear God, not to be canting hypocrites and to depart from every
principle of right. We remember the time very well, or most of us,
when we first entered into this Church, if a man was found lying he
would be brought before the Church and dealt with; if a man was found
stealing he would be brought up before the Church and dealt with; if a
man defrauded his neighbor, and it could be proved, he was brought up
and dealt with; and so if a man got drunk; and for all these
delinquencies if parties did not repent of them they were immediately
cut [p.80] off from the Church as unworthy of fellowship. And now,
after so many years travail, are we to continue and fellowship all
these evils? No, no, we can not do it, and God will not do it; and if
we carry them along with us, we shall not enter into the celestial
kingdom of God.

Vol. 18,  p.80
Now then, with regard to this union of property, what is it? Why, it
is something to draw the people nearer together, to prepare them for
future developments. What is the Order? Well, we, here, have thought
proper, at the suggestion of President Young, to act as stewards over
our own property. In some places where there is not so much property
as here, it might he better to pursue another course; but as to that,
no matter if our hearts are together, and we do what we do in all
sincerity before God. What we are after is to give our hearts to God,
to renew our covenants, and then be one in our temporal affairs; and
this is to be under the direction of the living Priesthood, and not
under any particular dead letter. Here is a certain form that
everybody ought to submit to; every man and every woman in the Church
of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints ought to be governed by these
rules, and we know it in our hearts. I mean when they refer
particularly to our morals. When we come to other points, that is a
matter of judgment and principle that we want to be governed by as the
law of God. We have an organization here in the Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter-day Saints, and it is one of the most perfect that ever
existed on the earth. And how is it organized? Why, we have the
Presidency, with President Young at the head, as the mouthpiece of God
to this people. That is the way that we Latter-day Saints profess to
believe in him, whether we do so or not; and if we do not believe it
then we are acting the hypocrite. Then come the Twelve, then the High
Priests, Bishops, Seventies, High Councils, Bishops' Councils, Elders,
Priests, Teachers and Deacons, all organized by the Almighty.

Vol. 18,  p.80
Now, then, do I believe that the Lord Almighty directs President
Young? I do, with all my heart. Do you believe it? That is the
question. Do you believe that he and his first council have the right
to dictate and manage all affairs pertaining to the temporal and
spiritual interests of the Church and kingdom of God upon the earth? I
believe it, do you? These are questions that we want to put to
ourselves fairly and frankly and honestly, without any equivocation or
reservation, for this is really a part of the order of God.

Vol. 18,  p.80
Now then come the Twelve and all the other authorities. We believe
that they are ordained of God, that they are part of his economy and
government, all these various quorums as they exist on the earth, and
that, by and by, when we get through in this world, we shall all
assume our proper position and proper Priesthood, with Joseph Smith at
the head of this dispensation, and that we shall be associated there
with that Priesthood that we have been connected with here. Now, then,
we do not want to he playing fast and loose, part God, part the world,
part the devil, part the Lord's way and part our way, and every man
following the devices and desires of his own heart. We have come under
the government of God, and God expects our strict, full, implicit and
unequivocal obedience in all particulars. God says, "Give me thy
heart." We have covenanted long ago to do this, and this is simply a
renewal of this covenant, and of many covenants [p.81] that we have
entered into in relation to these matters. Is it a sacrifice? Are we
doubtful and fearful about this, that, and the other? What have we to
sacrifice? What hold have we upon this earth? What hold have we upon
any property on this earth? It may be said to us as it was to a man
who said—"I have much goods laid up for many years, soul take thine
ease, eat, drink, and be merry;" it may be said to us as it was said
to him—"Thou feel, this night thy soul is required of thee," and then
whose will these be? What have we that we did not get from God? I have
heard President Young say that there is not one solitary thing that he
has—wife, dollar, horse, carriage, or property of any kind that he did
not receive from God. Have any of us got anything that we did not
receive from him? Not a penny. Can we keep anything any longer than
the Lord has a mind to permit us? Not one moment longer. In his hands
are the issues of life and death, and the only hope we have is to be
one with God, with the Priesthood upon the earth, that is connected
with the Priesthood in the heavens, that we may unite in a phalanx
with them, with God, with the Patriarchs and Prophets, with all good
men that have ever lived, that we may form a cemented united body with
them in the accomplishment of the purposes of God, for the bringing of
salvation to the world in which we live, for the redemption of the
living and the dead, for the spreading forth of truth, the
establishing of correct principles, the building up of the kingdom of
God, the building of Temples; and then when we get through here, that
we may unite with them in the celestial kingdom of our Father.

Vol. 18,  p.81
These are some of the ideas that we believe in, in relation to these
matters, and the thing that is now proposed is very simple and
straightforward. The President has said that there are many men in
this city and elsewhere who want to know whom they shall place over
their affairs; they can not tell. Well, what then? Why those who
cannot do that, let them unite together in a united order similar to
that which is spoken of, as the Book of Doctrine and Covenants
expresses it—though it varies a little from that form here—and lay it
at the Apostles' feet, and let the Bishop give them their
inheritances. Here another thing is contemplated, here we are stewards
over our own property; and you have heard read that the avails of that
system, after supplying the families, are to be under the direction of
the board of directors, to say what shall be done with them. Then
again, if there is extravagance in families, in dress, eating or in
living of any kind, no matter what it may be, we want that cheeked, we
do not want the Saints to be extravagant; we do not want to do
anything that God does not want us to do, and no good Saint, man or
woman, wants to do what God does not want. All such feel like one of
old—Oh, God, search me and try me, and prove me, and if there is any
way of wickedness in me, exhibit it to me; let me see it that I may
bid it adieu, and let me be a good Saint; let me live in the enjoyment
of thy favor and let the light of the Holy Ghost and of revelation
rest upon me; let me be in favor with God and my brethren and all good
men, and then when I get through, receive the reward of the just.

Vol. 18,  p.81
May God help us to appreciate these privileges, and not think that we
are making sacrifices, for we are [p.82] merely seeking the guidance
of the Almighty to direct us in our temporal affairs, that we may
inherit thrones, principalities, powers and dominions in the eternal
worlds, which we never shall inherit unless we are one.

George Q. Cannon, October 6, 1875

The Pleasure of Serving God—Importance of the Gathering—
Necessity of Obedience to the Priesthood

Discourse By Elder George Q. Cannon, Delivered at the 
Forty-Sixth Semi-Annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ 
of Latter Day Saints, in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake 
City, Wednesday Afternoon, October 6, 1875.

(Reported by David W. Evans)

Vol. 18,  p.82
It is exceedingly interesting to me, as I have no doubt it is to all
Latter-day Saints, to hear the Elders who have been on missions bear a
faithful testimony, on their return, to the truth of the work in which
they have been engaged. It is a tolerably easy matter to tell, in
listening to them speaking, whether they have been faithful or not in
magnifying their Priesthood and calling, for a man who does not
magnify his Priesthood, and who is not faithful in the discharge of
the duties entrusted to him, generally manifests it by the spirit
which he possesses and with which he speaks. And so, also, when men
have been faithful and have striven to magnify their calling, a spirit
and influence attend them that bear testimony of their faithfulness.
No man can go out, ordained by those who have the authority, in faith
and in humility to preach the principles of the everlasting Gospel,
however peculiar and difficult the circumstances may be that surround
him, however great the trials and the persecutions that he may have to
contend with, without receiving an unction from the Holy One, that
will bear testimony to him that the work in which he is engaged is of
God, and that he has been called of God to declare the principles of
life and salvation unto the people among whom his lot may be cast.
There is this peculiarity and influence about this work, there is the
demonstration of the Holy Ghost, which descends with convincing and
overwhelming power upon all those who place themselves in a position
to receive it; and there is no labor under the sun, I care not what it
may be, or how pleasant the circumstances that surround him, at all
comparable with the labor of an Elder in this Church, who endeavors,
in humility and meekness, to magnify his calling; there is no joy
which a [p.83] human soul is capable of comprehending, that approaches
the delight and the satisfaction which laboring in the ministry of the
Son of God confers upon him who does so in faithfulness. He may be
destitute, he may be without purse and scrip, as our Elders travel, he
may be in the midst of enemies, he may be baled to prison, and treated
with contumely, and have all manner of evil heaped upon him; but if he
is faithful to God, if he is faithful to his Priesthood, and magnifies
it to the extent of his ability, there is a power, an influence, and a
joy resting upon and accompanying him, and tilling him from the crown
of his head to the soles of his feet, that are incomprehensible to
those who have lent experienced them; and for such a man to doubt that
God is with him, and that the work he is engaged in is the work of
God, would be as difficult as to doubt that the sun's rays ever beam
upon him, or that there is no warmth or light connected with them; in
fact, such a man could as easily doubt his own existence, and the
testimony of every sense that he possesses, as to doubt the testimony
of God which rests down upon him.

Vol. 18,  p.83
And these blessings are not confined to those who go forth as
missionaries, but they extend themselves to all who enter into
covenant with God, take upon them the name of Jesus Christ, and
resolve in their hearts to repent of their sins, and to tread humbly
and meekly in the path which the Savior has marked out for all to walk
in. They receive also, according to the measure of their
responsibilities, and the position which they occupy, the same gifts
and blessings, and the same joy fills their hearts that does the
hearts of the faithful Elders.

Vol. 18,  p.83
When I listen to the Elders, as we have to-day, speaking their
experience, and relating that which they have met with, and the joy
they have had, it has seemed to me that, if any of the Elders, or if
all the Elders, could comprehend this and enter into the spirit of it,
they would say that they would devote themselves with all they
possess, with every feeling of their heart, with every power of their
mind, with all the strength and the ability which God has given them,
to the rolling forth of his work upon the face of the earth. But the
difficulty with us as individuals is, that we are like the man of whom
the Apostle James speaks: we look in the glass, we see ourselves, our
features are distinct to us, every thing is plain to us, we see the
mirrored resemblance of ourselves in the glass that we look upon, but
we turn away, and we speedily forget what manner of men we are. And so
it is with many who are in this Church. They have experienced joy,
they have had testimonies from God, they have had the power and the
gifts of God resting upon them; but after a little while, coming in
contact with the world, and the spirit of the world, they forget these
things, the remembrance of them fades away from their minds and other
things appear more desirable to them. This is the difficulty that the
servants of God have to contend with in their ministering among men.
It would appear, looking at matters naturally, that if men and women
had tasted the word of God, had received revelation from God, had
knowledge poured into their souls concerning this being the work of
God, they would always be faithful to the truth; but it is not so, and
this is evidence of the great power which the adversary exercises over
the hearts of the children of men. Men may [p.84] behold the heavens
opened and see Jesus, they may see visions, and have revelations given
to them, and yet if they do not live as they should do, and cherish
the Spirit of God in their hearts, all this knowledge, and these
revelations and wonderful manifestations fail to keep them in the
Church, to preserve them from the power of the adversary, and to
deliver them from the snares that he spreads for the feet of all the
children of God. And in our own experience we can comprehend very
easily how the Church of God, in ancient days, fell away from the
truth, wandered into darkness, and lost the knowledge of God and the
ordinances which he had established in his Church for the salvation of
his people. How long would it be, were it not for the teachings,
warnings and reproofs of those who are set to preside over them,
before many of the Latter-day Saints, and probably a majority of them
would stray into by and forbidden paths, and forget the knowledge that
they once had and the blessings they once enjoyed? And yet I am
thankful that people cannot stay in this Church and practice
unrighteousness. I am thankful that God allows those who do not keep
his commandments to fall away, so that his Church may be cleansed,
and, in this respect, this Church is different from any other that is
upon the earth. A man may practice iniquity and do wrong in other
churches, and he may cover it up for years, and nobody, or probably
but a few—himself, his God, and a few others—be aware of this wrong,
and he may pass along and nobody ever imagine that there is anything
wrong with him. But it is not so in the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints—no man can stand in this Church, or retain the
Spirit of God and continue in a course of hypocrisy for any length of
time. God will tear away the covering of lies and expose the wrong; he
will leave the transgressor to himself, and the strength that he
formerly had, which enabled him to stand and maintain his associations
with the people of God, will be taken away from him, and he will be
left to go down to destruction unless he repents. It is true that the
Lord has said that the tares shall grow with the wheat until harvest,
but it is not said that tares will not be plucked up from time to
time, for if it were not so they would overpower and choke out the
wheat. The sifting or weeding process has been going on from the
commencement of this Church until the present time; hence it is that
the leaders of this Church are stirred up in their feelings from time
to time to call upon the people to repent. They understand clearly
that unless there is a godly life and conversation corresponding with
our profession, this people would soon fall into darkness and error,
and stray from the path of righteousness.

Vol. 18,  p.84
Our enemies are not mistaken in some of their ideas respecting use
that is, respecting the power that can be brought to bear to destroy
us. They seem to be well aware of the fact that, if we only conform to
their customs, fashions, ideas and practices, we would soon fall away
and cease, as a people, to preserve our identity. They understand
this, and hence the efforts which have been made of late. It has
seemed as though the adversary has been exerting every power and
bringing every influence within his reach to destroy us; and the most
lamentable feature—the one that has given me most concern connected
with it—has been the apparent blindness of our people respecting these
designs; it has seemed as though we could not see and understand their
nature, and [p.85] we have to a certain extent yielded ourselves
willing captives and dupes to the plots that have been undertaken in
our midst to destroy us. The fact that God predicted, through the
mouth of his servant Daniel, and through others, that this kingdom
should stand for ever, has seemingly lulled a great many to sleep and
caused them to think that we are perfectly safe, and that no danger
can overtake us; and the fact also that We have remained in these
mountains, now, for twenty-eight years without mobs, and that so many
of the people who have grown up and have come here and never knew
anything about them, who have joined the Church since the days of
mobocracy, these causes combined have had the effect to cause a great
many to be very supine, and to imagine, apparently, that we could not
be disturbed, or that our safety could not be endangered by anything
that might be done against us. Hence, when the servant of God has
called upon us, and given us counsel upon many points, we have not
seemed to understand the benefit of the counsel.

Vol. 18,  p.85
We are here in these mountains, Latter-day Saints. We have made this
country, notwithstanding all that may be said to the contrary, all
that it is to-day. Why, the very officials of this Territory to-day
may thank God that he raised up Joseph Smith and Brigham Young,
because if he had not done so there would have been no governors,
judges or other federal officials of Utah Territory; there would, in
fact, have been no Territory of Utah if it had not been for the Church
of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Men may say what they please,
but, every thinking man in this country must admit that our settlement
of this country has forwarded settlement in the adjacent Territories
and States more than a quarter of a century. We have demonstrated one
great fact—that men can live here, that fruit, corn and wheat, and all
the cereals which belong to this latitude can be raised here by a
judicious application of water, combined with industry and
perseverance. We have demonstrated this; it is no longer a problem as
to what this country can produce, hence you now hear of agriculture in
Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado and Nevada; but it is a very great
query whether this would have been the case for another generation, at
least, had it not been for the Latter-day Saints. What could have
induced men to come here if they had not been prompted by the feeling
that started us out? We had no place to go to excepting this. We
wanted the meanest and most undesirable part of the continent, so that
our enemies would not rob us of it, as soon as we had improved it; and
when we came here we hoped we had reached a place where we could live,
at least for a time, undisturbed, until we could increase and raise a
generation who would be firm in the faith, and be so numerous that
they could carry on the work whose foundations their fathers had laid.
We came here in that spirit and with that view. Not to exclude other
men from the land that we had settled; but to create homes, and a
place to which men and women of every nation could come, and where
they could worship God unmolested, as we desired to worship him. We
cared not what their creed might be, or whether they were Jews,
Pagans, Moslems, or Christians. We asked no man who came here to
believe as we believed, and we had no disposition to deny them the
rights that we enjoyed because they did not believe as we believed. It
was in that spirit that the foundation stones of this superstructure
[p.86] of government in Utah Territory were laid. It was that here,
not only Latter-day Saints, but, as I have said, men of every creed
and clime might come and worship God unmolested by their neighbors.

Vol. 18,  p.86
But there were others who did not feel as we felt, and they were
determined to curtail us of our privileges, and now for years there
has been a studied and unrelenting effort to destroy the work that we
have done, and to strip us of all the advantages we have gained by
coming here; to wrest from us by any means that could be used, however
despicable and illegal, the power that God has given us, and to which
we are entitled under the laws and constitution of our country. There
has been no concealment of these designs, no attempt made to gloss
them over; they have been avowed, plainly and publicly, to all the
land and to all the Latter-day Saints throughout these mountains, that
if they could get the power to strip us of our rights they would do it
without any hesitation or compunctions of conscience.

Vol. 18,  p.86
Now, my brethren and sisters, let me ask you, this being the case,
what is our plain and bounden duty? It is to preserve ourselves, not
only for our own sakes, not only for the sake of our children, but for
the sake of humanity everywhere, and for the sake of civil and
religious liberty, upon this land which God has given to us. Many will
pass away after a little, and here are children, and here are mankind,
many of whom, in witnessing the bold stand we have taken, are anxious
to see us preserve ourselves and to see civil and religious liberty
maintained by us on this land. And we owe it to them, as well as to
posterity, that, by every means in our power; we do preserve ourselves
and our liberties intact. if we do not, We are recreant to our high
trust, and to the high calling which we have received from our
Almighty Father. In doing this, must we intrude upon others? Is there
any necessity for this? No; our policy is not aggressive; the true
policy of the Latter-day Saints is a preservative and defensive
policy; to preserve and defend ourselves when we are attacked; not to
be aggressive, not to intrude upon others' rights, but to preserve our
own rights. Every man and woman belonging to this community should
therefore keep constantly in mind that this is the policy for which we
should labor, and not consult individual interests; not say—"I can
make one dollar or two dollars by stepping aside from the policy that
has been marked out." Many so-called Latter-day Saints have done this.
We have people among us who, if we may judge by their actions, would
sell every liberty that God has given unto us for a few dollars, and
yet they call themselves Latter-day Saints. When counsel has been
given by President Brigham Young—than whom a wiser counselor does not
live upon the face of the earth—instead of accepting that counsel and
looking at it in its true light, in its elevated light, there have
been persons who have looked at it from their picayunish standpoint.
They have asked—"How is that counsel going to affect my individual
interests?" And many have said by their actions: "Now is my chance to
make money; while the bulk of the people are obeying counsel, it will
be to my advantage to disobey in. I can make money by so doing." And
they have actually taken advantage of the obedience of the people to
make money by their disobedience, and yet have called themselves
Latter-day Saints! Is not this the case? Do you not know it to be the
case? And that [p.87] spirit has been spreading and diffusing itself
among this people, the example of one encouraging another, until too
many have indulged in and given way to it, to the injury of the cause
of God. And hence the leaders of this Church have been so deeply
impressed, of late, to go forth and call upon this people to repent
and turn from their folly and listen to God's voice through his
inspired servant, lest He should send calamities upon them; for it is
plain to be seen, as brother Squires said, except we are one we are
not Christ's, we are not God's, and that union is the only principle
upon which we can be preserved. We have not strength, we have not
numbers, we have not wealth, but we have union when we choose to avail
ourselves of it, and with union there is strength, especially when God
has promised his blessings.

Vol. 18,  p.87
Now, can you not see, you Latter-day Saints, how unwise it is for us
to disobey counsel, when that counsel is given for the benefit of the
whole people? This man says—"I can gain some advantage by disobeying
that counsel;" this woman says—"I can gain some advantage by going
contrary to that counsel," not caring anything as to what the results
may be, so that their little ends can be served to some trifling
extent, and being blind to the fact that we must preserve ourselves by
looking after our own interests, and taking care of the great work
which God has entrusted to us. Why, it took all the eloquence of
President Young for years to cause this people to see that it was not
to their interest to sustain their enemies, foster their enemies, feed
their enemies, take all their wealth and give it to their enemies, and
those enemies plotting all the time against their liberties and their
lives, and avowing it publicly and undisguisedly. Do you not remember,
before co-operation was started, how long and loud the President of
this Church and his counsellers, and other men, had to plead with the
people to get them to see this plain matter of self-preserving policy?
They could not see it, that is, a great many could not see; and when
co-operation was suggested they could not see that, and there are a
great many who can not see it now, and who are opposed to it in their
hearts, and they are opposed to everything that will bring this people
closer together, and make them more one, and they fight it, and they
do not know the spirit that prompts them. It is the same to-day
respecting the United Order; many seem to be blind, they can not
understand what it is that blinds them; but it is miserable
selfishness; they become so eager after money that their judgment is
beclouded. If we were united, we could control things in this country
to an extent you have no conception of, and we could become rich, if
riches were the desire of our hearts, there is nothing to prevent us;
if we will be guided by the counsel of God's servants, we can have all
the riches that heart can desire. But our miserable, shortsighted
selfishness, that miserable, contracted, narrow policy that is not of
God, blinds our eyes and darkens our understandings, and prevents us
from seeing the true policy of building up the Zion of God on the
earth, and preserving the liberty which God has given unto us.

Vol. 18,  p.87
God requires one thing of the people called Latter-day Saints, and if
they will receive and obey that, everything else will follow, and that
is—to obey the counsel of God's servants. If you will do that,
everything else will follow in the train. And why should we not do
so?[p.88] Have we not a leader whom God has blessed as he has no other
man of whom we have any knowledge at present on the earth? Look at
what has been done! See how God has prospered him and those who have
received his counsel! Whenever he has told us to do anything, as a
people, and we have done it, God has blessed us in its performance;
and whenever the people, or a portion of them, have disobeyed his
counsel, they have not been prospered. They have invariably lost the
spirit and gone into darkness. Do you not know this? Has not the
experience of the past thirty-one years confirmed this to us? How was
it with us when we crossed the plains and when we came here? Did any
of you know whither you were coming? I know the people did not know,
but they followed his lead, believing that God led and inspired him,
and that God would lead him to a place where we could locate. And look
at what we see throughout these valleys today! Where is there anything
like it on the face of the earth? A people gathered from every nation,
speaking almost every tongue, brought up in the midst of every creed,
and with every kind of habit, and yet homogeneous and dwelling
together in union and love, without litigation and strife! Where can
you see anything on the face of the earth that compares with it? Is it
any wonder that we have faith in God and in his servant? I tell you
that if there is any condemnation resting upon these Latter-day
Saints, it is because of their unbelief and hardness of heart in not
listening to his counsel.

Vol. 18,  p.88
Now let us be taught; let us profit by the experience of the past, and
not allow ourselves to be deluded by the adversary, and by any, even
if they should call themselves our friends. But norman who weakens or
tries to weaken that counsel which has led us all the time, is a
friend to this people.

Vol. 18,  p.88
May God bless you, my brethren and sisters, fill you with his Holy
Spirit, rend the veil of darkness that beclouds our minds, darkens our
eyes, and prevents our seeing the truth, and the true policy of the
kingdom, is my prayer in the name of Jesus. Amen.[p.89] 

Joseph F. Smith, October 6, 1875

God Preserves His People—Internal Foes the More 
Dangerous—Redemption of the Dead—the Priesthood

Discourse By Elder Joseph F. Smith, Delivered at the 
Forty-Sixth Semi-Annual Conference of the Church or Jesus 
Christ of Latter-Day Saints, in the New Tabernacle, Salt 
Lake City, on Wednesday, Oct. 6, 1875.

(Reported by David W. Evans)

Vol. 18,  p.89
It is always a source of pleasure to me to meet with my brethren and
sisters in the Gospel covenant. I rejoice exceedingly in the Gospel of
Jesus Christ, and that I have the privilege of being numbered with the
Saints of latter days. I am thankful for the blessings that we enjoy
as a people in these valleys. I feel grateful for the, many evidences
we have experienced of God's mercy and protection. I am thankful that
I have been able to see his hand in our deliverance from the powers
and machinations of our enemies, from the earliest period of our
existence as a people; and I am thankful that I am able to see the
hand of the Lord over us at present as conspicuously and as clearly as
at any former period of our history.

Vol. 18,  p.89
We read in the revelations that have come to us through the Prophets,
both ancient and modern, concerning the purposes of the Lord in the
latter days, and the restoration of the Gospel to the earth by a holy
angel, that it is to be preached to every nation, kindred, tongue, and
people under the whole heavens, that every son and daughter of Adam
shall have the privilege of hearing it, embracing it, partaking of its
blessings, and of being saved by its power. We read that the Lord is
going to do this work, and that he is going to cut it short in
righteousness; that it is his design to gather out the honest in
heart—those who are willing to hearken to his counsels and obey his
laws. It is his design to gather all such out from the nations of the
earth, that lie may make of them a people worthy of his name and his
blessings, and prepare them to meet him when he shall come to make up
his jewels; when he shall come to take vengeance upon the wicked and
ungodly, who know not God, and who keep not his commandments upon the
earth.

Vol. 18,  p.89
The hand of the Lord has been visible in the gathering together of
this people for the last twenty-eight years; yes, for the last
forty-five years, and no more so in that than in everything connected
with the labors of his servants, their counsels unto, and their
guidance of, the people by the inspiration of the Almighty that was in
them from the very beginning. At no time in the history of this Church
has the hand of the Lord been withdrawn from [p.90] this people, his
power shortened, or his eye slept, but his eye has been upon us, his
hand has been over us, and his providences have been in our favor.
Circumstances have been over-ruled for good, the hand of the enemy has
been turned away paralyzed, the efforts of the wicked to destroy us
have resulted in our good and in their own discomfiture. The greater
the efforts on the part of our enemies to destroy us, the greater the
growth of the Church and kingdom of God, and the closer has our union
been, the better have we been able to see the hand of the Lord over
us, and the inspiration of the Almighty in the counsels of his
servants, and the more have we been inclined to respect and abide by
the counsels given. The very fact that the spirit of bitterness in the
hearts of the wicked toward us at the present time is as virulent as
it ever was, and is every way similar to that manifested against the
former-day Saints, against the Savior when he was upon the earth, and
against his disciples, or the people of God in any former age of the
world, is an unmistakable evidence that the Lord God Almighty is with
us to-day as much as he ever was since the organization of the Church,
or as much as he ever was with any people he ever acknowledged as his
since the world began. I do not believe there ever was a people who
were guided by revelation, or acknowledged of the Lord as his people,
that were not hated and persecuted by the wicked and the corrupt, and
perhaps no people were ever more persecuted than this PeoPle would be,
if it were in the power of the enemy to-day to persecute us, as it was
in the power of Nero and the Romans to persecute the Saints in their
day. There never was a time when it was more fixed and determined in
the heart of the wicked to fight against, and destroy the kingdom from
the earth, than now, and their failure will be due only to the
impossibility of the task they have undertaken. And this is an
evidence to every one that possesses the least spark of the light of
the Holy Spirit—and should be to all mankind—that the kingdom of God
is established, that his Priesthood is here, that the Saints, or many
of them, are magnifying their calling and honoring the Priesthood, and
also the Lord, both with their lives and with their substance, which
are his.

Vol. 18,  p.90
For my part I do not fear the influence of our enemies from without,
as I fear that of those from within. An open and avowed enemy, whom we
may see and meet in an open field, is far less to be feared than a
lurking, deceitful, treacherous enemy hidden within us, such as are
many of the weaknesses of our fallen human nature, which are too often
allowed to go unchecked, beclouding our minds, leading away our
affections from God and his truth, until they sap the very foundations
of our faith, and debase us beyond the possibility or hope of
redemption either in this world or that to come. These are the enemies
that we all have to battle with, they are the greatest that we have to
contend with in the world, and the most difficult to conquer. They are
the fruits of ignorance, generally arising out of unrebuked sin and
evil in our own hearts. The labor that is upon us, is to subdue our
passions, conquer our inward foes, and see that our hearts are right
in the sight of the Lord, that there is nothing calculated to grieve
his Spirit and lead us away from the path of duty.

Vol. 18,  p.90
Those only who possess the light of the Spirit of God and the faith of
the Gospel, which can only be possessed through faithfulness and
obedience [p.91] to the requirements of heaven, can discern and know
the voice of the true Shepherd when they hear it. We need not expect
to be able to discern the right from the wrong, the truth from error,
and light from darkness, unless our eye is single, and we have
declared ourselves for God and his work. If we are divided in our
thoughts, affections, and interests, like the rest of the world, we
need not expect to comprehend the will of the Lord when made known to
us, no matter how powerfully or directly it may come. It will be all
the same to us unless we are in a position to receive the light and
the truth when it is offered unto us.

Vol. 18,  p.91
What shall we do if we have neglected our prayers? Let us begin to
pray. If we have neglected any other duty, let us seek unto the Lord
for his Spirit, that we may know wherein we have erred and lost our
opportunities, or let them pass by us unimproved. Let us seek unto the
Lord in humility, determined to forsake everything that would be an
obstruction to our receiving the intelligence and the light that we
need, and an answer to our prayers, that we may approach him confident
that his ears will be open to our petitions, that his heart will be
turned unto us in mercy, that our sins may be forgiven, our minds
enlightened by the influence and power of God, that we may comprehend
our duty and have a disposition to perform it, not to postpone it, not
to set it aside, nor to say in our hearts, "We must serve the world or
the devil a little longer; we are not yet prepared to serve the Lord
fully, to give up our evil habits, to lay aside this and that folly,
and walk straightforward in the path of duty; we must sow a few more
wild oats before we can fully make up our minds and determine upon
serving the Lord and doing his will upon earth as it should be done,
and as we know how to do it, if we but yield obedience to the light
that has come into the world." But when we see what is necessary to be
done, it becomes our duty, and we should go to with all our might and
do it, no matter what our desires may be to the contrary. Whatever
comes from the Priesthood by inspiration we should be willing to
receive as the counsel of the Almighty, which we must of necessity
obey and execute in order that we may be accepted of him.

Vol. 18,  p.91
This is a lesson that we, as God's people, should cheerfully learn. Do
you think, my brethren and sisters, that we can climb up some other
way, or enter in at some other door? Do you think that we can take the
things of God and bring them to our standard, or square the principles
of the Gospel of Jesus Christ by our rule? Do you think that we would
ever succeed in an effort to dictate to the Almighty the terms of our
salvation? If we think so we are mistaken, deceived; we cannot do it.
The purposes of the Almighty are unchanged and unchangeable, his laws
endure, and he is the same yesterday, to-day and forever. His purposes
will ripen and be consummated, and his designs be completed.
Therefore, if we do not conform to his will, obey his laws and yield
to his requirements in this world, we will be consigned to "the prison
house," where we will remain until we pay the debt to the uttermost
farthing. This is a Scriptural, a reasonable, and a true doctrine; for
it is a doctrine of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and the Saints
understand it, but there may be some here who do not, and for their
benefit, as well as to refresh the memories of those who may not have
reflected for a little season upon this principle, I will refer [p.92]
to it as briefly expressed in the third and fourth chapters of the
first Epistle of Peter. There you will see that Jesus himself preached
the Gospel to the spirits in prison, "which some time 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." This may seem strange to some, that Jesus should
go to preach the Gospel unto the wicked, rebellious antediluvians;
whose bodies had been destroyed in the flood because they rejected the
testimony of Noah, who had been sent to rebuke their iniquities and
warn them of destruction decreed against them if they did not repent,
nevertheless it is true. From this Scripture we not only learn the
condition of those who are cut off in their sins because of their
wickedness in rebelling against the laws of God and rejecting his
servants, but such of them as have not sinned against the Holy Ghost,
however wicked they may have been in this world—save committing that
unpardonable sin—will have the privilege of hearing the Gospel in the
spirit world; "for," as the Apostle says, "for this cause was the
Gospel preached also to them that are dead." "Yes," says one, "dead in
sin, but not dead as to the flesh." But the Apostle does not say so,
but to the contrary, for the dead here referred to had perished in the
flesh and the Apostle continues—"That they might be judged according
to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit;" that
is, out of the body until the resurrection from the dead. But first
they must remain in hell—the "prison house," until they have paid the
penalty of their sins in the flesh, even to the "uttermost farthing."
"But," says one, "is this possible?" The people in Europe, where we
have been preaching, were struck with wonder and astonishment when we
mentioned this doctrine, and say they, "We had supposed that, 'as the
tree fell so it should lie,' and that 'there was no salvation in the
grave.'" Neither is there any salvation in the grave, and "as the tree
falls, so it lies," but this is pertaining to the flesh. Does the
spirit lie with the body? Is the spirit confined in the grave? No. As
the body falls, so it will lie until the resurrection; there is no
salvation in the grave, but in Christ, who is the "light of life," and
the spirit soars beyond the grave; it does not slumber in the dust,
but is wafted to the place prepared for it in the spirit world, to
receive its reward or punishment, having passed the first judgment of
God, there to await his mercy, and the resurrection from the dead and
the final judgment of the great last day.

Vol. 18,  p.92
Thus we see those wicked, unrepentant antediluvians who even had the
privilege of hearing the Gospel in the flesh, as preached by Noah, and
who rejected the message of that servant of God, were actually visited
in the "prison house" by the Savior himself, and heard the Gospel from
his own mouth after he was "put to death in the flesh." Their prison
was opened, and liberty was proclaimed unto them in their captivity,
in fulfillment of the prediction of the Prophet Isaiah, as you might
read in his 61st chapter, that they may come forth, when they shall
have fulfilled the decree of judgment upon them in the prison, or
hell, to do the first works necessary unto salvation, which they
refused to do in the beginning.

Vol. 18,  p.92
Here will come in the principles of baptism for the dead, and of proxy
and heirship, as revealed [p.93] through the Prophet Joseph Smith,
that they may receive a salvation and an exaltation, I will not say a
fullness of blessing and glory, but a reward according to their merits
and the righteousness and mercy of God, even as it will be with you
and with me. But there is this difference between us and the
antediluvians—they rejected the Gospel, consequently they received not
the truth nor the testimony of Jesus Christ; therefore they did not
sin against a fullness of light, while we have received the fullness
of the Gospel; are admitted to the testimony of Jesus Christ, and a
knowledge of the living and true God, whose will it is also our
privilege to know, that we may do it. Now if we sin, we sin against
light and knowledge, and peradventure we may become guilty of the
blood of Jesus Christ, for which sin there is no forgiveness, neither
in this world nor in the world to come. Jesus himself declares (Matt.
12, 31,) that "all manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto
men, but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven
unto men, neither in this world, neither in the world to come." This
is not a new doctrine that has just, been revealed through the Prophet
Joseph Smith, or President Brigham Young, but it is the doctrine of
Jesus, a part and portion of that Gospel which is the power of God
unto salvation or unto damnation. For whosoever will believe, repent,
and be baptized for the remission of sins shall be saved, and he that
believes not and is not baptized shall he damned. And he that
believes, is baptized and receives the light and testimony of Jesus
Christ, and walks well for a season, receiving the fullness of the
blessings of the Gospel in this world, and afterwards turns wholly
unto sin, violating his covenants he will be among those whom the
Gospel can never reach in the spirit world; all such go beyond its
saving power, they will taste the second death, and be banished from
the presence of God eternally.

Vol. 18,  p.93
I feel well in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I know that it is true, and
I never like to have an opportunity pass me without bearing my
testimony to it. I, therefore, bear my testimony to you, that God has
restored the Gospel, that Joseph Smith was and is a true Prophet, and
that President Young is his rightful successor.

Vol. 18,  p.93
I have been surprised before now at hearing remarks from the
disaffected and apostates against the Priesthood, as if there was
something terrible concealed beneath that term. What constitutes the
Priesthood? A legal and direct commission from God to man. And who are
clothed with its authority and power? President Young? Yes. But is he
the only man who holds the Priesthood? No. Nor are his counselors and
the Twelve, the only ones who hold it, but the High Priests, the
Seventies, the Elders, Priests, Teachers, and Deacons, all hold a
portion of the Holy Priesthood. There is scarcely a member of the
Church who is not numbered in the ranks of those clothed upon by this
power; certainly it is so with every man who has received blessings in
the house of the Lord, inasmuch as he has continued faithful, and of
such is the Church composed, for the unfaithful cut themselves off in
a measure both from the Church and from the power and privileges of
the Priesthood, and are not to be relied upon. Therefore, when the
Priesthood—or those holding it—are ridiculed, reviled, or persecuted,
the blow is aimed, and the evil is designed, against the whole Church
and not individuals, although [p.94] as our enemies single out
individuals as targets on whom to vent their wrath and spleen. A blow
openly aimed at President Young, is secretly destined against the
whole people constituting the Church over which he presides; any
attempt to proscribe or destroy him or his brethren as individuals,
because of their influence or position among the people, is so far
indirectly an attempt to proscribe and destroy the whole community of
which they are but members, and every member of the community should,
and so far as guided by a proper sense of justice and right, most
assuredly does, consider himself or herself personally assailed and
aggrieved by any such attempts. How contemptible in the eyes of this
whole people, therefore, must they be who rail against the Priesthood,
and at the same time make themselves so conspicuously loud in their
professions of friendship to the masses. They leave the covering of
their designs too thin to conceal their hypocrisy and their determined
bitterness and enmity against the people and the work of God.

Vol. 18,  p.94
A deacon in the Church should exercise the authority of that calling
in the Priesthood, and honor that position as sincerely and faithfully
as a high Priest or an Apostle should his calling, feeling that he
bears a portion of the responsibility of the kingdom of God in the
world, in common with all his brethren. Every man should feel in his
heart the necessity of doing his part in the great latter-day work.
All should seek to be instrumental in rolling it forth. More
especially is it the duty of every one who possesses any portion of
the authority of the Holy Priesthood to magnify and honor that
calling, and nowhere can we begin to do so to better advantage than
right here, within ourselves, and when we have cleansed the inside of
the platter, cleansed our own hearts, by correcting our own lives,
fixed our minds upon doing our whole duty towards God, and man, we
will be prepared to wield an influence for good in the family circle,
in society, and in all the walks of life.

Vol. 18,  p.94
We should seek to do, and to be, good. It is true that Jesus says
there is none good but one, that is God; we must accept this in the
fullest sense of the word, but there are other degrees of goodness, so
that we may be good, righteous, and even perfect in our spheres, as
God is good, righteous, or perfect in his exalted and glorious sphere.
These excellent qualities of mind and soul should govern our lives in
the midst of our families and neighbors, among our brethren of the
household of faith, and in all our intercourse with mankind, that we
may win souls from error, ignorance, folly and crime, to God and his
Christ, and help them to stand until they become strong in the faith,
and thus become saviors of men upon Mount Zion, worthy of the name of
our God.

Vol. 18,  p.94
May the Lord bless you and all Israel, and especially his aged servant
who stands at our head, and his associates in counsel, the loved face
of one of whom, on looking round, I find gone from our midst, but his
life-long example still lives with us, and will live forever.
Amen.[p.95] 

Daniel H. Wells, October 7, 1875

The Blessing of Life for Evermore—the Lord Commanded the 
United States Government to Purchase Freedom for Their Slaves—
Reformation Necessary that the Saints May Progress Faster—
Salvation Comes By Faithfulness and Endurance in Christ

Discourse By President Daniel H. Wells, Delivered at the 
Forty-Sixth Semi-Annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ 
of Latter-Day Saints, in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake 
City, Thursday Morning, Oct. 7, 1875.

(Reported by David W. Evans)

Vol. 18,  p.95
It affords me pleasure to meet once more with the Saints in General
Conference assembled, where we may pledge ourselves again, and bear
our testimony, and raise our warning voices to the world in regard to
the great work that the Lord is accomplishing in the earth through the
instrumentality of his children who have enlisted under King Emanuel's
banner, and are willing to unite with him in accomplishing his
purposes on the earth. His kingdom is being established here in the
valleys of the mountains. Settlements are being formed, towns and
villages are springing up, and people, who have made a covenant with
God, are reclaiming the earth from the thraldom of sin and iniquity in
which it has so long been held in bondage; and instead of being in a
little city or town in Illinois, where we were not permitted to dwell,
we are here in the valleys of the mountains, possessing from one
hundred and fifty to two hundred towns, villages and settlements. The
Lord has thus strengthened the stakes, enlarged the borders, and
lengthened the cords of Zion, and he has reclaimed from the dominion
of the wicked the amount of the earth's surface that is now occupied
by his Saints, at least, so long as they hold it for him and his
kingdom, and themselves for his work. The world belongs to the Lord,
and he has the right to govern and control it, and he is going to do
so. We are preparing the way for his kingdom and coming, for he
certainly designs to come here just as soon as the people are prepared
to receive him, and perhaps sooner than some will be willing to
receive him. I have sometimes thought, that if he were now at the
gate, we should feel we would rather he would wait awhile until we
could fix up matters before he was introduced. The way is preparing,
however, and I feel to rejoice this morning that I can bear my
testimony to the increase of the numbers of the Saints of God, and to
the increase of faith and good works among them.

Vol. 18,  p.96
The dominion of the Lord is extending upon the earth, a little here
[p.96] and a little there, sometimes, perhaps, going a little too far,
and dodging back a little for a time, and then springing forward
again, and so going on, on every side. The Lord has made no mistake,
he understands what he is doing a great deal better than some of us
do, and I apprehend that a great many people are bringing about the
Lord's purposes unwittingly. Perhaps they would not do as well in this
respect as they are now doing if they understood, to the fullest
extent, the result of the course they are taking. But really the Lord
is at work with a great many people, some of whom see the kingdom, and
some do not; and he has even said that be will cause the wrath of the
wicked and ungodly to praise him, and the remainder of their wrath he
will restrain. This is true, and has been illustrated in the history
of this people. When they were driven from Nauvoo, the disposition of
their enemies was to destroy every vestige of the authority of the
holy Priesthood from the face of the earth; and that disposition still
exists in the hearts of a great many people, and if they had the power
they would carry it out. Well, the Lord, in the early days of the
Church, suffered enough of this disposition to be gratified to cause
the exodus of his people from Missouri and Illinois, and they were
finally kicked right into the middle of the floor, into these valleys
of the mountains; and when the purposes of the Lord were so far
subserved by the wrath of the wicked, he restrained them, and his
people have been blessed and prospered, and the earth has been made to
bring forth its strength for their sustenance, and we see prosperity
on every hand in the dwelling places of the Saints. A country has been
put into their possession, where the Lord can strengthen their feet,
and he is doing so, whether we understand it or not. Many will
doubtless make shipwreck of their faith, and will be led away by the
allurements of sin into by and forbidden paths; yet the kingdom will
not be taken from this people and given to another, but a people will
come forth from among us who will be zealous of good works, willing to
do the bidding of the Lord, who will be taught in his ways, and who
will walk in his paths. We, if we are willing, may be humble
instruments in the hands of God, in bringing to pass his great and
glorious kingdom.

Vol. 18,  p.96
We have a Temple pretty near ready to go into in St. George. It is
progressing very favorably, and is a magnificent structure, and in a
short time we shall be able to enter it, and receive blessings for
time and eternity, for ourselves and our dead. Let me say to the
Latter-day Saints, that the blessings of the Lord, even life for ever
more, are commanded here in these valleys of the mountains. I will
read a few words from the Psalmist,—"Behold, how good and how pleasant
it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! It is like the precious
ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron's
beard, that went down to the skirts of his garments; as the dew of
Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion: for
there the Lord commanded the blessing, even life for evermore."
Anciently, this blessing was commanded in the mountains of Zion on the
eastern hemisphere, but in our day the Lord has revealed himself, and
has spoken from the heavens to his servant on the western continent,
Where the authority of the holy Priesthood is, dwells the blessing of
the Lord, and there has he commanded the blessing, even life for
evermore.[p.97] 

Vol. 18,  p.97
We are united in our faith, in our works, and in our feelings and
interests; and in every capacity that is possible the Latter-day
Saints should stand shoulder to shoulder, presenting before the Lord
and before the world an unbroken phalanx to resist the powers and
insinuations of the enemy and the approaches of evil in every
direction. The people here are increasing and multiplying, they are
disposed, as a general thing, to do as the Lord wants them to do; but
wickedness will creep in. We must purify our hearts. The Lord
says—"Son, give me thy heart." We must give our hearts to the Lord our
God, then he can accept of us. Many are called but few are chosen. We
are all called to be co-helpers with the Lord in establishing his
purposes in the earth, in sustaining holy and righteous principles,
and the institutions of high heaven which the Lord has revealed, and
the organizations which he has introduced in the midst of the earth.
We are called upon to sustain them, and to bear them off triumphantly,
to lay a foundation for the rule of truth, peace, and righteousness in
the earth, and to prepare the way for the ushering in of that great
and glorious kingdom of peace that will stand for ever and ever. This
is the work of the Latter-day Saints, and the Lord will perform it
through the instrumentality of those who are willing and obedient in
the day of his power. We can have lot and part herein if we have a
mind to; so may all the children of earth; all they have to do is to
render obedience to the voice of the Lord, and the whole world ought
to be glad of the opportunity to do that. The Lord invites us to come,
he is anxious and desirous that we should come to him and learn of
him. He says—"Take upon you my yoke, for it is easy, and my burden,
for it is light; come, partake of the waters of life freely." "Turn
from your evils, for why will ye die, O house of Israel." The Lord is
talking to the people, and sending forth his warning voice to the
nations of the wicked and ungodly, and as it was in the days of Noah,
so it will be in the days of the coming of the Son of Man; the
righteous were saved and the wicked were destroyed then, so they will
be in these latter days, for the hour of God's judgment is come, and
the kingdoms of this world will become the kingdoms of our God and of
his Christ, and they will be given to his Saints.

Vol. 18,  p.97
Who would not be a Saint? Why a great many people reject the word of
the Lord and have no respect for it whatever, and too many of those
who profess to be Latter-day Saints are in the same condition. It is
not a great while since the word of the Lord came through Joseph
Smith, the Prophet of the Lord, to this nation, to free their slaves,
and for the Government to pay for them out of the treasury of the
United States. Would the people receive the word of the Lord through
his servant? No, they would not. What was the result? Why a
fratricidal civil war in which thousands of millions of dollars were
spent, devastation was spread over the land and rivers of blood were
shed, and all this might have been avoided and the slaves liberated by
peaceful means at not more than one-tenth of the expense, if they
would have hearkened to the word of the Lord. Everybody can see now
that that would have been the best course to take, but nobody could
see it and nobody would receive it when it was given. Do not let us be
afraid of the word of the Lord. He never did and he never will reveal
a principle to the [p.98] children of men, but what, if it be carried
out, will prove to their greatest interest and advantage. I merely
mention this to illustrate a subject which is quite familiar to the
Saints, but which the world do not know so much about.

Vol. 18,  p.98
Now, we are here in obedience to a great command, a command given by
the Almighty to his Saints to gather out from Babylon, lest they be
partakers of her sins and receive of her plagues. But if we are going
to partake of her sins in Zion, and to nourish and cherish the wicked
and ungodly, what better shall we be for gathering? Shall we escape
her plagues by so doing? No, there is no promise to that effect, but
if we practise the sins and iniquities of Babylon here in Zion, we may
expect to receive of her plagues and to be destroyed. We have duties
to perform here, which devolve upon us as Saints of the Most High. The
Book of Doctrine and Covenants informs us that things will be
revealed, in this the dispensation of the fullness of times, that have
been kept hidden from before the foundation of the world. Should we be
surprised, then, when a new principle is manifested among us from the
Lord through the channel of the holy Priesthood? Do we realize that
this is the channel through which the mind and will of God our Father
is made known unto us? Here is the Bible, of what is it composed? Of a
compilation of things made known to the children of men in former ages
through the instrumentality of the holy Priesthood. The word of the
Lord to the people has always come through that channel, and it always
will. It is the same authority that exists in the heavens, by which
the Gods themselves are governed, and by which they control all
things; and it is among the privileges of every man and every woman to
approach the Lord through this channel, and learn his mind and will
concerning them. And through this same channel a Bishop may learn the
mind of the Lord about his ward, the president of a quorum about his
quorum, and the President of the whole Church the mind and will of the
Lord concerning the people; and so through all the quorums and
organizations of the Church, from first to last, all may approach the
Lord through the channel of the holy Priesthood, and learn his mind
and will concerning them. It is the privilege of the father and mother
of a family to obtain the mind and will of the Lord, to enable them to
guide their children in the ways of eternal life. This is no child's
play, or fable. The Lord has spoken from the heavens, and we bear
testimony thereof to all the nations of the earth. Listen, then, to
his voice! It comes to all, it comes to the Latter-day Saints through
the channel of the Priesthood located here in the valleys of the
mountains. Hear it, all ye nations of the earth! Come up here, and
learn the mind and will of the Lord. Take warning, that you may escape
his wrath when his judgments shall be poured out, because they will be
just as sure as they were in the days of Noah. This is the work of the
Lord, and we bear testimony of these things continually in your ears.
You, of course, do as you please about receiving or believing our
testimony; that makes no difference in regard to the truth of the
matter. It is God's truth, and it is extending and will continue to do
so until it prevails and triumphs over every obstacle.

Vol. 18,  p.98
The Latter-day Saints have a work to do, not only in proclaiming the
Gospel and warning the people, but [p.99] to build up Zion right here
upon the earth. Not afar off in some far distant sphere, but here,
where the Lord has planted their feet, in the valleys of the
mountains. And we must he united and must operate together, as far as
in our power lies, to bring to pass the purposes of the Almighty,
because righteousness, and peace and harmony must dwell in the
kingdom. A house divided against itself can not stand. Is a
reformation needed amongst the Saints? Yes, it is needed with us all.
We must reform and continue to reform. We have inherited lies from,
and are full of the traditions of, the fathers. We have all imbibed
errors in our infant years, and the enemy is on the alert, ready to
enter in and to lead into by and forbidden paths the footsteps of the
young, that he may cause them to make shipwreck of their faith and go
away from the truth, the eternal truth of heaven. The world is waging
a warfare against this little handful of people in the valleys of the
mountains. Why? Because we have got the truth, the true faith of the
holy Gospel; we have the authority of the holy Priesthood that has
come down from heaven. They are anxious to destroy this authority and
the servants of the Lord who bear it, and they are anxious to uproot
and destroy us as a people. Then, in order to defend ourselves, let us
go to with our mights, unite as the heart of one man, and stand
shoulder to shoulder in building up the kingdom of God upon the earth.
If we have lost our faith in the work, why, of course, we can't be
expected to do anything more towards building it up; but if we are
assured in our own minds that this is the truth, that "Mormonism"
so-called, is the everlasting Gospel, that it has been revealed by
direct revelation from the Lord in these last days, and that we are
really his people, let us go to and reform our lives. There is need of
it, we have been slack, negligent and dilatory, and peradventure we
have done a great many things we ought not to have done; perhaps we
have been guilty of sins of omission as well as sins of commission,
and we need to repent, and to go down into the waters of baptism
inasmuch as we have the privilege, and have our sins washed away, and
have hands laid upon us for the gift of the Holy Ghost, and rise in
newness of life, with a firm determination that henceforth we will
divest ourselves of those evils, that we will keep the Lord's day
holy, attend to our meetings, partake of the Sacrament, and that we
will be more diligent in regard to the words of the Lord that have
been given to us, and that are given to us continually, for the stream
flows unceasingly through the channel of the Priesthood to the people.
Let us listen to the voice and the whisperings of the Spirit, and if
there be an obstacle in the way let us remove it. If we have hard
feelings one towards another, envyings, strifes, or anything that is
calculated to mar our peace and happiness, let us go and make that
right, and then come and partake of the emblems of our Lord and Savior
Jesus Christ, through whose sufferings and death an atonement has been
worked out for our salvation. Every Latter-day Saint needs the
inspiring, refreshing influence of the Spirit of God to flow to him
continually. Reflect a moment, and remember that when the plants in
our gardens and fields are withering under the scorching sun, how
carefully we go along the water sects, clear out every obstacle and
turn in the water, so that it may reach and revive every plant, that
they may all live and grow. So should [p.100] the Latter-day Saints
remove every obstacle that lies in their way to the reception and flow
of the Spirit of the Lord to them. If you have aught against your
neighbor or friend, go and make that right; if you have done any
wicked thing, broken any of the commandments of the Lord, repent and
be baptized for the remission of these sins, and turn away from them.
No man can get a greater evidence of the Lord's having forgiven him
his sins, than the knowledge that he has actually turned away from
them, and that he is living in obedience to the principles of the holy
Gospel. Every man and every woman knows this for himself or herself,
and if they have, then may they know that the Lord has forgiven them
their sins, and not without. A person may commit iniquity and think he
can hide it up; but let me say to such a person that you know it, and
that is one too many, and the Lord knows it, and that is two too many,
and out of the mouth of two or three witnesses every word will be
established, and you will give this evidence against yourself sooner
or later. And all who have committed sin or transgression of any kind
must repent of it and be baptized for the remission thereof; and
unless they repent sincerely, with a repentance that needs not to be
repented of, they had better not go near the waters of baptism, for it
will be a solemn mockery before high heaven. I say that if you intend
to keep straight along in your own indifferent way all the time, stay
away, never offer yourselves for baptism, for that would be a mockery
and would only add to your condemnation, instead of being a benefit to
you.

Vol. 18,  p.100
I might enumerate what evils we are guilty of, but I do not wish to
confess the sins of the people, I have enough of my own. But let us
examine ourselves individually, and repent of that wherein we have
done amiss in the sight of the Lord. How indifferent we have been
about his word from time to time when it has been given to us! The
servants of the Lord have proclaimed his will unto us year after year,
and I sometimes think that we are preached to too much; but yet when a
principle is revealed from the Lord, the people are very reluctant to
take hold of it, which shows that we need to be instructed in regard
to our duties as Saints of God, that we may be so in very deed.
Latter-day Saints must progress, they can not stand still; and if they
do not progress in the faith of the holy Gospel, and in the things of
God, they are progressing in the other direction, and they will
finally come to a point when the counsel of their minds will be
darkened, and they will be unable to see the kingdom.

Vol. 18,  p.100
This cause is great and glorious, and it is worthy of our utmost
endeavors and attention, and all that we have and are, or can be. It
is worthy of all the means we can control, and of all the talents and
ability that pertain to us in this life, for in it lie our best
interests, for by embracing and living according to the faith of the
holy Gospel, we shall be exalted in the scale of human existence, and
it is impossible to be otherwise. If we embrace principles of vice and
go in the ways of wickedness and wicked men, we are on the way to
death and destruction.

Vol. 18,  p.100
There are some amongst us, perhaps, who, in their feelings, have given
way to a spirit of fault-finding with those who are over them, it may
be with their Bishop, or with the President. If they persist in this
course, it will not be long before they give expression to their
feelings to [p.101] some friend who is of like mind, and who
sympathizes with them, and it will not be a great while, if such
persons do not turn a short corner and repent, before they make
shipwreck of their faith, and they will go to the devil at last. How
many of us have seen those who have stood firm in the faith a great
while, and through whom the Lord has made manifest his goodness and
deliverances from time to time, in the laying on of hands and healing
the sick, and yet they have let the devil cheat them out of their
salvation at last, by causing them to commit some kind of iniquity,
peradventure adultery, and you know that the Book of Doctrine and
Covenants says that whosoever will do that will deny the faith anyhow,
unless they repent. If any have been guilty of any of these evils, it
is important, if they want salvation, that they repent, and do them no
more for ever.

Vol. 18,  p.101
We read in this book, the Book of Doctrine and Covenants, how people
may attain to the different degrees of glory, telestial, terrestrial,
and celestial, and we are told that it is by observing the laws which
pertain to these several kingdoms. There is no other way that I know
of. If we ever expect a celestial glory, we must observe the laws of
the kingdom where that glory exists; and so with any other degree of
glory. Well, then, as Latter-day Saints, we see that we have enough to
do. We have to be united that we may resist the encroachments of the
enemy, that we may be prospered and blessed in the earth, and work to
better advantage than we have been doing heretofore, and co-operate
with each other and with the Lord in building up his kingdom upon the
earth. If we can see that kingdom, let us go to and man the ship Zion.

Vol. 18,  p.101
I feel to bear my testimony to this great work of the last days, and
also in behalf of the people, that the predominating influence among
them is, in my opinion, for God. I am gratified exceedingly to be able
to make this statement, and to bear this testimony. Still we have need
to repent, that we may progress faster, that we may accomplish a great
work during the day, for the night cometh when no man can work. It is
incumbent upon each and every one of us to do all that in our power
lies, and not neglect our opportunity, for when once passed it has
passed forever. It is for us then to work for the Lord and his cause
and kingdom with all our might, mind, and strength, and to sustain the
principles and institutions of high heaven that he has organized among
his people, and so be prepared to receive that which may come; for we
may expect, if we have the living oracles among us, which we have, and
I bear testimony to it, that other new principles will keep coming
along as fast as the people are prepared to receive them, and a great
deal faster than a great many are prepared. I bear my testimony that
there is a constant stream of revelation concerning us here, and that
the mind and will of God is being poured out upon us continually. It
has not been slackened one particle, but it is right here with us
to-day. The Bible is a compilation of the revelations of God which
have been given in various ages, and it is good. But the living
oracles are for us. We are not called upon to build and enter into an
ark, like Noah was; the ark of safety that we have to build is
different from what it was in his day. But as Noah had to be guided in
laying the foundation and rearing the superstructure of his ark by
revelation from the God of heaven, so have we in these latter days;
and by the [p.102] revelations of heaven, through the channel of the
holy Priesthood, we have to be continually taught in the ways of the
Lord, that we may walk in his paths. It is not for every man to go
after his own foolish notion, and the phantom of his own brain; the
kingdom can never be built up if every one walks in the path he marks
out for himself. It is God's kingdom, and it is ours also, inasmuch as
we will make our ways correspond with his, and take a course to be
reckoned among his jewels when he makes up those upon whom he will
confer eternal riches.

Vol. 18,  p.102
This earthly probation is a day of trial. We have to pass through
tests and ordeals, and have to prove ourselves worthy to be numbered
among that great company who will stand as saviors upon Mount Zion,
with the very impress of Deity upon them—the name of God written upon
their foreheads. "These are they," says the Apostle, "who come up
through much tribulation." The Lord will have a tried people, those
who have proven their integrity before high heaven, and none others
will be counted worthy to receive and inherit the eternal riches. He
that endures faithful to the end, the same will be saved; but the word
endure is there, we have to endure all things. He that is faithful
over a few things, will be made ruler over many; but the word faithful
is there. We can't go indifferently along all the days of our lives,
and fly the track the very moment an obstacle is presented before us,
or a difficulty looms up in the way; we must overcome that difficulty,
and rise alcove that obstacle, and not swerve to the right hand or to
the left. So shall we prove our integrity before heaven, and, by
enduring to the end, we shall be saved in God's kingdom; and having
been faithful over a few things, we shall receive others, and be made
rulers over many things. You thus see that salvation to-day is gained
upon the same principle as that upon which it was gained in the days
of the Savior and his Apostles.

Vol. 18,  p.102
I feel to thank the Lord for his blessings, and that I can see his
handiwork in the midst of the people. I can see the increase of his
power and his dominion in the earth, for rest assured it is increasing
on every side, and in the hearts of the people, and we wish it to
increase more rapidly there for their own sakes, for your sake, for my
sake, and it is for our advantage individually. The Lord and one good
man, we are told, are a great majority, so it does not matter so much
to him how many there are on his side; the principal thing is for
those who profess to be his followers and servants to be faithful and
true in keeping the covenants they have made with him, and not be
everlastingly breaking the same, and thereby forfeiting the rights and
blessings they might otherwise enjoy. We can't be blessed, we can not
stand, we can not be made rulers over many things, we can not receive
inheritances, kingdoms, thrones, principalities, powers, dominions,
exaltations in the celestial kingdoms, unless we are faithful in all
things, if need be unto death; and if we fail in this we shall most
assuredly be clipped of our glory.

Vol. 18,  p.102
Let us, then, my brethren and sisters, live so that we may at least
have a reasonable hope of attaining to these great blessings which are
the gift of God. That we may do so and preserve ourselves in integrity
before high heaven, and be united together as the heart and voice of
one man, is my prayer in the name of Jesus. Amen.[p.103] 

George Q. Cannon, October 8, 1875

Self Preservation—United Order—Individual 
Stewardships—Home Manufactures

Discourse By Elder George Q. Cannon, Delivered at the 
Forty-Sixth Semi-Annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ 
of Latter-Day Saints, in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake 
City, Saturday Morning, October 8, 1875.

(Reported by David W. Evans)

Vol. 18,  p.103
Our Conference, thus far, has been exceedingly interesting to me, and
I have no doubt it has been to every one present. We have heard a
great many ideas and counsels, and have received instruction which, if
treasured up by us and carried into practical effect in our lives,
will have a very beneficial result in the midst of this people. There
has never been any lack of instruction among the Latter-day Saints. I
think it was President Wells who said the other day that he sometimes
thought we had too much preaching and teaching. I have no doubt myself
that the ease with which we obtain instruction, the abundance of it,
and the readiness with which it is imparted have made very important
counsels that would, it carried out, have a very beneficial effect
upon the entire people, seem cheap and unimportant. There are some
duties, however, that have been dwelt upon with considerable plainness
in order that they may be kept permanently before the minds of the
people. The leading points among these are those which relate to our
self-preservation, because if we do not adopt and carry out in our
lives principles that will preserve us, the gathering together of the
people in these valleys and all the labors that have been expended in
our behalf will not amount to much. God has blessed us with a good
land; he has multiplied upon us many favors, that, when we came here,
some of us, at least, did not expect to enjoy. He has given the land a
fertility that we never dreamed of. I say that we never dreamed of,
but I will speak for myself, and say that I never thought that this
land could have been made so fruitful as it has been. Others,
probably, who had had more experience, might have entertained
different feelings. I have heard President Young say a great many
times that he saw all that has been done, when we first came here he
saw what the result would be. But the land was barren, and the
fertility that it now possesses, could scarcely then have been
expected. God has given unto us this and many other favors, and as a
people we should wisely appropriate them for the extension of the
principles of truth and righteousness.

Vol. 18,  p.103
I was very much pleased yesterday with the remarks which were made in
relation to the principles of the [p.104] United Order. This is a
subject which I have thought of considerably, and it is one which I
think ought to appeal very strongly to us. The efforts which are being
made to unite us and bring us together, to blend our interests and to
amalgamate us and make us one are of the utmost importance to us, and
I suppose that a great many of the Latter-day Saints who have come to
this Conference have had the desire in their hearts that something
might be said in relation to the course that they should adopt in
order to become more united. I think I made a statement, about a year
ago, that many of the people were far more willing than many of their
leaders to enter upon a system having that end in view. I still
entertain that same opinion. I believe that the bulk of the Latter-day
Saints are anxious to understand what they shall do, and are willing
to carry out, when directed, any plan that shall he suggested to them.
Several plans have been suggested, but there have been feelings of one
kind and another and difficulties interposed to prevent the general
carrying out of any plan. However, the President has felt of late, and
has thus spoken to those who have been immediately around him and to
several others, that it would be well for us to carryout the plan that
was spoken of yesterday, and that has been referred to a good many
times of late, namely, individual stewardships. There is something
about this which appeals strongly to most men's minds. They can see
how this can be effected; they can see that under such a system what
are called individual rights might be better preserved, and property
not be absorbed in a way to cause loss or waste, and yet the great
principle be carried out that is aimed at, namely, the uniting of the
hearts of the people in one.

Vol. 18,  p.104
We have had meetings here in this city, at which these principles have
been laid before a number of the Latter-day Saints, all of whom have
seemed to receive the ideas with satisfaction, and have felt that they
suited them exactly, and they were willing to do that which was
required of them. And I believe that this feeling will be extended
throughout all the Territory and throughout all these mountains; for
wherever we have gone this summer, laboring among and talking to the
people in relation to their economy, and the management of their
temporal affairs, we have found a great willingness manifested on the
part of the people to do whatever they were counselled to do, and to
carry out the principles to the extent of their ability, and I believe
that this will be the result.

Vol. 18,  p.104
We, as a people, must change our policy if we become the people which
we aim at, and which we believe God designs that we shall be. There is
nothing clearer than this to every thinking mind. We can see very
plainly that we must be a self-sustaining people, that we must
manufacture in our own midst, to the greatest possible extent, that
which we consume, that is necessary for our comfort and convenience.
Unless we take this course, it is an impossibility that we can become
the people that we design to be, and that God in his revelations has
predicted we shall be. No people who are dependent upon others can
become a great people. A people who are constantly producing for
others to manufacture, never can become a great people. If we produce
wool, and hides, and grain, and other things from the earth, and send
them away to be manufactured, we shall constantly [p.105] pay tribute
to other people, and the object of the United Order is to stop this.
We have skill here, for there is probably no community on this
continent, of our numbers, which has as many skilled artizans as are
to be found here. Men who are familiar with every branch of industry
almost float can be named are in these mountains. But we have not
capital; yet by combining our means we can obtain all the capital that
is necessary; and then, if there can be a public sentiment developed
here which will induce the people to sustain these manufactures, the
whole question is solved, and we are placed upon a pinnacle of
greatness that we never can attain to unless we pursue this policy.

Vol. 18,  p.105
You take a pound of wool, and it costs what? You can buy it here in
our market for twenty-five or twenty-six cents. You send that pound of
wool to the Eastern States, and let the looms of the East manufacture
it, the workmen of the East bestow their labor upon it, and that pound
of wool comes back to us manfactured into cloth, and contrast the
price of that wool before it is manufactured, with its cost when it is
manufactured, and you can form some idea of how much we have to pay
the skilled men of other communities. A case was given to us
yesterday. A hide was sold to a purchaser who sent it from this
Territory. It came back to Cache County, where the brand, still
legible on the leather, was recognized as one of their own brands. Now
the difference between the price obtained for the hide in its raw
state, and the cost of it when manufactured into leather, was the
amount that we paid to some manufacturer in the East for changing that
raw hide into leather suitable to be worn.

Vol. 18,  p.105
What, then, ought to be our policy? It ought to be to bestow all the
skill and labor possible upon everything we produce. Not one pound of
wheat ought to go out of this Territory until it has received all the
labor possible to be bestowed upon it, or, in other words, until it is
made into the finest of flour. This is the true policy for us. To send
our wheat away for other men to grind and take a tell off, and then
send it back to us manufactured into flour, why it is suicidal! To
send our hides away for somebody else to manufacture them into
leather, and boots and shoes, when we have tanners, bark, and all the
material and skill necessary to do the same lying idly here! why, it
is folly in the highest sense, or in the lowest sense, whichever you
please to call it, for us to pursue a course of this kind. And so with
everything that we have here. We are probably sending away a million
pounds of wool this season. We have not machinery enough to
manufacture all our wool, but we can manufacture a great deal, but our
machinery will not manufacture all we need to supply our present
wants, and a million pounds of wool go east to be manufactured, and we
have to pay manufacturers for the cloth made from that wool, and we
are thus paying tribute to other communities. And so it is with
everything that we use that is manufactured abroad. When you buy a jar
of pickles, a gallon of molasses, or canned corn, tomatoes, or fruit,
or anything of this kind, you are paying your money to sustain
communities afar off, while your own people are suffering for want of
labor.

Vol. 18,  p.105
We ought not to have an idle man, woman or child in these valleys.
Says one—"But we can not afford to pay the prices that are asked for
home-manufactured goods." Let me ask, Can we afford to sit idle? Can
we afford to do nothing, and to pay [p.106] money to, and employ
others? I say that we can not; but we are doing it all the time. We
are bringing wagons and carriages into this country, when we have
abundance of skill here to manufacture them. And the same is true of
many other things which we might manufacture and supply our own wants.

Vol. 18,  p.106
Now what is the object of the United Order? It is to enable us to
appropriate the means which God has given us to manufacture those
things that are necessary for our own sustenance. Let us take the
illustration that is afforded us by Brigham City, brother Lorenzo
Snow's place of residence. In that little town, numbering probably
three thousand people, they have over thirty branches of manufacture.
They have a circulating medium of their own—a little nation, as it
were—and the workmen are paid in that medium, and with it they buy
what they want of the various articles which they manufacture; and by
the combination that has been effected, they are gradually growing to
a degree of independence that is unknown almost everywhere else. But
the great difficulty there, is, that the masses of the people do not
see their own interests, but many of them are as blind there as they
are elsewhere, and a few wise men have to take the lead and the
responsibility, and to labor and contrive to maintain these branches
of manufacture. But what will be the result if this be continued? All
the surrounding country, unless the people do the same, will be paying
tribute to Brigham City and its manufacturers, and every youth in
Brigham City will be learning some branch of skilled handicraft, and
the rawhides and everything in its raw state will be brought to
Brigham City, and Brigham City will pay in manufactured articles which
its artizans have made, and upon which they have a profit; and if that
were to go on, Brigham City would, in a little while, own all the
surrounding country.

Vol. 18,  p.106
I mention this as an illustration of what can be done, and what we
ought to do. We ought not to produce more wheat than we need for our
own use, that is, we should not depend upon exporting wheat, we can
not get enough for it, it does not pay us. But we should turn our
attention to other articles and to manufactures, There is Bear Lake
country, abounding in timber, the men of which live nearly half the
year housed up. If they would organize wisely, and combine their
capital, skill and labor, they could manufacture everything out of
wood that we need in this country, and they have the best of timber
there to do it with. But instead of that their time is spent during
the winter in feeding their cattle and doing such chores as are needed
around their places; and during the remaining five months they are
worked exceedingly hard. This is impolitic and unwise, and if
persisted in would be called bad management.

Vol. 18,  p.106
These are the lessons that have been taught us all the day long. It is
not a new thing, but is something as old as our residence in these
mountains. I have heard such instructions as these from my boyhood,
when we first came here. But we have been slow to hear and carry out
these practical lessons of wisdom that have been delivered to us by
the servants of God, and have been, to some extent, reluctant, fearful
and suspicious that, if we did these things, somebody would be a
little more benefitted than we. Now it is time for a reformation. I do
not wonder at the Lord calling upon his servants to ask the people to
go and be baptized, and [p.107] rebaptized into a different spirit, a
spirit to obey the counsel that is given. All of you have proved by
your experience the wisdom of this counsel. We know that we have a man
leading us who has more wisdom in managing the affairs of a community
than any man on the American Continent or anywhere else that we know
anything of. He has proved this; it is no boast, it is a fact that is
recognized by thousands outside of this Territory. Those who are
unprejudiced in other parts of the nation see the results of the
policy that has been urged upon the people of this Territory; and if
that policy were carried out we would soon become an independent
people, we would soon be full of wealth and means, and instead of
seeing men walking around with their hands in their pockets, because
of not having work, there would not be an idle man in the Territory.
For any portion of our people to be idle is wrong, and there is
something radically wrong about a system that admits of or has a
tendency to keep a portion of the community in idleness. There is no
necessity for such a state of things, and we are to blame if it exists
here. If every man and woman worked, and every child worked as soon as
it is capable, after having received the necessary schooling, you
would soon see the difference there would be in this country in our
means and appliances. It is skill, and that skill well applied, that
contributes to the greatness of a nation. Look at France, to-day.
France was burdened by an enormous debt, laid upon her by Germany, and
which Germany hoped would cripple her for years. But France, with her
wonderful industrial resources, has a stream of wealth flowing into
her to-day from all the nations because of her taste and skill. By
these means she has paid her debt, and Germany is alarmed at the
rapidity with which it has been paid. To what is it due? It is due to
French skill, to their workmen of taste and ability, and when people
elsewhere want fabrics of the greatest elegance they send to France
for them. A lady in fashionable society in Washington, or in leading
eastern cities generally, does not consider herself dressed in the
leading style, unless her dresses, as well as the materials of which
they are made, are manufactured in France. The highest fashion demands
that her dress shall be made in Paris. And look at Geneva, it is
another of the workshops of the world. You travel through Switzerland,
and you will find that in her secluded valleys the people, in their
little cabins, manufacture the finest kind of watches and clocks, and
other articles that are valuable and rare, which are sold to all the
nations round, and the skill of her people has made Switzerland a
comparatively rich country.

Vol. 18,  p.107
We have skill here, and we have materials here that we should utilize,
instead of letting them go to waste. I have heard parties say, and it
is true, that there is more waste in Utah Territory than in any
country they had ever seen in their lives. I have heard men of
experience say this, and I believe it. We have got so much that we
waste that which God has given unto us, instead of using it for the
purpose for which it was designed.

Vol. 18,  p.107
Now, my brethren and sisters, you who have come to this Conference, do
try and put into operation the teachings that you hear. It is no use
talking unless we go to work. To say after Conference—"Oh, what a good
Conference we have had," "What excellent teachings we had!" and then
forget all about them, and do nothing practical connected with [p.108]
them, would be folly in the extreme. When you get a principle try and
carry it out, try and make it practical in your lives. Endeavor, in
your communities to organize branches of labor. Let the Bishops and
the men who have wisdom provide means of employment for every man and
every woman in their settlements and wards, and let their brains be
exercised, as President Young's has been, for the good of the whole.
We should use the power which God has given us in these directions in
endeavoring to lift ourselves up from our abject condition, and not
think—"I must have five dollars or four dollars for a day's work;" but
go to work if you cannot get as much as that. We should all be
employed in doing something every day. We should train our boys and
girls to work; the best education that we can give them is to give
them skill and teach them habits of industry, not forgetting, of
course, the principles of our religion, without which they cannot be
truly great. You know the old saying—"An idle man's brain is the
devil's workshop;" and it is so. If you want a good people, a people
who can be easily managed, a temperate people and a sensible people,
have an industrious people. But have an idle people and they become
intemperate, and I believe that many of our young men, because they
have no opportunities to develop their energies, take to drinking,
chewing tobacco, and rowdyism, whereas, if labor were provided for
them, and their energies were rightly directed, they would be useful
members of society and be ornaments to their father's houses and to
their friends. Youth is full of energy, and wise rulers will utilize,
husband and direct it for the good of the whole, and not let it be
expended on foolish objects or in a wasteful manner. This is one of
the difficulties with us. We have plenty of energy? our young men are
full of it, and our land is full of young men. Their energies should
be rightly directed, and they be trained to be useful men in society;
and the girls should be trained to be useful women in society.

Vol. 18,  p.108
That God may bless us in our Conference, and help us to treasure up
the counsels that we hear, and to carry them out practically, is my
prayer in the name of Jesus. Amen.[p.109] 

Wilford Woodruff, September 12, 1875

Parable of the Ten Virgins—Importance of the Last 
Dispensation—Responsibilities Resting Upon the Elders—
Judgments at the Door—the Lamanites—Home 
Manufactures—Laying Up Wheat

Discourse By Elder Wilford Woodruff, Delivered in the 
New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Sunday Afternoon, Sept. 12, 1875.

(Reported by David W. Evans)

Vol. 18,  p.109
I will call the attention of the congregation to a few verses in the
25th chapter of St. Matthew. [The speaker read the first thirteen
verses; also the fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth paragraphs
of the fourteenth section of the Book of Doctrine and Covenants.]

Vol. 18,  p.109
This revelation, a portion of which I have been reading, treats in a
measure upon the subject of the parable that Jesus spoke, namely, the
ten virgins; both refer to his second coming, and to his work in the
latter days. In no age or dispensation can a man be called to a
greater calling than to administer in the ordinances of the house of
God, and nothing but the power of God and the inspiration of the
Almighty can sustain and uphold any man, no matter what age he may
live in, who is called of God to declare the words of life and
salvation, and to preach repentance to an unbelieving generation. This
may perhaps sound Strangely in the ears of many people, but the
inhabitants of the earth, both Jew and Gentile, should remember that
the Lord God Almighty himself, his Son Jesus Christ, and his Gospel
and work, have been very unpopular in every age of the world among the
hosts of men. No more unpopular doctrine was ever presented to the
human family, than the doctrine of life and salvation, I do not care
in what age of the world a Prophet, Apostle or inspired man has been
raised up to declare the commands of God, he has had to contend with
the prejudices of the inhabitants of the earth. It is so in our day,
and it was so in the days of Jesus Christ. When he came to the Jews,
his own Father's house, the house of Israel, as the great shiloh of
Judah, and the Savior of the world, a more unpopular man than he never
dwelt in Judea or Jerusalem, from the day of his birth to the day of
his death, when he gave up the ghost on the cross, and went home to
glory as a martyr for the word of God and the testimony which he bore.
And this is why I say that when any man, in any age of the world, is
called of God to declare the words of life, he has to contend with the
traditions of ages that rest upon the minds of the inhabitants [p.110]
of the earth.

Vol. 18,  p.110
The parable of the ten virgins is intended to represent the second
coming of the Son of man, the coming of the Bridegroom to meet the
bride, the Church, the Lamb's wife, in the last days; and I expect
that the Savior was about right when he said, in reference to the
members of the Church, that five of them were wise and five were
foolish; for when the Lord of heaven comes in power and great glory to
reward every man according to the deeds done in the body, if he finds
one-half of those professing to be members of his Church prepared for
salvation, it will be as many as can be expected, judging by the
course that many are pursuing.

Vol. 18,  p.110
I wish, if I can get enough of the Spirit of the Lord to answer my own
mind, to say a few words on the present occasion to my brethren and
sisters, the Latter-day Saints, those who have taken upon them the
name of Christ. We live in one of the most important dispensations
that God ever gave to man, namely, the great and last dispensation of
the fullness of times, the dispensation of all dispensations, and the
one in which the whole flood of prophecy in the holy Bible will be
fulfilled, for most all of the prophecies contained in that sacred
volume, from Adam to John the Revelator, point to the great work of
God in the last days, the days in which the God of heaven would set up
a kingdom that should be an everlasting kingdom, and to whose dominion
there should be no end, and the kingdom and the greatness of the
kingdom under the whole heavens should be given into the hands of the
Saints of the Most High God, and they are to possess it for ever and
ever. I wish to have the Latter-day Saints understand their
appointment, position, and responsibility before the God of heaven,
and their responsibilities to both Jew and Gentile, living and dead,
on this and the other side of the vail.

Vol. 18,  p.110
The Lord never has built up his kingdom in any age of the world except
by calling upon his servants and laboring through the tabernacles of
men on the earth; but this he has done in a great many ages and
dispensations. And whenever the Lord has had an Apostle, Prophet, or
inspired man on the earth, he has had power to administer in the
ordinances of the house of God, and he has labored for the advancement
of the kingdom of God upon the earth, whether he has had few or many
followers. As it was in the days of Noah and Lot, so shall it be in
the days of the coming of the Son of Man. We live in the day when God
has set his hand to establish that great kingdom that Daniel saw. We
live in the day when the angel of God has delivered the everlasting
Gospel in fulfillment of the revelations of St. John, when he says—"I
saw another angel flying through the midst of heaven having the
everlasting Gospel to preach to them who dwell on the earth, to every
nation, kindred, tongue and people under the whole heavens, saying
with a loud voice—'Fear God and give glory to him, for the hour of his
judgment is come.'"

Vol. 18,  p.110
There never was a generation of the inhabitants of the earth in any
age of the world who had greater events awaiting them than the
present. As I before remarked, the fulfillment of this whole volume of
revelation points to our day. The building up of the kingdom of God,
the building up of the Zion of God, in the mountains of Israel, the
erection of a standard for the Gentiles to flee unto, the warning of
the [p.111] nations of the earth to prepare them for the great
judgments of our God, the building up of the Church, the sanctifying
of the people, the building of Temples to the Most High God, that his
servants may enter therein and become saviors on Mount, Zion,
redeeming both the living and the dead, all these things are to be
performed in our day. And an age fraught with greater interest to the
children of men than the one in which we live never dawned since the
creation of the world.

Vol. 18,  p.111
Where is the man, priest, or people, in the whole sectarian world,
to-day, who believes in the literal fulfillment of the revelations of
God contained in the Bible? If there is one I should like to see and
converse with him. The whole Christian world profess to believe the
Bible, and perhaps they do when it is shut. But open the Bible and
read the declarations contained therein, concerning the last
dispensation of the fullness of times, and where is the man who
believes them? You can not find one, and it requires faith even among
the Latter-day Saints to believe the revelations of God, and to
prepare themselves for those things which await the world.

Vol. 18,  p.111
The fig trees are leafing, the summer is nigh, the signs of heaven and
earth all indicate the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ; but who
are really looking and preparing for the coming of the great
Bridegroom? I do not know that any people on the earth, except the
Latter-day Saints, are looking for this great event. There may be
exceptions, there may be men who believe in the second coming of
Christ. The people called Millerites, believe in the second coming of
the Savior, and they have set a great many days when it should take
place. But he did not come; and he never will come until the
revelations of God are fulfilled and a people are prepared for his
coming. He will never come until the Jews are gathered home and have
re-built their Temple and city, and the Gentiles have gone up there to
battle against them. He will never come until his Saints have built up
Zion, and have fulfilled the revelations which have been spoken
concerning it. He will never come until the Gentiles throughout the
whole Christian world have been warned by the inspired elders of
Israel. They are called to thrust in the sickle and reap, for the
harvest is ripe and the time has come, which is referred to in this
revelation, when the Lord commands the Elders to go forth and warn the
world for the last time, and call upon the inhabitants of the earth to
repent. And what I wish to say to the Elders and to the Latter-day
Saints is—Have we faith in God and in his revelations? Have we faith
in our own religion? Have we faith in Jesus Christ? Have we faith in
the words of the Prophets? Have we faith in Joseph Smith, who, by the
aid of the Urim and Thummim, translated the Book of Mormon, giving a
record of the ancient inhabitants of this country, and through whom
the Lord gave the revelations contained in the Book of Doctrine and
Covenants? If we have faith in these things, then we certainly should
prepare ourselves for the fulfillment of them. I consider that as a
people and as Elders of Israel we occupy one of the most important
positions ever occupied on the face of the earth by those who have
been called to work for the Lord. We have received our appointment for
this work, and we should prepare ourselves to perform the duties
devolving upon us in connection with it. Truth is one [p.112] of the
attributes of the Lord, and he never makes a declaration but what is
certain and true. And, as one of the Apostles says, "There is no
prophecy of any private interpretation, but holy men of old spoke as
they were moved upon by the Holy Ghost;" therefore what they said is
true, and their prophecies will have their fulfillment. No man can
point to any of the revelations of God in the old prophets concerning
events up to our day, but what have had their fulfillment. Everything
that Jesus Christ spake concerning Judea and Jerusalem has had its
fulfillment to the very letter. The Temple at Jerusalem was overthrown
until not one stone was left upon another, and the Jews have been
scattered and trodden under the feet of the Gentiles now for eighteen
hundred years, and so they will remain until the times of the Gentiles
are fulfilled, and that is pretty near. And, as the Lord has told us
in these revelations, we are called upon to warn the world.

Vol. 18,  p.112
We have been laboring now for forty-five years in preaching the Gospel
of Christ throughout the Gentile nations. We say Gentiles, because the
Gospel goes to the Gentiles first, that the first may be last and the
last first. Anciently the Jews were first in having the Gospel sent
unto them, but they rejected it, and they were broken off through
unbelief, and hence the Gospel turned to the Gentiles; and, as Paul
says—"Ye Gentiles, take heed and fear, lest ye fall through the same
example of unbelief, for if God spared not the natural branches, take
heed also lest he spare not ye." The Gentiles are fallen through the
same example of unbelief as did the Jews. They have put to death every
Prophet, Apostle, and inspired man since the days of Jesus Christ, and
the Church went into the wilderness, and the face of a Prophet,
Apostle, or inspired man, called of God to administer the ordinances
of the Gospel, had not been seen for some eighteen hundred years,
until the Lord raised up a Prophet in the day and age in which we
live. Therefore the Gospel brought forth in the last days has to go to
the Gentiles first.

Vol. 18,  p.112
Sometimes our neighbors and friends think hard of us because we call
them Gentiles; but, bless your souls, we are all Gentiles. The
Latter-day Saints are all Gentiles in a national capacity. The Gospel
came to us among the Gentiles. We are not Jews, and the Gentile
nations have got to hear the Gospel first. The whole Christian world
have got to hear the Gospel, and when they reject it, the law will be
bound and the testimony seared, and it will turn to the house of
Israel. Up to the present day we have been called to preach the Gospel
to the Gentiles, and we have had to do it. For the last time we have
been warning the world, and we have been engaged in that work for
forty-five years.

Vol. 18,  p.112
When Joseph Smith was called of God, it required faith, inspiration,
and the power of the Almighty to rest upon him to enable him to
organize the Church and Kingdom of God, and to preach the Gospel
against the traditions of the Christian world, for they had
spiritualized the Bible until there was not a remnant left in a
literal point of view. Hence the inhabitants of the earth were not
looking for the Church and Kingdom of God to be established in their
midst. Darkness has prevailed upon the earth, and does to-day, in all
the nations, and this causes silence to reign, and all eternity is
pained because of the sin, wickedness, and abominations which prevail
throughout the whole Christian or Gentile [p.113] world, and
throughout the whole Jewish world, for darkness prevails upon the face
of all the earth, and the Lord is calling upon all the inhabitants
thereof to repent and receive the Gospel, and when they have done so
to gather out of Babylon to the place he has appointed for the
dwelling place of his Saints. The Latter-day Saints heard this Gospel
among the Gentiles wherever they dwelt, in almost every nation under
heaven, and by this Gospel we have been gathered out unto Zion. We
have been gathered here for a certain purpose, and that purpose is to
fulfill the revelations of God.

Vol. 18,  p.113
When we left Missouri and Nauvoo, leaving behind the graves of our
fathers and children, we were driven by our enemies into this desert,
in the expectation that we should perish, and for nothing but because
we believed revelation and prophecy, and in living prophets and
servants of God. We thought it was hard to be driven from our homes
and lands, which we had bought of our government, and paid the money
for; but I will say to the Latter-day Saints that if we had not come
here there certainly would have been a flood of prophecy fallen
unfulfilled, prophecy in regard to the mountains of Israel, and the
great company gathering up thereto, with regard to the lifting up of a
standard therein, and the building of cities and the Temple of God in
their midst. All these things would have fallen unfulfilled if we had
not come to these mountains and fulfilled them. And so with many other
prophecies. We have been called together to perform the work of the
Lord, and now the Lord looks to us to fulfill our covenants and keep
his commandments. If we do this he has made great promises unto us.
The Lord has given the holy Priesthood unto the Elders of Israel, and
he requires at our hands to fulfill all these revelations and
commandments; and in regard to the parable which I have read, I, as an
individual, feel that it is necessary for me, and I may say that it is
necessary for the whole people, to have oil in our lamps if we expect
to see and comprehend the things of the kingdom of God.

Vol. 18,  p.113
The Lord has chosen a royal Priesthood and a holy people from among
the weak things of the world, in fulfillment of his revelations; and
we have been commanded to go forth and bear record of these things,
and we have done it. We should have been condemned and the curse of
God would have rested upon us if we had not, because the full set time
has come to build up and favor Zion, to build up the kingdom of God,
to warn the world and prepare them for the judgments of the Almighty.
The Millennium is dawning upon the world, we are at the end of the
sixth thousand years, and the great day of rest, the Millennium of
which the Lord has spoken, will soon dawn and the Savior will come in
the clouds of heaven to reign over his people on the earth one
thousand years. The Lord has a great work ahead and he is preparing a
people to do it before his coming. Now the question arises here,
brethren and sisters, are we prepared in our hearts? Do we realize
these things? As a people do we realize our responsibilities before
the Lord? The Lord has raised up a kingdom of priests here in the last
days to establish his Church and kingdom, and to prepare the way for
the second coming of the Son of Man, and the God of heaven has put
into the hands of his servants the keys of the kingdom, and he has
said—"Whatever I have decreed in these my servants shall be fulfilled,
for to them is given power to bind and to seal both on the earth and
in heaven,[p.114] against the day of the wrath of Almighty God, which
is to be poured out upon the world."

Vol. 18,  p.114
I think, many times, that we, as Elders of Israel and as Latter-day
Saints, come far short of realizing our position before the Lord. The
work required at our hands is great and mighty; it is the work of
Almighty God. We are held responsible for presenting the Gospel of
Christ to all the nations of the earth, to warn the Gentiles, to
prepare for the return of the lost ten tribes of Israel, and for
carrying the Gospel to the whole tribes of Israel. We are held
responsible for all this, and for building Temples to the Most High,
wherein we can enter and attend to ordinances for the salvation of our
dead. There are fifty thousand million spirits shut up in the spirit
world who never saw the face of a Prophet, Apostle or inspired man in
their lives. No man having the authority of God ever declared the
words of life and salvation unto them, and without authority their
ministrations are useless, for this is what the Priesthood is for. The
God of heaven has ordained this from eternity to eternity. These
persons in the spirit world died in the flesh without the law, without
the Gospel, and they are shut up in prison. Joseph Smith is preaching
to them, and so are thousands of the Elders of Israel who have died
and gone to the other side of the Vail. George A. Smith, who dwelt
with us until within the last few days, will take part, with joy and
rejoicing, with his brethren in the great work the other side of the
vail. When I saw ten or twelve thousand people met in this Tabernacle
to pay their last respects to the body of that man, I thought to
myself—"How much larger a congregation surrounds his spirit, in the
spirit world." Yes, they number millions there, to where we have units
here, and the servants of God will preach to them the same as Jesus
preached to the spirits in prison. While his body lay three days and
nights in the tomb he went and preached to the spirits in prison, that
they might be judged according to men in the flesh, that they might
receive part in the resurrection, according to the testimony which
they received. As I said before, the God of heaven requires this at
your hands. They will not baptize anybody in the spirit world; there
is no baptism there; there is no marrying or giving in marriage there;
all these ordinances have to be performed ca the earth. Paul says, in
referring to this subject—"Why are ye baptized for the dead? If the
dead rise not why then are ye baptized for the dead?" The Lord bolds
us responsible for going to and building Temples, that we may attend
therein to the ordinances necessary for the salvation of the dead.

Vol. 18,  p.114
In every dispensation the Lord has had those who were fore-ordained to
do a certain work. We all dwelt in the presence of God before we came
here, and such men as Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, the ancient Prophets,
Jesus and the Apostles received their appointments before the world
was made. They were ordained before the foundation of the world to
come and tabernacle here in the flesh and to work for the cause of
God, and this because of their faith and faithfulness. You can see the
great variety of spirits that have dwelt in the presence of God, from
those who are in the presence of God, down to the devils. A good many
of the hosts of heaven were cast out because of their wickedness.
Lucifer, son of the morning, and those who followed [p.115] after him
were cast down to earth, and they dwell here to this day—a hundred to
every man, woman and child that breathes the breath of life. They
dwell here without bodies, only what tabernacles they can get into, to
rule and preside over.

Vol. 18,  p.115
We are required to build Temples in which to attend to the ordinances
of the house of the Lord, that the prison doors may be opened, and the
prisoners go free. The world say—"We do not believe in such stuff." We
know that perfectly well; it was so in the days of Noah and Lot, but
the unbelief of the people did not stop the flood and the fire,
neither will the unbelief of this generation stay the hand of God one
moment. The angels of God have been waiting in the Temple in heaven
for forty-five years to go forth to reap down the earth. The wheat and
the tares must grow together until harvest; the people must be warned,
the Saints gathered out, Zion built up, Temples reared, the living
warned, the dead redeemed, that the skirts of the Elders of Israel may
be clean before all men.

Vol. 18,  p.115
It is by the power of God that the Elders have been sustained in days
past and gone. And I want to say to my brethren—and what I say to them
I take to myself—we should wake up, we should open our eyes to see,
our ears to hear, and we should open our hearts to understand our
appointment and position before the Lord; for if, as Latter-day
Saints, we are going to stop praying, lose the light of the Holy
Ghost, and turn to the beggarly elements of the world, the Lord will
have to say to us—"Get out of my way, my purposes can not be
thwarted;" and he will raise up somebody else to perform this work.
The Lord has never told any lies or made any false promises. "Who am
I," saith the Lord, "that I promise and do not fulfill?" "Who am I,"
saith the Lord, "that I command and am not obeyed?" The amount of it
is that the promises of the Lord are yea and amen, and though the
heavens and the earth pass away, his word never will fail of its
fulfillment.

Vol. 18,  p.115
In one paragraph of the revelation which I read to you this afternoon,
it says—

Vol. 18,  p.115
"And again, the Lord shall utter his voice out of heaven, saying,
hearken, O ye nations of the earth, and hear the words of that God who
made you. O, ye nations of the earth, how often would I have gathered
you together as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, but ye
would not? How oft have I called upon you by the mouth of my servants,
and by the ministering of angels, and by mine own voice, and by the
voice of thunderings, and by the voice of lightnings, and by the voice
of tempests, and by the voice of earthquakes, and great hailstorms,
and by the voice of famines and pestilences of every kind, and by the
great sound of a trump, and by the voice of judgment, and by the voice
of mercy all the day long, and by the voice of glory and honor, and
the riches of eternal life, and would have saved you with an
everlasting salvation, but ye would not? Behold the day has come when
the cup of the wrath of mine indignation is full."

Vol. 18,  p.115
How often has the Lord sent Prophets, as in the days of Noah, Lot,
Abraham, Enoch, Jesus Christ, Joseph Smith and Brigham Young? How
often have the Elders of Israel lifted up their voices to the
inhabitants of the earth and been rejected? Will not these things rise
in judgment against them? Yea, verily they will. The Lord has offered
the fullness of the everlasting Gospel to [p.116] the inhabitants of
the earth to-day, and they refuse to receive it. Brother Pratt, here,
myself and thousands of us have traveled ten thousand miles on foot,
without purse or scrip, carrying our knapsack or valise, and we have
waded swamps, swain rivers, and begged our broad from door to door to
preach the Gospel to this generation. And how many have we got to
believe it? Two of a city and one of a family, as the Prophet has
said, and we have gathered them to Zion. Nevertheless the warning
voice has gone forth to the world. But what do we see to-day? What do
the Gods, the heavens and all eternity see? They see a generation of
men and women making war against God and his Christ, making war
against Prophets and Apostles, and laboring night and day to overpower
and annihilate every principle of salvation and eternal life which God
has restored to the world. And I will here say, in the ears of this
congregation, that were this not the dispensation of the fullness of
times, and were it not for the decrees which the Lord has made in
relation to it, one of which is that he will set up a kingdom which
shall stand for ever, there is not an Apostle or Latter-day Saint on
the face of the earth but would have to seal his testimony with his
blood, as has almost every other Apostle that ever breathed the breath
of life. I say that were it not for these things, we should all have
to follow our leaders, Joseph and Hyrum Smith, who laid down their
lives for the word of God, and the testimony of Jesus Christ. But bear
it ye Gentile nations and all ye nations of the earth, the Lord
Almighty has set to his hand to build up his kingdom on the earth, and
he will not be thwarted. The Lord is going to make a short work in the
earth, and he will defend his anointed, his Prophets, his Zion and his
people. This is the decree of Almighty God. The eyes of all heaven are
over this people, they are over the earth, over the Gentiles, and over
the Jews, and the Lord holds in his hands the destinies of all men.
And we are commanded of God to rise up and warn the nations of the
earth; and we call upon the Latter-day Saints, upon the Elders of
Israel, upon the mothers and daughters in Zion to lay aside their
fooleries and nonsense, and to no longer let their hearts be set upon
the fashions of the world, but turn to and read the Bible, the Book of
Mormon and the revelations of God given in these days, and get the
Holy Spirit and walk in the light of the Lord, that your eyes may be
opened, that you may see and comprehend the position you occupy on the
earth, for you are held under great responsibility for the manner in
which you do your duty and magnify your callings before the Lord, and
he is not trifling with us, nor with this generation.

Vol. 18,  p.116
If the eyes of the Gentiles were opened one moment to see the things
of eternity, and the judgments which await this generation, they would
not wonder that the servants of God are moved upon to cry aloud to the
nations of the earth. I tell you that the judgments of God are at the
door of both Zion and great Babylon. Great Babylon has come in
remembrance before God, and His sword is bathed in heaven and it will
fall on Idumea and the world. Who can stand before the hand of
Almighty God? No man, no nation, nor set of nations on the face of the
earth.

Vol. 18,  p.116
I would to God that the eyes of the world were opened! I would to God
that the eyes of the Gentile nations were opened, that they could see
and understand what belongs to their peace! How much has the Lord
[p.117] pleaded with the nations of the earth to give them celestial
glory, honor, Immortality, and eternal life? He has pleaded with them
for the last six thousand years, and has raised up his servants from
time to time and called upon the inhabitants of the world to prepare
themselves for the great day of his second advent and coming, which is
at hand. He is calling upon them loudly to-day; and, as I have said to
some of my brethren lately, the Lord now wants to know whether the
Latter-day Saints are willing to work with him or not. It is a day of
decision. I do not expect that more than half of us will have oil in
our lamps and be prepared to enter into the marriage supper with the
Bridegroom. That will be about as much as we can expect, unless we
repent of our sins and turn from our follies, fooleries, and the
fashions of Babylon—things which our hearts have been set upon instead
of upon building up the kingdom of God. It seems to me that there will
be but a remnant even of the Latter-day Saints who will be prepared to
inherit eternal life and for the coming of the Bridegroom.

Vol. 18,  p.117
I feel, in my bones and in my Spirit, that there is a change at the
door, both with Zion and Babylon. Great events await us and this
generation. As I said before, judgments are at the door. The angels of
God are waiting for the great command to go forth and reap down the
earth. All earth and hell are stirred up against Zion. The spirit of
lying is abroad in all the world, and the people will not receive the
truth. In my meditations, whether in regard to the past or present, it
has always seemed one of the greatest mysteries why so few have been
willing to believe the revelations of God. In the days of Jesus, among
all the Jewish rabbis, with their Urim and Thummim, ephod, sacrifices,
giving the law, and all the blessings of Judah which they held in
their hands, it has been a marvel to me that so few had an interest in
their Shiloh, their Savior, who came to die to redeem the world. The
whole spirit of Jerusalem and Judea was—"Crucify him, crucify him, let
his blood be upon us and our children." It was and has been, and they
have felt it. And the Gentiles have cause to take heed lest they, too,
fall through unbelief.

Vol. 18,  p.117
I would tell Jew and Gentile, and all the earth if I had power, that
God never had but one Gospel to deliver to the sons of men, and that
Gospel is the same to-day, yesterday, and forever, it never changes.
The Lord never had a Church in any age of the world that he
acknowledged, but what it had a head to it, and it was organized with
Prophets, Apostles, Pastors, Teachers, gifts, helps, governments,
inspiration and gifts of the Holy Ghost; and God's Church today is the
same as in every other age.

Vol. 18,  p.117
This Gospel is offered to the world, and that men generally have such
a desire to root it out of the earth, is the strongest proof
imaginable that they are under the dominion and control of the father
of lies. If any man has a truth that we have not got, we say, "Let us
have it." I am willing to exchange all the errors and false notions I
have for one truth, and should consider that I had made a good
bargain. We are not afraid of light and truth. Our religion embraces
every truth in heaven, earth or hell; it embraces all truth, the whole
Gospel and plan of salvation, and the fulfillment of the whole volume
of revelation that God has ever given. We have not power, men have not
language, to show forth the eternal truths of God in all their
fullness and beauty; all we can do is to warn the children of
men,[p.118] and the Lord has chosen the Elders of Israel for that very
purpose. That has been one fault that men have found with the work of
the Lord. A man asked me awhile ago—"Why did the Lord choose Joseph
Smith to build up his kingdom? Why did he not choose Dr. Porter, Henry
Ward Beecher, or some such men?" Said I—"Such men would sell the
kingdom of God and everything in it for money and popularity, and as
the Lord lives he never could rule and handle them, none of them would
work with him, they are too much like the Pharisees, Sadducees, High
Priests and Rabbis of Judea and Jerusalem." Did the Lord ever choose
such men to perform his work? Go through the whole history of the
world, and you will find that whenever God wanted a servant, an
Apostle or a Prophet, he chose the very humblest man that could be
found. When a king was wanted for Israel, he could not find one out of
all the tall sons of Jesse; and when the Prophet asked if Jesse had
not another son, he was told no, only the boy that looked after the
sheep. Nobody thought anything about him he was of no consequence.
"Let me see him," said the man of God; and when he was brought, the
Prophet poured oil on his head and anointed him King of Israel. So it
has been all the way through. Take Moses the leader of Israel. His
mother cast him in the bulrushes on the banks of the river Nile, to
the crocodiles. But how carefully the Lord watched over him! Finally
the daughter of pharaoh got him out, while bathing, and gave him to
his mother to be trained and nursed. You could see the hand of the
Lord in this. When the Lord called Moses to deliver Israel from Egypt,
said he—"How can I do this? I am a man of a hard language and dew of
speech. He thought he could not get along, for he had not a good
command of language. But the Lord told him that he would find a
spokesman for him. So all the way through the Lord has chosen the weak
things of the world to confound the wise, and the things that are
nought, to bring to nought the things that are. Jesus Christ himself
was born in a stable and cradled in a manger; and who were his
Apostles? Illiterate fishermen, men of the lowest calling almost in
Judea, Salt Lake City, or anywhere else; but fishermen can be just as
honorable men as any others, and they are generally regarded as very
humble men, and that is the kind of men God has always chosen.

Vol. 18,  p.118
The Lord called Joseph Smith because he was foreordained before the
world was to build up this Church and Kingdom, and he came through the
loins of ancient Joseph. He was an illiterate youth, but the Lord used
him, and he lived to fulfill the measure of his appointment; he lived
as long as the Lord required him to live, and until he received every
key held by every Prophet and Apostle that ever lived in the flesh
from the days of Adam down to his day, which belonged to this
dispensation.

Vol. 18,  p.118
Joseph Smith received his first ordination under the hand of John the
Baptist, who was beheaded, and who, while in the flesh, held the
Aaronic Priesthood. Peter, James, and John, who were Prophets, and
were crucified and put to death, at least Peter and James were, they
came and ordained Joseph Smith to the Apostleship; and every
ordination that he obtained, he obtained from the spirit world from
men who had tabernacled here in the flesh. These are the eternal
truths of the God of heaven, and eternity will reveal them to the
inhabitants, of the [p.119] earth. It is by this power that this
Church has been planted, not of man nor by the will of man, but by the
revelations of Jesus Christ. We call upon the Latter-day Saints, we
look to them, and the Lord looks to them, the heavens look to them, to
take hold and build up this kingdom.

Vol. 18,  p.119
Some of the outside world are finding a good deal of fault with the
Indians. Who are the Indians? Read the Book of Mormon, and you will
learn that they are the literal descendants of Israel; they have been
cursed through the transgressions of their fathers, and a skin of
darkness has come upon them. This history tells us that they were once
a white and delightsome people, and had great power on this land, but
that they were degraded and cast down because of their sins. When we
came here, we found them living upon crickets, grasshoppers, roots,
and anything they could possibly eat, poor, miserable, degraded
beings, though they have immortal souls, and are of the house of
Israel. What is the Lord doing for them? He is stretching forth his
hand over them, in remembrance of the promises made to their fathers.
President Young and his people are accused of stirring up the Indians
against the general government, and against the white man. This is not
true. We have preached to the Indians a good many years, as we have
had opportunities, but what effect did it have? Not much. We preached
to Walker, Arapene, and many other chiefs who have dwelt here, but
have now passed away, but our preaching had but little effect. Now the
Lord is stretching out his hand over the Lamanites, and their eyes are
being opened, and they are receiving the Gospel of Jesus Christ at the
hands of the Elders of Israel. Whose work is this? Not the work of
man, but it is the Work of God, and if the nations of the earth try to
stay it, the warfare is between them and God, and not between them and
us. So with every other principle which God has revealed to us. This
work is the work of the God of Israel, and not the work of man; not
the work of Brigham Young, the Twelve Apostles, or anybody else. The
hand of the Lord is feeling after that people, and if we, as
Latter-day Saints, do not arise and magnify our callings and fulfill
our missions, the Lord will take that people and build up his kingdom,
and we will be cast out. It is time that we awoke and realized this
truth, and that, as Elders of Israel, we realized our position before
the Lord. Now there is a very general desire manifested by this people
to get rich, and to labor lot self rather than for the kingdom of God.
But what will it profit you Or me to give up praying and to go to and
get rich? What will it profit a man to gain the whole world and lose
his own soul? Not much. What will a man give in exchange for his soul,
when he gets on the other side of the vail? I marvel very much at the
little interest manifested by the inhabitants of the earth generally
in their future state. There is not a person here to-day but what is
going to live on the other side of the vail as long as his Creator—to
the endless ages of eternity, and the eternal destiny of every
individual depends upon the manner in which the few short years of the
life in the flesh are spent. I ask, in the name of the Lord, what is
popularity to you or me? What is gold or silver, or this world's goods
to any of us, any further than to enable us to obtain what we need to
eat, drink, and wear, and to build up the kingdom of God. And for us
to stop praying, and to become crazy after the riches of the [p.120]
world, is the very height of foolishness and folly. To see the way
that some people act, you might suppose that they are going to live
here eternally, and that their eternal destiny depends upon the number
of dollars they have. I sometimes ask the Latter-day Saints, how much
we had when we came here? How much did we bring, and where did it come
from? I do not think any one of us brought a wife or a brick house; I
do not think that any of us were born on horseback or in a carriage,
or that we brought railroad scrip and cattle and houses with us, But
we were born naked as Job, and I think that we shall leave here as
naked as he did. Then with regard to this world's goods, what do they
amount to with us, that they should induce us to lose salvation for
them? I say, rather than that, let me be poor all the days of my life;
if riches are going to damn me, and take from me the glory I have in
prospect through keeping the commandments of God, I pray God that I
may never possess them.

Vol. 18,  p.120
God holds the riches of this world in his bands; the gold and silver,
the cattle and the earth are his, and he gives to whom he will give.
When Christ was upon the mount, Lucifer, the devil, showed him all the
glory of the world and offered to give it to him if he would fall down
and worship him. But do you know that that poor devil did not own a
single foot of land in the whole world, and that he had not, even a
body, or tabernacle? The earth is the footstool of the Lord, and if we
ever have any of it for our own the Lord will give it to us; and we
ought to be just as faithful to our religion if we had ten thousand
million dollars, as if we had not any at all. Eternal life is what we
are or ought to be after, and that, whatever our circumstances and
condition in life may be, should be our first object.

Vol. 18,  p.120
I say to the brethren and sisters—you have your appointment; the Lord
has raised up these Elders of Israel, and I can prove from the Book of
Doctrine and Covenants that you received the Priesthood from eternity,
and your lives have been hid with Christ in God, and you knew it not.
You are literally and lawfully heirs of the Priesthood through the
lineage of your fathers, and that Priesthood will continue throughout
eternity, therefore you have received your appointment, and the Lord
looks to you to build up his Zion and kingdom upon the earth.

Vol. 18,  p.120
Let us try to be faithful and to live our religion; let us try to
believe in the revelations of God. I think it will be better for our
daughters, for our wives, for our sons and for ourselves to lay aside
the New York Ledger and yellow covered literature generally, and take
hold and read the revelations of God, and comprehend them. When I read
the revelations, whether in the Bible, Book of Mormon, or Book of
Doctrine and Covenants, I look upon them as true, and I look for their
fulfillment. Up to the present day, one jot or tittle of them has
never gone unfulfilled, and, as the Lord has said—"What I have spoken
I have spoken, and I excuse not myself, and though the heavens and the
earth pass away, not one jot or tittle of my word shall go
unfulfilled, whether by my own voice or by the voice of my servants it
is the same. Behold and lo I am God, and truth will be and abide for
ever and ever, Amen." Now let us try and live our religion and keep
the commandments of God. As Latter-day Saints let us see where we are,
and if we have no oil in our lamps let us stop trying to get rich, and
let us pray to the Lord until we get his [p.121] Spirit and oil in our
lamps, and light unto the glory of God, and take hold and labor to
build up his Kingdom and Zion.

Vol. 18,  p.121
Before I close I want to speak on one temporal point. I have been
talking about getting riches. I do not find fault with riches. The
gold and silver are the Lord's. We want houses building and we must
cultivate the earth. This is all right. I do not find fault with a man
getting rich, I find fault with our selling the kingdom of God, our
birthright, selling the Gospel and depriving ourselves of eternal
life, for the sake of gratifying the lusts of the flesh, the pride of
life and the fashions of the world; and setting our hearts upon these
things, It is right to build houses, to plant vineyards and orchards,
to cultivate the earth and to make the desert blossom as the rose, to
adorn our dwelling places and to build Temples. This is all right. I
have no objection to the ladies—our wives daughters and mothers—in
Zion adorning themselves as much as they please, if they only make
what they wear. Set out your mulberry trees and make your own silk;
get straw and make your own bonnets; make your artificial flowers to
adorn yourselves with, and let all be the workmanship of your own
hands, and do not import these things at the expense of the means we
have in the Territory. I have not any fault to find with your adorning
yourselves, if you only make that which you require yourselves.

Vol. 18,  p.121
I want to say one word to our farmers before I close. I want to ask
you if you ever heard brother Kimball tell about laying .up wheat?
"Yes," say some "we have heard him, but the famine has not come yet."
No, but it will come. The Lord is not going to disappoint either
Babylon or Zion, with regard to famine, pestilence, earthquakes or
storms, he is not going to disappoint anybody with regard to any of
these things, they are at the doors, and I want to give a word of
exhortation to our farmers, and I say to them, lay up your wheat, for
according to the spirit that has been in my bosom the last three or
four months, and in the breasts of a good many others, the day will
come when, if you do not take this counsel, you will want your wheat
for bread. I feel to exhort the brethren; and to say to them—lay up
bread, do not sell it for a song; let your wives and daughters go for
awhile without ribbons and ornaments, let your wheat stay in your
bins; let us try to get along with old coats and old hats, and keep
the wheat, and in a little while you will see the reason why this
counsel has been given. Lay up your wheat; and other provisions
against a day of need, for the day will coma when they will be wanted,
and no mistake about it. We shall want bread, and the Gentiles will
want bread, and if we are wise we shall have something to feed them
and ourselves when famine comes. We have fed thousands of them in days
past, who would have laid their bones on these plains if it had not
been for the counsel of President Young to us to cultivate the earth
and have wheat on hand to feed them. And the day will come again when
corn will be wanted in Zion, and it will be sought for. I hope the
Latter-day Saints will take heed to these things and be wise.

Vol. 18,  p.121
I pray that God will bless you, that he will give you his spirit, that
you may see and understand your position before him. And I pray that
he will open the eyes, ears and hearts of the Gentiles, that they may
receive the Gospel of Christ, and be numbered with the house of Israel
in the last [p.122]  dispensation of the fullness of times, that they
may stand in holy places through the nations, for they will come to
both Jew and Gentile, Zion and Babylon. There is no getting away from
them, for the Lord has said so, and what he has said will come to
pass. Amen

Wilford Woodruff, October 8, 1875

The Resurrection—Laying the Corner Stone of the Temple 
in Jackson County—Mission of the Twelve Apostles—Baptism 
of Nearly Six Hundred of the "United Brethren"—the Saints 
Hold the Keys of Salvation for All Israel—Judgments 
Await the Wicked—Folly of the Fashions

Discourse By Elder Wilford Woodruff, Delivered at the 
Forty-Sixth Semi-Annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ 
of Latter-Day Saints, in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake 
City, Friday Morning, October 8, 1875.

(Reported by David W. Evans)

Vol. 18,  p.122
"Oh Death, where is thy sting? Oh grave, where is thy victory? The
sting of death is sin, and the gift of God is eternal life, through
our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." This doctrine of the resurrection
of the dead is most glorious. It is comforting, at least to my spirit,
to think, that, in the morning of the resurrection, my spirit will
have the privilege of dwelling in the very same body that it occupied
here. As Elders of Israel we have traveled a great many thousand miles
in weariness and fatigue, laboring to preach the gospel of Jesus
Christ to the children of men. I would be very glad to have the same
body in the resurrection with which I waded swamps, swam rivers and
traveled and labored to build up the kingdom of God here on the earth.
I like this, I rejoice in the privilege we enjoy at this Conference,
of meeting with so many Latter-day Saints. I feel that we have had a
good deal of the Spirit of the Lord with us, and I hope that it may
continue until we get through with the Conference.

Vol. 18,  p.122
President Young referred, yesterday, in his remarks, to the experience
of some of us in past days. I have reflected a good deal upon these
things as well as on the future. I have long been associated with the
kingdom of God, and I wish to refer for a moment to what was said
yesterday on that subject. The mission then mentioned was one of much
interest to the Twelve, if not to the Church. The whole of that
mission to England, from the beginning to[p.123] the end, placed the
apostles in such a position that they had to walk by faith from first
to last. The Lord gave a revelation, with date, day, month and year,
when they were to go up to lay the corner-stone in Caldwell county,
Far West, Missouri. When that revelation was given all was peace and
quietude, comparatively, in that land. But when the time came for the
Twelve Apostles to fulfill that revelation, the Saints had all been
driven out by the exterminating order of Governor Boggs, and it was as
much as a man's life was worth, especially one of the Twelve, to be
found in that State; and when the day came on which we were commanded
by the Lord in that revelation to go up and lay the corner-stone of
that Temple, and there take the parting hand with the Saints, to cross
the waters to preach the gospel in England, the inhabitants of
Missouri had sworn that if all the revelations of "old Joe Smith" were
fulfilled, that should not be, because it had a day and date to it.

Vol. 18,  p.123
President Young asked the Twelve who were with him—"What shall we do
with regard to the fulfillment of this revelation?" He wanted to know
their feelings. Father Smith, the Patriarch, said the Lord would take
the will for the deed; others said the Lord could not expect the
Twelve Apostles to go up and sacrifice their lives to fulfill that
revelation; but the Spirit of the Lord rested upon the twelve, and
they said—"The Lord God has spoken, and we will fulfill that
revelation and commandment;" and that was the feeling of President
Young and of those who were with him. We went through that State, and
we laid that cornerstone. George A. Smith and myself were ordained to
the Apostleship on that corner-stone upon that day. We returned in
safety, and not a dog to move his tongue, and no man shed our blood.

Vol. 18,  p.123
As soon as we got home we prepared ourselves to go on our mission to
England, and, as President Young has said, the devil undertook to kill
us. I have myself been in Tennessee and Kentucky for two or three
years, where, in the Fall, there was not well persons enough to take
care of the sick during the ague mouths, and yet I never had the ague
in my life until called to go upon that mission to England. There was
not one solitary soul in the Quorum of the Twelve but what the devil
undertook to destroy; and, as was said yesterday, when Brother Taylor
and myself, the two first of the Quorum ready for the trip, were on
hand to start, I was shaking with the ague, and I had it every other
day, and on my well day, when I did not have it, my wife had it. I got
up and laid my hands upon her and blessed her, and blessed my child,
having only one at the time, and I started across the river, and that
man who sits behind me to-day, the President of the Church and kingdom
of God upon the earth, paddled me across the Missouri river in a
canoe, and that is the way I landed in Nauvoo. I lay down on a side of
sole leather by the old postoffice, and I did not know where to go,
and I was not able to stand on my feet, and I lay down there. By and
by the Prophet came along and said he—"Brother Woodruff, you are going
on your mission?" "Yes," I said," but I feel more like a subject for
the dissecting room than for a mission." He reproved me for what I
said and told me to get up and go. Brother Taylor, the only member of
the Quorum of the Twelve who was well, and I traveled together, and on
the way he fell to the ground as though he had been knocked on the
[p.124] head with an axe. Old Father Coulton was carrying us, and
Brother Taylor fell twice in that way, taken with the bilious fever,
and no man in that Quorum could boast that he went on that mission
without feeling the hand of the destroyer, for it was laid upon us
all. I had the shaking ague, and lay on my back in a wagon, and was
rolled over stumps and stones, until it seemed as if my life would be
shaken out of me. I left Brother Taylor behind, by his advice, for
said he, "We are both sick, and if you stay you can't do anything
here;" so old Father Coulton carried me along in his wagon until I got
to Buffalo, N. Y. From there I traveled alone to Farmington,
Connecticut, my native place, and I stayed there fifteen days at my
father's house, coughing and shaking every day. My father never
expected that I should leave my bed, and my step-mother did not expect
that I should ever get better. A message came from an uncle of mine,
who had just died, and his last words were—"I want you to send for
Friend Wilford, I want him to come and preach my funeral sermon." My
father said—"You can't go and preach that sermon, for you can't sit up
in your bed." Said I—"Never mind, get up your horse and wagon;" and he
did so and I got into it, and rode over that morning in a chilly wind,
and the hour that my ague was coming on I got before a big blazing
fire and preached the funeral sermon of my friend, and the ague left
me from that day, and I went back and went on my way rejoicing.

Vol. 18,  p.124
In process of time Brother Taylor came along and he and I crossed the
ocean together, and arrived in England, and here I want to make a
little statement of my experience in those days concerning
circumstances that took place with me. When Brother' Brigham left home
he told you that all his family had was one barrel of rotten flour.
Two hundred cents would have bought every pound of provision I left
with my family when I left home, But we left our wives, for we had the
commandment of God upon us, and we were either going to obey it, or
die trying. That was the spirit of the Elders of Israel; and I blessed
my wife and child and left; them in the hands of God, and to the
tender mercies of our noble Bishops, and those who were acquainted
with them know how it, was in those days. However, I went on my way,
and I want to speak of one little circumstance. I had with me an old
cloak which I got in Tennessee when traveling with Brother Smoot over
forty years ago. It had once been a dandy cloak, and had on keg
buttons, and when new had a good deal of trimming and fancy work about
it; but it was then pretty well threadbare and worn out. I wore it in
Kirtland and I carried it to England with me; and when I was called by
revelation to go to John Benbow's and preach the gospel I wore that
cloak. I went there and found over six hundred people, called United
Brethren, and among them were eighty-three preachers, and they, as a
people, were prepared for the word of the Lord, and I wanted to catch
them in the gospel net. Before embracing the doctrine of the United
Brethren, Sister Benbow had been what is called a "lady" in England,
and she had worn her silks and satins; but after obeying the doctrine
of this religious body she cut up and burned and destroyed her silks
and satins and wore the plainest calicoes she could get, because she
thought that was religion. When I went there to preach she looked at
me with this old cloak with the keg buttons on, and the Spirit of the
Lord bore testimony to me that religion, [p.125] so far as she was
concerned, had a good deal of tradition about it, and that her faith
could be tried by the coat a man wore; and as Paul said, if eating
meat offended his brethren, he would never eat any more, so I felt a
good deal, and one morning I went out and cut off the buttons from my
old cloak, and never had a button on it afterwards. By doing this and
some other things, which some perhaps would call foolish, I, through
the blessing of God and with the assistance of Brother Young, George
A. Smith and Willard Richards, caught the whole flock and baptized
every soul except one solitary person into the church and kingdom of
God. Many of them are here in this room to-day, and some of them have
passed away. I mention this just to show our position. We traveled
without purse and scrip, and we preached without money and without
price. Why? Because the God of heaven had called upon us to go forth
and warn the world.

Vol. 18,  p.125
Now I want to say again, I have looked around within the last few
years and I have thought: Where, Oh where, are the sons of the
Prophets, Apostles, and fathers in Zion, preparing in these last days
to rise up and bear off this kingdom when we are on the other side of
the vail? Sometimes, in thinking on this subject, I have felt that
they were very few and far between who had the spirit of their fathers
and were prepared to bear off this kingdom. But I thank God that I
find it is now something like it was in the days of Elijah. When the
Prophet said, referring to the followers of Baal—"They have killed thy
Prophets, and pulled down thine altars, and I alone am left," the Lord
said—"Oh no, I have seven thousand men in Israel who have not yet
bowed the knee to Baal." Well, I begin to feel, since I have heard the
testimonies of our young brethren at this Conference, that some of the
sons of the servants of God are becoming filled with the fire and
spirit of the Prophets. We want a good many of them to rise up and
bear off this kingdom.

Vol. 18,  p.125
Now I want to say a word or two on another subject. I have heard some
of our brethren remark—"If the Twelve Apostles have the word of the
Lord, we would like to receive, it." I want to say a few words with
regard to the word of the Lord. I think that many of this people are
mistaken with regard to the word of the Lord. They sometimes wonder
why President Young does not give them the word of the Lord. I have
been acquainted with President Young more than forty years. It is over
forty years since I traveled a thousand miles with him, Joseph Smith,
Orson Hyde, Orson Pratt, Charles C. Rich, and many others perhaps in
this congregation, and I never saw a day from that day until the
present, but what President Brigham Young, even before the Twelve
Apostles were organized, always had the word of the Lord for the
people; and instead of thinking there is no word of the Lord, my faith
is that there is not an Elder in Israel who has any business to
preach, unless he has the word of the Lord to the people. The Twelve
Apostles should have the word of the Lord to the people; the High
Priesthood should have the word of the Lord to the people; these four
thousand Seventies, the messengers of Israel to the nations of the
earth, should have the word of the Lord to the people; and every Elder
of Israel, when he speaks, should have the word of the Lord, and the
whole Church and kingdom of God, men and women, should have, each for
himself and herself, the testimony of [p.126] Jesus Christ, which is
the spirit of prophecy. This should be in the possession of every man
and woman in the Church, for their own government and guidance, and
this has always been the teaching to us of President Brigham Young.
And this is backed up by the revelations which the Lord has given in
these last days, as you will find if you read the twenty-second
section of rice Book of Doctrine and Covenants. That revelation was
given over forty years ago, to Elders Orson Hyde, Luke Johnson, Lyman
Johnson and William E. McLellin; and on that occasion the Lord
said—"Go forth and preach the Gospel to the people. And when you go
forth you are called to teach the people and not to be taught. And you
must teach as you are moved upon by the Holy Ghost, by the power of
God, by the Spirit of the Lord; and when you speak as you are moved
upon by the Spirit of the Lord, your words are scripture, they are the
word of the Lord, they are the mind of the Lord, they are the will of
the Lord and the power of God unto salvation unto every one that
hears."

Vol. 18,  p.126
Yes, we have plenty of testimony with regard to these things, and I
will say to my brethren that whatever the word of the Lord may be to
them I know what the word of the Lord is to me. The word of the Lord
to me is, that it is time for Zion to rise and let her light shine;
and the testimony of the Spirit of God to me is that this whole
kingdom, this great kingdom of Priests, this forty thousand men in
these mountains of Israel, who have borne the Priesthood, have
thoroughly fulfilled one part of the parable of the ten virgins. What
is that? Why, that while the Bridegroom has tarried we have all
slumbered and slept; as a Church and kingdom we have slumbered and
slept, and the word of the Lord to me is that we have slept long
enough; and we have the privilege now of rising and trimming our lamps
and putting oil in our vessels. This is the word of the Lord to me.

Vol. 18,  p.126
The word of the Lord to me again, is, that it is time for this whole
people, these forty thousand Elders of Israel who dwell in these
valleys of the mountains, and I believe that it is the word of the
Lord to them, that we listen to the voice of the Lord through the
lawgiver, and unite ourselves in temporal things, and that we labor to
build up the kingdom of God, and cease to labor to build up ourselves
alone, against the interests of the kingdom of God. This is the word
of the Lord to me, and I think it is to you.

Vol. 18,  p.126
It is the word of the Lord through the mouth of his servant Brigham,
and has been a long time the word of the Lord to me, that as Twelve
Apostles, as Seventy Apostles, as High Priests, and as Elders of
Israel, it is time that we should rise up and bear the burden that
rests upon the shoulders of Brigham Young, who is far advanced in
life, and has had the weight and burden of this Church and kingdom
upon his shoulders. It is our duty to rise up and bear off this
burden, and lift it from our President, and also to cry aloud unto the
people to unite themselves together. It is our duty to cease shaking
in our shoes for fear the Lord Almighty should give some of his words
to govern and control us in our temporal affairs. Who, to use a
comparison, expects to have a forty-acre lot alone in the kingdom of
God, or in heaven, when we get there? None need expect it, for in that
kingdom, in heaven or upon earth, we shall find unity, and the Lord
requires at our hands that we unite together, [p.127] according to the
principles of his celestial law.

Vol. 18,  p.127
This is what I consider to be the word of the Lord to us. It is our
duty to unite ourselves together, and to sustain the institutions
which have been established in these mountains by the revelations of
God unto us.

Vol. 18,  p.127
There is another word of the Lord unto me, and which has been like
fire shut up in my bones for the last three months; that is, to call
upon all the inhabitants of these mountains, as far as I have an
opportunity, to go to and lay up their grain, that they may have
bread. For the last three months I have not felt as if I could answer
my own feelings, unless, at every meeting I have attended, I called
upon the farmers to lay up their grain. "Oh, yes," say some, "Heber C.
Kimball cried, 'Famine, famine' for years, and it has not come yet."
Well, bless your soul, there is more room for it to come. "Who am I,
saith the Lord, that I promise and do not fulfill?" The day will come
when if this people do not lay up their bread they will be sorry for
it. The Lord has felt after us in days past and gone by the
visitations of crickets and grasshoppers time after time, and had it
not been for his mercy we should have had famine upon our heads long
before this. It is the duty of the farmers in these mountains not to
sell their bread, or to throw it away for a song, but to lay it up, or
you will find that the day is not a great way off when you will reed
it. That is the voice of the Lord to me, and it is the way I have felt
for a good while, and I believe it is the same to my brethren.

Vol. 18,  p.127
We are living in a very important time, and the Lord has raised up
this people to accomplish his purposes; and as some of these
revelations convey the idea, they were chosen from before the
foundation of the world. The Lord says,—"I have called you by my
everlasting Priesthood, and your lives have been hid with Christ in
God," and you have not known it. You have been called here and God has
put into your hands his cause and kingdom, and the salvation of both
Jew and Gentile. This people hold in their hands the salvation of the
twelve tribes of Israel. It was not to the oldest son, but to Ephraim,
the son of Joseph, that these promises were made. Joseph was the
youngest but one of the Twelve Patriarchs, and through his son Ephraim
God has raised you up and has put this power into your hands, and you
hold the keys for the salvation of Israel. And the ten tribes of
Israel in the north country will come in remembrance before God in due
time, and they will smite the rocks and the mountains of ice will flow
down before them, and the everlasting hills will tremble at their
presence. A highway will be cast up through the midst of the great
deep for them to come to Zion, and they will bow down in the midst
thereof, and receive the Priesthood at the hands of the inhabitants of
Zion.

Vol. 18,  p.127
Then what manner of men ought we to be, we, who have been ordained and
called, and had such responsibilities placed upon us by the God of
heaven? Our lives have been hid with Christ in God, and we are heirs
of the eternal Priesthood, through the lineage of our fathers. Thus
saith the Lord through the mouth of the Prophet Joseph Smith, who
sealed his testimony with his blood, and his testimony from that hour
has been in force upon all the world. Know ye, Latter-day Saints, that
the Lord will not disappoint you or this generation with regard to the
fulfillment of his promises. No matter whether [p.128] they have been
uttered by his own voice out of the heavens, by the ministration of
angels, or by the voice of his servants in the flesh, it is the same;
and though the earth pass away not one jot or tittle of his word will
fall unfulfilled. There is no prophecy of Scripture of any private
interpretation, but holy men of old spoke as they were moved upon by
the Holy Ghost, and their words will be fulfilled to the very letter,
and it certainly is time that we prepare ourselves for that which is
to come. Great things await this generation—both Zion and Babylon. All
these revelations concerning the fall of Babylon will have their
fulfillment. Forty-five years ago, in speaking to the Church, the Lord
said—"You are clean, but not all and I am not well pleased with any
who are not clean, because all flesh is corrupted before my face, and
darkness prevails among all the nations of the earth." This causes
silence to reign, and all eternity is pained. The angels of God are
waiting to fulfill the great commandment given forty-five years ago,
to go forth and reap down the earth because of the wickedness of men.
How do you think eternity feels to-day? Why there is more wickedness,
a thousand times over, in the United States now, than when that
revelation was given. The whole earth is ripe in iniquity; and these
inspired men, these Elders of Israel, have been commanded of the
Almighty to go forth and warn the world, that their garments may be
clear of the blood of all men.

Vol. 18,  p.128
I tell you that God will not disappoint Zion or Babylon, the heavens
or the earth, in regard to the judgments which he has promised in
these last days, but every one of them will have its fulfillment upon
the heads of the children of men; and when they are fully ripened in
iniquity the nations of the earth will be swept away as with the besom
of destruction.

Vol. 18,  p.128
What did the Lord sayre that meek and humble man, the brother of
Jared, thousands of years ago, with regard to the land of America—a
chosen land promised by old Father Jacob to his sons? He said that no
nation should ever occupy it, unless the people thereof kept his
commandments; and if they failed to do that they should be cut off
when they were ripened in iniquity. The Lord has already swept away
two mighty nations from this continent, because they have not
fulfilled his word, spoken through that humble man. The Lord chooses
the weak things of the world, things which are naught to bring to
naught things which are, and he will as surely perform his work in
this age of the world as he has done in any other. We need not fear
man, nor the wrath of man, but fear God, who holds in his hands the
destinies of all men.

Vol. 18,  p.128
Before I close my remarks, I want to say a few words to our sisters
and daughters in Zion, for I feel that there are some words of the
Lord to them. This is a time that the daughters of Zion should hearken
to the words of the Prophet of God, who has been set to lead us. I
feel that it is time, forty years after they were organized, that the
Female Relief Societies should labor with all their might to carry out
the object of their organization by the Prophet Joseph Smith. You may
ask, "What was the object of that organization?" I will say that in
organizing these societies there were several objects in view, some of
which I will refer to before I get through. President Young has been
calling upon you, as one branch of the land of Zion, to take hold and
help to build it up.[p.129] He desires that the sisters here in the
land of Zion should govern and control the fashions of Zion. Instead
of heaping to yourselves and imitating the fashions that have adorned
Babylon, you should have independence enough to form your own; and
those which are not comely and comfortable should be laid aside. I,
myself, do not think it has been pleasing in the sight of God, to see
the manner in which the mothers and daughters in Zion, for years past,
have been ready to adorn themselves with every fashion that Babylon
has contrived and invented. I need not mention all these things, but I
will mention two or three. For instance, how is it with regard to the
head dress of the ladies? The Lord has given to women generally a fine
head of hair, which, we are told in the Scriptures, is the glory of
the woman; and she should let the hair given unto her adorn her head
without adding any foreign substance, as is now done, in order to
imitate and follow after the fashions of the world. Again, just as
quick as the daughters of Babylon extend their crinolines until they
cannot move in a space less than six or eight feet wide, in a coach,
assembly room, or anywhere else, why the daughters of Zion must follow
the same uncomely fashion. But a fashion the reverse of this is now
adopted, and at the present time the daughters of Babylon wear their
elastics so tight that they have not room left for locomotion when
walking in the streets; and, of course the daughters of Zion must
practice the same. And now, see one of them, dressed in the height of
fashion, crossing the street, and a runaway team comes thundering
along. What a position she is in! Why the only way she can save her
life is to lie down and roll across the street like a saw log.

Vol. 18,  p.129
All these fashions are uncomely and should be laid aside. The
daughters of Zion should do better than to trail silks and satins in
the mud when walking in the street. The Female Relief Societies should
lay hold of and regulate these things, and introduce fashions that are
comely and comfortable; it is their duty to do it. Again, you can do a
good deal in regard to maintaining the independence of Zion, by going
to and carrying out the counsel of President Young in raising your own
silk for dresses, bonnets and trimmings, so that your adorning may be
the workmanship of your own hands.

Vol. 18,  p.129
I felt as though I wanted to say so much with regard to our sisters in
Zion. President Young says, and I know it is the truth, that this is
the best people on the face of the earth. But however good we may be
we should aim continually to improve and become better. We have obeyed
a different law and Gospel to what other people have obeyed, and we
have a different kingdom in view, and our aim should be
correspondingly higher before the Lord our God, and we should govern
and control ourselves accordingly, and I pray God my heavenly Father
that his Spirit may rest upon us and enable us to do so.

Vol. 18,  p.129
Another word of the Lord to me is that, it is the duty of these young
men here in the land of Zion to take the daughters of Zion to wife,
and prepare tabernacles for the spirits of men, which are the children
of our Father in heaven. They are waiting for tabernacles, they are
ordained to come here, and they ought to be born in the land of Zion
instead of Babylon. This is the duty of the young men in Zion; and
when the daughters of Zion are asked by the young men to join with
them in [p.130] marriage, instead of asking—"Has this man a fine brick
house, a span of fine horses and a fine carriage?" they should ask—"Is
he a man of God? Has he the Spirit of God with him? Is he a Latter-day
Saint? Does he pray? Has he got the Spirit upon him to qualify him to
build up the kingdom?" If he has that, never mind the carriage and
brick house, take hold and unite yourselves together according to the
law of God. I rejoice to see the population increasing in the land of
Zion. Why is it that ninety-nine women out of every hundred over the
whole land of Zion, who are of proper age and married, are bringing
forth posterity until our children swarm in our streets almost like
bees? Because the God of heaven is raising up a royal Priesthood, and
a generation to bear off this kingdom in the day when his judgments
will come upon the earth.

Vol. 18,  p.130
Let us do our duty; let us cease setting our hearts upon the fashions
and things of this world, and laboring to enrich ourselves at the
sacrifice of the kingdom of God. We have a co-operative mercantile
institution; and it is the duty of these Latter-day Saints to sustain
and uphold it; and so with everything else that is in the kingdom, for
these are the stepping stones to us to a fullness of the celestial
kingdom of God.

Vol. 18,  p.130
I thank God that I live in this day and age of the world, when my ears
have heard the sound of the fullness of the Gospel of Christ. I thank
God that I have seen the face of Prophets, Apostles, and inspired men.
I rejoice in this, and I pray God my heavenly Father that I, and my
brethren and sisters, may have power to unite and take hold and build
up this kingdom. When we do this it will not be in the power of earth
or hell to take away our rights and privileges; for I tell you that if
this people were united according to the law of God, wherein we should
become fully justified before the Lord, sinners in Zion would tremble
and fearfulness would surprise the hypocrite; the power of God would
rest upon Zion, the angels of God would visit the earth, the judgments
of God would be poured upon the wicked, the Zion of God would be
redeemed, the Temples of God would be reared, the prison doors would
be opened and the prisoners in the spirit world would go free, because
we would feel the spirit and power of our mission and calling and
should fulfill it.

Vol. 18,  p.130
I pray that God will bless this people, and that he will bless
President Young, who has already outlived four of his counselors. The
Lord says—I will take whom I will take, and I will preserve whom I
will preserve." All these counselors were younger men than President
Young, yet he has outlived them. God has ordained President Young to
live, and he has lived so long, and has had the prayers of hundreds
and thousands of Saints, which have entered into the ears of the Lord
of Sabaoth for his preservation; and the Lord has heard and answered
these prayers.

Vol. 18,  p.130
Let us, as Elders of Israel, rise up and bear off this kingdom. Let us
forsake our evils and wickedness, and repent of our sins, and renew
our covenants and keep the commandments of God; that we may lighten
the burdens of our President, that his spirit may be cheered, and that
the power of God may attend him in his labors for the advancement of
Zion upon the earth.

Vol. 18,  p.131
This is my prayer in the name of Jesus, Amen.[p.131] 

Orson Pratt, October 9, 1875

On the Dedication of the New Tabernacle

Remarks By Elder Orson Pratt, Delivered at the Forty-Sixth 
Semi Annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day 
Saints, in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, 
Saturday Morning, Oct. 9, 1875.

(Reported by David W. Evans)

Vol. 18,  p.131
It is with peculiar feelings that I arise on this occasion to speak a
few words to this vast assembly. While listening to the sacred words
of the prayer that has been offered up this forenoon in the dedication
of this large building as a place of worship, and the dedication of
the ministry who administer therein, my heart has been full of joy and
satisfaction, and, while listening to these glorious words, my mind
was led to reflect upon dedications of houses and tabernacles of the
Most High in former ages of the world, and also upon the peculiar
manifestations oftentimes connected with those dedications.

Vol. 18,  p.131
The Lord our God accepts the dedication, by his servants the
Priesthood, of those things which he has ordained and established; and
though he may not always manifest that acceptance in a visible manner,
so that all the people may see, yet there is a peculiar manifestation
that we can feel if we can not see, which whispers to us that God is
manifest in his works, ordinances and institutions, and in his own
buildings that are built with an eye single to his glory, and in his
name. It is an easy matter for the Great Jehovah to manifest himself,
if he pleases so to do, upon a mountain or hill, or in the secret
closet; or while we slumber upon our pillows by night, the visions of
eternity may be opened to our minds, and we may receive great
consolation, joy and peace, through the manifestations given us by the
gift and power of the Holy Ghost. But then, the Lord has oftentimes
laid out a great work for his people to perform, and when that work is
performed by the sons of men with all their hearts and might, and with
all the strength, ability and power that God has given them, it is
then that he shows forth his approbation from the heavens, and fills
them with a peculiar feeling of joy and gladness that it is impossible
for language to describe. How often have we felt these peculiar
feelings and sensations pervading our minds, when we have assembled on
occasions something similar to the present one!

Vol. 18,  p.131
I look back to the first Temple that was built in this generation by
command of the Most High, some [p.132] forty years ago, in the State
of Ohio, in Kirtland, according to the pattern which God showed by
vision. When that was completed, and the servants of God were called
in from the east and west, and north, and south, and entered that
sacred edifice, God was there, his angels were there, the Holy Ghost
was in the midst of the people, the visions of the Almighty were
opened to the minds of the servants of the living God; the vail was
taken off from the minds of many; they saw the heavens opened; they
beheld the angels of God; they heard the voice of the Lord; and they
were filled from the crown of their Leads to the soles of their feet
with the power and inspiration of the Holy Ghost, and uttered forth
prophecies in the midst of that congregation, which have been
fulfilling from that day to the present time.

Vol. 18,  p.132
It was in that Temple that the visions of the Almighty were opened to
our great Prophet, Seer and Revelator, Joseph Smith, wherein the
future was portrayed before him, wherein keys were committed to him in
relation to this great Latter-day dispensation, and the power of God
was made manifest through the holy Priesthood sent down from heaven.
In that Temple, set apart by the servants of God, and dedicated by a
prayer that was written by inspiration, the people were blessed as
they never had been blessed for generations and generations that were
passed and gone. Why? Because that work was of God. God had raised up
a mighty Prophet; God had brought to light great and glorious
revelations; God had sent down the holy Priesthood from the heavens;
the Lord our God had established his kingdom on the earth; he,
therefore, gave unto his servants power, wisdom and strength that they
might administer among the people and do them good.

Vol. 18,  p.132
Since that time buildings have been reared to the name of the Most
High, and the Priesthood have been called together, and the councils
of the Priesthood have been blessed, endowments have been made
manifest, and ordinances of endowments, keys of endowments, signs and
tokens of endowments, and principles that were calculated to give joy
and to impart happiness, for the Lord had commanded, that in the midst
of Zion, life for ever more should be poured out upon the fallen sons
and daughters of his people.

Vol. 18,  p.132
Now another occasion is afforded us of dedicating a large and
commodious Tabernacle, which has been built to the name of the Most
High. God is here; God is with his servants, with the quorums of the
everlasting Priesthood, and his Spirit is here; and the prayer that
has been offered up is accepted by the heavens, and we rejoice and
give praise to God who has redeemed us, who sits upon his throne,
whose bowels of mercy yearn towards all of his sons and daughters;
whose bosom is filled with compassion towards all his people. We
praise his name, and though we have not the opportunity of giving
expression to the joy and thanksgiving of our hearts, still we feel to
say—"Hallelujah to the Lord God Almighty, who sits upon his throne,
who reigns for ever and ever, for he will bless his Zion, he will
extend forth her borders, he will pour out his Spirit upon his
ministry, and he will fulfill and accomplish his work unto the
uttermost. Amen.[p.133] 

Joseph F. Smith, October 10, 1875

What the Lord Requires of His Saints

Discourse By Elder Joseph F. Smith, Delivered at the 
Forty-Sixth Semi-Annual Conference of the Church of Jesus 
Christ of Latter-Day Saints, in the New Tabernacle, Salt 
Lake City, on Sunday Morning, Oct. 10, 1875.

(Reported by David W. Evans)

Vol. 18,  p.133
I have been very much interested and instructed during our Conference,
and in rising at this time—a few moments only remaining before the
close of our forenoon meeting—I feel that I can only bear my testimony
to, and express my conviction of, the truths that we have had
delivered unto us during our meetings from the first day of our
Conference. We have had instructions here upon spiritual and upon
temporal matters sufficient, if they were carried out, to make this
people the best, purest, noblest, and greatest people that inhabit the
world. The instructions that have been given unto us in regard to
temporal matters, and in regard to bringing us to a union of faith and
works, are calculated in their nature, if adopted and carried out in
the practices of the Latter-day Saints, to make them the most
independent people that live upon the face of the earth, depending
indeed only upon the Lord our God, the giver of every good and perfect
gift. I can see, as clearly as it is possible for me to see the light
of the sun, that if the instructions that were given here yesterday,
and the day before, in relation to uniting ourselves together in
temporal affairs, were carried out by the people, we would soon no
longer be beholden to the world, and it would be said of us, that we
were dependent upon no power upon the earth out the power of God. It
is very different, however, with us at present, for now we are very
dependent, notwithstanding the vast amount of blessings that the Lord
has poured out upon us—blessings of the soil, of the labors of our
hands, of the elements that surround us. He has given us an abundance
of everything our hearts can desire in righteousness, insomuch, as it
was remarked yesterday, that we have become almost recreant to these
blessings; we squander and waste them, run over them, trample them
under our feet as it were, and regard them as of very little
importance, or worthless. The Lord truly has blessed his people; he
has poured out his Spirit upon us, opened our way, delivered us item
our enemies, blessed and enriched the soil, tempered the elements, and
made them favorable to us, turned away cursings, and given us
blessings on every hand, and has [p.134] prospered us in the earth.
But we have been careless, and in a measure blind to the presence and
value of the blessings that have been poured out upon us so
abundantly, and have failed to recognize, as we should at all times,
the hand of God therein. We have also come far short of appreciating
our brethren the Prophets, who have borne the burden in the heat of
the day; who have stood boldly and fearlessly, filled with wisdom and
intelligence from above, to give us counsel, and to guide and direct
us in the channels of prosperity, peace, and happiness.

Vol. 18,  p.134
Will we come to a knowledge of the truth? Will we learn to appreciate
the blessings that we enjoy, and to realize from whence they come?
Will we begin to follow more faithfully the counsels that are given to
us by the servants of the Lord, and come together in the unity of the
faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, that we may become
perfect men in Christ Jesus, even to the fullness of the measure of
his stature?

Vol. 18,  p.134
There is a circumstance recorded in the Scriptures, that has been
brought forcibly to my mind while listening to the remarks of the
Elders who have spoken to us during Conference. A young man came to
Jesus and asked what good thing he should do that he might have
eternal life. Jesus said unto him—"Keep the commandments." The young
man asked which of them. Then Jesus enumerated to him some of the
commandments that he was to keep—he should not murder, nor commit
adultery, nor steal, nor bear false witness, but he should honor his
father mud mother, and love his neighbor as himself, &c. Said the
young man—"All these I have kept from my youth up, what lack I yet?"
Jesus said—"If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast and
give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven, and come and
follow me." And we are told that he turned away sorrowful, because he
had great possessions. He would rot hearken to, or obey the law of God
in this matter. Not that Jesus required of the young man to go and
sell all that he possessed and give it away; that is not the principle
involved. The great principle involved is that which the Elders of
Israel are endeavoring to enforce upon the minds of the Latter-day
Saints to-day. When the young man turned away in sorrow, Jesus said to
his disciples—"How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the
kingdom of God!"

Vol. 18,  p.134
Is this because the rich man is rich? No. May not the rich man, who
has the light of God in his heart, who possesses the principle and
spirit of truth, and who understands the principle of God's government
and law in the world, enter into the kingdom of heaven as easily, and
be as acceptable there as the poor man may? Precisely. God is not a
respecter of persons. The rich man may enter into the kingdom of
heaven as freely as the poor, if he will bring his heart and
affections into subjection to the law of God and to the principle of
truth; if he will place his affections upon God, his heart upon the
truth, and his soul upon the accomplishment of God's purposes, and not
fix his affections and his hopes upon the things of the world. Here is
the difficulty, and this was the difficulty with the young man. He had
great possessions, and he preferred to rely upon his wealth rather
than forsake all and follow Christ. If he had possessed the spirit of
truth in his heart to have known the will of God, and to have loved
the Lord with all his heart and his neighbor as himself, he [p.135]
would have said to the Lord—"Yea, Lord, I will do as you require, I
will go and sell all that I have and give it to the poor." If he had
had it in his heart to do this, that alone might have been sufficient,
and the demand would probably have stopped there, for undoubtedly the
Lord did not deem it essential for him to go and give his riches away,
or to sell his possessions and give the proceeds away, in order that
he might be perfect, for that, in a measure, would have been
improvident. Yet, if it had required all this to test him and to prove
him, to see whether he loved the Lord with all his heart, mind, and
strength, and his neighbor as himself, then he ought to have been
willing to do it, and if he had been be would have lacked nothing, and
would have received the gift of eternal life, which is the greatest
gift of God, and which can be received on no other principle than the
one mentioned by Jesus to the young man. If you will read the sixth
lecture on faith in the Book of Doctrine and Covenants you will learn
that no man can obtain the gift of eternal life unless be is willing
to sacrifice all earthly things in order to obtain it. We cannot do
this so long as our affections are fixed upon the world.

Vol. 18,  p.135
It is true that we are in a measure of the earth, earthly; we belong
to the world. Our affections and our souls are here; our treasures are
here, and where the treasure is there the heart is. But if we will lay
up our treasures in heaven; if we will wean our affections from the
things of this world, and say to the Lord our God—"Father, not my will
but thine be done," then may the will of God be done on earth as it is
done in heaven, and the kingdom of God in its power and glory will be
established upon the earth. Sin and Satan will be bound and banished
from the earth, and not until we attain to this condition of mina and
faith will this be done.

Vol. 18,  p.135
Then let the Saints unite; let them hearken to the voices of the
servants of God that are sounded in their ears; let them hearken to
their counsels and give heed to the truth; let them seek their own
salvation, for, so far as I am concerned, I am so selfish that I am
seeking after my salvation, and I know that I can find it only in
obedience to the laws of God, in keeping the commandments, in
performing works of righteousness, following in the footsteps of our
file leader, Jesus, the exemplar and the head of all. He is the way of
life, he is the light of the world, he is the door by which we must
enter in order that we may have a place with him in the celestial
kingdom of God.

Vol. 18,  p.135
May God grant that we may see and comprehend the whole truth, and be
submissive to the requirements of the Gospel and obedient to the
Priesthood of God upon the earth in all things, that we may obtain
eternal life, is my prayer in the name of Jesus. Amen.[p.136] 

John Taylor, October 10, 1875

The Purposes of God—Duties and Responsibilities of the Saints

Discourse By Elder John Taylor, Delivered at the 
Forty-Sixth Semi-Annual Conference of the Church of Jesus 
Christ of Latter-Day Saints, in the New Tabernacle, Salt 
Lake City, Sunday Afternoon, October 10, 1875.

(Reported by David W. Evans)

Vol. 18,  p.136
It is extremely difficult to speak to a congregation so large as this,
and I therefore request that as good order as possible may be
maintained, because it is almost impossible for the human voice to
encompass so large a congregation as the one assembled here to-day.

Vol. 18,  p.136
We all of us have an object in assembling together as we have done on
this conference occasion. I speak now to Latter-day Saints, as it is
to them I purpose to address my remarks this afternoon. We do not
always understand the influences by which we are operated upon; but
nevertheless there are certain principles at work in this generation
which move upon the minds of the human family, and which lead them to
reflect and study more or less, according to the circumstances
surrounding them and the positions they occupy. We, the Latter-day
Saints, stand in a different relationship to the Almighty from any
other people that exist on the face of the earth. The principles that
we have received emanated not from man, nor from the wisdom,
intelligence or philosophy of man; we believe that they proceeded from
God. That is our universal belief; it is the faith of every good
Latter-day Saint. None of us, previous to the Lord manifesting his
will, knew anything about the laws of God. We did not know anything
about God; we were not acquainted with anybody who could give us
information in relation to him, and we are indebted to revelation from
him for all the intelligence that we have that is true in regard to
ourselves, the world in which we live, the people who have lived
before us, and those who will live after us; also in regard to God the
Father, and Jesus, the Mediator of the New Covenant. We had certain
vague, indistinct ideas about these things before, but we had nothing
real, tangible or reliable. Nor is it out of any consideration,
particularly, to ourselves personally, that these things are made
manifest. God has certain purposes to accomplish, pertaining to the
world in which we live, in which the interests and happiness of the
human family are concerned, to those who live in the world to-day, to
those who have lived in other ages and dispensations, back to the time
[p.137] of Adam, and also forward, to the latest generation of time,
to the last man who shall be born upon earth. The ancient Patriarchs
and Prophets, men of God who basked in the light of revelation, and
comprehended the mind of Jehovah, and who held the everlasting
Priesthood and enjoyed the Gospel as we enjoy it; all these together
with God our heavenly Father and all the angelic hosts, are interested
in the work that the Father has commenced in these last days; and
hence a revelation was made unto Joseph Smith. Holy angels of God
appeared to him and communicated to him the mind and will of Jehovah,
as a chosen messenger to introduce the dispensation of the fullness of
times, wherein all heaven and all that have ever dwelt on the earth
are concerned and interested. He did not reveal himself, particularly,
because of Joseph Smith, individually, nor because of any other
individual man, nor for the peculiar interest, emolument or
aggrandisement of any set of men; but for the purpose of introducing
certain principles that it was necessary that the world of mankind
should be made acquainted with; in fact, it was for the purpose of
introducing what we call the Church and kingdom of God on the earth,
in which all who have ever lived or who ever will live upon this globe
are interested.

Vol. 18,  p.137
The Gospel that we talk of, although it may be a personal thing, yet
at the same time is as high as the heavens, wide as the universe and
deep as hell. It permeates through all time, and extends to all
people, both living and dead. We talk sometimes about the Church of
God, and why? We talk about the kingdom of God, and why? Because,
before there could be a kingdom of God, there must be a Church of God,
and hence the first principles of the Gospel were needed to be
preached to all nations, as they were formerly when the Lord Jesus
Christ and others made their appearance on the earth. And why so?
Because of the impossibility of introducing the law of God among a
people who would not be subject to and be guided by the spirit of
revelation. Hence the world have generally made great mistakes upon
these points. They have started various projects to try to unite and
cement the people together without God; but they could not do it.
Fourierism, Communism—another branch of the same thing—and many other
principles of the same kind have been introduced to try and cement the
human family together. And then we have had peace societies, based
upon the same principles; but all these things have failed, and they
will fail, because, however philanthropic, humanitarian, benevolent,
or cosmopolitan our ideas, it is impossible to produce a true and
correct union without the Spirit of the living God, and that Spirit
can only be imparted through the ordinances of the Gospel; and hence
Jesus told his disciples to go and preach the Gospel to every
creature, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy
Ghost, and said he—"Lo, I am with you always, even to the end." It was
by this cementing, uniting spirit, that true sympathetic, fraternal
relations could be introduced and enjoyed.

Vol. 18,  p.137
When John was on the Isle of Patmos he had a remarkable vision
pertaining to many things, and said he—"I saw a mighty angel flying in
the midst of heaven, having the everlasting Gospel to preach to those
who dwell on the earth, to every nation and kindred and people and
tongue, crying with a loud voice—'Fear God, and give glory to
him;[p.138] for the hour of his judgment is come; and worship him who
made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.'"

Vol. 18,  p.138
Joseph Smith had this communication made to him, together with the
light of the Gospel, and had conferred upon him the keys of the holy
Priesthood, with power to administer therein and to ordain others to
the same ministry. And he, himself, was baptized as Jesus was
baptized, and he baptized others, and they others, and they then laid
their hands upon them for the reception of the Holy Ghost, and they
received it. And then, by the inspiration of the Almighty, they were
directed to gather together, which they have done. And how many of you
who are hearing me to-day hardly knew the reason why you gathered
together? But you had a feeling, a burning desire in your hearts to
mingle with the Saints of God. The Scriptures say—"I will take them
one of a city and two of a family and bring them to Zion; and I will
give them pastors after my own heart, that shall feed them with
knowledge and with understanding."

Vol. 18,  p.138
In accordance with these Principles the Elders of Israel went forth,
as you have heard here during this Conference, not in their own name,
nor in their own strength, nor by their own wisdom; but in the name
and strength and power of Jehovah, and as his chosen messengers to
administer life and salvation to a fallen world. And God went with
them, and his holy angels accompanied them; and the Spirit and power
of God were with them; and the words that they spake they spake not of
themselves but as they were moved upon by the Holy Ghost. And God
worked with them and the truth came to your hearts and you received it
and rejoiced therein. God had a people scattered abroad among the
nations of the earth, and his Priesthood were instrumental in his
hands in gathering that people together; and in these days as in days
of old, Jesus said—"My sheep hear my voice, and know it and follow me,
and a stranger will they not follow, because they know not the voice
of a stranger."

Vol. 18,  p.138
Here then, God was desirous of introducing his kingdom upon the earth,
and he had in the first place, to organize his Church, to organize the
people that he had scattered among the nations and to bring them
together, that there might be one fold and one shepherd, and one Lord,
one faith and one baptism, and one God, who should be in all and
through all, and by which all should be governed. To facilitate this
object he organized his holy Priesthood as it existed in the heavens,
and he gave a pattern of these things, just as much as he did in the
days of Moses, only more so. God said to Moses—"See that thou make all
things according to the pattern that I showed thee in the mount." God
said to Joseph—"See that thou organize this Church according to the
pattern that I have showed thee." And he placed in his Church
Presidents, Apostles, Patriarchs, Seventies, High Priests, Bishops,
Priests, Teachers, Deacons, Bishops' Councils and High Councils, and
other organizations which God had developed and given to his
Priesthood; and hence, when the angel came which is mentioned by John
on Patmos, he restored the Gospel as it existed with Adam, and with
Enoch, and with Seth, and with Methuselah, and with Noah and
Melchizedek, and with Abraham, with the Prophets, and with the
Apostles and Jesus, whether on the Continent of Asia, on this
continent, or anywhere else; and this people who possess this
Priesthood and the authority from [p.139] God to administer therein,
when they get behind the vail they will enter again into the office of
their calling and will be united with their several Priesthoods there,
for the Priesthood on this and on the other side of the vail are parts
of the same eternal system; and hence with a people like this in
possession of the Priesthood, and enjoying the revelations of heaven,
God could communicate and, through them, could reveal his will to the
human family, but not to a people who would not listen to his laws and
obey his precepts.

Vol. 18,  p.139
This Priesthood was held by John the revelator, by Peter, by Moroni,
one of the Prophets of God on this continent. Nephi, another of the
servants of God on this continent, had the Gospel with its keys and
powers revealed unto him. We know that these things were so, and we do
not profess to argue them, for we all know it. We read that Moses and
Elias appeared to Jesus and his disciples on the mount, and Jesus was
transfigured before them. Who were Moses and Elias? They were Prophets
of the living God who held the Gospel and the Priesthood in former
days, and they were sent to administer to Jesus and to Peter, James
and John on the mount.

Vol. 18,  p.139
We also learn that when John was upon the Isle of Patmos, the visions
of heaven were unfolded to his view, and a great and mighty angel
stood before him and showed to him many great and important things
pertaining to the future; and John fell down to worship him. But said
he—"Hold! do not worship me." "Why? Who are you?" "I am one of thy
fellow-servants the Prophets, who kept the testimony of Jesus and the
word of God. Do not worship me, I am one of those who held the
Priesthood in time and now I am administering in eternity, and have
come forth as a messenger of the Lord to thee."

Vol. 18,  p.139
It was precisely in this way that Joseph Smith was administered unto,
and by the same kind of messengers, who held the same kind of
authority; and they came to introduce and usher in the dispensation of
the fullness of times, that all things that are in Christ might be
gathered together in one, whether they be things in the earth or
things in the heavens. This was done that God's people might be
gathered in one, that God's word might be gathered in one, that's
God's Priesthood might be gathered in one, and that all in Christ on
earth might be united by indissoluble ties with the Priesthood that
exists in heaven, that they all might operate together for the
accomplishment of the purposes of God on the earth. Hence it is said
that "we without them can not be made perfect, and that they without
us can not be made perfect;" a perfect union between heaven and earth
was needed. Under such circumstances what did we do? What could we do?
What intelligence were we in possession of, in and of ourselves? Who
among us knew the first principles of the doctrine of Christ? Not a
man living understood them correctly, and we are indebted to God for
our intelligence in relation to these things. Who knew anything about
the organization of the Church of God? Nobody. Was there any such
thing in existence on the face of the earth? You might have searched
for it, but it would have been in vain, it could not have been found.
There were the systems, creeds and notions of men, but nobody to say,
"Thus saith the Lord." No prophecy, no inspiration, no manifestations
of the power of God. Who knew anything about the necessity of
Presidents or Apostles?[p.140] Nobody. Who knew what an Apostle was?
Nobody. Who knew what a High Priest or a Seventy was? Nobody. Who knew
what an Elder was in the true acceptation of the term? Nobody; neither
was there anybody who knew anything about the office of a Bishop,
Priest, Teacher or Deacon, or about the functions of a High Council or
a Bishop's Council, or any of the ordinances of the Church of God. Who
knew anything about the relation of man to man or of man to woman?
Nobody. Who knew anything about the relationship that exists between
man and God? Nobody. Who knew anything about the eternities that are
to come? Nobody. It was God who revealed these things. Joseph Smith
did not know them, neither did Brigham Young, the Apostles, nor
anybody else until God revealed them, and we are indebted to him for
all the light, knowledge and intelligence that we possess in regard to
the heavens and the earth, in regard to the God who made us and the
mode of worshiping him acceptably.

Vol. 18,  p.140
Now then, we are here; we have these various organizations. The
Twelve, for instance, have various duties and responsibilities
devolving upon them under the direction of the First Presidency. Then
there are the Seventies, who are to be special messengers to the
nations of the earth, to go forth in the name of Israel's God, clothed
upon with his power to administer lice and salvation, and to teach the
people the principles of truth under the direction of the Twelve,
whose duty it is also to administer these principles, and see that
this Gospel is sent to all peoples; and hence the necessity that is
felt by them and by the First Presidency in relation to carrying these
things out.

Vol. 18,  p.140
And let me say a little farther on a subject that I before referred
to, that is, that God could not build up a kingdom on the earth unless
he had a Church, and a people who had submitted to his law and were
willing to submit to it; and with an organization of such a people,
gathered from among the nations of the earth under the direction of a
man inspired of God, the mouthpiece of Jehovah to his people; I say
that, with such an organization, there is a chance for the Lord God to
be revealed, there is an opportunity for the laws of life to be made
manifest, there is a chance for God to introduce the principles of
heaven upon the earth and for the will of God to be done upon earth as
it is done in heaven. God could never establish his kingdom upon the
earth unless he had a people who would submit themselves to his laws
and government; but with such a people he could communicate, to such a
people the heavens could be opened; to such a people the angels of God
could administer; and among them the will of God could be done upon
earth as it is done in heaven, and among no others, and that is why we
are here. Says the Prophet—"I will take them one of a city and two of
a family and bring them to Zion." What will you do with them? "I will
give them pastors after my own heart, that shall feed them with
knowledge and understanding;" that they may be acquainted with each
other and with their various duties and responsibilities; that they
may be instructed in the laws of the holy priesthood, and be prepared,
eventually, to join their quorums in the celestial kingdom of God, and
that the people may be instructed in the laws of life. Hence our
marriage ceremonies, relationships and covenants are among the
principles of the Gospel, and they are eternal; they existed with God
in eternity, and will exist throughout all the eternities [p.141] that
are to come. God has shown us, in regard to our marital relations,
that our wives are to be sealed to us for time and eternity. By what
authority? By the authority of that holy Priesthood that administers
on the earth and in heaven, and of which Jesus said that whatever they
should bind on earth should be bound in heaven, and whatsoever they
should loose on earth should be loosed in heaven; and these
relationships that exist among us here are calculated to be
consummated there, and men and women who understand their true
position expect to enjoy each other's society and association there,
as much as they do in their own homes here, just the same. And though
they may sleep in the dust, yet, by the power of the resurrection,
which you have heard of at this Conference, when the trump shall sound
and the dead in Christ shall rise, they will burst the barriers of the
tomb and come forth, each and all claiming their proper mates—those
with whom they were associated on the earth—through eternity. This is
the way we regard our marriage covenants, no matter what other people
say about it, this is our business, and we shall do it and keep on
doing for ever and ever while God lets us live, because it is the word
of God to us, and in spite of all the powers of earth and hell we
shall never give way in regard to our marriage principles, for they
are eternal; and so with regard to every other principle of the
Gospel. This is why we have come together to help to build up the
kingdom and government of God upon the earth. An earthly government if
you please, and a heavenly government if you please. But no man nor
set of men are capable of introducing principles of this kind unless
God is with them and stands by them; and the first Elders of this
Church never could have done what they did without the power of God
being with them and accompanying them, and God's mercy being extended
to them. And they could not to-day.

Vol. 18,  p.141
Men have strange ideas about the Mormons. Why? Because unless they are
born of water they cannot see the kingdom of God; that is what Jesus
said, and that is why people fail to understand us. But we, who have
been baptized and enlightened by the Spirit of God, can see his
kingdom. We know it, we comprehend it in part, but only in part. What
is the result of all this Priesthood—the First Presidency, the Twelve,
the Seventies, the High Priests, Elders, Bishops, Priests, Teachers
and Deacons? All of them profess to be under the direction of the
Almighty, and if they are not, they are living hypocrites before God
and holy angels; for these are the covenants they have entered into,
and these are the ordinations they have received.

Vol. 18,  p.141
We see something strange in connection with us as a people—the world
follows us, and too many of us follow after the world. Can the world
give you the light that you have received, and the Gospel and the
hopes of heaven you have received, and the Priesthood you have
received? And will you barter these things for a mess of pottage, and
wallow in the filth, corruption, iniquity, and evils which abound in
the world? What have we come here for? To worship God and to keep his
commandments. And how is it with many of us? We forget, in many
instances, our high calling's glorious hope, and we give way to
follies, foibles, weakness, and iniquity, and we are governed more or
less by covetousness, drunkenness, Sabbath-breaking, and evils of
various kinds. I sometimes [p.142] see Elders of Israel bringing in
loads of wood and loads of hay on the Sabbath day. Why, it is a
burning shame in the eyes of God, holy angels, and all other
intelligent beings. If such men had lived under the law of ancient
Israel, they would have been put to death. Do you know that? Go and
read it in your Bibles. What do you think about a lying Elder, a
swearing High Priest, a Sabbath-breaking Seventy, and a covetous
Saint? The souls of such men ought to be inspired with the light of
revelation, and they ought to be living witnesses, epistles known and
read of all men! Do you think you can live your religion, have the
Spirit of God and obtain eternal life, and follow after these things?
I tell you nay. It was said of olden time—"Love not the world, nor the
things that are in the world; for it any man love the world, the love
of the Father is not in him." That is as true to-day as it was
eighteen hundred years ago. It is proper that we, as Elders of Israel,
and as heads of families, should reflect upon these things, for in
many instances we are setting examples before our children that will
tend to plunge them to perdition. Is this What we are gathered here
for? I tell you nay, we are gathered here to serve God and keep his
commandments, and to build up his Zion upon the earth.

Vol. 18,  p.142
After praying for years that God would inspire his servant Brigham
with the Spirit of revelation, that he might be able to lead forth
Israel in the path in which they should go, he tells us to be one, as
Jesus told his disciples; he tells us to enter into a united order,
that God has revealed it, that we are to be one in spiritual things,
and one in temporal things, to be united together in all principles,
as the Saints of God have been wherever they have existed. But our
Elders can't see it, and many of our Bishop's can't see it, and many
High Priests and Seventies can't see it. Why? Because the Bridegroom
has tarried, and we have all slumbered and slept, and in many
instances we have sinned against God, and our lamps have gone out,
that is the matter, and we have lost the light, and intelligence, and
revelation, and quickening influence of the living God. If we were
living our religion and keeping the commandments of God, we should
feel and act differently; we should then know of the doctrine. Jesus
said—"If any man does my will he shall know of the doctrine, whether
it be of God or whether I speak of myself."

Vol. 18,  p.142
What is the matter, you High Priests, you Seventies, you Bishops and
others? You are not doing the will of God, and you do not know of the
doctrine, that is the matter; and yet we are living in the blaze of
Gospel day, surrounded by Prophets, Apostles, Patriarchs, and men of
God. Is it not time that we humbled ourselves? Is it not time that we
repented of our sins? Is it not time that we forsook our iniquities?
Is it not time that we went back to the first principles, and began to
consider our ways, and to walk in the light of truth? That is the way
that I understand it, and hence the necessity of the Elders of Israel,
the President of the Church, of the Twelve, and of all men who are
inspired by the light of truth and the light of revelation, to stir up
the members of the Church generally to good works. They see Israel
wandering away after strange gods, forsaking the fountain of living
water, and "hewing out to themselves cisterns, broken cisterns, that
can hold no water;" and hence the necessity of Apostles and Prophets
for the perfecting [p.143] of the Saints and the work of the ministry,
and the edifying of the body of Christ. How is it among many of our
quorums? Perfectly dead, dumb, and lifeless, without the light, and
life, and power of the living God among them; and Elders of Israel,
clothed upon with the Holy Priesthood, expect when they get through,
to associate with the Gods in the eternal worlds. How is it? It is
time for us to reflect and to think upon our situation, and to
consider our ways and be wise. What do you want to do? Do you want to
get up some excitement? No, we want to bring you back to the first
principles of the Gospel of Christ. Do you want us to be baptized? Not
particularly, unless, as stated by President Young, you repent of your
sins and your iniquities and your lying, and your deceiving and your
Sabbath-breaking, and your covetousness and your hypocrisy, and repent
of your speaking against the anointed of God; not unless you are
willing to be governed by the Holy Priesthood in all things pertaining
to this world and the next, pertaining to time and eternity. If you
can't do this, don't be baptized; it will be better for you not to be.

Vol. 18,  p.143
Well, are all in this condition? No, no, there are more than "seven
thousand who have not yet bowed the knee to Baal;" there are more than
seven thousand who are seeking to do right, to live their religion,
and to keep the commandments of God. I say, then, repent of your
iniquities, do your first works, live your religion, keep the
commandments of God; let every man do right and depart from evil. If
any man has sinned against his brother, let him make it right
honestly, and squarely, and truly, and not hypocritically; and let us
do everything with honesty of heart, and seek to God, and humble
ourselves before him, and live our religion, and God will pour
blessings upon us that we shall not find room to contain. His Zion
will rise and shine, and the glory of God will rest upon her, the
principles of truth will spread on the right hand and on the left, and
the mercy of God will be extended unto his people.

Vol. 18,  p.143
May God help us to fear him and keep his commandments, in the name of
Jesus Christ. Amen.[p.144] 

Orson Pratt, August 30, 1875

Fulfillment of Prophecy—the Desert Watered and 
the Wilderness Made Fruitful—Zion in the Valleys of the 
Mountains—Increase of Her Families Like a Flock—
Her Peace, Plenty, and Prosperity

Discourse By Elder Orson Pratt, Delivered in the New 
Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Sunday Afternoon, Aug. 30, 1875.

Reported by David W. Evans

Vol. 18,  p.144
I will read the latter part of the 32nd chapter of Isaiah, commencing
at the 13th verse. [The speaker read from the 13th to the 20th verse
inclusive.]

Vol. 18,  p.144
It is very evident from these predictions of the Prophet Isaiah, that
he, by that spirit which opens the future, was able to see the
calamities that would come upon the house of Israel, and not only upon
the people, but also upon the Promised Land, the land of Canaan, now
called Palestine. A curse was predicted upon that land, that instead
of bringing forth those things that were necessary to sustain a
people, it should bring forth briars and thorns. We are also told that
this desolation should remain for a long period, until the Spirit
should be poured out from on high, until, in the purposes of the Most
High, he should pendent his Spirit, and that would produce a great
change upon that land, but until that time it was to be desolate. All
the houses of joy in the Jewish city were to be desolate, and, us it
is recorded in other passages in Isaiah, they were to be the
desolations of many generations. Not the desolation of seventy years,
as happened to Israel in their Babylonish captivity, which only
comprised about one generation, but the desolations were to be for
many generations, during which that land was to lie uncultivated. The
latter rains were to be withheld, and the land was to become dry and
parched up, bringing forth thorns and briars, and this was to continue
until the Lord poured out his Spirit from on high.

Vol. 18,  p.144
It seems, then, that the Lord had a particular set time in his own
mind, when he would again pour out his Spirit from on high upon his
people, and more especially upon the house of Israel; and when that
time arrives, there will not only be a great moral reformation among
the people, but we are told that the revolution will extend to the
land also, for the Prophet says here, that when the Spirit is poured
out from on high, the wilderness shall be a fruitful field, and the
fruitful field shall be centered for a forest. What are we to
understand by the prediction that the wilderness shall be a fruitful
field [p.145] when the Spirit is poured out from on high? We are to
understand the same as is recorded in the thirty-fifth chapter of this
prophecy, a small portion of which I will read. Speaking of the
gathering of the Israelites in the latter times, he says—"The
wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the
desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose. It shall blossom
abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing: the glory of
Lebanon shall be given unto it, the excellency of Carmel and Sharon;
they shall see the glory of the Lord and the excellency of our God."

Vol. 18,  p.145
Now, to comprehend that this is to be a latter-day work, and not a
work that was to take place soon after the prediction was uttered, we
will read the following verses—"Strengthen ye the weak hands, and
confirm the feeble knees. Say to them that are of a fearful heart, be
strong and fear not; behold your God will come with vengeance, even
God with a recompense; he will come and save you."

Vol. 18,  p.145
That has never been fulfilled; but preparatory to the time when God
will come with vengeance to sweep away wickedness from the face of the
earth, the house of Israel will be gathered back to their own lands,
and the people of God will be permitted to dwell in the wilderness,
and that wilderness will become a fruitful field. It is even said that
the desert should rejoice because of those who are gathered, and
should blossom as the rose.

Vol. 18,  p.145
Now that is something that has been fulfilled during the last quarter
of a century, here in this wilderness, barren, desert country. The
great latter-day work has commenced, the kingdom of God has been
reorganized on the earth; in other words, the Christian Church in all
its purity and with all its ordinances, has been reorganized upon the
face of the earth, and the time has at length come when the Spirit of
God has been poured out from on high. Until that period arrived, there
was no hope for Israel, no hope for the land of Palestine, no hope for
the redemption of the tribes scattered in the four quarters of the
earth; but when the wilderness should become as a fruitful field, when
the spirit should again be poured out from on high, through the
everlasting Gospel of the Son of God, then the people should be
gathered together by the commandment of the Lord. As is here stated,
his Spirit should be the instrument in gathering them together. "My
mouth, it hath commanded this great gathering." Then we may look out,
for a change upon the face of the land where this gathering takes
place; we may look for the deserts to become like the garden of Eden,
to blossom as the rose that blossoms in rich and fertile gardens, to
blossom abundantly, and the desert to rejoice with joy and singing. We
are to look also, soon after this period of time, for the great
Redeemer to come. "Say to them that are of a fearful heart, be strong,
fear not, behold your God will Come with vengeance; he will come and
save you," having reference to his second coming in the clouds of
heaven, with power and with great glory, attended by all the angelic
hosts; coming in flaming fire to consume the wicked from the face of
the earth as stubble, to burn them up, both root and branch, while the
Sabots that are left will go forth upon the face of the earth and grow
up as calves of the stall, and tread upon the ashes of the wicked.

Vol. 18,  p.146
The Prophet says that, when Jesus comes with vengeance and destroys
[p.146] the wicked, redeems the desert, and causes the wilderness to
become a fruitful field, then the lame man shall leap as a hart, the
tongue of the dumb shall speak, the ears of the deaf shall be
unstopped, for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams
in the desert, and the parched ground shall become a pool, and the
thirsty land springs of water.

Vol. 18,  p.146
A great many people enquire of the Latter-day Saints—"Why is it that
you do not heal up all of your sick and those who are afflicted among
you?" This question is often asked. Says the enquirer—"If you are the
true Christian Church; if God has indeed sent his angel from heaven,
as you Latter-day Saints testify that he has; if he has indeed
organized his kingdom on the earth for the last time, preparatory to
the day of his coming; how is it, if you have those gifts that they
had in the ancient Christian Church, that all your lame and blind and
dumb, and those who are afflicted are not healed up?" I answer, for
the same reasons that the ancient Christians were not all healed. If
they had always been healed in ancient times in the Church, they would
have been living now. The time came for them to die, and they did die,
notwithstanding all the faith of the ancient Christians, and
notwithstanding they had power to say to the lame—"Be thou healed,"
and the lame would leap as a hart; notwithstanding they had power, in
the name of Jesus, to command blindness to depart from the children of
men, and to command all manner of plagues and pestilences and they
were subject to their command in the name of Jesus, yet, after all,
the ancient Christians died. Why did they not heal them, keep them
along, and not let them die? Because that was not according to the
order which God had established. When a man or woman is appointed unto
death you, nor I, nor Peter, nor James, nor Paul, nor John, nor any
other man of God can heal them in the name of Jesus. Why? Because God
has otherwise determined. But that did not do away the gift of healing
in ancient times; that gift was abundantly made manifest,
notwithstanding there were many who were sick who were not healed.

Vol. 18,  p.146
So in the latter-day kingdom, when the spirit is poured out again from
on high, when God begins to manifest these ancient gifts again among
his people, and the blind among them are made to see, and the deaf to
hear, and the tongue of the dumb is made to speak, and the lame is
made to walk—when all these things begin to take place among the
people of God, still there will be many, very many, that will not be
healed, otherwise the prophecy will not be fulfilled.

Vol. 18,  p.146
At the very time the Savior makes his appearance and comes with
vengeance, there will be the sick, the lame, the blind, the dumb, the
maimed, and those afflicted with all manner of diseases. The Prophet
says that when he comes and finds them in this condition, "Then shall
the eyes of the blind be opened, the ears of the deaf be unstopped,
the tongue of the dumb speak, and the lame man shall leap like a
hart," &c. So there will be something left for Jesus to do, when he
comes in flaming fire, to heal all the sick who have not faith to be
healed prior to that time. But when Jesus comes, he brings all the
Saints with him; he raises the righteous dead from their graves, not
as he raised Lazarus into mortality, but he raises them up, male and
female, with immortal bodies, to reign here on the earth during the
period that he himself [p.147] shall reign, during the great Sabbath
of creation, the millennial reign of one thousand years.

Vol. 18,  p.147
Now, we would naturally suppose that during that period of a thousand
years everybody would have the power of faith to be healed. But no,
though the Son of God is there, though the righteous dead with their
immortal bodies are there, yet old men will die even then, for it is
according to the design and purpose of the great Jehovah. Though there
will be no one to fall asleep in infancy; though none of the youth
will die in that day; though there will be no middle-aged persons upon
whom death will lay his powerful grasp, yet the aged, or, as Isaiah
says in his last chapter but one,—"The days of my people shall be as
the days of a tree, and mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their
hands. A child shall not die until he is a hundred years old." We
would naturally suppose that, the Lord being here, all the resurrected
Saints being here, he would not let them die when they become old; but
he lets them pass away according to the decree that was made when man
fell and was cast out from the presence of the Lord. They must die,
the penalty must come upon them.

Vol. 18,  p.147
But with regard to the wilderness that is here spoken of—"Water shall
break forth in the desert, springs of living water, streams also in
the desert, and the parched ground shall become a pool and the thirsty
land springs of water"—have you seen anything of the nature of this
prediction fulfilled? Latter-day Saints, how was it with this
wilderness twenty-eight years ago this summer when the pioneers
entered this land, and when several thousands followed them in the
autumn of that same year? What did you, who were appointed to explore
the country, find? Many places parched up, looking as though there had
been no water or rain from heaven for many years. You began to form
your settlements on the streams that ran down from the melting snows
in the mountains; and in a very short period of time you began to send
forth your settlements, north and south and west. Occasionally you
would find a little spring that would break out from under the
threshold of the mountain, sufficient to water perhaps an acre of
ground, and only one family could go there and settle. What do you
find now? The same streams that would only water one acre of ground
then—you know I am speaking to people who know for themselves, for
they have seen it—the water in those very localities is now sufficient
to water from one hundred to five hundred acres. What do you think of
that? Have you realized that the hand of the Lord is with you?—that he
has indeed fulfilled that which he spoke by the mouth of his ancient
Prophet, when he said—"For in the wilderness waters shall break forth
and streams in the desert, etc."? He meant just what he said, and you
have come hither and proved his words to be true.

Vol. 18,  p.147
I recollect traveling through this country, some three or four hundred
miles, in the early days, soon after we had begun to branch out from
this city to the north and the south, I found sometimes on a little
stream of water from two to three families, and one or two of them
would be talking about breaking up and going elsewhere, because there
was not sufficient water to enable them to raise what was necessary to
sustain them. selves. Now we visit the same settlements and what do we
find?—flourishing villages containing from thirty to fifty families.
What is the matter? The Lord has fulfilled that [p.148] which he
spoke, causing streams in the desert.

Vol. 18,  p.148
I recollect that the pioneers, in the month of July, 1847, wont over
on to the north point of the west mountain to see the Great Salt Lake,
to see what it looked like, what was the nature of the water, &c. We
went to a place that has been called for many years "Black Rock," a
rock that is out in the lake a few rods from the shore. We concluded
that we would go out to this rock to see what the depth of the water
was beyond it. We did so, on dry ground, the waters of the lake being
then several feet below the place where we walked to the Black Rock.
What do we see now, and what have we seen for several years past? The
path on which the pioneers traveled on foot to Black Rock is now
covered with water ten feet deep. Showing that Salt Lake has risen
some twelve or fifteen feet during the last quarter of a century. What
is the meaning of this? Can you tell? Says one—"I should have thought
the lake would have become lower." That would be a very natural
supposition; for our people have gone to work and made scores and
scores of canals to carry on to their farms the water from the
mountains that formerly ran into the lake, and hence the lake has had
very little water running into it compared with what it would have had
if the streams from the mountains had not been so diverted. But God
has said that he would make the wilderness a fruitful field, and
streams in the desert, and he has fulfilled his promise.

Vol. 18,  p.148
Pioneers, if any of you are here to-day, let me ask you a
question—When you came down from the mouth of Emigration Canyon, where
Camp Douglas is now situated, into this region of country, in July,
1847, what did the ground appear like? Did you dig down and make any
experiments? "O yes, in many places." How far did you dig down? "Some
of us dug many feet to see if there was any appearance of moisture."
Did you find anything? What was the appearance of the soil? It looked
as though there had been no rain for many generations. What do we find
now? We find this same parched-up soil, for some five square miles,
where Salt Lake City is located, converted into fruitful gardens,
planted with apple, pear, peach, plum, and other kinds of fruit trees
adapted to the climate, and in the spring season of the year, in the
months of May and June, this locality is like one vast; garden full of
blossoms, so much so that strangers are astonished beyond measure to
see such a large extent of country so much like a garden.

Vol. 18,  p.148
Now let us see what Isaiah says about it, for he looked upon it as
well as you, if he did live twenty-five hundred years ago. "The Lord
shall comfort Zion, he will make her wilderness like Eden, her desert
like the garden of the Lord. Joy and gladness shall be found therein,
thanksgiving and the voice of melody." Indeed! Did you see it, Isaiah,
as well as the people that live in our day? Did you see a people go
into the desert and offer up thanksgiving and the voice of melody? Did
you see that desert and wilderness redeemed from its sterile condition
and become like the garden of Eden? "O yes," says Isaiah, "I saw it
all, and I left it on record for the benefit of the generation that
should live some two or three thousand years after my day." But
Isaiah, are we to understand that the people are to be gathered
together in that desert, and that the gathered people are to be
instrumental in the hands of God, in redeeming that desert? Yes,
Isaiah has told us all this. We will [p.149] go back to what we read
in his thirty-second chapter—"Until the spirit be poured out upon us
from on high, and the wilderness be a fruitful field, and the fruitful
field be counted for a forest. Then judgment shall dwell in the
wilderness and righteousness remain in the fruitful field." What
fruitful field? Why, the wilderness that will be converted into a
fruitful field. "The work of righteousness shall be peace, and the
effect of righteousness, quietness, and assurance forever; and my
people shall dwell in peaceable habitations, and in sure dwellings and
in quiet resting places."

Vol. 18,  p.149
Was that the way we dwelt in Missouri or Illinois? Did we live in
quietness and with assurance continually in those States? Oh, no, we
were tossed about; as Isaiah says—"tossed too and fro and not
comforted." That was the case with Zion while down in the States, and
that was in accordance with a modern revelation, in which, speaking of
Zion, the Lord says—"You shall be persecuted from city to city and
from synagogue to synagogue, and but few shall stand to receive their
inheritance." But when the time should come for Zion to go up into the
wilderness things would be changed; then my people shall dwell in
peaceable habitations, in sure dwelling places, and in quietness and
assurance."

Vol. 18,  p.149
Will they have any capital city when they get up into the mountain
desert? O, yes. Isaiah says here—"When it shall hail, coming down on
the forest, the city shall be low in a low place." How often have I
thought of this since we laid out this great city, twenty-eight years
ago! How often have this people reflected in their meditations upon
the fulfillment of this prophecy! They have seen, on this eastern
range of mountains and on the range of mountains to the west of this
valley, snow and storms pelting down with great fury, as though winter
in all its rigor and ferocity had over-taken the mountain territory,
and at the same time, here, "low in a low place," was a city,
organized at the very base of these mountains, enjoying all the
blessings of a spring temperature, the blessings of a temperature not
sufficient to cut off our vegetation. What a contrast! "When it shall
hail, coming down on the forest, the city shall be low in a low
place." That could not be Jerusalem, no such contrast in the land of
Palestine round about Jerusalem! It had reference to the latter-day
Zion, the Zion of the mountains.

Vol. 18,  p.149
Says one—"Is there anything in Isaiah that speaks of Zion being
located in a high or elevated region in the mountains?" Oh yes, let us
read and see what he says about it in his fortieth chapter: "Comfort
ye, comfort ye, my people, saith your God." Then he goes on to speak
of the second coming of the Son of Man, and he says—"Prepare ye the
way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God."
The same as you have made, or assisted in making, the great highway
through this desert region, and constructed highways here in the
desert called the iron railroad. "Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make
straight in the desert a highway for our God."

Vol. 18,  p.149
Says one—"That meant his first coming, John the Baptist, etc." Let us
see. "Every valley shall be exalted and every mountain and hill shall
be laid low, and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough
places be made plain, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and
all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord bath spoken
it." 

Vol. 18,  p.149
Did that mean his first coming? [p.150] Was the glory of God then
revealed? Did all flesh see it together? No; it has reference to the
second advent the coming of the Lord in his glory and in his power,
when every eye shall see him. Then the mountains shall be laid low,
then the valleys shall be raised up, then the rough places will be
made smooth, then the glory of God will be made manifest to all flesh
living, and every eye—the wicked and the righteous—will behold him,
and they also who pierced him.

Vol. 18,  p.150
But before that day what will take place? We will read the 9th verse
in the same chapter. "O Zion"—something about Zion now, before the
Lord comes—"O Zion, that bringest good tidings, get thee up into the
high mountains." Did you come up into these high mountains, you people
of the latter-day Zion? What did you come here for? Because Isaiah
predicted that this was the place you should come to, you should get
up into the high mountain. He foretold it, and you have fulfilled it.
"O Zion, that bringest good tidings." What good tidings? What tidings
have you been declaring the last forty-five years to the nations and
kingdoms of the earth? What have you testified to, you missionaries?
Your missionaries have gone from nation to nation and from kingdom to
kingdom, proclaiming to the people that God has sent his angel from
heaven with the everlasting Gospel to be preached unto all people upon
the face of the whole earth. This is what you have been proclaiming.
Is not the everlasting Gospel glad tidings to the children of men? I
think it is, and especially when it is brought by an angel to prepare
the way for the great and glorious day of the coming of the King of
kings and Lord of lords. It is good tidings that people who receive
this everlasting Gospel, are commanded to get up into the high
mountain. You have fulfilled it, you have been at it now for
twenty-eight years, coming up from the eastern slope, from the great
Atlantic seaboard, and gradually rising and ascending until you have
located yourselves in a place upwards of four thousand feet above the
level of the sea. And here in the Zion of the mountains you have
founded a great Territory, with some two hundred towns and villages,
with your capital city "low in a low place," where the temperature of
spring prevails, while all the rigors of an arctic winter are beating
upon the tops of the mountains in our immediate vicinity.

Vol. 18,  p.150
But lest any should suppose that this getting up into the mountains
was a former-day work, let me read the next verse—"Behold the Lord God
will come with a strong hand, and his arm shall rule for him. Behold
his reward is with him and his work before him." Not coming to be
smitten and spat upon, and despised, and to hang upon across, as was
the case in ancient days; but the Lord God is to come with a strong
hand, and his arm is to rule in that day as a king, as a lawgiver, as
a mighty potentate to reign over all the kingdoms of the world, which
will then become the kingdoms of our God and his Christ, I mean that
portion of them that are not swept off with devouring fire.

Vol. 18,  p.150
But I said that this people, called the Zion of the mountains, that
were to cause the wilderness to blossom as the rose, were to be a
people gathered from the four quarters of the earth. Can it be proved?
Yes. I will refer you to the 107th Psalm, Where it is said—"Oh, give
thanks unto the Lord, for he is God,  and his mercy endureth forever.
Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom he hath [p.151] redeemed
from the hand of the enemy, and gathered them out of the lands from
the east, and from the west, and from the north, and from the south"—a
gathered people. Let us see what this people were to do. "They
wandered in the wilderness in a solitary way. They found no city to
dwell in." I wish you had all been with the pioneers in the year 1847.
When we started out, in the dead of the winter of 1846, upon the
prairies of Iowa, after leaving the great Mississippi, and getting out
about fifty miles from that river, we did not as much as find a foot
track, and no signs of a human habitation. We wandered over that
uninhabited territory some four hundred miles, until we reached the
Pottowattamie and Omaha tribes of Indians, then located on the
Missouri river. Then, early the next spring, we started forth, (one
hundred and forty-three pioneers) with our faces still westward, and
went up on the north side of the Platte river several hundred miles.
Did we find a roan most of that distance? No road at all. We found
tens of thousands of buffalo and their paths; we found a great many
hostile tribes of Indians, who sought very diligently to take away our
horses and mules, and to cripple us in this manner. But we continued
our journey, and at length came through these mountains, after having
crossed at the South Pass, and come forth to a little fort called Fort
Bridget. We then started into an unknown country, still bending our
course southwesterly, for there was a rumor, and not only a rumor, but
it had been testified, that there was a great inland sea, called the
Salt Lake, in the midst of the great American desert. We had heard
this rumor, and had read some of Fremont's travels in the midst of
hostile Indian tribes. We came forth into this desert, wandering in
the wilderness in a solitary way. Who were they that thus wandered?
People that had been gathered but from the east and the west, from the
north and the south, redeemed from the hand of those who sought to
destroy them. "They wandered in the wilderness, in a solitary way, and
they found no city to dwell in." How different this was from the
ancient Israelites when they entered the land of Palestine! They found
numerous cities, built by the former inhabitants of the land.
Jerusalem was a city that had been known for a long period before the
Israelites went into that land, built up by its former heathen
inhabitants. They found large vineyards, with grapes and fruit in
great abundance, and cities, towns, and villages spread throughout the
land, which the Lord God gave them for their possession. How different
was that from the latter-day work, when the redeemed of the Lord
should gather from the four quarters of the earth, and wander in a
wilderness in a solitary way; they were to find no city to dwell in.

Vol. 18,  p.151
Did we suffer anything? Yes. Did the old Prophet speak of these
sufferings? Yes. "Hungry and thirsty, their souls fainted in them;
then they cried unto the Lard in their trouble, and he delivered them
out of their distresses, and he led them forth by the right way." Yes,
when our food gave out; when the crickets came in here by armies; when
tons and tons of them poured in on the little crops first planted,
ready to devour everything before them, and we were living on quarter
rations, what did we do? We cried unto the Lord in our distress, in
our hunger and thirst, believing that he would have compassion on us,
and open some way for our relief, and he did so—he sent forth large
flocks of [p.152] gulls that lit down upon these crickets and devoured
them up, and thus the crops of the people were saved.

Vol. 18,  p.152
"Well," says one, "does this have reference to the same desert and
wilderness that you have been reading about?" Let us see. "Let them
exalt him, also, in the congregation of the people, and praise him in
the assembly of the elders. He turns rivers into the wilderness, and
water springs into dry grounds, and a fruitful land into barrenness
for the wickedness of them that dwell therein." Now notice the next
prediction—"He turns the wilderness into a standing water, and dry
ground into water springs, and there he makes the hungry to dwell."
What for? "That they may prepare a city for habitation." Though we did
not find any cities already built here, we had to prepare one, and we
have done so, and a very fine one indeed it is, and the wonder and
astonishment of strangers who come here and see what has been done in
the midst of a desert. The Lord predicted it, and you are the ones who
have fulfilled it. "That they may prepare a city for habitation."

Vol. 18,  p.152
What else? Were they to be lazy and indolent? No. That they may "sow
fields and plant vineyards, which may yield fruits of Increase. He
blesseth them also, so that they are multiplied greatly, and suffereth
not their cattle to decrease." Strangers, if you want to know how fast
we are multiplying, just go through our settlements, and look at the
numerous children in our Sabbath schools; you never heard of such an
increase and multiplication, and the Lord foretold that it would be
so.

Vol. 18,  p.152
There is another very curious thing concerning this people who should
come into the desert wilderness. Isaiah says—"He setteth the poor on
high from affliction," Now, a great many of this people were very poor
on arriving here; they had been robbed five times of all they had, and
driven cut. After having been thus plundered, we came here very poor;
but the Lord "setteth the poor on high from affliction, and maketh him
families like a flock." What a wonderful prophecy this is! A poor man
to have not only a family like a flock, but even families. If you do
not believe it strangers, go through our Territory, and see the large
families, and in some cases you will find in the same vicinity six or
eight different families, with their houses and farms, all belonging
to one man, and he perhaps a poor man when be came here. "He setteth
the poor on high from affliction, and maketh him families like a
flock. The righteous shall see it and rejoice." What! The righteous
see this and have joy in it? So says the prophecy. "But," says one, "I
should have thought every one would have been disgusted with it." To
think that a man should have a family or families like a flock, while
the righteous see it and rejoice! What else? "And all iniquity shall
stop her mouth." That has not yet been fulfilled. "Whosoever is wise
and will observe these things, even they shall understand the loving
kindness of the Lord." That is, those who observe these things are
called a wise people, those who have gathered from the east, and the
west, and the north, and the south, that wander in the wilderness in a
solitary place, finding no city to dwell in, hungry and thirsty, poet,
stripped, robbed, plundered, forced into the desert, driven by their
enemies, that very people should multiply exceedingly, the families of
the poor man should become like a flock, and the people should rejoice
in the midst of all their afflictions, [p.153] while all the wicked
should eventually stop their mouths. That will be their destiny sooner
or later.

Vol. 18,  p.153
We will now return to our text, the 32nd of Isaiah—"Blessed are ye
that sow by the side of all waters, and send forth thither the feet of
the ox and the ass." Why did Isaiah say that a blessing should be
given to a certain people that should happen to sow by the side of
streams of water? Why did he not bless the others who lived on the
hills and mountains, as they do all over our States and many other
countries of the globe? Because he saw, in looking at this people,
that they, in their location, were to go into a desert, and the
redeemed of the Lord would be under the necessity of getting along the
sides of streams; they could not go out several miles from a stream or
spring and trust to the rains of heaven; no, the rains do not come
here, or did not when we first located, so as to bless those who would
naturally desire to reside far from a stream of water, but we were all
under the necessity of getting down close to the side of some stream
of water. What for? That it would be handy to build little canals to
get water out to throw over the land. "Blessed are they who sow by the
side of all waters and send forth thither the feet of the ox and the
ass."

Vol. 18,  p.153
We have read these words of the ancient Prophet, in order that the
Latter-day Saints may call to mind how completely the Lord is
fulfilling every jot and every tittle, so far as time will permit, of
that which he caused to be spoken, by the power of the Holy Ghost,
through his ancient Prophets. Strangers think it very curious that
this people should have such large families. If such were not the
case, we would not be the people predicted about that were to be so
blessed; but we are that people, and it is in vain for us to undertake
to turn the hand of the Lord to the right or to the left. He has his
own eternal course to pursue, and all his purposes he will fulfil, and
there is no power beneath the heavens that can stay his almighty hand.
He will fulfill that which he has spoken, in order that there may be
no room for infidelity in the four quarters of the earth. There are a
great many infidels now-a-days, and I do not wonder at it. Looking at
modern Christendom, without any Prophets, inspiration, gifts, or the
ancient powers of the Gospel, it is enough to make three quarters or
nine-tenths of the people infidel in regard to religion. But the Lord
is going to leave the people without any excuse, for every jot and
tittle of that which he spoke by the mouths of his ancient Prophets he
will bring to pass in its time and in its season. Zion is destined to
fill the mountains in the last days; Zion will become, as Isaiah says,
in his 60th chapter, a great people. A little one shall become a
thousand, and a small one a strong nation. The Lord shall bring it
forth in its time, says Isaiah, and in the same chapter he speaks of
the future glory of that people, and declares that while darkness
should cover the earth, and gross darkness the minds of the people,
Zion should arise and shine. These are the words of the Prophet—"Zion
shall arise and shine, for the glory of the Lord has risen upon her.
The Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of
thy rising."

Vol. 18,  p.153
Inquires one—"Is Zion going to become popular, so that Gentiles and
kings and great men will come to her light?" Yes, certainly; and not
only Gentiles, kings and great men, but many of all the nations of the
earth have got to come to Zion, and, according to this very chapter,
that [p.154] nation and kingdom that will not serve Zion shall perish,
and be utterly wasted away. Has there ever been such a people as this
since the day Isaiah lived? There never has; but such a people and
such a time are coming, and Zion will be that people. "The Gentiles
shall come to thy light and kings to the brightness of thy rising. Thy
gates shall be open continually, that men may bring the forces of the
Gentiles, and that their kings may be brought."

Vol. 18,  p.154
It will be a time of great plenty of the precious metals. In those
days God will give the keys of the treasures of the earth and he will
open them up to the people, Isaiah says, in this connection—"For brass
I will bring gold, for iron I will bring silver, for wood brass, and
for stones iron." Gold and silver will be so plentiful that they will
be used for the pavement of streets. But the covetous may say—"That
will be a fine chance for us to steal; if you get pavements made with
gold and silver we shall be along after them." I think you will not.
Why? Because God will be there, and I do not think you will have any
chance to steal; for it is said in the fourth chapter of Isaiah's
prophecy, that in that day every dwelling place in Mount Zion and all
her assemblies shall have a cloud and Smoke by day, and the shining of
a flaming fire by night. Do you think you would like to go into a city
where every dwelling place is lighted up with a pillar of fire by
night, and undertake to dig up the pavements? I think you would not
have the heart to do it, you would fear that light would go forth from
the presence of the Lord, and consume you, as it did many rebellious
and wicked ones among the Israelites. Gold will be very good for
pavements, if they are only constructed properly; and Mount Zion will
be a very beautiful city, one of the most beautiful that has ever been
on the face of the whole earth. It is spoken of by the Psalmist David,
in the 50th psalm and also in another psalm—"Beautiful for situation,
the joy of the whole earth is Mount Zion, on the sides of the north,
the city of the great King."

Vol. 18,  p.154
You Christians quote the Psalmist David, and sing about this in your
chapels and meeting houses, and you sing about the desert becoming
like the Garden of Eden, and joy and gladness being found therein; you
have it all fixed up so that it makes melody in the ears of your
respective congregations. You sing about the fulfillment of these
prophecies, but let a man of God be sent forth by the inspiration and
power of the Almighty to warn you concerning the great day of the Lord
that is coming; and concerning the fulfillment of these prophecies,
and you will gnash your teeth upon him. He reads to you the same
things that you sing, and brings forth the same testimony and the same
Scriptures that are, every Sabbath day, repeated in your hearing, and
yet you stone him and close the doors of your synagogues and chapels
against him, and cry "False Prophets," "delusions," "false teachers,"
and every evil epithet you can possibly invent to prejudice the minds
of the people against him. Why? Because he comes to you with the
truth; because he comes to you as a messenger from heaven; because he
comes to you, testifying that the Lord God has spoken by his own
voice, that he has sent his angel with the everlasting Gospel to be
proclaimed to the nations as a preparatory work for the great day of
bringing in the fullness of the Gentiles and the salvation and
gathering of all the [p.155] house of Israel. You cannot bear the
truth, you will not hear it, and you cast out the servants of God, and
stir up prejudice against them. Amen.

Orson Pratt, July 18, 1875

Book of Mormon—Urim and Thummim—Appearance of a Holy 
Angel in 1829 to Four Persons—Their Testimonies to the 
Truth of the Book of Mormon—Also Eight Other 
Witnesses—Isaiah's Prophecy Relates to that 
Book—Ezekiel's Prophecy

Discourse By Elder Orson Pratt, Delivered in the New Tabernacle, 
Salt Lake City, Sunday Afternoon, July 18, 1875.

Reported by David W. Evans

Vol. 18,  p.155
I will read a few verses in the 29th chapter of Isaiah, commencing at
the 18th verse. [The speaker read from the 18th verse to the end of
the chapter.]

Vol. 18,  p.155
That which I wish to call to your mind, more particularly, on the
present occasion, will be found in the first verse that I read—"In
that day shall the deaf hear the words of the book."

Vol. 18,  p.155
The Latter-day Saints are a peculiar people among the inhabitants of
the earth of the present age, peculiar in many things, peculiar in
many religions notions and views. We profess to believe in this book,
the Jewish record, called the Bible. We are not peculiar so far as
this item of our faith is concerned; but in addition to the Bible, we
believe in another book, called the Book of Mormon, which we believe
to be equally sacred with the Bible. Some may, perhaps, call the Book
of Mormon a bible, and in one sense of the word it may be called that,
for it is a collection of sacred books, the same as the Jewish record
is. The difference between the two records is merely in the history,
and in some of the prophetic writings. The Bible professes to be a
history of the people who lived on the eastern continent, while the
Book of Mormon professes to be a history of the people who lived in
ancient America. We have denominated the Jewish record the Bible,
because it is a collection of books said to have been written by
inspired men. I do not see any reason why we should not also, as
Latter-day Saints, call the Book of Mormon a bible, it being a
collection of books written by Prophets and Revelators. Perhaps,
however, the world, or those who are strangers to the evidences
concerning these two [p.156] books, may object, and say that we have
no right to call the Book of Mormon a bible, unless we can bring such
evidence to substantiate its divinity as we can concerning the Jewish
record. But supposing that we are in possession of similar evidences
concerning this book in relation to ancient America, as you are in
regard to the Bible, the history of the people of Palestine; supposing
that we can bring forth as many evidences and substantial testimonies
to prove the divinity of the Book of Mormon, as you can to prove the
divinity of the Jewish record, then why should we not include it among
the sacred books, and denominate it a bible, as well as call the
Jewish record such? I will, this afternoon, by the assistance of the
Spirit of God, endeavor to lay before you, Latter-day Saints, and
strangers who may be present, some of the evidences that we have
concerning the divinity of this book which we esteem so highly—the
Book of Mormon.

Vol. 18,  p.156
In the first place, I will give you a very brief statement concerning
the manner in which the Book of Mormon was found. In the year 1827, a
young man, a farmer's boy, by the name of Joseph Smith, was visited by
an holy angel, as he had been for several years prior to this time.
But on this occasion, in the fall of 1827, he was permitted to take
into his possession the plates from which the Book of Mormon was
translated—the angel gave them into his hands, permitted him to take
them from the place of their deposit, which was discovered to Mr.
Smith by the angel of God. With this book, called the Book of Mormon,
was a very curious instrument, such a one, probably, as no person had
seen for many generations; it was called by the angel of God, the Urim
and Thummim. We know that such an instrument existed in ancient times
among the Jews, and among the Israelites in the wilderness, and that
it was used to inquire of the Lord, and so sacred was that instrument
in the days of Moses, that Aaron, the chief priest of the whole house
of Israel, was commanned to place it within his breastplate, that when
he should judge the tribes of the house of Israel, he should not judge
by his own wisdom, but should inquire of the Lord by means of this
instrument, and whatever decision the Lord, by aid of the Urim and
Thummim, should give, all Israel should give heed to it. The same
instrument was in use, many hundred years after the days of Aaron, by
the Prophets of Israel. David inquired by means of an instrument of
that kind, concerning his enemies, who pursued him from city to city,
asking the Lord certain questions—whether his enemies would come to
the city where he happened to be, and whether he would be delivered up
to them by the people of that city; and the Lord gave him all
necessary instruction, and by this means he was delivered out of the
hands of his enemies from time to time.

Vol. 18,  p.156
But it seems that, before the coming of Christ, for some reason,
probably through wickedness, the Urim and Thummim were taken away from
the children of Israel, and a prophecy was uttered by one of the
ancient Prophets, before Christ, that they should be many days without
a Priest, without the Urim and Thummim, without the ephod, and without
many things that God blessed them with in the days of their
righteousness; but that in the latter days God would again restore all
his blessings to the people of Israel, including their counselors and
their judges as at the first.

Vol. 18,  p.157
With these plates that Joseph [p.157] Smith, the Prophet, obtained
through the instructions of the angel, he also obtained the Urim and
Thummim, and by their aid he copied a few characters from the plates,
and translated them. He was not a learned man himself, but an ignorant
farmer's boy, scarcely having the first rudiments of education. He
could read and write a little, and that was about the amount of his
educational acquirements. After having copied a few of the characters
from these plates and translated them, he committed them into the
hands of Martin Harris, a man with whom he was acquainted, who lived
not far from his neighborhood; and Martin Harris took these few
characters and their translation to the City of New York, to show them
to the learned, and if possible to get some information in regard to
their meaning. This was in the year 1827. Martin Harris was then a
middle-aged man, being about forty-six years of age. On arriving in
New York City, he visited the learned Dr. Mitchell, professor of
languages, and obtained some information from him in relation to the
manuscript which he held, and was recommended by Dr. Mitchell to see
Mr. Anthon, professor of ancient and modern languages, probably one of
the most learned men in ancient languages that ever lived in our
nation. Mr. Harris went to see Mr. Anthon, and showed him the
characters. The professor examined them and the translation, and,
according to the testimony of Martin Harris, given from this stand, he
gave him a certificate that, so far as he could understand the
characters, the translation seemed to be correct; but he wished
further time, and desired that the original plates should be brought
to him. Mr. Harris then informed him how Mr. Smith came in possession
of the plates—that he did not find them accidentally, but that an
angel of God revealed to him the place of their deposit. This was
after Martin Harris had obtained the certificate from Professor
Anthon, and just before Mr. Harris took his leave of the learned
gentleman; the latter having ascertained how Mr. Smith came in
possession of the plates; that part of them were sealed, and that the
Lord had given a strict command that they should not be shown to the
public, but only to certain witnesses; I say that, the professor,
having learned this, wished to see the certificate again; Mr. Harris
returned it to him, and he tore it up, saying that there was no such
thing as angels, or communications from the Lord in our day, and upon
Mr. Harris telling him that a portion of the plates were sealed, he
very sarcastically remarked, that he could not read a sealed book.

Vol. 18,  p.157
Mr. Harris left him, and returned, some two hundred and fifty miles or
more, to the neighborhood where the plates were found, and informed
Mr. Smith of his success with the learned, after which the Lord gave a
special command to Joseph, unlearned as he was, that he should
translate the record by the aid of the Urim and Thummim. Mr. Smith
commenced the work of translation. Mr. Harris, acting as his scribe,
wrote from his mouth one hundred and sixteen pages of the first
translation, given by the Prophet.

Vol. 18,  p.157
The work was continued from time to time, until finally the unsealed
portion of the Book of Mormon was all translated. In the meantime
Martin Harris, Joseph Smith, the translator of the book, Oliver
Cowdery and David Whitmer, four persons, retired to a little grove in
the year 1829, not far from the house of old father Whitmer, where
this Church was organized. They retired to this grove for the special
[p.158] purpose of calling on the name of the Lord, and they all knelt
down and commenced praying, one by one, and while thus engaged they
saw an angel of God descend from the heavens, very bright and glorious
in his appearance; and he came and stood in their midst, and he took
the plates and turned over leaf after leaf of the unsealed portion,
and showed to these four men the engravings upon them; and at the same
time they heard a voice out of heaven saying unto them, that the
plates had been translated correctly, and commanding them to bear
testimony of the same to all nations, kindreds, tongues and people to
whom the translation should be sent. In accordance with this command,
Oliver Cowdery, David Whitmer and Martin Harris have attached their
testimony after the title page of the Book of Mormon, testifying to
the appearance of the angel, signing their names and testifying to the
correctness of the translation; testifying to having seen the plates
and the engravings upon them, and to the voice of the Lord, which they
heard out of the heavens.

Vol. 18,  p.158
Now let me say a few words concerning the nature of this testimony.
This testimony was given prior to the publication of the book, and
also previous to the organization of the Latter-day Saint Church. The
book was printed early in 1830, with their testimony. Thus you
perceive that this work, this marvelous work, was not presented to the
inhabitants of the earth for their belief, until God had favored them
with four persons who could bear witness to what their eyes had seen,
what their ears had heard, and what their hands had handled,
consequently there was no possibility, so far as these four men were
concerned, that they themselves could be deceived. It would be
impossible for four men to be together, and all of them to be deceived
in seeing an angel descend from heaven, and in regard to the
brightness of his countenance and the glory of his person, hearing his
voice, and seeing him lay his hands upon one of them, namely David
Whitmer, and speaking these words—"Blessed be the Lord and they who
keep his commandments." After seeing the plates, the engravings upon
them, and the angel, and hearing the voice of the Lord out of heaven,
every person will say that there was no possibility of either of these
men being deceived in relation to this matter; in other words, if it
were to be maintained that in their case it was a hallucination of the
brain, and that they were deceived, then, with the same propriety
might it be asserted that all other men, in every age, who profess to
have seen angels, were also deceived; and this might be applied to the
Prophets, Patriarchs, Apostles, and others who lived in ancient times,
who declared they saw angels, as well as to Oliver Cowdery, Marlin
Harris, and David Whitmer. But says the objector—"No, those who
testify that they saw angels anciently were not deceived, but they who
come testifying about such ministrations in the latter days may be
deceived." Now let me ask, is there anything logical in such reasoning
as this? If these, in the latter days, who testify to having seen
angels, were deceived, all who testify to the same things in former
days might have been deceived on the same grounds. And then, if these
men, whose testimonies are attached to the Book of Mormon, were not
deceived, it must be admitted that they were impostors of the most
barefaced character, or else that the Book of Mormon is a divine
record sent from heaven; one or the other must be admitted, there is
no halfway in the [p.159] matter. If they were not deceived—which they
could not possibly have been according to the very nature of their
testimony—then there are only two alternatives—they were impostors, or
else the Book of Mormon is a divine revelation from heaven.

Vol. 18,  p.159
Now let us inquire what grounds there are to suppose that they were
impostors? Forty-six years have passed away since this angel appeared
and showed the plates to these individuals. Has anything transpired
during this time that would give us any grounds to suppose that they
were impostors? For instance, has either of these witnesses, or the
translator of the engravings on the plates, ever, under any
circumstances, denied his testimony? No. We have some accounts in the
Bible of men of God, some of the greatest men that lived in ancient
times, denying the things of God. We read of Peter cursing, and
swearing that he never knew Jesus, and yet he was one of the foremost
of the Apostles. His testimony was true so far as seeing and being
acquainted with Jesus was concerned, and in regard to the divinity of
Jesus. Why? Because God had revealed it to him and yet he denied it.
"Blessed art thou, Simon Barjonah," said Jesus, speaking to Peter,
"for flesh and blood have not revealed this unto thee, but my Father
who is in heaven." Peter knew, just as well as he knew that he had a
being, that Jesus was the son of God, it had been revealed to him from
the heavens and though he afterwards, through fear, in the presence of
the high priest, cursed and swore and denied it, yet the former
testimony that he had given was true.

Vol. 18,  p.159
Now did either of these three men or did the translator of the Book of
Mormon, ever deny the truth, as Peter did? Did they ever in any way
deny the divinity of the Book of Mormon? Never, no never. Whatever the
circumstances they were placed in, however much they were mobbed and
ridiculed, however much they suffered by the persecution of their
enemies, their testimony all the time was—"We saw the angel of God, we
beheld him in his glory, we saw the plates in his hands, and the
engravings thereon, and we know that the Book of Mormon is true."
Joseph Smith continued to bear this testimony until the day of his
death; he sealed his testimony as a martyr in this Church, being shot
down by his enemies, who were blackened up and disguised, in order
that they might not be known. Oliver Cowdery did not live his faith as
he should have done, and he was excommunicated from this Church during
Joseph's lifetime. Did he still continue to hold fast to his
testimony? He did. Never was he known to swerve from it in the least
degree; and after being out of the Church several years, he returned
to Council Bluffs, where there was a Branch of the Church, and at a
conference he acknowledged his sins, and humbly asked the Church to
forgive him, bearing his testimony to the sacred things recorded in
the Book of Mormon—that he saw the angel and the plates, just
according to the testimony to which he had appended his name. He was
rebaptized a member of the Church, and soon after departed this life.

Vol. 18,  p.159
Martin Harris did not follow up this people in the State of Missouri,
neither did he follow us up to the State of Illinois; but we often
heard of him, and whenever we did so we heard of him telling, in
public and in private of the great vision that God had shown to him
concerning the divinity of the Book of Mormon. A few years ago he came
to this Territory, an old man, between eighty and ninety [p.160] years
of age, and spoke from this stand, in the hearing of the people. He
then located himself in Cache County, in the northern part of the
Territory, where he continued to live until last Saturday, when he
departed this life in his ninety-third year—a good old age. Did he
continue to bear testimony all that length of time—over forty-six
years of his life? Did he, at any time during that long period, waver
in the least degree from his testimony? Not at all. He had a great
many follies and imperfections, like all other people, like the
ancient Apostles, like Elijah the Prophet, but after all, he continued
to testify to the very last concerning the truth of this work. Nothing
seemed to delight him so much as to tell about the angel and the
plates that he had seen. It was only a short time prior to his death
that one of our Bishops went in to see the old man; his pulse was
apparently sluggish in its movements, and nearly gone, but the sight
of the Bishop seemed to revive him, and he said to him—"I am going."
The Bishop related to him some things which he thought would be
interesting, among them that the Book of Mormon was translated into
the Spanish language, for the benefit of a great many of the
descendants of Israel in this country, who understand the Spanish
language, in Mexico and Central America. This intelligence seemed to
revive the old man, and he began to talk about the Book of Mormon; new
strength, apparently, was imparted to him, and he continued his
conversation for some two hours, and in his last testimony he bore
record concerning the divinity of the work, and was rejoiced to think
that it was going forth in another language, that those who understood
that language might be made acquainted with the wonderful works of
God.

Vol. 18,  p.160
I will here state that Martin Harris; when he came to this Territory a
few years ago, was rebaptized, the same as every member of the Church
from distant parts is on arriving here. That seems to be a kind of
standing ordinance for all Latter-day Saints who emigrate here, from
the First Presidency down; all are rebaptized and set out anew by
renewing their covenants. There are thousands of Latter-day Saints who
have gone forth into the baptismal font, and been baptized for their
dead kindred and friends. Martin Harris requested this privilege, and
he was baptized here in Salt Lake City for many of his kindred who are
dead. I mention these things in order that the Saints may understand
something concerning this man who has just left us, almost a hundred
years old. God favored him, highly favored him. He was among the
favored few who went up from the State of Ohio in the summer of 1831,
and journeyed nearly a thousand miles to the western part of Missouri,
to Jackson County. The Prophet went at the same time, and that was
designated as the land where the Saints should eventually be gathered,
and where a great city should be eventually reared, called the city of
Zion, or the New Jerusalem, and that the Saints should be located
throughout all that region of country. God gave many commandments in
those days concerning what might be termed the United Order; in other
words, concerning the consecration of the properties of the Church.
These things were given by revelation through the Prophet. Martin
Harris was the first man that the Lord called by name to consecrate
his money, and lay the same at the feet of the Bishop in Jackson
County, Mo., according to the order of consecration. He willingly did
it; he [p.161] knew the work to be true; he knew that the word of the
Lord through the Prophet Joseph was just as sacred as any word that
ever came from the mouth of any Prophet from the foundation of the
world. He consecrated his money and his substance, according to the
word of the Lord. What for? As the revelation states, as an example to
the rest of the Church.

Vol. 18,  p.161
As I have already mentioned, one more witness remains who saw that
angel and the plates. Who is it? David Whitmer, a younger man than
Martin Harris, probably some seventy years of age, I do not recollect
his age exactly. Where does he live? In the western part of Missouri.
Does he still hold fast to his testimony? He does. Many of the Elders
of this Church, in going to and fro among the nations, have called
upon him from time to time, and they all bear the same testimony—that
Mr. David Whitmer still, in the most solemn manner, declares that he
saw the angel and that he saw the plates in his hands. But he is not
here with us; he has not gathered up with the people of God. That,
however, does not prove that his testimony is not true, by no means.

Vol. 18,  p.161
Now then, let me bring forth some predictions or prophecies concerning
these three witnesses. In the forepart of the Book of Mormon, we have
a prediction that there should be three witnesses; it was uttered
nearly six hundred years before Christ by a man, a Prophet of God, who
came out of Jerusalem and came to this American continent; and in
speaking of the last days, when this record should come forth to the
human family, he foretells that there should be witnesses who should
know of a surety concerning its truth. I will read what he says, "And
it shall come to pass that the Lord God shall bring forth unto you the
words of a book, and they shall be the words of them which have
slumbered; and behold the book shall be sealed, and in the book shall
be a revelation from God, from the beginning of the world to the
ending thereof. Wherefore, because of the things which are sealed up,
the things which are sealed shall not be delivered in the day of the
wickedness and abominations of the people, wherefore the book shall be
kept from them. But the book shall be delivered unto a man, and he
shall deliver the words of the book, which are the words of those who
have slumbered in the dust; and he shall deliver these words unto
another."

Vol. 18,  p.161
Now this man spoken of was the translator, Joseph Smith; and the
delivering the words to another had reference to what I have already
related—the delivery of a few of the words of the book to Martin
Harris. "He shall deliver the words unto another, but the words which
are sealed he shall not deliver, neither shall he deliver the book;
for the book shall he sealed by the power of God, and the revelation
which was sealed shall be kept in the book, until the own due time of
the Lord, that they may come forth; for behold they reveal all things
from the foundation of the world unto the end thereof. And the day
cometh that the words of the book which were sealed shall be read upon
the house tops, and they shall he read by the power of Christ, and all
things shall be revealed unto the children of men, which ever have
been among the children of men, and which ever will be, even unto the
end of the earth. Wherefore at that day, when the book shall be
delivered unto the man of whom I have spoken, the [p.162] book shall
be hid from the eyes of the world, that the eyes of none shall behold
it, save it be that three witnesses shall behold it by the power of
God, besides him to whom the book shall be delivered, and they shall
testify to the truth of the book and the things therein, and there are
none other which shall view it save it be a few, according to the will
of God, to bear testimony unto the children of men, for the Lord God
has said, that the words of the faithful should speak as if it were
from the dead. Wherefore the Lord God will proceed to bring forth the
words of the book, and in the mouth of as many witnesses as seemeth
him good, will he establish his word, and woe be unto him that
rejecteth the word of God."

Vol. 18,  p.162
This was translated from the plates, and written in manuscript, before
Martin Harris, David Whitmer, or Oliver Cowdery ever saw this angel,
but there was a promise; it was on record; it was in the manuscript
that three witnesses should behold it by the power of God. That
prophecy, as I said before, was delivered nearly six hundred years
before Christ. There was another prophecy delivered nearly a thousand
years afterwards, which I will also read,—"And now I, Moroni, have
written the words which were commanded me, according to my memory, and
I have told you the things which I have sealed up, therefore, touch
them not"—speaking to the translator that should find his
records—"therefore touch them not in order that you may translate, for
that thing is forbidden you, except by and by it shall be wisdom in
God; and behold ye may be privileged that ye may show the plates unto
those who shall assist to bring forth this work, and unto three shall
they be shown by the power of God, wherefore they shall know of a
surety that these things are true, and in the mouth of three witnesses
shall these things be established, and the testimony of three, and
this work in the which shall be shown forth the power of God, and also
his word, of which the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost beareth
record; and all this shall stand as a testimony against the world at
the last day. And if it so be that they repent and come unto the
Father in the name of Jesus, they shall be received into the kingdom
of God. And now if I have no authority for these things judge ye, for
ye shall know that I have authority, when ye shall see me and we shall
stand before God at the last day."

Vol. 18,  p.162
Here then were two prophecies delivered about a thousand years apart,
translated before the three witnesses saw the angel. It was in
consequence of these prophecies that these men went out to the grove
to pray. You may ask me why they went there to pray? Because they had
read these things, and they saw that there were to be three witnesses
that should know by the power of God, being revealed to them from the
heavens, concerning these matters, and they felt anxious that God
might show them these things, that they might be the favored three.

 Vol. 18,  p.162
Were there any others who saw these plates? Yes. How many? Eight; all
of whom axe now dead except one, John Whitmer, who is still living.
They saw and handled the plates, and saw the engravings upon them, and
they testify of the same to all people to whom the work should be
sent. How many does this make? Three witnesses, eight witnesses and
the translator, twelve in all, twelve who saw and bare record of the
original. Now I ask every one in this house, Saints and [p.163]
strangers, have you as many witnesses that have seen the original of
any one book of the Bible, the Old and New Testaments? Have you one
witness even that has seen the original from which any one of those
books was transcribed? No, not one. You have the transcription of
scribes from generation to generation; you have the translations from
these manuscripts handed down from generation to generation, and
transcribed one copy after another, until they have passed through,
perhaps, thousands of copies, before the art of printing was known.
But you believe the Bible, do you not? Replies one—"Oh yes, we believe
that, but as to the Book of Mormon we doubt very much about that."

Vol. 18,  p.163
Well, now, let me ask, is there anything inconsistent in a people
receiving the testimony of twelve witnesses who saw and handled the
original of the Book of Mormon, when they, at the same time, believe
in the Bible, the original of which was never seen or handled by any
man of this generation? In other words, which of the two is most
consistent to believe in? The Latter-day Saints believe in both,
because we know the Bible is true, for the Book of Mormon testifies of
it, and we have obtained a testimony of the divinity of the Book of
Mormon; and hence, as that book speaks of the Bible, we know that the
Bible is true. When the people, mentioned in the Book of Mormon left
Jerusalem, and came to the land of America, they brought the books of
the Old Testament with them from the history of the creation to the
prophecies of Jeremiah, and in their writings made on this land, they
speak of the divinity and truthfulness of the Old Testament
scriptures. Hence we, as Latter-day Saints, know one book to be true
just as well as we do the other. But with the world it is different,
for as they never had this testimony the truth of the Bible rests to
them entirely upon secondhand testimony. But we will pass on to other
testimonies.

Vol. 18,  p.163
I will now refer you again to the 29th chapter of Isaiah, from which I
read concerning a book, the words of which were to be heard by the
deaf—"In that day shall the deaf hear the words of the book." What
book do you mean, Isaiah? He means the one that he had just been
speaking of in the 11th, 12th, 13th, and 14th verses—"And the vision
of all is become unto you as the words of a book that is sealed, which
men deliver to one that is learned, saying, 'Read this I pray thee;'
and he says, 'I can not, for it is sealed.' And the book is delivered
to him that is not learned, saying—'Read this I pray thee,' and he
says—'I am not learned.' Wherefore the Lord said, 'Forasmuch as this
people draw near to me with their mouth, and with their lips do honor
me, but have removed their heart far from me and their fear towards me
is taught by the precepts of men, therefore, behold I will proceed to
do a marvelous work among this people, even a marvelous work and a
wonder, for the wisdom of their wise men shall perish and the
understanding of their prudent men shall be hid.'"

Vol. 18,  p.163
Here we perceive the nature of the book that he mentions in the 18th
verse, and we learn something about the way that it was to be brought
forth; that the words of the book, not the plates themselves, not the
original, but the transcript, a copy of the words, the words of the
book would be delivered to the learned, requesting them to read
it.[p.164] 

Vol. 18,  p.164
Martin Harris, who has now gone from our midst, was the honored
instrument in the hands of God in fulfilling this prophecy, as I have
already related, giving you the names of the learned to whom he
presented these words. I have also related to you the conversation in
the interview which Mr. Harris had with Professor Anthon; when he
learned that an angel had appeared, and that part of the book was
sealed, in a kind of sarcastic way the Professor remarked—"I can not
translate a book that is sealed."

Vol. 18,  p.164
Now notice the next sentence—"And the book is delivered to him that is
not learned." Not the words of the book, not a few sentences, but the
book itself is delivered to him that is not learned, saying,—"Read
this I pray thee." And what did he say? "I am not learned." He felt
his weakness. That was the exclamation of Joseph, when he was
commanded to translate the engravings on the plates. He looked upon
himself as too weak to engage in a work of this description, and the
Lord answered him in the very words made use of by Isaiah. When Joseph
said—"I am not learned," the Lord said—"Forasmuch as this people draw
near to me with their mouth, and with their lips do honor me, and
their fear towards me is taught by the precepts of men, therefore
behold I will proceed to do a marvelous work among this people, even a
marvelous work and a wonder, for the wisdom of their wise men shall
perish and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid." And
Joseph fulfilled the commandment of the Lord, and Martin Harris wrote
the first 116 pages of manuscript; and Oliver Cowdery and others also
wrote from the mouth of Joseph, while he was engaged in translating.
Was not this a marvelous work? What could be more marvelous? A young
man, a ploughboy, a boy that had scarcely any education, only' as he
obtained it in a country school; a man who had never studied theology,
probably had never read the Bible through in his life. A young man of
this description to be called upon to translate a language that was
spoken by the ancient inhabitants of this country! A marvelous work
indeed, and a wonder and an astonishment to the people. Isaiah says
the people would wonder about it. He says—"Stay yourselves and wonder,
cry ye out and cry, they are drunken but not with wine; they stagger
but not with strong drink. For the Lord hath poured out upon you a
spirit of deep sleep, and hath closed your eyes; the Prophets and your
rulers and the seers hath he covered." That is the condition of the
people; or as is expressed by Isaiah in another place, "Darkness
covers the earth, and gross darkness the minds of the people." The
Prophets are covered; the seers are covered, the revelations of God
that were given in ancient days are covered to them. They are taught,
not by inspired men, not by communications and revelations from
heaven, but by the precepts of men, is the fear of the Lord taught to
them.

Vol. 18,  p.164
In that day shall the deaf hear the words of the book, the eyes of the
blind shall see out of obscurity and out of darkness." A great many
people, perhaps, would want this spiritualized; but, whether it is
spiritualized or not, I can bear testimony to one thing which I have
seen with my own eyes, and that is that those who were deaf, so deaf
that they could not hear the loudest sound, have been instantaneously
restored by the administrations of the Elders of this Church, and thus
the deaf, the [p.165] literally deaf, have been enabled to hear the
words of the book.

Vol. 18,  p.165
The eyes of the blind, not those alone who are spiritually blind, but
of those who are blind physically, should see out of obscurity and out
of darkness, when that book was revealed. Now I know that this, too,
has been the case, and many in this congregation know it and have seen
it; some have seen those who were born blind restored to their sight
by the power of God since this book came forth. Thus have been
fulfilled, literally, the words of our text.

Vol. 18,  p.165
"The meek also shall increase their joy in the Lord." There have been
a great many meek persons among all Christian denominations, we do not
dispute this; good, honest, upright persons, meek, humble, prayerful
souls; but they wandered in darkness; they hardly knew which way to
turn. One was crying, "Lo here," and another, "Lo there;" another,
"This is the way, walk ye in it;" and another, having an opposite
doctrine—"We are the true Church, come and join us." Thus they have
been distracted and their minds crazed, comparatively speaking; yet
they were anxious beyond measure to know the will of God. This book,
when it came forth, was to set them in the right track. "The meek also
shall increase their joy in the Lord," In what way? "Because," says
the Prophet, in the 24th verse, "they who erred in spirit shall come
to understanding, and they who murmured shall learn doctrine." However
much you may have erred, because you have been taught by the precepts
of men; however much you may have walked in darkness and blindness,
with the Prophets, seers, and revelations of God covered, and no voice
of inspiration in your midst; however much you may have groped in
outer darkness, yet if you have been meek before the Lord, you will
come to understanding when this book makes its appearance, and not
till then.

Vol. 18,  p.165
But will this take place in the latter days? Does it not refer to some
former age of the world? Read what is said in the 20th and 21st
verses, and you can judge of the age of the world in which this book
was to come forth. "The poor among men shall rejoice in the Holy One
of Israel." Not the rich particularly, unless they have a mind to; but
the poor are to be gathered out from the nations to get homes for
themselves. "For the terrible one is brought to nought, the scorner is
consumed; and all that watch for iniquity are cut off, and they that
make a man an offender for a word and that lay a snare for him that
reproveth in the gate." All these are to be swept off. Has any such
period ever arrived since Isaiah uttered this prophecy? No; but when a
certain book should come forth it should bless the meek and lowly in
heart, for their joy should increase in the Lord. And the poor among
men be gathered out from the nations. Then, behold and lo, all that
watch for iniquity shall be swept of from the face of the earth; there
will be a clean sweep of them. As it was in the days of Noah so will
it be in the days of the work preparatory for the second coming of the
Son of man—every wicked person will be destroyed from the face of the
earth, showing clearly that the revelations of this book refer to a
latter-day work. Also in the fourth verse, in speaking of the people
who should write this book, the Prophet says they shall be brought
down, shall speak out of the ground, their plates, their books, their
records, their writings, should come out of the ground—"Your speech
shall be [p.166] low, out of the dust," the same as the Book of Mormon
was taken out of the hill, anciently called Cumorah, in the State of
New York.

Vol. 18,  p.166
Again, he says that the multitude of all the nations that fight
against the people of God, shall become like the dream of a night
vision, shall be as a hungry man who dreams, and behold he eats, but
he awakes and his soul is faint; like a thirsty man that dreams, and
behold he drinks, but he awakes and his soul hath appetite. So shall
the multitude of all the nations be that fight against Mount Zion.

Vol. 18,  p.166
Now, we do not care how many persecutors there are; if they include
all the nations, kingdoms, and governments of the earth, it matters
not. The multitude of all the nations that fight against Mount Zion
will become like the dream of a night vision—be swept away. That
agrees with what I have already quoted—that all who watch for
iniquity, all the scorners, and all who fight against the work of God,
will be consumed from the face of the earth.

Vol. 18,  p.166
Now how is this book to affect the house of Israel? Is it for their
benefit particularly? They have been a long time scattered, a long
time abroad among the nations; are they to be affected by this book
that is spoken of by Isaiah? Yes. Read the 22nd verse, which I have
already once read before you—"Therefore, thus saith the Lord, who
redeemed Abraham, concerning the house of Jacob, Jacob shall not now
be ashamed, neither shall his face now wax pale." Why? Because this
book comes forth to bring the house of Jacob from all the nations and
kingdoms of the earth; and this will commence just as soon as the
times of the Gentiles are fulfilled; not until then. We must be warned
first; we Gentiles must hear the word first; and when we count
ourselves unworthy of eternal life, and fight against the book, and
against the Zion and people of God, behold the Lord will then remember
the house of Jacob, and they will no longer be ashamed, as they have
been for about seventeen centuries past; they will no longer wax pale,
as they have done wherever they have been scattered, for the Lord
says, in the 23rd verse, that Jacob, when he shall see his children,
the work of his hands, in the midst of him, that is, gathered out from
among the nations, they shall sanctify my name, and shall sanctify the
Holy One of Jacob, and shall fear the God of Israel.

Vol. 18,  p.166
Where will this work commence among the house of Israel? Among the
remnant that we call the American Indians, who are the literal
descendants of Israel. They seem to be more sunken and degraded than
all the rest of Israel, but God will stretch forth his hand and will
bring them to the knowledge of the truth. The descendants of Manasseh,
and the descendants of Ephraim, are also mixed in with them, and they
also will be brought to the knowledge of the truth, as the Lord has
said by the mouth of Jeremiah, concerning the great latter-day work
and the restitution of the house of Israel,—"Ephraim is my firstborn."
In the great latter-day work, then, the Lord will search after the
descendants of Ephraim and Manasseh, and will bring them also to the
knowledge of the truth.

Vol. 18,  p.166
Do you wonder, then, that after forty-five years have passed away
since the organization of this Church, and the voice of warning went
forth to the Gentile nations, that God, in his mercy and power, should
commence a work among this remnant of the house of Joseph, that wander
as a [p.167] multitude of nations upon the face of this continent?
Recollect what Jacob said, concerning the seed of Joseph, in the 48th
chapter of Genesis—they were to become a multitude of nations. They
never were a multitude of nations in Palestine, neither in Asia,
Europe, nor Africa, and if the prophecy is not fulfilled upon the
great western continent, it will not be fulfilled at all. But it has
been fulfilled on the continent of America; and we behold throughout
the whole of its vast extent, from the frozen regions of the north, to
Cape Horn in the south, a multitude of nations. Who are they? They are
principally the remnants of one tribe, the remnants of the tribe of
Joseph, and they are a multitude of nations in the midst of the earth.
The Lord has commenced the gathering and restitution of the house of
Israel among the very lowest specimens of humanity, and he will raise
them up first, to carry on his great and marvelous work. The tens of
thousands of Ephraim, and the thousands of Manasseh, will push the
people together to the ends of the earth. Ephraim will not do the work
alone, but he will be assisted by Manasseh. The Indians, the
Lamanites, who will take hold in this great latter-day work, are the
horns of Joseph, not to scatter the people, but to push them together.
Where? To the ends of the earth, the 33rd of Deuteronomy says, and I
have no doubt that when Moses saw this continent in vision, he called
it "the ends of the earth." There was to be a gathering there; they
were to be pushed together; instead of being gathered from the nations
of the earth back to Palestine, they were to be gathered in the latter
days away in some distant country, that Moses designates by the term
"ends of the earth."

Vol. 18,  p.167
It is for this reason that God promised, by the mouth of Moses in the
33rd chapter of Deuteronomy, that he would give to Joseph a land more
precious than the land of all the other tribes—a land of all climates,
blessed with the precious things of the earth, and a fullness thereof;
with the precious things brought forth by the sun, and the precious
things brought forth by the moon, with the chief things of the ancient
mountains, and the precious things of the everlasting hills. All these
were to be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him
that was separated from his brethren. "Blessed of the Lord be his
land"—that was the promise that God gave to this one tribe, a land far
superior to the inheritance of all the rest of the tribes. Jacob, who
lived a long time before Moses, pronounced a similar blessing, as
recorded in the 49th chapter of Genesis. When blessing his twelve
sons, and telling them what should come to pass in the latter days, he
says concerning Joseph—"He is a fruitful bough, a fruitful bough by a
well, whose branches run over the wall." That is, his branches should
not stay in Jerusalem, or in Palestine, or in that land alone, but
they should run over the wall to some distant country. Hence he says,
in the same blessing, "The blessings of thy father have prevailed
above the blessings of my progenitors, unto the uttermost bounds of
the everlasting hills, and they shall be on the head of Joseph, and on
the crown of the head of him that was separated from his brethren."

Vol. 18,  p.167
I suppose that Jacob saw this land as well as Moses, and he designates
it a land afar off; the utmost bounds would signify a very distant
land. He said this land was over and above, what his progenitors gave
to him [p.168] and he would give it to Joseph. No wonder that Moses
said—"Blessed of the Lord be his land, for the deep that coucheth
beneath." For if Moses had a vision of it, he would look down through
,the earth and see that the great Pacific ocean rolled under his feet,
that it couched beneath, and he would speak of it in that light, as it
was revealed to him. No wonder that the Prophet Ezekiel, in speaking
of the great latter-day work and the restitution of Israel, prophesied
concerning the records of Joseph, that they should come forth, and be
united with the record of Judah, to bring about that great work. The
precious things of heaven were to be given to Joseph on this land.
Blessed of the Lord be his land for the precious things of heaven,
more precious than the fullness of earth, more precious than the
productions of the various climates of the earth, more precious than
the grain, and the gold and silver of the earth. The precious things
of heaven revealed to the people of Joseph on the great land given to
them unto the utmost bounds of the everlasting hills.

Vol. 18,  p.168
Said the Lord to Ezekiel—"Son of Man, take thou one stick and write
upon it, for Judah, and for the house of Israel, his companions; then
take another stick and write upon it, for Joseph, the stick of
Ephraim, and for the house of Israel, his companions, and join them
one to another into one stick, and they shall be one in thine hand."
Then he said to Ezekiel—"When the people shall say unto thee, tell us
what thou meanest, say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God, behold I
will take the stick of Joseph, written upon for Joseph, and I will put
it with the stick of Judah, and they shall become one in mine hand.
Just the same as the two sticks were one in Ezekiel's hands, so the
Lord would make these two books, of Judah and Joseph, one in his
hand." What to do, Lord? What are you going to do when' these two
records are joined in one? "Say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God,
behold I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen,
whither they be gone. I will gather them on every side, I will bring
them into their own land, I will make them one nation in the land upon
the mountains of Israel. They shall be no more two nations, neither
shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all."

Vol. 18,  p.168
Has that ever been fulfilled? "Oh, no," says one, "that has never yet
come to pass;" and it never will until the Lord brings forth the
writings of Joseph and joins them with the Jewish record. Then we may
look out for the restitution of Israel; as soon as the times of the
Gentiles are fulfilled, we may look out for the day of the Lord's
power, when he will cause the very powers of heaven to shake for the
benefit of his people. The powers of eternity will be moved to bring
about the great work of the restitution of the house of Israel. Then
the mountains shall tremble, and the little hills shall skip like
lambs, as is prophesied by the Psalmist David. Then all things shall
feel the power of God, and his arm will be made bare in the eyes of
all the nations, until the ends of the earth shall see the salvation
of God, manifested in behalf of his covenant people Israel. It will be
emphatically the day of the Lord's power.[p.169] 

Orson Pratt, March 26, 1876

Restoration of the Gospel Probable and Scriptural—Sent First to 
the Gentiles, Then to Israel—this is a Gathering Dispensation 
or the Fullness of Times—Destiny of All Nations

Discourse By Elder Orson Pratt, Delivered in the Fifteenth Ward 
Meeting-House, Salt Lake City, Sunday Afternoon, March 26, 1876.

Reported by David W. Evans

Vol. 18,  p.169
I will read a few passages of Scripture in the fore part of the 40th
chapter of Isaiah. [The speaker read the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 9th, 10th
and 11th verses.]

Vol. 18,  p.169
The particular portion of these words which I have read, to which I
wish to call the attention of the congregation this afternoon, is that
relating to the preparation for the coming of the Lord, I mean the
second coming, when the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all
flesh shall see it together. Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ came
into the world some eighteen centuries ago in a very bumble, meek and
lowly manner. He came to teach the people the principles of the
Gospel, and to open the way whereby salvation might be brought about
in behalf of the human family, by offering an atonement before the
Lord, his heavenly Father, for the sins of the world. When he came in
that humble manner, he considered it important to send a messenger
before his face to make preparations for that event, so that the
people might not be altogether unprepared, and taken unawares
concerning the work he was then to do on our earth. Hence a great
Prophet was raised, generally known by the name of John the Baptist,
who went forth before the Savior, calling upon the people to repent,
testifying that the kingdom of heaven was at hand, baptizing them for
the remission of sins, informing them that there was one standing
among them that was greater than he. Although he was a great prophet,
yet he did not consider himself even worthy to unloose his shoe
latches, and although he was commissioned to baptize the humble,
penitent believer for the remission of his sins, yet that personage
that stood among them should baptize them with fire and with the Holy
Ghost. That same Jesus, after the way had been prepared, went forth
preaching in the land of Palestine, and the regions mound, testifying
of the things pertaining to the Gospel, choosing men, sending them
forth before him, without purse or scrip, to declare the glad tidings
of the Gospel to the people.

Vol. 18,  p.169
Alter awhile, after having been persecuted and driven hither and
thither, and mobbed and scorned and east out in many places, he was at
length taken by the religious people of that day, those who were
considered most pious—the high priests, Pharisees, Sadducees and many
others, and was brought before them [p.170] in judgment, and was
condemned to die upon a cross, and after having carried the judgment
into execution and put him to death, Jesus rose again on the third
day, and appeared, not openly to the world, but to a few chosen
witnesses; and just before being taken up into heaven he said unto
eleven of these men—"Go ye into all the world and preach the Gospel to
every creature; he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved, and
he that believeth not shall be damned." And while he was giving them
their commission and instructions and blessing them he was taken up
into heaven, and a cloud received him out of their sight. And two
angels stood by them on that occasion, and they said—"This same Jesus
whom ye have seen taken up into heaven shall so come in like manner as
ye have seen him go into heaven." That is, he was received into a
cloud, taken up in a cloud, and when he comes the second time he will
come in a cloud, personally, with his resurrected body, the same as he
ascended in the cloud. This was the testimony of these two angels who
stood by on that occasion. It is of this second advent, and the
preparations therefor, that I desire to speak this afternoon.

Vol. 18,  p.170
Jesus will come in a cloud, or as is expressed here in the 40th
chapter of Isaiah—"The glory of the Lord will be revealed and all
flesh shall see it together. It is also expressed in the revelations
of St. John, that when he comes in a cloud every eye shall see him,
and they also which pierced him. It seems then that the second advent
of the Son of God is to be something altogether of a different nature
from anything that has hitherto transpired on the face of the earth,
accompanied with great power and glory, something that will not be
done in a small portion of the earth like Palestine, and seen only by
a few; but it will be an event that will be seen by all—all flesh
shall see the glory of the Lord; when he reveals himself the second
time, every eye, not only those living at that time in the flesh, in
mortality on the earth, but also the very dead themselves, they also
who pierced him, those who lived eighteen hundred years ago, who were
engaged in the cruel, act of piercing his hands and his feet and his
side, will also see him at that time. Now an event of so great a
character as the one of which I am speaking must necessarily have a
preparation. If the Lord would prepare the way for the first coming,
when he came apparently as a man, like other men; if he considered it
important on that occasion to send one of the greatest Prophets that
ever lived among men, why not also send Prophets or inspired men
before the face of his second coming, to warn the inhabitants of the
earth and prepare them for so great an event? I know what the
traditions of the religious world are in regard to this matter—they
consider that the day of Prophets has gone by, and that no more
Prophets, Apostles, Revelators, or inspired men are to appear among
the children of men. But it is very evident from a vast amount of
Scripture that might be quoted, that there will be many Prophets in
the latter days; indeed the time will come when the spirit will be
poured out upon all living—all that have not been destroyed from the
earth, all flesh; and the effects of that spirit, when it is poured
out, will be to make Prophets of the people. Your sons and your
daughters shall prophesy, and your old men shall dream dreams by the
power of that spirit, and your young men shall see visions, all by the
operations of the spirit that will be poured out upon all
flesh.[p.171] This is a prediction that must be fulfilled.

Vol. 18,  p.171
Prior to the time, however, when the spirit is poured out upon all
flesh there will be an angel sent from heaven, and that angel will
bring the everlasting Gospel to be preached. When I speak of the
everlasting Gospel I mean the same one that was preached eighteen
hundred years ago; and authority will be given to some of the children
of men to preach that everlasting Gospel among the nations; and when
that shall take place I have no doubt but what there will be many
Prophets raised up, because the true Christian Church has always been
characterized by Prophets. There never was a genuine Christian Church
unless it had Prophets and Prophetesses; indeed, in ancient times
Prophets were so numerous in one branch of the Christian Church, that
Paul had to set them in order, and send them an epistle and tell them
not to all get up and prophecy at once, but that if a thing was
revealed to any one he was not to get up and declare it while another
one was speaking, but he was to wait until the first got through
speaking, and then he should prophesy; for, said Paul, the spirit of
the Prophets is subject to the Prophets. That is, when the spirit came
upon Prophets in ancient times, it did not exercise a supernatural
power upon them to force them from their seats to stand no and declare
their prophecies the moment they were revealed, but that the spirit
that was given to them was subject to them, so that they could stay
upon their seats until the first Prophets got through prophesying.
That was the order of the Christian Church when God ever had one upon
the earth—Prophets were very numerous in that church.

Vol. 18,  p.171
But by and by the time came when the Christian Church apostatized and
turned away, and began to follow after their own wisdom, and the
Prophets and Apostles ceased, so far as the affairs of the Christian
Church on the earth were concerned. Revelations, and visions, and the
various gifts of the spirit were also taken away, according to their
unbelief and apostacy; but in the latter days God intends to again
raise up a Christian Church upon the earth. Do not be startled, you
who think that God will no more have a Church on the earth, for he has
promised that he would again have one, and that he would set up his
kingdom, and when he does you may look out; for a great many Prophets
and inspired men; and if you ever see a Church arise, calling itself a
Christian Church, and it has not inspired Apostles like those in
ancient times, you may know that it is a spurious church, and that it
makes pretensions to something that it does not enjoy. If you ever
find a church called a Christian Church that has no men to foretell
future events, you may know, at once, that it is not a Christian
Church. If you find a Christian Church that has not the ancient gifts,
for instants the gift of healing, opening the eyes of the blind,
unstopping the ears of the deaf, causing the tongue of the dumb to
speak and the lame to walk; if you ever find a people calling
themselves a Christian Church and they have not these gifts among
them, you may know with a perfect knowledge that they do not agree
with the pattern given in the New Testament. The Christian Church is
always characterized with inspired men, whose revelations are just as
sacred as any contained in the Bible; and, if written and published,
just as binding upon the human family. The Christian Church will
always lay hands upon the sick [p.172] in the name of Jesus, in order
that the sick may be healed. The Christian Church will always have
those among its members who have heavenly visions, the ministration of
angels, and the various gifts that are promised according to the
Gospel.

Vol. 18,  p.172
But as there has been no Christian Church on the earth for a great
many centuries past, until the present century, the people have lost
sight of the pattern that God has given according to which the
Christian Church should be established, and they have denominated a
great variety of people Christian Churches, because they profess to
be. They say, "We have built chapels unto the name of the Lord; we
call our Churches Christian Churches, they are called the Church of
Christ, St. John's Church, St. Paul's Church, St. Peter's Church, and
after others of the ancient Apostles;" and one who had never studied
the pattern which God has given of the Christian Church would almost
really believe that they are Christian Churches.

Vol. 18,  p.172
But there has been a long apostacy, during which the nations have been
cursed with apostate churches in great abundance, and they are
represented in the revelations of St. John as a woman sitting upon a
scarlet colored beast, having a golden cup in her hand, full of
filthiness and abominations, full of the wine of the wrath of her
fornication; that in her forehead there was a name written—"Mystery,
Babylon the Great, the mother of harlots." This kind of a church has
existed in great abundance, for as John the Revelator says, she was to
have her dominion upon many waters, and she was to make all nations
drunken with the wine of the wrath of her fornication.

Vol. 18,  p.172
Now, we do not dispute but what such churches have existed and exist
at the present time, and that the nations of the earth have been
cursed with their filthiness and abominations, and with the pride and
wickedness they have practiced before the Lord of hosts. I have no
doubt but what some few honest-hearted persons have been taken in by
them, because they were so numerous and so popular on the earth. But
they lack all the characteristics of the ancient Christian Church,
having numerous forms of godliness, but denying the power thereof.
That is, they deny revelators and Prophets, deny the power to foretell
future events; deny that any person, in these days, has the power to
have visions or revelations from heaven, as the members of the
Christian Church anciently did.

Vol. 18,  p.172
Inasmuch as there has been such a long apostacy, and the earth left
without any church of God upon it, we might naturally suppose that,
before the second advent of the Son of God, there would be as a
preparation for his second coming a Christian Church again organized,
and I will now refer you to some prophecies upon this subject in the
Bible. We will first turn to the 14th chapter of the Revelations of
St. John, where we find a prophecy about the second coming of the Son
of God. The 14th verse says—"And I looked and beheld a white cloud,
and upon the cloud sat one like unto the Son of Man, having on his
head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle," &c. We have not
time to read all the events connected with this personage that was
sitting upon the cloud, and coming in great glory; but we will go back
a few verses and see if there is any preparation to be made before he
comes in this cloud. In the 6th verse he says—"And I saw another angel
fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting Gospel to preach
unto them that dwell [p.173] on the earth, unto every nation and
kindred and tongue and people, saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and
give glory to him, for the hour of his judgment is come. And there
followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that
great city, because she made all nations drunken with the wine of the
wrath of her fornication."

Vol. 18,  p.173
Here then, we perceive the nature of the preparatory work for the
coming of the Son of Man sitting upon a cloud. The Gospel is to be
preached to all nations, and that Gospel, when it is restored to the
earth, must be restored by an angel from heaven. Now the Gospel that
was introduced in the dispensation before John received this
revelation, was not restored by an angel from heaven; Jesus himself
came and preached the Gospel, as well as John the Baptist, and his
Apostles preached it, and they were commanded in that day to preach it
among all people, nations and tongues; and they fulfilled their
mission, according to Paul's testimony, for he, in speaking of the
extent to which the Gospel had gone before his martyrdom, says that
the Gospel was preached to every creature under heaven, "whereof I,
Paul, am made a minister." It seems then, that it was sent forth very
fully in that day and age of the world. And then came the great
apostacy; and after this apostacy should continue for many long
centuries, then an angel should come. Just before the personage should
appear in the white cloud, the angel should come and bring the Gospel,
and the Gospel should be preached to them that dwell on the earth, to
every people, kindred, tongue and nation. What does this indirectly
prove? It proves that there was no nation, no people, no kindred, no
tongue, upon the face of the whole earth that had the everlasting
Gospel when the angel should come; because, if there had been any
people, however obscure they might be, however distant they might be
from what are termed civilized nations, if there had been any people
on the earth who had the Gospel, they would have a Christian Church,
with Apostles and Prophets and all the gifts of the spirit therein.
But inasmuch as every nation, kindred, tongue and people on the whole
earth was completely destitute of the Gospel, and of the Church as
organized in ancient days, it was necessary to restore it anew from
heaven, and it is predicted that that should be done by an angel.

Vol. 18,  p.173
Has any such event transpired? This is a very important question. To
whom shall we go and make the inquiry in regard to the coming of the
angel? Some one may perhaps say that we had better make the inquiry of
some Christian people, they would be most likely to give an answer.
Very well, let us go, then, to the oldest Christian Church, so
called—the Roman Catholics, and ask them. Let us go to their cardinals
and archbishops, or even to the head man of all that church, who sits
in what is called the chair of St. Peter, and ask him, or any other of
their great men—"Sir, do you believe that an angel has come from
heaven with the everlasting Gospel to preach to all nations, kindreds,
tongues and people since the day that John delivered that prophecy?
What will be the answer? It will be—"No, we do not believe in any such
thing, we claim that we are preachers of the everlasting Gospel; and
we hold the regular succession of the authority that was committed in
the first century of the Christian era, and that the Gospel had been
preached from that day until this,[p.174] and that the Christian
Church has existed among all nations, and there has been no necessity
for an angel coming from heaven with it." "Very well, you do not
believe that any angel has come with the everlasting Gospel?" "Oh, no,
that is contrary to our faith and belief."

Vol. 18,  p.174
Go to the next oldest Christian Church, one that broke off from the
Roman Catholics, called the Greek Church. Go through all the great
nation of Russia, and ask them the same question, and they will
answer, like the old mother, that no angel has been sent: "We did not
receive the Gospel that we preach by an angel from heaven." Very well,
we will leave you, then, and we will come down to the modern Christian
Churches, that came out from the Catholic Church two or three
centuries ago, and ask them the question; go to Luther and Calvin, and
all the various reformers that seceded from the Church of Rome in the
16th century, and ask each one in his turn, and each will have the
same answer. "Martin Luther, did you receive the Gospel which you
preach from an angel sent from heaven?" "Oh, no," says he, "we got our
ordination from the church that we dissented from; we once belonged to
the Roman Catholic Church, but we found out that they were very wicked
and abominable, and that they were the ones John spoke of, that should
have 'Mystery, Babylon' written in the forehead, that have been
drinking of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and we have come
out from that church." "Well, Mr. Luther, did you get any ordination
in that church?" "Yes, we got an ordination." "And that is your
authority, is it? No angel was sent to you from heaven to restore the
authority and the Gospel?" "No, we got our authority from the mother
church." "Well, do you think the mother church is very wicked?" "Yes,
the most wicked and corrupt people on the face of the earth." "Then
you got your authority from the most corrupt people on the face of the
earth, did you? What is it good for? And, by the by, if they have
authority to confer upon you the Priesthood, and that gives you a
right to baptize and to administer the ordinances, have they not also
authority to excommunicate you? Were you excommunicated from their
communion?" "Oh, yes, they exercised their authority in cutting me off
from their church and casting me out." "Very well, then, they took
away all the authority they pretended to give you, did they not?"
"Yes, they took it away, but still we claim it through them, and that
is the only way we get the chain of authority back to the Apostles."

Vol. 18,  p.174
Some of the Protestants, however, do not argue in this way; they say
that they get their authority from the Bible, independent of any
church. Well, let me say to some who claim their authority in this
way, "What part of the Bible called you by name, William? You have
been ordained, have you, to preach the Gospel and baptize? Who
ordained you? Who gave this authority to you? Who commissioned you?"
Says William—"Well, I really did not get the authority from the Roman
Catholics, or from any church later than the Roman Catholics, but I
got it from the Bible." "What part of the Bible?" "Why, that saying of
Jesus to his eleven Apostles. Just before he was taken up in a cloud,
Jesus said to them—'Go ye into all the world and preach the Gospel to
every creature'" "Well, how do you know, William, that that meant you?
If it meant you, did it not mean your neighbor also, and every [p.175]
male person who has lived on the earth since the days of the Apostles?
How do you know that it meant you? Did God ever give you a new
revelation?" "Oh, don't mention it, we do not believe in any new
revelation, or in inspired men in our day." "Very well, then, you do
not think that God has sent any angel to restore the Gospel, and
authority to preach it to the children of men?" "Oh, no, none but a
poor deluded sect called Mormons away up in the mountains of America
believe any such thing; they profess that God has sent an angel from
heaven to restore the Gospel and the authority of the Priesthood, but
we do not believe that God sends angels in our day."

Vol. 18,  p.175
This is about the way you would get answered by all the various
churches that have lived during many hundreds of years past, in regard
to their authority; they have no more authority than a heathen priest.
Why? Because they have denied all the fundamental powers and
principles of the ancient Christian Church.

Vol. 18,  p.175
Says one—"Well, if they have no authority, then all our baptisms are
illegal." Certainly they are; to be baptized by a man who has no
authority, no matter how sincere I may be, would avail me nothing, I
might as well go and baptize myself. "Well," says one, "you Mormons
believe, do you, that God has actually sent an angel, and has again
committed to men the everlasting Gospel, and authority to preach it
and adminster its ordinances?" "Yes, and we not only believe it, but
many of us know with a most perfect knowledge that he has done so,
having received our knowledge from God himself." "Then the Lord, you
think, has fulfilled that passage in the 14th chapter of Revelations,
and that he has actually sent an angel to restore the Gospel to
earth?" "Yes." "How long since?" Some forty-six years have passed away
since the angel came and committed a record of the Gospel, not merely
given in a verbal manner, but caused to be translated a record that
contained the everlasting Gospel in all its fullness. The ancient
Israelites, who once inhabited this country, were acquainted with the
Gospel. Jesus did not confine his labors altogether to Palestine; but
after his crucifixion and resurrection, he came to America, and
appeared among its people, and taught them the everlasting Gospel, the
same as he had before taught the people of Palestine, and he commanded
them to write this Gospel upon plates of metal; they did so, and they
established a Christian Church according to the pattern that God gave
to them, and their writings have been brought forth. How? By the
administration of an angel from heaven, an angel sent to reveal this
record containing the fulness of the everlasting Gospel.

Vol. 18,  p.175
Inquires one—"Did this angel give any authority to Joseph Smith, and
to others to whom he revealed himself, to baptize?" Not at all. He
revealed the record, and Joseph was commanded to translate it by the
aid of the Urim and Thummim that was with it, and he was told that it
would be sent to all nations, kindreds, tongues and people. But he did
not give Joseph Smith authority to preach that Gospel, neither did he
give him authority to baptize, or to lay on hands for the gift of the
Holy Ghost, and the probability is that the person who held the keys
to reveal the everlasting Gospel did not have the authority himself—it
is not all angels that have this authority. Peter, James, and John had
the authority, and after the book was translated they were sent. What
for? Not to [p.176] reveal the Gospel, for that was revealed by
another angel prior to that time; but they were sent to lay their
hands upon individuals, and ordain them to the Apostleship. No one can
say that Peter, James, and John did not hold the Apostleship, and that
people could not be ordained under their hands. They ordained them to
the Apostleship, and they commanded, in the name of the Lord, that
they should preach the Gospel, and ordain others to the same power and
authority which was conferred and restored from heaven. They were
commanded to preach the Gospel to all of the nations and kindreds of
the earth. That was the way that the Lord restored the everlasting
Gospel.

Vol. 18,  p.176
What have we been doing since the authority was restored? Forty-six
years have now passed away, and what has been done during that time
towards fulfilling the prediction uttered by John the revelator? Much
has been done. In the midst of the most severe persecution, the
servants of God have gone forth and preached the Gospel to a great
many nations. They were commanded to go to and labor with the Gentile
nations first, without purse and scrip. "Go and preach the Gospel as
mine ancient Apostles did, without purse and scrip; and go to the
Gentiles first. Warn them thoroughly, and teach them concerning my
Gospel." They have done so, and for forty-six years they have
continued their missions in the Gentile nations.

Vol. 18,  p.176
The Lord also told them that when the fullness of the Gentiles had
come, when their times were fulfilled, then his servants should be
sent to all the scattered remnants of the house of Israel, who should
be grafted in again; but first, the fullness of the Gentiles must come
in. You know that Scripture which says—"The first shall be last, and
the last shall be first." Now the Gospel, when it was preached in
ancient times, was preached first to the Jews, the house of Israel, to
those of Israelitish origin, and when they counted themselves unworthy
of eternal life, and rejected that Gospel, "Lo" says Paul, "we turn
unto the Gentiles." The Gentiles, then, heard it last; they were last
to embrace the Gospel of the kingdom, and the Jews first, that is, as
many of them as would believe and repent. But in the last days, when
the angel brings the Gospel, it is reversed, and it is preached first
to the Gentiles, to bring in their fullness, and to fulfil their
times, and then it will be sent to the house of Israel.

Vol. 18,  p.176
In the 21st chapter of Luke, our Savior, in speaking of the evils that
should befall the Jewish nation, says, "And they (the Jews) shall fall
by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all
nations; and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until
the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled." This has been fulfilled
literally upon the Jewish nation, and they have been scattered,
according to this prediction, among all nations. Many of them were
destroyed by the edge of the sword. Jerusalem was taken some seventy
years after the birth of Christ, and has been in possession of the
Gentiles from that day to this. Jesus told them that such should be
the fact, that Jerusalem should be in the possession of the Gentiles,
and should be trodden down by them until a certain period—until their
times should be fulfilled.

Vol. 18,  p.176
The great object of the angel in restoring the Gospel was, in the
first place, to fulfil the times of the Gentiles. Inquires one—"What
do you mean by that?" I mean that God will send this Gospel, restored
by an [p.177] angel, to every nation, kindred, people and tongue in
the Gentile world before he will permit his servants to go to the
scattered remnants of Israel; and they will labor with, preach to and
declare the work of God to the Gentile pattens, and seek to bring them
to a knowledge of the ancient Gospel, and to organize a Church among
them, so far as they will hearken to and receive their testimony.
Then, when the Gentile nations shall reject this Gospel, and count
themselves unworthy of eternal life, as the Jews did before them, the
Lord will say—"It is enough, come away from them, my servants, I will
give you a new commission, you shall go to the scattered remnants of
the house of Israel. I will gather them in from the four quarters of
the earth, and bring them again into their own lands. They shall build
Jerusalem on its own heap; they shall rear a Temple on the appointed
place in Palestine, and they shall be grafted in again." Now that, in
short, is the nature of this great latter-day preparatory work for the
coming of the Son of Man.

Vol. 18,  p.177
Now let me quote another passage that corresponds with one I have
already quoted. Paul, in the 11th chapter of his epistle to the
Romans, speaks of the proclamation of the Gospel to the Jews first,
and because of their unbelief, Paul says they were broken off as
branches of the tame olive tree; "and," says the Apostle, addressing
his epistle to a Gentile church, "you have been grafted in the stead
of them;" in other words, the kingdom has been transferred from Israel
to you Gentiles, and it is committed into your hands, and you are
beginning to bring forth the fruits of that kingdom, the gifts of the
kingdom are made manifest among you, just as they were among Israel in
the days of their righteousness. "But," said Paul—"They were broken
off by unbelief, and you Gentiles stand by faith. Be not highminded,
but fear, for if God spared not the natural branches, if he did not
even spare the tame olive tree—the natural branches—take heed lest he
also spare not thee, for you are only wild branches grafted in
contrary to nature. Take heed lest he also spare not thee, for behold,
therefore, the goodness and the severity of God; on the house of
Israel, that fell through unbelief, severity; but towards thee, or in
other words, towards you, the Gentles, the goodness of God is extended
if you continue in his goodness. It was on that condition—if you
Gentiles continue in his goodness; otherwise, says Paul, you also
shall be cut off, just the same as Israel were. You also shall be cut
off, and they also shall be grafted in again, for God is able to graft
them in again. For if God spared not the natural branches take heed
lest he also spare not thee, etc. Then he tells them a mystery. He
wanted those Gentiles to understand a certain mystery, and that was
that blindness in part had happened to Israel until the fullness of
the Gentiles be come in, and so all Israel shall be saved. As it is
written—There shall come out of Zion a deliverer who shall turn away
ungodliness from Jacob. "And this shall be my covenant unto them,
saith the Lord, when I shall take away their sins."

Vol. 18,  p.177
It seems then that Paul understood, by the spirit of prophecy, that if
the Gentiles apostatized, if they did not continue in the place where
they were grafted, if they did not continue in the goodness of God, if
they became highminded, they also were to be cut off, just as they
have been for many long generations that are past; cut off from all
the ancient [p.178] blessings of the everlasting Gospel through the
apostacy of their ancient fathers.

Vol. 18,  p.178
But the Lord intends to make a change, and that change is to send
forth this Gospel from heaven to be preached to the nations of the
Gentiles, to give them one more chance, if they will have it, to bring
in their fullness; and when that time has come, and the servants of
the Lord find that the balance of them harden their hearts and reject
the Gospel of life and salvation, then the Lord will graft in all
Israel, and they will be saved, being restored again to the tame olive
tree, and bringing forth the fruits thereof. Thus will be fulfilled
the ancient covenant that God made with them pertaining to the
latter-days. Have you read that covenant that Paul quotes from? One of
the ancient prophets, Jeremiah, delivered the prophecy, as recorded in
his 31st chapter—"Behold the day shall come that I will make a new
covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, not
according to the covenant which I made with their fathers, when I took
them by the hand and brought them forth out of the land of Egypt. And
this is the covenant I will make with them saith the Lord—I will write
my law in their hearts, print it in their thoughts, and they shall all
know me from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the
Lord."

Vol. 18,  p.178
Now did all Israel and all Judah know the Lord, from the least of them
to the greatest of them? Had they no more need to say, every man to
his Jewish neighbor, know ye the Lord? Was that the case anciently,
when the Lord offered them the covenant of the everlasting Gospel? No;
instead of all Israel and all Judah knowing the Lord, from the least
to the greatest, they were the very ones that were cut off and lost
the privileges of that covenant. But in the latter days when the
fullness of the Gentiles is brought in by the proclamation of the
Gospel committed by the angel, then is the time that the Lord will
renew this covenant, and the same Gospel that he offered to them
eighteen hundred years ago, and which they rejected, will be offered
to them again, and all Israel will be saved. As it is written—"There
shall come out of Zion a deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness
from Jacob."

Vol. 18,  p.178
It seems, then, that the Lord, when he shall fulfill this prophecy,
will have a Zion on the earth. Enquires one—"What do you mean by Zion?
I mean the Church of God, that is what I call Zion. God will have a
Church on the earth—a Zion, and out of that Church a deliverer will
come for and in behalf of all Israel, not only the Jews—the two tribes
and a half that were scattered after Christ, but the ten tribes that
were taken away out of Palestine some seven hundred years before
Christ. All Israel—the whole twelve tribes—will come to the knowledge
of the truth when God sends this deliverer out of Zion, proclaiming
the Gospel of the latter-days for their salvation.

Vol. 18,  p.178
Connected with this everlasting Gospel is another very marvelous event
preparatory to the second advent. What is that? Every Christian upon
the face of the whole earth will be gathered from all nations, and all
will be assembled in one. Says one—"There are none of our Protestant
denominations gathering; the Roman Catholics do not gather; the Greek
Church do not gather, and I do not know any Church, except you
Mormons, that gather out." Now, let us see what is said about this
gathering. I have told you that [p.179] the Gospel should be committed
by an angel; I have told you that it should be the hour of God's
judgment—a peculiar time of judgment, in which the nations are to be
visited with sore and terrible judgments. Now let us read further—"
Another angel followed, crying, 'Babylon is fallen, because she made
all nations drunk with the wine of the wrath of her fornication.'"
Whets Babylon? I have already explained that Babylon is a great power
that should be in the earth under the name of a church, a woman—that
generally represents a church—fall of blasphemy. She had the
inscription of her name upon her forehead—"Mystery Babylon, the mother
of harlots and abominations of the earth." What is to become of her?
Where does she sit? Upon many waters, says John; and to interpret this
to the understanding of the people, the waters are many people,
nations, kindred and tongues where the woman hath her seat. These
churches are scattered over the wide face of the earth, and this is
called Babylon. Another angel is to follow the one that brings the
Gospel, after it has been sufficiently preached, and proclaim the
downfall of this great and corrupt power in the earth. Well, will all
the Christians that are there perish, or will they be gathered out?
Hear what Jetta says—"I heard a great voice from heaven, saying, 'Come
out of her, oh my people, that you partake not of her sins, that you
receive not of her plagues, for her sins have reached to the heavens,
and God hath remembered her iniquities.'" Then them is only one way to
escape, is there? We can't stay in Babylon and be spared from these
judgments, can we? Not at all. Why not? Because her sins have reached
to the very heavens. Look at her abominations, her whoredoms, her
murders, her priestcraft, her false doctrines, her forms of godliness
without any power; look at them, all the nations are following after,
and consider it popular to follow and embrace these doctrines. "Come
out of her, oh, my people." What people? God had no people in Babylon
until the Church was organized, he could not have; he sent his
servants to organize his Church, that there might he a people called
his people. But when that Church is organized among these nations,
kindred, tongues and people, its members are not permitted to remain
where they are. This is not an invention of a learned company of
divines, saying it will be a good thing for us to gather in one; it is
not something invented by human wisdom; but the Revelator John says—"I
heard a voice from heaven." What, a new revelation, John? Yes, a voice
from heaven. God was again to speak, before the downfall of Babylon;
and this should be the voice—"Come out of her, O my people."

Vol. 18,  p.179
Who has been fulfilling this among all those calling themselves
Christians? Have the Roman Catholics? Have the Greek church? Have the
Protestants, in any of their denominations, been gathering out from
all the nations of the earth? No, but you find one people doing it.
Who are they? The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,
organized on the earth by divine authority. They have gone forth
proclaiming these things among the inhabitants of the earth. Instead
of saying to the people—"Tarry where you are," we say to them—"Arise,
make preparations, and gather out from this corruption." This has been
the proclamation to the people of Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Germany,
Italy, France, Spain, Portugal, and every [p.180] other country the
people of which have received the Gospel, and they have been commanded
not to tarry, but to obey the word of the Lord, and gather as soon as
possible.

Vol. 18,  p.180
But where shall they gather to? Is there anything indicated in
prophecy about where they should gather? Yes. Daniel saw a Church
organized in the latter days, in a mountain or high place of the
earth. Read the dream of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, in the
second chapter of Daniel's prophecies? The king could not recollect
his dream when he awoke, and he sent out to all the wise men,
musicians and astrologers, and requested them to tell him what his
dream was, and then give him an interpretation. But they could not do
it. Finally a man of God, a humble man, by the name of Daniel,
besought the Lord, and the Lord revealed to him the dream and the
interpretation thereof. Nebuchadnezzar, it seems, had seen a very
great image before him; the head of that image was gold, the breast
and arms of silver, the belly and thighs were of brass, the legs of
iron, and the feet part of iron and part of potter's clay. He saw it
in all its terrible majesty composed of these different metals,
together with potter's clay. Then, after Daniel had described to him
what he had seen in his dream, said he—"Thou sawest until that a stone
was cut out of the mountain;" not out of some low country of the earth
near the sea level, "but thou sawest until that a stone was cut out of
the mountain without hands, and it rolled forth, and smote the image
upon the feet, that were part of potter's clay and part of iron, and
the feet were broken to pieces. Then were the iron, the clay, the
brass, the silver and the gold broken to pieces together, and became
like the chaff of the summer threshing floor, and the wind carried
them away and no place was found for them." What became of the stone?
The stone that smote the image became a great mountain and filled the
whole earth?

Vol. 18,  p.180
Well, what was the interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar's dream? He told
the king that the head of the image represented the kingdom then
organized; that after him would come another kingdom, that of the
Medes and Persians, represented by the breast and arms of silver; then
a third kingdom should follow, the Macedonians; then a fourth kingdom,
which should be great and terrible, compared to the iron kingdom,
which every one admits was the great power of Rome, which flourished
and had power and dominion over the whole earth. Out of that kingdom
grew other kingdoms represented by the feet and toes of the image;
these kingdoms had not all the greatness and strength of the former
kingdoms represented by the image, but they were partly strong and
partly weak.

Vol. 18,  p.180
Now what is the location of this great image from the days of
Nebuchadnezzar until now? You go into Asia and you will find there the
descendants of the old Babylonian empire still in existence. Come a
little further westward, and you find still the descendants of the
Medea and Persians who once flourished and exercised dominion over the
earth. A little further west you find the descendants of the third, or
Macedonian, empire still in existence. Come further still, into
Europe, and you find the feet and toes of the image in the latter-day
kingdoms of the earth, which have branched across the great deep and
have planted themselves in America. Are they partly strong and partly
broken? Yes. Some of them have some [p.181] strength apparently, and
they have among themselves all the characteristics of miry clay with
the iron, for they are divided one against another, and they have to
keep up their standing armies because they are afraid of one another.
But where is the stone from the mountains? Where is that kingdom that
is called the stone? In the interpretation the Prophet says—"Thou
sawest until the kingdom of God was set up, and it smote the image
upon the feet," and so on. It does not commence its attack away in
Asia, where the head of gold or its descendants live, neither in any
intermediate part, but it commences at the very extremity of this
great image, as it spreads out to the west, and commences upon the
feet and the toes; it is there where the stone is cut out of the
mountain without hands, it is there where the God of heaven should set
up a kingdom, as Daniel says, that should never be destroyed, neither
shall it be given into the hands of another people, but it shall stand
for ever. Not like the former-day kingdom that was set up, before the
Roman empire had attained to its zenith of power. The former-day
kingdom of Christ was set up in the days of the Apostles; that was
overcome and destroyed out of the earth. The beast made war upon them
and prevailed against them, and they were banished from the earth, and
the woman upon the scarlet-colored beast seems to have had dominion
among all nations, kindreds, tongues and people, more or less. But in
the latter-days the kingdom of God was to be built up on the earth,
that should never he destroyed; it was not to be like the former-day
one, but it should stand for ever, while all these other kingdoms
should not only be destroyed, but, like the chaff of the summer
threshing floor, should be carried completely away, and no place
should be found for them.

Vol. 18,  p.181
That is the destiny of all the nations. A great many wise men, and
statesmen, have meditated deeply upon the past, present and future of
the nations, and have no doubt inquired in their own minds with a
great deal of seriousness—"What will be the end of these political
powers? What will be the end, for instance, of this great republican
government of ours? What will be the end of the governments organized
in Europe?" These questions, no doubt, have occurred to thousands and
tens of thousands of reflecting men. The Bible answers the question.
No kingdom, no form of government of human invention will be permitted
to stand. When God has fulfilled the saying written by the Prophet
Daniel, there will be one universal kingdom, and only one, and that
will be kingdom of God, and Jesus himself will be the great king.

Vol. 18,  p.181
Inquires one—"What do you mean by this breaking to pieces? Do you
think Daniel meant that they should go forth with physical force and
subdue all the nations?" No, I do not think any such thing; but when
the Lord God sends his holy angel from heaven with the everlasting
Gospel and then ordains his servants to the Apostleship, and sends
them forth among the nations of the earth, and they proclaim the
Gospel of the kingdom among the people, if the people will not hear,
the Lord himself will break them in pieces. It will be the message
that he sends that will ripen them for destruction.

Vol. 18,  p.181
And the location of his kingdom was to be in the mountains, so says
Daniel. Now you can understand that saying in Isaiah, which I read at
the commencement of my remarks. When describing the glory of the Lord
to be revealed and all flesh [p.182] seeing it together, preparatory
to that work, Isaiah says there was a certain people that should get
up into the mountains. "Oh Zion, that bringest good tidings get time
up into the high mountain." That did not mean a city called Zion, for
it is not to be supposed that a city would travel up into a high
mountain; but it meant a people, a people who were bringing good
tidings. What good tidings? What can be more glorious tidings to the
inhabitants of the earth than the everlasting Gospel sent by an angel,
to say unto the people that if they will repent of their sins and be
baptized in water for the remission of their sins, they shall receive
the baptism of fire and the Holy Ghost by the laying on of the hands
of the servants of God? What can be more glorious in its nature than a
proclamation of this kind to the nations of the earth? Hence when the
people come out of great Babylon and gather themselves together, they
will gather into the mountains to fulfill this prophecy.

Vol. 18,  p.182
Any other prophecies about their going to the mountains? Yes. Read the
18th chapter of Isaiah. Isaiah, when standing in Palestine delivering
his prophecy, looked off to the south-west and saw the rivers of
Ethiopia, or Africa; and after having seen these rivers in vision he
also sees a land shadowing with wings away beyond the rivers of
Ethiopia. What kind of a land was that, away beyond the rivers of
Ethiopia, from where Isaiah stood in Palestine? Why it is a land that
had the appearance of wings. You have been struck doubtless, with the
great resemblance that North and South America have to the two great
wings of a bird. While Isaiah was thus gazing upon a land away beyond
the rivers of Ethiopia, it looked so much like the wings of a bird
that he says—A land shadowing with wings, away, beyond the rivers of
Ethiopia." Well, Isaiah, what have you to say about that land? Why,
says he, there is a proclamation to be had there. How extensive,
Isaiah? To all people. Hear the words of Isaiah. Says he "All ye
inhabitants of the world and dwellers on the earth, see ye when he
lifts up an ensign on the mountains." Not on the low places of that
land shadowing with wings, next to the seashore, but in the mountains.
What is the nature of this ensign? It is characteristic of a standard,
often spoken of by the Prophets, and called by the name of standard.
Isaiah speaks of it as an ensign in a number of places. What would
naturally be a standard? The kingdom of God is a standard to which the
people rally and gather together. Does it affect all people, Isaiah?
Yes. "All ye inhabitants of the world." What could be more extensive
than that? "And dwellers on the earth, see ye when he lifts up an
ensign on the mountains, and when he bloweth a trumpet hear ye." What
else is to take place, Isaiah? lie says that a severe judgment is to
take place on that land shadowing with wings. What kind of a judgment,
one that is to be very severe, Isaiah? Yes, for he says—"Afore the
harvest, when the bud is perfect, and the sour grape is ripening in
the flower, he shall both cut off the sprigs with pruning hooks, and
take away and cut down the branches. They shall be left together unto
the fowls of the mountain and to the beasts of the earth; and the
fowls shall summer upon them, and all the beasts of the earth shall
winter upon them." When will this be, Isaiah? After this proclamation,
after all the nations of the world have heard it, after the people
have heard the sound of the warning message; then the first [p.183]
among all the nations where the extremities of the image have sent
forth one of its governments, there will be the commencement of a most
terrible judgment, so much so that the people on that land will not
have time to bury their dead, and the fowls shall summer upon them.
Why is all this? Because they will not hearken when that sound goes to
all people; they will not repent of their sins; they will not receive
the message that God has sent by his angel, he therefore visits them
first, because they are the first to hear those glad tidings. No
wonder, then, that Zion, that brings good tidings, was commanded by
the ancient Prophet to get up into the high mountain.

Vol. 18,  p.183
Let us go a little further, and see what immediately follows this.
Isaiah says—"For behold the Lord God shall come with a strong hand."
What! The coming of the Lord going to take place after Zion has gone
up into the mountains? Yes, that is one of the great events that will
transpire, when the people of the nations are careless and
indifferent, when they are eating and drinking, buying and selling,
and their minds wholly swallowed up with the various occupations of
life. "Behold, the Lord comes with a strong hand, his arm will rule
for him and he will reward his people; then the glory of the Lord will
be revealed and all flesh will see it together."

Vol. 18,  p.183
But one of the great preparatory works in that dispensation of the
gathering of Zion to the mountains, will be the construction of a
great highway, which is to be cast up in the desert. Let me ask you
who have been across these mountains, from Omaha for many hundred
miles westward, what kind of a country is it? Is it a country of
orchards, vineyards, and alluvial soil, that is calculated to flatter
the agriculturist? Says one—"No, I never saw such a barren plain for
hundreds and hundreds of miles. In the day time, when we had an
opportunity of looking at it, it had all one appearance, and was a
vast sage plain and desert." Now Isaiah said that when his people
should get up into the mountains a highway should be cast up in the
desert. "Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a
highway for our God." What! Is it made for the Lord? Yes. What is the
Lord going to do with it? He is going to gather his people from all
the nations on this highway through the desert. Do you want to know
anything more about this highway? Read another chapter in Isaiah; he
gives more particulars than what I have mentioned.

Vol. 18,  p.183
What I have read in the 40th chapter of Isaiah about the highway in
the desert, is only one thing connected with it. In another chapter he
says—"Go through, go through the gates; prepare ye the way of the
people; cast up, cast up the highway; gather out the stones; lift up a
standard for the people. Behold, the Lord hath proclaimed unto the end
of the world, Say ye to the daughter of Zion, Behold, thy salvation
cometh; behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him." Here
is the same thing spoken of again, only it speaks of tunnels, or, in
other words, gates—"Go through, go through the gates." I have no idea
but what Isaiah, in gazing down upon future generations, saw the time
when a long train of carriages would be whirled across a continent,
without any apparent animal force or power. He perhaps did not
understand the modern terms for tunnel through a rock, and hence he
calls them gates. "Go through, go through the gates; prepare the way
of the people; cast up, cast up a highway; gather out [p.184] the
stones; lift up a standard for the people." Then comes in this
universal proclamation—"Behold, the Lord hath proclaimed from the ends
of the world." "Now, from the ends of the world, we should naturally
suppose that, Isaiah, standing in Palestine, and delivering this,
would see a work that was to transpire on a very distant land. He
could find no better language to describe it, than the expression "to
the ends of the world." Not a work to transpire in Palestine, in his
own neighborhood, but, "Behold the Lord should proclaim from the ends
of the world, to all people, Behold, your salvation cometh." That is,
the Lord was coming with a strong hand, and this proclamation coming
from the Lord was to be sounded to all the inhabitants of the earth, a
standard was to be raised, and a way prepared by this highway being
cast up.

Vol. 18,  p.184
There are a great many in this congregation who took part in casting
up this highway. We built the most difficult portions of this
railroad, through these mountains, some four hundred miles in extent.
Did you work with a good cheerful heart when you were engaged in
gathering out the stones, and when you were making these gates that
Isaiah speaks of, through which he saw a long train of carriages dart
into the mountain, losing sight of them for a time, then seeing them
come out again with great speed, from the mountain? How could he
describe it any better than by saying—"Go through, go through the
gates?"

Vol. 18,  p.184
But what kind of a people were these to be who should be gathered from
the ends of the world by this proclamation? Read the next verse—"They
shall call them the holy people, the redeemed of the Lord." Says
one—"Well, you are called anything else but that; instead of being
called a holy people, you are represented, by the priests and
everybody else, as a very unrighteous people." Very well, the Lord
will, in his own due time, enable you to distinguish between the
righteous and the wicked. "Behold, they shall call them the holy
people, the redeemed of the Lord; and behold, they shall be called,
sought out, a city not forsaken." How different from old Jerusalem!
Was that sought out? No; Jerusalem was built up a long time before
Israel came out of Egypt, and was there ready for them to take
possession of when they entered the Holy Land. Was Jerusalem ever
forsaken? Yes, forsaken for many generations. But not so with Zion,
that should get up into the mountains; they should seek out a
location, so much so that the city should be called "Sought out;" and
instead of being forsaken, as many people suppose the "Mormons" will
be, the Lord God will protect them. According to the words of Daniel,
the kingdom shall not be destroyed, neither shall it be given to
another people, and it shall stand for ever. All these characteristics
are being fulfilled.

Vol. 18,  p.184
Would you suppose that the House of Jacob, the ten tribes of Israel,
can be gathered from the four quarters of the earth, and brought back
to their own land, without the lifting of this ensign? No. Read the
11th chapter of Isaiah. There he says—"I will lift up an ensign for
the nations, I will assemble the outcasts of Israel, and I will gather
together the dispersed of Judah from the four quarters of the earth."
Until the Lord God sends forth this proclamation to all the
inhabitants of the world and dwellers on the earth, in vain may we
look for the redemption of the outcasts of Israel and the dispersed of
Judah. Israel, the ten tribes [p.185] called the outcasts, will never
return the scattered Jews will never be restored, until such an ensign
is raised Isaiah, in the fifth chapter, speaks of that ensign—"I will
lift up for the nations an ensign from afar." Why not lift it up in
Jerusalem, Isaiah? Why not lift it up in Palestine? Why hot commence
the work in Asia Says Isaiah—"I will lift up an ensign to the nations
from afar." How far? Away off to the ends of the earth, from where
Isaiah then was.

Vol. 18,  p.185
After this ensign is raised, he speaks of how swiftly the people shall
come—"They shall come with speed swiftly." Is that the way you came,
Latter-day Saints? When you crossed the ocean, how did you come? In
steamships; and when you crossed through the United States to Omaha,
how did you come? In steam cars. And when you crossed these desert
sage plains, how did you come? With speed swiftly through most of the
desert, just as Isaiah said you would in his fifth chapter.

Vol. 18,  p.185
Many people thought that when the railroad came "Mormonism" would be
done away. But such a supposition shows their ignorance. Why, bless
you, this people in the year 1847, when the pioneers crossed these
plains without any track to guide them, were looking for this great
highway then. Yes, I recollect, almost every day when I could get an
observation of the sun, (for we had two sextants, and artificial
horizons, and mountain barometers, and one circle of reflection,)
taking the latitudes and longitudes of all the prominent places,
crossing this great desert; and not satisfied with getting the
latitude and longitude we had our mountain barometers and attached and
detached thermometers and took the altitude above sea level of all the
prominent places on the route of this great highway which was to be
cast up for us in the midst of the desert. Thus this people were the
first to talk about this great highway, and we never lost sight of it.
We petitioned Congress for its construction twenty-five years ago; our
Legislature, knowing the minds of the people, sent our memorial to the
National Legislature, and requested them to cast up the highway across
this country. Our memorials were, for awhile, treated with silence;
but by and by, when the proper time come, the Lord stirred up Congress
and the great men and capitalists of the nation to go forth and
construct this highway. Did we not rejoice and thank the Lord our God
for fulfilling that which we had been expecting, and praying for so
diligently? We certainly did.

Vol. 18,  p.185
We might continue our remarks, as there are are many things connected
with this great preparatory work which, did time permit, we would be
glad to lay before the people. I will quote a passage or two more in
relation to the gathering. Paul saw this gathering, and he calls it a
new dispensation that should come after his day. He says that in the
dispensation of the fullness of times he would gather together in one
all things in Christ, whether they be things in heaven or things on
the earth. The dispensation of the fullness of times, then, was to be
characterized by the gathering of all persons that were in Christ. All
the righteous dead that are in heaven, whose bodies are asleep in the
grave, together with all the Christians on the earth, will be gathered
in one in hat dispensation. Fulfilling another prophecy in the 43rd
chapter of Isaiah, where the Lord says—"I will say to the north give
up, and to the south keep not back; bring my sons from afar and my
daughters from the ends of the earth, even [p.186] every one that is
called by my name." Will it leave a Christian behind? Not one. Go and
search New York, Philadelphia, and all the eastern States, and the
middle and southern States, and then all Europe, for a Christian after
this prophecy is fulfilled, and you can't find one. Why? Because they
are all gathered in one. How? By new revelation. The Lord says, "I
will say to the north give up." The Lord's going to speak, the Lord is
going to utter something—"I will say to the south keep not back. I
will say, Come ye, my sons and daughters, from the ends of the earth,
even every one that is called by my name." What an awful condition the
world will be in when there is not a Christian among them. Amen.

Wilford Woodruff, April 6, 1876 

Infidelity of the Christian World—Duties and Responsibilities 
of the Saints—Necessity of a Temple, and Works in Behalf of the Dead

Discourse By Elder Wilford Woodruff, Delivered at the 
Forty-Sixth Annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ 
of Latter-Day Saints, in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake 
City, Thursday Morning, April 6, 1876.

(Reported by David W. Evans)

Vol. 18,  p.186
"Who am I, saith the Lord, that I command and am not obeyed? Who am I,
saith the Lord, that I promise and do not fulfill?" We have again the
privilege of assembling ourselves together upon another Annual
Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and I
hope and trust that, what time we may spend in Conference, our hearts
may be lifted up unto the Lord, that his Holy Spirit may be given unto
us, that we may be dictated and directed in our words, thoughts, acts,
and teachings, in such a manner that we may be justified before him.

Vol. 18,  p.186
We have said, time after time, and year after year, that we live in a
very peculiar age, generation and dispensation, and this is true. Time
rolls on, carrying with it its events, and fulfilling the revelations
of God, unto us especially. We live in a day of darkness; unbelief and
infidelity are covering the whole face of the earth, until it seems as
though the whole Christian world had lost all hold of faith in God and
in his Son Jesus Christ, and in the Bible,[p.187] the revelation of
God to man. And this being the case, if the Lord has any people on the
face of the earth, they should be increasing in faith in him. You let
a Christian come here, no matter who, whether he be a minister,
professor, or believer, of any one who professes to believe in the
Bible, and let him ask an Elder in Israel—"Do you really believe, in
your soul, sincerely before the Lord, that Mormonism is true?" When
the Elder answers him "yes," he is about as much astonished as we were
yesterday when these magazines exploded. The fact of it is, as I said
before, the world do not believe in God or in revelation, and they
marvel very greatly to find any man who has really got independence of
mind enough to stand up and say—"I believe that Joseph Smith was a
Prophet of God, and I believe in the revelations that were given
through him; I believe in the literal fulfillment of prophecy, as
written in the Bible." To hear men say this astonishes the Latter-day
Saints to see the amount of darkness and infidelity that are abroad in
the earth. Hence, as Latter-day Saints, I think it requires on our
part an increase of faithfulness in the practice of our religion, and
in the various revelations of God contained in the Bible, Book of
Mormon, and the Book of Doctrine and Covenants.

Vol. 18,  p.187
We see before our eyes, year after year, the sighs of heaven and of
earth, and the fulfillment of prophecy, but how much are we as a
people increasing in faith in God? Do we increase in that respect in
proportion to the increase of infidelity in the world? Perhaps I am
not a judge, but it appears to me that we do not comprehend. The work
in which we are engaged, and the Bible, Book of Mormon, and the Book
of Doctrine and Covenants, are just as true to-day as they were
twenty, thirty, or fourty years ago, when we shouldered our knapsacks
and valises, and traveled on foot from city to city, State to State,
and from country to country, to preach the word of God without money
and without price, trusting in the living God to sustain and uphold us
in our mission. I say that this work is just as true now as then, and
so is the saying which I quoted—"Who am I, saith the Lord, that I
command and am not obeyed? Who am I, saith the Lord, that I promise
and do not fulfill?" I believe that the Lord will fulfill what he
says; I believe that he will fulfill his promises unto the Latter-day
Saints and unto the world, unto Zion and Babylon; and if he does,
there is something at the door, something for us, as Latter-day
Saints, to do. I believe the Lord has held every man responsible, from
the day of our great progenitor, father Adam, into whose hands the
Holy Priesthood and the keys of the kingdom of God have been
committed; and I believe that ebery man, every set of men, and every
people, will be held responsible, in time and eternity, for the use
they have made of the gifts, blessings, and promises which have been
given unto them. The amount of it is that if any people undertake to
keep a celestial law, it is their privilege to enjoy the spirit and
power of that law; it is also the privilege of any man or set of men,
who ever received the Gospel, to enjoy the blessings of that Gospel,
no matter what age of the world they may have lived in. Every person
who has ever repented of his sins, and has been baptized for their
remission, after the order of God, and after the similitude of Jesus
Christ, who was buried in water in the likeness of his death, and came
forth in the likeness of his [p.188] resurrection, has a right to the
Holy Ghost; it is promised, and it belongs to him; it is the right of
all persons to enjoy this, and if they receive the Holy Ghost and its
gifts, they have inspiration, light, and truth; they have eyes to see,
ears to hear, and hearts to understand, and they should be in a
position before the Lord that they can comprehend his work far more
perfectly than the world, for they have not obeyed the Gospel of
Christ, and they have no right to, or claim upon, the gifts of that
Gospel. But all who, in any age of the world, obey the Gospel, have a
right to the Comforter, and to inspiration and revelation, they belong
to them, and the Lord never had a people on the face of the earth who
did not have a right to these gifts, and it was their privilege and
duty to enjoy them.

Vol. 18,  p.188
This is the difference between those who keep celestial law, the law
of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and those who do not. But, as I have
remarked, all in every age of the world who have received a
dispensation of the Gospel, are responsible before the Lord for their
acts, and for the manner in which they have used their blessings and
privileges. The Prophets and Apostles in every age have been held
responsible for the manner in which they made use of the Gospel of
Christ when committed unto them; and that is the way it is with us
today. One thing is evident to everybody who reflects at all upon the
things of the kingdom of God—whenever the Lord chooses a people out of
the world, they are hated by the world, and are unpopular in the
world. This has been the case in every age. It was so in the days of
Jesus Christ. He came to his own father's house—the Jews; he was of
the lineage of Abraham, and when he came to his own brethren he was
unpopular, he was rejected and opposed. They did not like him nor his
course. They were looking for Shiloh to come, but not as a babe born
in a stable and cradled in a manger, and traveling on from that to the
cross and the grave in poverty and affliction, without military
authority, and without power to govern and control, and to deliver and
uphold the Jews as a nation. Christ came as the babe of Bethlehem, the
lowest almost of the human family, and remained so up to the day of
his death. A poorer man never lived, that I know of, in Judea and
Jerusalem, than Jesus Christ. Who were his followers? They were not
the great, rich, learned, noble, High Priests, or leading men of
Judea; many of them were illiterate fishermen, poor men, weak things
of the world; they were the class that Jesus chose for his disciples,
and into their hands he gave the keys of the kingdom of God; he gave
them the Apostleship, the power to bind and to seal both on earth and
in heaven. Their deeds and labors reached not only through this world,
but they reached into the eternal worlds, and will affect the
inhabitants of Judea and Jerusalem from that day, I may say, into
eternity. Those disciples of Christ received the Holy Priesthood, the
Gospel of Christ, and the keys of the kingdom of God, and Jesus held
them responsible to the day of their death for the course they
pursued. However much they were despised by the world, they were held
responsible for bearing a true and faithful testimony to Jew and
Gentile, of Jesus Christ being the true Shepherd and the Savior of the
world.

Vol. 18,  p.188
And so I will say about the Latter-day Saints and the work they are
engaged in. Ezekiel says that in the last days the stick of Joseph in
the hands of Ephraim should be placed with the stick of Judah, before
the [p.189] eyes of the nations in the hands of the Lord, for a
special purpose—to gather the house of Israel in the latter days.
These two records were also to be made use of in order to preach the
fullness of the everlasting Gospel to both Jew and Gentile; and they
will stand in judgment against the generation living on the earth when
they come forth; and from the day that Moroni gave that record into
the hands of Joseph Smith, the Lord held him responsible for the use
which he made of it; and when he gave him the Priesthood under the
hands of John the Baptist, and the Apostleship under the hands of
Peter, James and John, the Lord Almighty held him responsible unto the
day that he sealed his testimony with his blood, for the course that
he pursued with these things. And he bore his testimony, left it on
record, and sealed it with his blood, and laid down his life, and that
testimony is in force today upon all the world, and will remain so
unto the end of time. And when I say this of Joseph Smith I say it of
every other man. President Young has led this Church for many years,
and the Lord has held him responsible, and will hold him so unto the
day of his death, for the course pursued by him while conducting the
affairs of his Church and kingdom, and also for the use he makes of
the holy Priesthood and the keys of the kingdom. So also with his
Counselors, the Twelve Apostles, and every one of us; we shall all be
held accountable to the day of our death, and we shall have to give an
account before the God of heaven when we go into the spirit world and
meet him there; for the use of this Priesthood, and the keys of the
kingdom, which have been established on the earth for the last time,
have been committed into the hands of this people, and God will hold
the whole of us responsible for the use we make of the blessings,
privileges and powers which we enjoy in connection therewith. The eyes
of God and his angels, and of every man who dwells in the celestial
world are watching us, and the course we pursue.

Vol. 18,  p.189
We are gathered together here as a people; we have been in these
mountains a good while, and for a good many years we have been
organized as a Church and kingdom, in this last age, in this
dispensation of the fullness of times; and now the question with me
is—Are we living up to our privileges? Are we performing the work
required at our hands? Can we, as a people, claim the blessings of the
Gospel of Christ, the blessings of the celestial law and of the
celestial kingdom of God? Can we claim these things at the hands of
our heavenly Father unless we keep his commandments? This is a
question that we want to take home to ourselves. If we are not keeping
the commands of the Lord can we claim his blessings? We can not; and
this is matter for reflection for the Latter-day Saints.

Vol. 18,  p.189
It may be asked—What are the commandments of the Lord? Many of them
are contained in these records, the Bible, Book of Mormon and Book of
Doctrine and Covenants; and we have the living oracles with us, and
have had from the commencement. The Lord will never leave his kingdom
without a lawgiver, leader, president, or some power to direct the
affairs of his Church on the earth, for the reason that it is the
dispensation of the fullness of times, in which God has set up a
kingdom which is to be an everlasting kingdom, and to whose dominion
there will be no end; that kingdom will not be given into the hands of
[p.190] any other people, but it will be given to the Saints of the
Most High, and they will possess it for ever and ever.

Vol. 18,  p.190
Now, brethren and sisters, here comes a question in my mind, this
morning, which I think we ought to bring home to ourselves, and that
is—Are we, as a people, doing our duty in keeping the law and
commandments of God, and the covenants which we have made? If we are
we are justified, and we have a claim upon the Holy Spirit and upon
the blessing and approbation of God. Many things are required at the
hands of the Latter-day Saints, and there is not one of us who has a
lease of his life. The Elders of this Church are passing away, and
almost every Conference we look around and find that somebody has left
us; and it will be but a short time before many of us who are here
to-day will have closed our labors in the flesh, and we shall have
passed to the other side of the vail, and it is important to us all
that we should do what is required of us. What we find to do to-day we
should not put off till to-morrow.

Vol. 18,  p.190
The question may arise in some minds—What is required of the
Latter-day Saints? I will tell you some things that are required of
us. The Lord requires us to pay our Tithing; and another thing is that
we go to and build the Temple in this city; whether we do it or not it
is required of us, and if we fail, we, in my view, shall be under
condemnation. I consider that the building of Temples is one of the
important things required by the Lord of the Latter-day Saints in the
dispensation of the fullness of times, that we may go into those
Temples and not only redeem the living but redeem our dead. We have
been a good many years here in the valleys of the mountains, and we
have not yet got a Temple finished to the name of the Lord. We have
one pretty well forward in St. George, and I am very glad of it; but
we want one here. We have got the foundation laid; it has been
standing a good many years, and I think that we should go to and
finish it, and do what we can to redeem our dead. This is among the
things for which I think we shall be held responsible. Very many of us
in this Church and kingdom have been gathered, as the Prophet has
said, one of a family and two of a city, and many of our progenitors,
now in the spirit world, never saw the face of an Apostle, Prophet, or
inspired man, and they are shut up in prison. Joseph Smith, Heber
Kimball, Geoege A. Smith, and thousands of the Elders of Israel may
preach to those spirits, and they may receive the testimonies which
the Elders bear; but the Elders will not baptize believers there;
there is no baptism in the spirit world any more than there is any
marrying and giving in marriage. All these things have to be done this
side of the vail, in the flesh. God is no respecter of persons; he
will not give privileges to one generation and withhold them from
another; and the whole human family, from father Adam down to our day,
have got to have the privilege, somewhere, of hearing the Gospel of
Christ; and the generations that have passed and gone without bearing
that Gospel in its fullness, power and glory, will never be held
responsible by God for not obeying it, neither will he bring them
under condemnation for rejecting a law they never saw or understood;
and if they live up to the light they had they are justified so far,
and they have to be preached to in the spirit world. But nobody will
baptize [p.191] them there, and somebody has got to administer for
them by proxy here in the flesh, that they may be judged according to
men in the flesh and have part in the first resurrection.

Vol. 18,  p.191
This, in my view, is the work that is required at the hands of the
Latter-day Saints, and when we get through I think we will find this
to be true. And if there is anything I desire to live for on the
earth, or that I have desired, it has been to get a record of the
genealogy of my fathers, that I might do something for them before I
go hence into the spirit world. Until within a few years past it has
seemed as if every avenue has been closed to obtaining such records;
but the Lord has moved upon the inhabitants of this nation, and
thousands of them are now laboring to trace the genealogical descent
of the Puritan fathers, those who landed at Plymouth Rock, and whose
descendants built up New England. Their lineages are coming to light,
and we are gradually obtaining access to them, and by this means we
shall be enabled to do something towards the salvation of our dead.

Vol. 18,  p.191
These are some of the things upon my mind that I wished to speak to
you about. And now let me ask—Have we a right to our endowments and to
the ordinances and blessings of the Church and kingdom of God, unless
we fulfill the law of God. It seems to me many times, that there is a
darkness and a lack of faith even among the Latter-day Saints, and
that as we grow older we grow colder, and as we advance towards the
winding-up scene it seems as though we have almost lost sight of our
calling, of the object of our being gathered together, and the
purposes which God requires at our hands. There is a good deal for us
to do if we build up Zion; and if we do that and sanctify ourselves
before the Lord, it has got to be done through obedience to the
commandments of the Lord. The Lord has commanded us, and we have got
to obey his commandments if we receive the blessings of obedience. Our
numbers are not great, and compared with the whole of the inhabitants
of the earth I do not expect that the number of the Latter-day Saints
will ever be very great; yet the Lord has promised that the little one
shall become a thousand, and the small one a strong nation; and out of
the house of Israel and those from among the Gentiles who obey the
Gospel, God will raise up a nation, and they will have power and
strength in the earth. But when we compare the Saints in this or any
other age with the surrounding world, their numbers are few. I do not
know why it is that so few of the inhabitants of the earth take any
interest, in their eternal welfare. The whole human family, heathen,
pagan, Christian and Jew, know that this is not their home, and that
all have got to die, they can not escape the law of death; even if
translated, as some were anciently, they have to undergo a change
equivalent to death. Then why is it there is so little interest
throughout the world with regard to a future state and to eternal
matters? The few who show they have an interest in these things, and
who have gathered together to these valleys of the mountains, have
need of faith; we stand in need of prayer, we stand in need of the
Holy Ghost, and of the inspiration of the Almighty to dictate and
direct us, and unless we possess and enjoy these things we become
barren and unfruitful before the Lord.

Vol. 18,  p.191
Now, whatever the Lord requires at our hands, he does not require
anything of us that we can not perform. We can obey his commandments
[p.192] according to the position that we occupy and the means that we
have in our possession. There is no man or woman so poor but what he
or she can obey the Gospel; they can go forth and be baptized for the
remission of their sins, and if they keep the commandments of the Lord
he will put into their hands power and means to fulfill that which is
required of them.

Vol. 18,  p.192
I hope, brethren and sisters, that while we are together at this
Conference, we shall have prayerful hearts, and that the Spirit of the
Lord may be poured out upon us; that President Young may have strength
of body, and that the Spirit of Cud may rest upon him to such an
extent that he may be able to give the Latter-day Saints such
instruction as he may desire; and that the Apostles and Elders who may
be called upon to speak may be made the instruments in the hands of
the Lord in conveying his word to the people, and that we may be
united together.

Vol. 18,  p.192
Somebody or other has got to build up Zion; somebody has got to build
Temples, and to go into them and attend to the ordinances therein. The
Lord has said that he will come and visit the earth, but before he
does come the people have got to be pure. The Lord Jesus has declared
that he will come and reign on the earth, and if you read the Book of
Doctrine and Covenants you will find numerous predictions in regard to
his coming, such as—"I come quickly," "I come at an hour ye think
not," "My coming is at the door," "I come as a thief in the night," "I
come in an hour when you are not looking for me," and "Blessed is he
who is looking for the coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." I
say that throughout the whale of the Scriptures—the Old and New
Testament, the Book of Mormon, and the Book of Doctrine and Covenants,
the second coming of the Lord is frequently referred to; and has the
Lord, promised these things without intending to fulfill them? No, he
has not, they will be fulfilled. But before Christ comes, a people
have got to be prepared by being sanctified before the Lord. Temples
have got to be built; Zion has got to be built up; there must be a
place of safety for the people of God while his judgments are abroad
in the earth, for the judgments of God will visit the earth, there is
no mistake about that, the revelations are full of promises to this
effect, and as the Lord has declared it, he will not fail in keeping
his word.

Vol. 18,  p.192
Brethren and sisters, let us search the revelations of God; let us
look to ourselves, and understand the spirit by which we are governed
and controlled in our labors and callings. We are called to a great
calling. The greatest calling with which any people can be called is
to have placed in their hands the Gospel of Christ, and the power to
build up his kingdom upon the earth. The Lord has chosen the weak
things of the world to confound the world, and things that are nought
to bring to nought things that are. He has done this in every age of
the world, and he has done it in our day and generation; and he will
hold us responsible for the use we make of the holy Priesthood, the
ordinances of his house and the power that is put into our hands to
accomplish the work of God, and to build Temples to his name. If we do
not do these things I think that we shall be under condemnation before
the Lord, and that we shall suffer for it.

Vol. 18,  p.193
I pray God, my heavenly Father, [p.193] that he will pour out his
Spirit upon this people, that we may see and comprehend things as they
are, that we may comprehend our duties and may be inspired to labor
while the day lasts, for by and by the night will come when no man can
work. I pray God that we may be prepared for his coming, and that we
may have power and a disposition to perform and accomplish all that is
required of us, that when we go to the other side of the vail we may
he satisfied with our labors here in the flesh.

Vol. 18,  p.193
This is my prayer in the name of Jesus. Amen.

John Taylor, April 6, 1876

How God's Purposes Are Fulfilled—Similarity of Ancient and Modern 
Church Government—Interview With Baron Rothschild—
Object of Building Temples—the Perfect Organization 
of the Church of Christ—Works Indispensable to Salvation

Discourse By Elder John Taylor, Delivered at the Forty-Sixth 
Annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day 
Saints, in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, 
Thursday Afternoon, April, 6, 1876.

(Reported by David W. Evans)

Vol. 18,  p.193
When we meet together on occasions like the present, it is absolutely
necessary that we place ourselves under the guidance and direction of
the Almighty; that is, a thing indeed, which is proper at all times,
for in the Lord we live and move—from him we derive our being—and to
him we are indebted for every blessing that we enjoy of a temporal and
spiritual nature, for everything that pertains either to this world or
that which is to come. We are met together on this occasion to attend
to the duties and responsibilities that devolve upon us associated
with the Church and kingdom of God upon the earth; and it is very
important that we have his spirit to direct us in our speaking as well
as in our hearing, and in the various purposes, plans and calculations
that may be started for the building up of the kingdom of God upon the
earth, for we really are, or ought to be, co-laborers with the
Almighty for the accomplishment of his purposes on the earth. And
although we are very weak, and incompetent to do anything in and of
ourselves, yet with the assistance and guidance of the Almighty we
shall be enabled, by diligence and faithfulness in discharging [p.194]
the various responsibilities that devolve upon us, to fill up the
measure of our day upon the earth with honor before God, before the
holy angels and before all good men, and to lend at least a helping
hand in building up the kingdom of God, upon the earth, that we so
frequently talk about, and to introduce those principles which emanate
from the Most High. In this regard, however, we can do nothing of
ourselves, neither could any man who ever lived upon the earth do
anything in and of himself. There is a great supreme, over-ruling
power that shapes, manages, controls and dictates the affairs of the
human family. He raises up one and puts down another; he regulates and
controls the affairs of the nations at his will, and in regard to the
purposes that he has designed, pertaining to the earth whereon we
live, of which he has given us some slight idea, he will have to be,
after all, the principal co-operator, the leading hand, the power that
guides, directs and controls. He has called upon us to be his
assistants in the work that he has commenced in these last days, and
has called a variety of laborers into his vineyard, whom he has
promised to sustain, to guide and to direct, and hence, although it
may be an unspeakable privilege for us to be co-laborers with the
Almighty, yet it is only through the spirit, power and intelligence
that he communicates, that we shall be able to do anything acceptable
in the sight of God, and, as I said before, no man living without this
assistance is capable of doing anything acceptable in the sight of
God. When we look at the works of God in the various ages that have
passed, and in the various dispensations that have been ushered into
the world, we see this manifestly pointed out. In fact, when we
reflect upon the work that we are engaged in, to whom are we indebted?
To any of us? I think not. To Joseph Smith? I think not. He was made
use of as an instrument in the hands of the Almighty to convey certain
principles that God revealed to him; that was all, and when he came,
it was not his own words that he spoke, it was the revelation of God's
will to him, and it is that which we are in possession of through him,
as an instrument. It is so with President Young and his council, and
it is so with the Twelve, it is so with all the Bishops, High
Councils, High Priests, and all the various authorities of the Church
and kingdom of God upon the earth. It is not that there is anything
inherent in us, for we know nothing only as God revealed it, we know
nothing only as it was communicated. We did not understand the first
principles of the doctrine of Christ even; and I have never met with
anybody on the face of the earth where I have traveled who did know
anything about these things. We are indebted to the Lord, therefore,
for any knowledge that we have of the true doctrine of the Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and for all the ramifications
thereof. We axe indebted to him for a knowledge of the Priesthood,
whether that Priesthood be after the order of Melchizedek, which is
after the order of the Son of God; or whether it be the lesser or
Aaronic Priesthood. We none of us knew anything about it, and nobody
ever did, until God communicated it. And the same thing holds good all
the way through. Go back to the history of the world, as reported in
the Bible and Book of Mormon, and you will find that [p.195] every
great movement ever made among men that had God to support it,
originated not with men, but that God himself was the author of it.
Even Jesus himself, when be came, said—"I came not to do my will, but
the will of him who sent me;" and—"The words that I speak, I speak not
of myself, but the Father that dwells in me. He doeth the works."
Therefore, looking at things in this point of view, we, above all
people who dwell on the face of the earth, ought to acknowledge the
hand of God in all things; and in fact we have a revelation directly
on that point, which says—"that with none is the Lord angry but with
those who do not acknowledge his hand in all things.

Vol. 18,  p.195
We are here for a certain purpose; the world was organized for a
certain purpose; the world has been destroyed for a certain purpose,
and judgments have overtaken it for a certain purpose; the Gospel has
been introduced for a certain purpose, in the different ages of time,
and among the different peoples to whom it has been revealed and
communicated, and we, to-day, are in subjection to the general rule.
The Lord has led us along as he once led Israel, and as he led the
Nephites from the land of Jerusalem, and the ten tribes, and other
peoples, who went to different places. He has led us along, and the
first thing he did with us, or to the world whereon we live, or with
whom we are associated, was to send his Gospel, having revealed it
first to Joseph Smith, and he, being authorized by the Almighty, and
having received his appointment through the holy Priesthood that
exists in the heavens, and with that appointment, authority to confer
it upon others, did confer it upon others, and they in turn upon
others, and hence the Gospel was sent to us in the various nations
where we resided. And when these men went forth to proclaim this
Gospel, they went, as Jesus said, not to do their "will, but the will
of the Father who sent them," and to co-operate with the holy
Priesthood here upon the earth in introducing correct principles.
Hence they went among the nations, and thousands, and tens of
thousands, and millions listened to their testimonies; but as it was
in former days, so it has been in latter days. Says Jesus—"Strait is
the gate and narrow the way that leads to life, and few there be that
find it; while wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to
destruction, and many there be that go in thereat." this has been the
case in all ages and among all peoples, wherever and whenever the
Gospel has been preached to them.

Vol. 18,  p.195
Now then, the Lord has been desirous, in this age, as he has in other
ages, to gather to himself a people who would do his will, keep his
commandments, listen to his counsel and carry out his behests. To whom
could he send? To the wise and learned, to the philosopher and
statesman, to the prince and potentate? Verily no. The Lord, in this
age as on former occasions, sends by whom he will send; he selects his
own messengers, and sends them among the people. And when the Elders
of Israel went forth, he said to them in a certain revelation—"Go
forth, and mine angels shall go before you, and my Spirit shall
accompany you." And they went forth, and God was true to his word, and
many of you, at that time in distant nations, listened to the words of
life, and when you heard them, you knew and understood them, just as
Jesus said—"My sheep hear my voice and know me, and they follow
[p.196] me, but a stranger will they not follow, because they know not
the voice of a stranger." You heard the voice of truth accompanied by
the Spirit of God, and that caused a chord to vibrate within your own
bosoms, and you yielded obedience and came out here, as we find you
to-day.

Vol. 18,  p.196
Now, then, we are gathered together to help, what to do? To look after
our own individual interest? No. To accumulate wealth? No. To possess
and wallow in the good things of this life? No; but to do the will of
God, and devote ourselves, our talents and abilities, our intelligence
and influence, in every possible way to carry out the designs of
Jehovah, and help to establish peace and righteousness upon the earth.
This, as I understand it, is what we are here for, and not to attend
to our own individual affairs and let God and his kingdom do as they
please. We are all interested in the great latter-day work of God, and
we all ought to be co-workers therein. It is proper sometimes that we
should reflect a little upon some of these things, and find out what
is our true status and position before the Lord, and before one
another, before the angels, and before the world that we are mixed up
with, and have more or less to do with. We want sometimes to pause and
reflect a little upon some of these things. Why was God so careful to
preserve the plates upon which this record was found, and from which
it was translated? Why was he so desirous that the old Prophets, who
lived upon this continent generations ago, should sacredly guard and
keep these sacred records? He told us what it was for, and the
Prophets told us what it was for, and Jesus, when he was here, told us
what it was for—that these things might come forth in the last days
for the benefit of his people, and for the benefit of all who should
believe in, and obey the word of God among the Gentiles? What for?
That we might have a corroborating testimony from a people upon this
continent, who had their Prophets, which should agree with the
testimony which we had from the continent of Asia; and that, through
the instrumentality of that truth which shall be developed, a nucleus
might be formed through which God could communicate his will, and
accomplish those purposes that he has designed to accomplish from
before the foundation of the world. From the commencement of the
organization of this world, God designed the accomplishment of the
very thing that we are engaged in here to-day. We live in what the
Scriptures call the dispensation of the fullness of times, in which
the Lord has said that he would gather together all things in one,
whether they be things on the earth or things in the heavens; in this
dispensation he designed to call together his sheep that were on the
face of the earth, just as much as he did in the days of Jesus. How
was it then? Said Jesus—"Father, I pray for those whom thou hast given
me; thine they were and thou gavest them me. I pray for them that they
may be one, as I, Father, am in thee and thou in me, that the world
may know that thou hast sent me." He has done the same thing in this
day. He has gathered together his sheep, he has organized his holy
Priesthood in its fullness, perhaps as perfectly as it ever was
organized on the face of the earth. I do not know, fully, the position
of things in Enoch's day; there may have been many things transpired
on this continent that we have not had revealed unto us, for we have
not all their records, only part of them were translated;[p.197] some
of the things contained on the plates were unlawful to be written at
that time. But there were times when men had communion with God; there
were times when God revealed himself unto his servants the Prophets;
there were times when men came with a—"Thus saith the Lord" to the
people; there were times when the people would say—"All that the Lord
has bid us to observe, that will we observe and do;" there were times
when the people said—"The Lord is our king, the Lord is our judge; the
Lord is our lawgiver, and he shall rule over us." God is seeking to
have a people like that in the present day, and that, through the
Priesthood upon the earth, we shall be associated with the Priesthood
in the heavens, and they with their God.

Vol. 18,  p.197
There are no people now, and there never was a people, who could
accomplish anything without this, and, as I said before, without the
guidance and direction of the Almighty. There are a good many things
associated with these matters, and some of them are very plain and
simple; in fact, it is said by a certain individual that they are so
plain that a "wayfaring man, though a fool, need not err therein;" and
it was said in former days—"God hath not chosen the wise and great of
the earth, but the weak and foolish things of this world to bring to
nought the things that are." Then, he has restored the holy
Priesthood, and that, as I understand it, is the rule and government
of God, whether on the earth or in the heavens, the principle by which
all things are governed in the heavens, and by which, when the
kingdoms of this world become the kingdoms of our God and his Christ,
all things will be governed here on the earth.

Vol. 18,  p.197
These, then, as I understand them, are things of very great importance
to the Latter-day Saints, for it is to them that I am speaking this
afternoon. We have an organization in our Church as they had in former
times. We are told that in the days of Jesus on the Asiatic continent,
"God placed in his Church, first Apostles, secondarily Prophets,
afterwards Pastors, Teachers, Evangelists," etc.; and we are,
moreover, told that these were placed in the Church "for the
perfecting of the Saints, for the work of the ministry, for the
edifying of the body of Christ, until we all come in the unity of the
faith, and the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the
fullness of the measure of the stature of Christ, that we may no
longer be children, tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine, but
that we may grow up into him who is our living head in all things,"
that we may indeed be like him, one with him as he is one with the
Father.

Vol. 18,  p.197
This is the kind of principles that they had then, and this the kind
of organization. What have we? Something very similar. We have
Apostles and a First Presidency. What are the members of the First
Presidency? Apostles. We have an organization of the Twelve, as they
had then. We have also Seventies, in all of which we have even more
than they had, though I do not know what they had on this continent,
that is not made manifest; we shall know these things by and by, as
the purposes of God roll forth, and their revelations are made known
to us pertaining to those matters. We have our Bishops, we have our
High Councils, we have our Seventies, we have our Elders, Priests,
Teachers, and Deacons, all of which, or the pattern for which, have
been given by the Almighty, by the revelation of his will to Joseph
Smith; and if we have any knowledge that differs from the rest of
mankind in relation [p.198] to these matters, it is through the
revelations of God, and we say to God be the glory and not to us. They
went forth in former times and preached the Gospel without purse and
scrip. We have done the same. I can see around me scores and hundreds
of men who have been abroad to the nations of the earth to preach the
Gospel without purse and scrip, trusting in the living God, holding
the same Priesthood and authority; in possession of the same truths,
lit up, encouraged, and sustained by the same Spirit, the same light,
and the same intelligence that they had.

Vol. 18,  p.198
These are some of the distinctive features of the Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints. Then we have gathered ourselves together.
Well, the Prophets saw it years and years ago, and prophesied about
it, but it was left for us to do. The Prophet says—"I will take one of
a city and two of a family and I will bring them to Zion." What will
you do with them? "I will give them pastors after my own heart, who
shall feed them with knowledge and understanding." I will introduce
the Priesthood of the Son of God among them; I will give them the
light, revelation and power of God to be with them, and I will stand
by them and sustain them. He has revealed to us, as he did to others
the nature of the relationship that subsists between men and their
wives; he has shown us that there are eternal associations and
connections, and has shown us how to accomplish these objects, and to
secure to ourselves, our wives and our children, inasmuch as they
observe the revelations of God and carry out his purposes. These are
some of the principles that he has made known unto us, and he has
given us commandments relative to these things, and in relation to
building Temples to his name and administering therein, so as to be
acceptable to him. He has pointed out to us certain principles
pertaining to the everlasting covenants with us, with our fathers and
with our children, and has shown us how to perform the various duties
devolving upon us, according to the counsel of his will, which lie has
revealed through the holy Priesthood that he has here upon the earth.
These are things with which we are most of us familiar, and therefore
I do not propose to quote Scripture about them particularly, but just
lay them briefly before your minds, that you may reflect upon them.

Vol. 18,  p.198
Before we came into this Church and kingdom, we had certain confused
ideas about a future state; but what did we know about it? Very
little, very little indeed. We hoped we should get to heaven when we
died; we hoped that, if we were good, honest, upright and virtuous,
God would accept us, which was all very good so far as it went. But
what knowledge had we of the future? None at all. What knowledge has
the world to-day about these things? None at all. What knowledge have
they of us and of our communications with God? None at all. The world
never saw the kingdom of God, they never can see it, it is out of
their reach, Jesus said in his day—"Except a man is born again he
cannot see the kingdom of God," much less inherit it. They cannot help
that; we could not help it when we were in their condition;
generations past could not help it? What could they do about it?
Nothing. What could any of the great reformers, as they are called, do
about these things? Simply nothing. Did any of them ever introduce the
Gospel as Jesus taught it? Not one among them; with all their virtue,
zeal and philanthropy, [p.199] with all their desires to do good, they
could not accomplish these things. Were they all wicked men? By no
means. There were many good men among them, and so there are to-day;
but these good men cannot see the kingdom of God, unless by the Spirit
of God, and we are told definitely that "no man knows the things of
God but by the Spirit of God." And how do they get it? We have been
taught, by believing in the Lord Jesus Christ, by repenting of our
sins, by being baptized, by those possessing the authority, in the
name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of our sins, and by having
hands laid upon us by the same authority for the reception of the Holy
Ghost. Then it is that the Spirit takes of the things of God and shows
them unto us; then it is that we are brought into communion with our
heavenly Father; then it is that we have a hope that enters within the
vail, whither Christ our forerunner is gone; then it is that we have
an unction from the Holy One, as they had in former times, that will
teach us the principles of light, and life, and intelligence,
pertaining to our present and future existence; then it is that the
darkness with which the world is beclouded is removed, and the light
of heaven is permitted to permeate our minds, and impart light and
intelligence thereunto; then it is that we are the sons of God, and it
does not yet appear what we shall be, says the sacred writer; "but
when he who is our life shall appear, then shall we appear like unto
him in glory;" it is through this principle, and this life, light and
intelligence, and that through obedience to the commands of God.

Vol. 18,  p.199
In looking still forward we find that there are other things ahead of
us. One thing is the building of Temples, and that is a very important
item, and ought to rest with force upon the minds of all good Saints.
I remember, some time ago, having a conversation with Baron
Rothschild, a Jew. I was shelving him the Temple here, and said
he—"Elder Taylor, what do you mean by this Temple? What is the object
of it? Why are you building it?" Said I, "Your fathers had among them
Prophets, who revealed to them the mind and will of God; we have among
us Prophets who reveal to us the mind and will of God, as they did.
One of your Prophets said—"The Lord whom ye seek shall suddenly come
to his Temple, but who may abide the day of his coming? For he shall
sit as a refiner's fire and a purifier of silver." "Now," said I,
"Sir, will you point me out a place on the face of the earth where God
has a Temple?" Said he, "I do not know of any." "You remember the
words of your Prophet that I have quoted?" Said he—"Yes, I know the
Prophet said that, but I do not know of any Temple anywhere. Do you
consider that this is that Temple?" "No, sir, it is not." "Well, what
is this Temple for?" Said I, "The Lord has told us to build this
Temple so that we may administer therein baptisms for our dead (which
I explained to him,) and also to perform some of the sacred
matrimonial alliances and covenants that we believe in, that are
rejected by the world generally, but which are among the purest, most
exalting and ennobling principles that God ever revealed to man."
"Well, then, this is not our Temple?" "No, but," said I, "You will
build a Temple, for the Lord has shown us, among other things, that
you Jews have quite a role to perform in the latter days, and that all
the things spoken by your old prophets will be fulfilled, that you
will be gathered to old Jerusalem, and that [p.200] you will build a
Temple there; and when you build that Temple, and the time has
arrived, 'the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his Temple.' Do
you believe in the Messiah?" "Yes." "Do you remember reading in your
old prophets something like this—'They shall look upon him whom they
have pierced, and mourn, and be in bitterness for him, as one that is
in bitterness for his firstborn. And one shall say, What are these
wounds in thine hands and in thy side? And he will say—These with
which I was wounded in the house of my friends?'" "Ah! Is that in our
Bible?" "Yes, sir, that is in your Bible." I spake to him then about
the Nephites having left Jerusalem and told him that the Book of
Mormon represents them as descendants of their people, and that Jesus
came among them, and that they, because of their iniquity and
departure from the word and law of God, were stricken with blackness.
Said he—"What, as Cain was?" "Yes, sir, as Cain was." Said I—"These
people, the Lamanites, according to this record," a French copy of
which I gave him, be being a Frenchman; "this people are beginning to
feel after these things, and they are coming by hundreds and by
thousands and demanding baptism at our hands, just as you find
recorded in that book that they would do, and that is given there as a
sign that God's work had commenced among all nations. Said he—"What
evidence have you of this?" This conversation took place in the
Townsend House, and when the Baron asked me for evidence, said I—"Sir,
if you will excuse me a few minutes I will give you some evidence? and
I went to Savage's book stand, in the Townsend House, and obtained a
photographic copy of David Cannon baptizing Indians, standing in the
midst of a great crowd of them. Said I—"Here is the evidence." "Well,
what shall we do?" Said I—"You can do nothing unless God directs. You
as a people are tied hand and foot, and have been for generations, and
you can't move a peg unless God strikes off your fetters. When he says
the word the things spoken of by the Prophets will be fulfilled; then
the measuring line will go forth again in Jerusalem, then your Messiah
will come, and all those things spoken of by the Prophets will be
fulfilled."

Vol. 18,  p.200
I mentioned these matters to Baron Rothschild merely to exhibit some
ideas pertaining to the work in which we are engaged; and in speaking
of the Temple—"Well, this is not the Temple? "No, not that you are
going to build, this is ours, and we expect to build hundreds of them
yet, and to administer in them in carrying out the work of God." I
speak of this, that you may reflect a little, you Latter-day Saints.
Has God organized a First Presidency? Yes. Has he endowed them with
the Spirit and power of God? Yes. Has he organized the Twelve? Yes.
Have they the spirit of their office? Yes, in part. He has organized
Seventies; have they the spirit of their office? In part. He has
organized a High Priests' quorum; have they the spirit of their
office? In part, and many of these things are only in part. He has
organized an Elders' quorum, and a great many Elders have been
ordained; have they the spirit of their office? In part. Are they
magnifying it? Only in part. Why we have got really and truly a nation
of Kings and Priests, ordained, set apart and authorized to carry out
the purposes of God here upon the earth, to operate with the
Priesthood behind the vail in the accomplishment of these things. What
are we [p.201] doing? A little, but many of us, I am afraid, not very
much. A great many are doing the best they know how, and are desirous,
with their whole soul and spirit, with their intellect and their
substance and everything they have, to dedicate themselves and all
they have for God and for his cause and kingdom, and for building up
Temples, and for accomplishing everything that God requires at their
hands. Then there are some that feel like the boy said about his
father. A Gentile came along and spoke to a little boy down street
here, and said—"Boy, are you a Mormon?" "I don't know," said the boy.
"Is your father a Mormon?" "Oh, yes," said the boy, "but he does not
potter much about it." There are a good many who feel a good deal like
that—they don't potter much about it. When their minds are lit up by
the Spirit of God they feel like dedicating themselves and all they
have to God, yet, by and by they begin to weaken and falter, and
quiver, and go away.

Vol. 18,  p.201
Sometime ago a great many of us renewed our covenants and were
baptized in the name of Jesus for the remission of our sins, and we
then covenanted before God, holy angels, and one another, that we
would consecrate ourselves and all that we had to God, that we would
follow his counsel and the counsel of his holy Priesthood in all
things, temporal and spiritual. Now let us talk a little plain on some
of these things. Is not that so? Did you not do these things? You did.
Well, what does it mean, or what does baptism mean, or what do any of
these things mean—the ordinances, the Priesthood, the gathering,
Temples, endowments and the light, intelligence and privileges that we
have received from the hands of God? What do they mean? Are they a
sacred reality that have emanated from God? Are they things in which
our present, future and eternal happiness is concerned, or are they a
mere phantasm? It seems they are very little more to many, although,
perhaps, they appreciate them according to the best of their
understanding, light and intelligence; still they say they are
desirous of keeping God's commandments. Let me repeat here a passage
of Scripture. "It is not every one that saith Lord, Lord, that shall
enter into my kingdom, but it is he who does the will of my Father who
is in heaven." I think that is the Scripture, if I am not very much
mistaken; I think you will find it written there, and I think that
Scripture is just as true to-day as it was eighteen hundred years ago,
just as binding, and we shall find the results of it just as true, and
when the secrets of all hearts are revealed, when the judgment is set
and the books are opened, these things will be known and understood.
How will it be then with Latter-day Saints? Why those who are doing
right and are full of integrity, and have kept their covenants,
observed the law of God and walked in obedience to his commands will
hear Jesus say—"Thou hast been faithful over a few things and I will
make thee ruler over many things." And then there are some others
mentioned. Who are they, and what are they? "Why, many will come to me
and say, 'Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? Have we not cast
out devils in thy name, and in thy name done many wonderful works?'
When he will say to them—'Depart from me, for I never knew you.'"

Vol. 18,  p.201
How will that fit on some of us do you think? That belongs a little
closer to some of us than we imagine; for I do not think that Gentiles
do much at prophesying in the name of God; I do not think they cast
out [p.202] many devils in the name of God, or do any wonderful works
in his name. Jesus was speaking to a people that had done these
things, the same, perhaps, as some of you have, and yet you have
become careless and indifferent, and in many instances have made
shipwreck of a good conscience and failed to keep the covenants you
have made.

Vol. 18,  p.202
These are things for as to reflect upon, and it is well for us all to
reflect upon the position that we occupy. How is it with as? Are we
all engaged in the same work? Not precisely. Paul gave a very
beautiful description of the church of God in his day. Said he—"The
body is not one member, but many; and the eye cannot say to the ear, I
have no need of thee, nor the head to the feet, I have no need of
thee." They were all engaged in the same work. It was not a work that
rested simply upon the Apostles, or Prophets, or Evangelists, or some
of the leading, prominent men of the Church; it was the work of God,
in which they were all engaged. The body is not one member, but many,
and if one of the members suffer they all suffer with it; if one
member rejoice all are honored with it. The body is not all head; it
would be a curious kind of a body without arms, stomach, legs, feet,
&c.; it would be no body at all, it could not exist or act. You cut
off any member of the body, say an arm, and the body is maimed; pluck
out an eye and the body is maimed. Pluck out both eyes and you could
not see. You may have ever so perfect a body and take away the legs
and the feet, and what then? You can do nothing, you can't walk, you
have got to be lifted by somebody else and carried about, a helpless,
inanimate being, without motion, power and activity. So it is with the
body, and if one member suffer all the members suffer with it. The
head may be very perfect, but if the arm is withered or any part of
the body injured the powers of the body are impaired, and it can not
fully answer the ends of its organization. Hence it is that in the
organization of the Church of Christ every member should act in its
own place—the Presidency in theirs, the Twelve in theirs, the Bishops
in theirs, the Seventies in theirs, the High Priests in theirs, and
the Elders, Priests, Teachers and Deacons who are living their
religion in theirs. A Teacher who keeps the commandments of God and
fulfills his duties is more honorable than the Apostle who does not.
You hurt any part of the body, for instance, cut your finger, and the
entire body feels it immediately. Touch the head and every part of the
body senses it. And so it is with every particle of the body—it is a
perfect system; and so is the Church of God, and each of the organs,
members in particular, thus the organized body walks in the path that
God marks out, and seeks to accomplish all things that he designs for
us to do. Hence there is a mutual sympathy, affection and regard, and
a brotherhood and fellowship among the Saints of God who are living
their religion, all through the organization of the Priesthood, from
the head to the foot.

Vol. 18,  p.202
And then we are united with the Priesthood in the eternal worlds, and
the Priesthood that we have is of the same nature as that which they
have. They administer in time and for all eternity; we are
administering now in time, and soon shall be in eternity, all of us.
The Twelve who are around me, and the First Presidency, and others
will be, by and by, beyond the vail in another state of existence. And
what then? Why then we go to give an account of our [p.203]
stewardship, and it will be well for all of us if we can say with
Paul—"I have fought the good fight of faith, I have finished my
course, and henceforth there is laid up for me a crown, which the
Lord, the righteous Judge, shall give to me at that day, and not to me
only, but to all who love the appearing of our Lord and Savior Jesus
Christ."

Vol. 18,  p.203
May God help us to be faithful, live our religion and keep his
commandments, that we may, by and by, obtain an inheritance that is
incorruptible, undefiled and, that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven
for us, in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Daniel H. Wells, April 6, 1876

Unbelief of the Present Age—The Saints Called to 
Build up God's Kingdom—Their Duties and Responsibilities

Discourse By President Daniel H. Wells, Delivered at the 
Forty-Sixth Annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ 
of Latter Day Saints, in the New Tabernacle, Salt 
Lake City, Thursday Morning, April 6, 1876.

(Reported by David W. Evans)

Vol. 18,  p.203
I am gratified with another opportunity of meeting in the capacity of
a General Conference. We have listened to a very stirring discourse
here this morning in regard to the great work in which we are all
engaged, or at least the Latter-day Saints should be all engaged in
it; for they ought to feel interested in the work they have espoused,
as it is designed to bring about the accomplishment of the purposes of
the Lord upon the earth. In the day and age in which we live, the Lord
has given to his children here below the great privilege of being
co-workers with him in establishing his kingdom, and the reign of
truth, peace and righteousness upon the earth.

Vol. 18,  p.203
Is there any necessity for the Lord to commence such a work? If we are
to believe our surroundings, and what we see, hear and learn every
day, there is great necessity, for there can be little doubt in the
minds of any reflecting person that we live in a very wicked,
unbelieving, and perverse generation. I do not think this proposition
would be denied by any one, it is so manifest to everybody that they
cannot deny it. Well, the time has come when it seems as if the cup of
their iniquity is about filled, and when the Lord thinks it is enough,
and he has seen fit to commence his great latter-day work with a
proclamation of the everlasting Gospel among the children of
men,[p.204] with a view of reclaiming them from the path of perdition,
and of saving all who will yield obedience to his requirements.

Vol. 18,  p.204
The earth is now filled with violence and evil as it was in the days
before the flood, and the Lord has said that as it was in the days of
Noah so shall it be in the days of the coming of the Son of Man. How
was it in the days before the flood? Why, the wicked had filled the
cup of their iniquity, and they were destroyed, only a few—the
righteous—being saved. Well, it it is to be in the days of the coming
of the Son of Man as it was in the days of Noah, why the wicked will
again be destroyed, and the righteous saved. This is a preparatory
work, and if the people reject the Gospel that the Lord has revealed
from heaven, they may expect to be over-taken, sooner or later, by his
judgments. They are already being poured out upon the earth. We see
and hear of them occasionally, but the world is filled with unbelief.
Unbelief in God is the crying sin of this generation. They do not
believe in the things of God, nor in the principles which he has
enunciated, and which he is endeavoring to establish through the
instrumentality of those among his children who have rendered
obedience to his Gospel, and who live in accordance with the
principles thereof upon the earth. We have the privilege of
promulgating the work of God, and of establishing his kingdom here
among the children of men; and we may have the privilege of building
Temples to his high and holy name, wherein we may receive the
blessings of time and eternity, and administer the ordinances of
salvation for the living and the dead.

Vol. 18,  p.204
It does not seem necessary, and it should not be, to enter into any
argument to prove these things to the Latter-day Saints; they are
already patent to them, and in this regard they know and understand
their duty. Well then, what is there for us to do? Why, to take hold
with renewed energy and zeal; not to falter but to go ahead, with what
interest we can command, with all the ability we have been endowed
with, and with the means that the Lord has bestowed upon us, in
accomplishing his purposes, and in building Temples to his holy name.
It is for our own benefit; it is for the benefit of the kingdom, and
for the growth and spread thereof.

Vol. 18,  p.204
How can we do more than we have done? hoe way by paying our Tithing.
Can we go to and assist in building this Temple, the foundations of
which have been laid so long? I answer that we can. The next question
is—Will we do it? That I do not know; each one will answer this
question for himself by his acts. If we respond to this call it will
require labor, means, and some attention. For one I will say that I am
willing to take hold with my might, and do what I can towards it. I
can do something, can you? Yes, each and every one can do something,
and if the Latter-day Saints will be united in this thing we shall see
the construction of this Temple go on rapidly. We are abundantly able
to do it—we have plenty of mechanics and laborers, and abundance of
the means necessary to sustain them. The details will be furnished,
and the requirement will be made. Will it be responded to, that is the
question? I think it will; I have faith to believe that the Latter-day
Saints will respond with alacrity in putting the work through. I
believe that it is in the hearts of the people, and that they will
rejoice in [p.205] it to a greater or less extent. There may be some
lukewarm in this work, as in every other; but I am satisfied that the
great majority will lay hold with a great deal of energy, and will
persevere in it, and will rejoice in doing so. This is my faith, and I
am willing to prove it, so far as I am concerned, by my works.

Vol. 18,  p.205
I do not consider it necessary to dwell upon the importance of these
things. A great many of the Latter-day Saints have had many blessings
bestowed upon them in the house of God, very great blessings indeed.
Shall we slacken our hand because of this? By no means. There still
remains a great work to be done; and it is incumbent upon us to do it,
as brother Woodruff has said, while we have the opportunity in the
flesh. Before we go behind the vail we should lay a foundation to
progress upon after we have finished our course here. We, by our
works, as well as by our faith, while in this life, should lay a
foundation for exaltation in the celestial kingdom of our Father and
our God.

Vol. 18,  p.205
I am rejoiced to hear the subject of building Temples agitated again.

Vol. 18,  p.205
A great deal might be said about it as to the details, but it will
recommend itself to every one. What can a Bishop do in his ward? He
can do something, and if he will lay the matter before the members of
his ward he will find that he can get very liberal contributions in
labor, and in provisions and other means necessary to pay the hands
who work steadily on the Temple. There is not a ward in the city, not
a ward in the county, nor in all these counties, but what can
contribute considerable to this end, and that too right away. It is
not going to take so much stone to go on with in proportion, as it has
taken for the foundation, for the walls will not be so wide; and
although the work is expensive, yet it can be done. We have mechanics
who are perfectly competent to do it, and the plan will be given as
fast as laborers to do the work are ready.

Vol. 18,  p.205
This is one thing that we can do, and it is required of us, and the
responsibility of accomplishing this task rests upon our shoulders. Of
course we have other duties to perform. Every person who lives in this
Territory, here in Zion, who professes to be a Latter-day Saint, has
responsibilities of various kinds resting upon him. All ought to
assist in developing the resources of the soil, to draw from the
elements for the support of themselves and families; to build up and
make improvements, and not to tear down and destroy. We should all be
united in developing, beautifying and improving this country, in which
the Lord has planted our feet, that we may become a self-sustaining
people, bringing forth from the elements with which the Lord has
surrounded us, those things necessary for our sustenance and comfort.
We should economise our time, and use it and all we have to our own
best advantage, and to the glory and honor of our Father. There is
plenty of labor here for all if they will do it, and if they will put
themselves to work in those channels that are necessary. There are
some kinds of business that are overdone. A good many of our young
people, and others to, instead of turning their attention to the
cultivation of the earth, or to the manufacture of things that are
actually needed for the welfare and comfort of the community, seek to
become clerks and to pursue some kind of a calling that is not
productive. Such a course increases the consumers, but not the
producers, [p.206] and we have no surplus here of those things
necessary to support and sustain people. If men were to go into
various branches of manufacture, they would help to create a market
for home products, and that would stimulate production, the production
of fruits of the soil as well as other things. That would be good
economy. We, at present, have no surplus of the products of the soil
in these valleys of the mountains; there is no overplus even of wheat
or other grain, or of butter and cheese, and other kinds of food. Even
of meat we have not any but what can command a market, and at a price
sufficiently high to justify the raising of it, and the taking care
of, and increasing and multiplying the flocks and herds, and then
using them wisely. What for? To sustain the wicked and ungodly? No;
but to build up the kingdom of God, and to hold and use for God and
his kingdom continually. Not just for a short time, and then pass off
in some other direction; but continually, day by day, week after week,
and year after year, as long as we live, contribute of what we have
for the building up of the kingdom, and the building of Temples to the
name of the Lord. And when that is done, there will be something else
in the same direction, for it is the work of the Lord, the great work
of the last days. Let us act as if we believed it, unitedly, with all
our hearts, and with all the means that we possess, and not silt our
ways to strangers. I tell you, brethren and sisters, this Feats upon
us, and the work may advance with a great deal more rapidity than what
it has done, if we will be united in obeying the counsels that we
receive from time to time. We must not only listen, but act upon the
counsels we receive.

Vol. 18,  p.206
The Lord, a great while ago, said through his Prophet, that he would
give the kingdom in its fullness to his Saints, and that the kingdoms
of this world shall become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ.
We believe this, and we believe that we are his Saints; poor as we
are, we are the best there is. We have the opportunity to grow and
increase in grace and in favor with the Lord, and in faith and in good
works, and becoming better than we now are, and of becoming more
useful; and as we do so, why, the kingdom will grow faster, and things
will prosper more with us. We shall have greater power with the Lord
and in the world, and the purposes of heaven will roll on and come to
pass faster than they have done. Though in this respect we have no
reason to complain, for they have come along about as quick as we have
been able to stand it. But the work will continue to increase in
greater ratio than it has hitherto done; it is bound to, and cannot
help, it, any way in the world. Whether we ourselves, individually,
stand firm and steadfast, makes no difference, the work of God will go
forward anyhow. But we have the blessed privilege of assisting, and of
being co-workers with the Lord, it we are disposed to he so. Then let
us look to it, that we do not fail, for upon this depends our own
salvation and exaltation in the celestial kingdom. We have now an
opportunity for laying a foundation for hereafter hearing the welcome
plaudit—"Well done, good and faithful servant, you have been faithful
over a few things, now will I make you ruler over many things." Shall
we neglect the opportunities that we enjoy to that extent, that we
shall come short hereafter? I hope and trust not.

Vol. 18,  p.207
The work we are engaged in is worthy of all our attention, for it is
[p.207] the work and kingdom of God, that was spoken of by the
Prophets long ago; that great kingdom spoken of by the Prophet Daniel,
that is to break in pieces and subdue all other kingdoms, and stand
forever, is actually being built up in our day, right in the face and
eyes of the whole world. Who understands it? Does the outside world?
No, and it seems sometimes as if scarcely half the Saints do to the
extent they should. I am satisfied that neither I nor anybody else
comprehends this work to the fullest extent. A great many can see the
kingdom, some do not; some of those who profess to be Saints, judging
by the course they take, do not see the kingdom. But it is here all
the same, whether you see it or not, and it is actually transpiring;
and the course and history of the Latter-day Saints are a testimony to
the world from the Lord of the building up of his kingdom, the
bringing to pass of his purposes, and the fulfillment of prophecies
uttered thousands of years ago. But they cannot see it.

Vol. 18,  p.207
One of the signs of the times to be given when the kingdom of God
should be built up, was the heaving of the sea beyond its bounds. Has
anybody heard of any such thing in these days? Everybody that reads
the newspapers knows that events of this kind have been common during
the past, few years; but this generation pay no more regard to them
than they would to the shaking of a straw in the wind, so far as being
a sign of the coming of the Son of Man, or of the accomplishment of
the work of the Lord in the last days. Talk to people generally, in
the world, about linch things, and they say—"Oh, they are accounted
for upon some natural principle." It is so with all of the signs that
the Lord has given, or that he will give, that have been prophesied
about—they can all be accounted for upon some natural principle. They
are nevertheless coming to pass in the time that the Lord, through his
Prophets, has said they would come. Many things prophesied of in ages
past and gone are actually transpiring to-day, yet the people
generally do not comprehend them. But the majority of the Latter-day
Saints do, and they know that the time of the second coming of the
Savior is approaching.

Vol. 18,  p.207
Can we realize that there is a great work to be accomplished, and that
the responsibility rests upon our shoulders? I hope and trust we may;
I believe we shall, and that we shall put forth renewed energy to
perform what is required of us from time to time, and be earnest in
accomplishing, as far as it devolves upon us, the purposes of the
Almighty, in seeking the kingdom of God and its righteousness, and in
developing the country in which God has planted our feet, and which he
held in reserve for so many hundreds of years for his Saints, that
they might have a place to come to and inherit. We know that he has
given it into our hands, and he is pouring his blessings upon us from
time to time, and that to use for him and his kingdom, and not, as
fast as he hands them to us, to hand them out to build up the devil's
kingdom.

Vol. 18,  p.207
That we may be united in using our abilities, our means, our
substance, and all that we have, in rolling forth God's purposes,
building up his kingdom, and establishing the principles of
righteousness in the hearts of the people, is my prayer, in the name
of Jesus Christ. Amen.[p.208] 

John Taylor, July 30, 1876

The Gathering of the Saints is the Lord's Work—Knowledge 
of the Gospel Attainable Only By Revelation—the Lord Dictated 
the Prophet Joseph Smith in All Things Pertaining to the 
Establishment of the Church of Christ Upon Earth

Remarks By Elder John Taylor, Delivered in the New 
Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Sunday Afternoon, July 30, 1876.

(Reported by G. C. Ferguson)

Vol. 18,  p.208
I have been pleased and interested by the remarks of brother Staines.
He has been very diligent and indefatigable in looking after the
interests of the Saints wire have been emigrating to this place for
many years. I pray that God will continue to bless him, that he yet
may be made instrumental in guarding the interests and cheering the
hearts of the Saints of God for years to come. This gathering is part
of the work we Saints are engaged in. There are associated with this
labor some ideas that are rather peculiar. There are many things in
the Scriptures very strange and remarkable to men who are not inspired
with the spirit by which these principles were inculcated.

Vol. 18,  p.208
The Lord in one place says by his Prophet, "Gather my Saints together,
those that have made a covenant with me by sacrifice." There is
another passage of a similar kind, spoken by another Prophet, "I will
take them, one of a city and two of a family, and bring them to Zion;
and I will give them pastors after my own heart, that will feed them
with knowledge and understanding." There are many similar prophecies
in the Scriptures, pointing out the day in which we live. But men pass
lightly over them, as they do over many other things of great
importance to the human family.

Vol. 18,  p.208
But there certainly is a significance in these expressions. If these
events have not already transpired, they certainly will yet come to
pass. If God has said he would take one of a city and two of a family
and gather them to Zion and give them pastors to feed them, there must
be a time when these things will be accomplished. Among other things
communicated to Joseph Smith was that the people were to gather
together, and there is a general impulse and feeling of this kind
prevalent among this people. They scarcely know by what influence they
are dictated and controlled, nevertheless this feeling is among the
Saints in foreign lands as well as here. The feeling there is a strong
impulse and desire to come here, while in this place there is a desire
to help them to come. Hence the feeling is reciprocal and a part of
the Gospel, a little of that leaven which Jesus referred to in his
day, which "leaveneth the whole lump." As regards the ideas men may
entertain about; this thing it is a matter [p.209] of very liable
importance to us. It is sufficient for us to know the principles which
God has revealed. The world has no means of knowing this, and the
Saints only know by obedience to the Gospel. Brother Statues referred
to the time when it first became a matter of concern to him to know
whether the principles of the Gospel were true or not. This same
feeling has been experienced by many of the Latter-day Saints, and
they solved the question by a doctrine of Christ, which the world
never seem to reflect upon. Jesus said, "If any man will do his will
he shall know of the doctrine, whether it is of God, or whether I
speak of myself:" There is something so broad and comprehensive, yet
so individually personal, in the principle here involved, that though
this mode of knowing is open to all, yet each individual must feel and
realize for himself. There is another scripture bearing on this point,
"He that believeth hath the witness in himself," and another says,
"The Spirit of God takes of the things of the Father, and shows them
unto us." Again, another says, We have a hope that enters behind the
vail, where Christ, our forerunner, has gone. Another, "We know," not
we think we know, "if the earthly house of this tabernacle be
destroyed, we have a building of God, a house not made with hands,
eternal in the heavens." There is something so definite to all men who
are in possession of these principles of the Gospel, that it may well
be said, "Life and immortality are brought to light by the Gospel."

Vol. 18,  p.209
I might go on quoting Scripture, but this is the Gospel Jesus taught
his disciples, and when he was on this continent he taught the same
doctrines and principles and put the believers in possession of the
same certainty. There is something very satisfying in relation to
these matters. It is not with the faithful Saint a matter of any
importance what man may think about him; his religion is to him a
personal matter in which he is individually interested. No philosophy,
no worldly wisdom can impart a knowledge of the plan of salvation.
This knowledge is not; to be obtained except through obedience to the
principles which God has revealed. But having partaken of the light
and intelligence communicated by the Almighty through obedience to the
Gospel of the Son of God, the result is the same now as in former
times. Such a man has the witness planted in himself, as Paul said,
"Now we are sons of God, but it doth not yet appear what we shall be,
but, when he who is our life shall appear, then we shall be like unto
him, for we shall see him as he is." We shall "be transformed to his
glorious image." This, then, is the hope and certainty of the Gospel,
the reward of every true believer, and hence it is a personal thing.
It is no use presenting to men of this kind the nonsense comprising
the religions of the day; it is lost labor to try and turn a body of
men from principles like those, such as God revealed personally to
them, their souls have been lit up and fired by eternal intelligence,
and it is impossible to eradicate this evidence and certainty from a
body of men thus led and directed. God knew this when he commenced
this work.

Vol. 18,  p.209
Men have had their varied social communities, religious and other
theories; but they do not know the secret springs of the human heart.
They do not know the operations of the spirit of the living God. they
cannot bind a conglomerate mass of men sufficiently together, they
will not where they cannot amalgamate them. Nothing less [p.210] than
the inspiration of the Almighty will do it. They have tried it in
various nations with varied success, but they never have accomplished
it and they never will. Hence we are brought back to where we started,
the necessity of sending forth the Gospel. Jesus said, "My sheep hear
my voice and know me and follow me. A stranger they will not follow,
for they know not the voice of a stranger." In the commencement of
this work the Lord, knowing the material required, raised up his
servant Joseph Smith, inspired by his spirit, power and authority, to
proclaim the Gospel of the Son of God, to administer in the ordinances
thereof, and unite those that were willing to make covenant with the
Lord by sacrifice, those that would lay aside their traditions and
keep his commandments. This was what the Lord wished; not to gather up
a promiscuous crowd, but those who would receive the Gospel. "I will
take them one of a city and two of a family and bring them to Zion,"
says the Lord, and give them pastors after my own heart, that will
feed them with knowledge and understanding, not with false philosophy,
but with knowledge emanating from God; men who will manifest the will
of God and carry out his designs, teaching the people his law.

Vol. 18,  p.210
The world think they can learn the law and will of God at the
theological and other schools, and seminaries; but they never did and
they never will learn God or his purposes in this way. God wishes to
establish his kingdom in our day, and he will establish it by his own
power, in his own way.

Vol. 18,  p.210
The Prophet speaks of a stone that should be cut out of the mountain
without hands, which will roll forth and smite the great image, become
a mountain and fill the whole earth. This will be done by Israel's
God, and no power or government, not all the power of earth and hell
combined, can stay its progress. This is the work of God, not of man.
It is not by this man nor that man that this will be brought about. It
is by the power of Jehovah. No other power can accomplish these
things. He makes use of men to accomplish certain objects he has in
view, and will bring about his purposes in his own way and when it
pleases him. But we talk sometimes a good deal about Joseph Smith. Who
was Joseph Smith? An unlettered youth. Could he do anything to
accomplish these things? Not unless God had revealed it to him. He
asked wisdom of God and received it. Till that time he knew no more
about these things than you or I. It was God and God alone that did
these things. "He can take the weak things of this earth, the base
things and the things that are not, to bring to naught the things that
are, that no flesh may glory in his presence." He took Joseph. Why?
Because the time had come to begin a work, in which all the holy
Priesthood of God that had lived in former ages were concerned. Joseph
was the honored instrument chosen to take the initiative. Who knew
that this time had come? No one. The religious world were as divided
then as as they are to-day. All kinds of opposing doctrines and dogmas
were promulgated. "When the Lord shall bring again Zion, the watchmen
shall see eye to eye." But when men are governed by their own notions,
what do they see of the things of God? Nothing. Who originated the
doctrines of this Latter-day work? Who organized this Church? I have
read that in former time. God placed in the Church, first Apostles,
secondarily [p.211] Prophets, afterwards Pastors, Teachers,
Evangelists, for the perfecting of the Saints, the work of the
ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ. Who knew anything of
this? God told Joseph to organize a Quorum of Twelve Apostles, and he
did it. He told him holy to organize a First Presidency, and he did
it. God told him how to organize the Aaronic and Melchizedec
Priesthood, and he did it. Who knew anything of this? No one. They had
a Babel of confusion everywhere, without certainty or true
intelligence. We read that there were Seventies. Who knew anything
what a Seventy was? Joseph was told to organize Quorums of Seventy,
and he did it. He was told to organize a High Priests' Quorum. He was
told what their duties were. Did Joseph himself know anything of all
this? Not till he was told. He was told to ordain Bishops. All kinds
of notions were entertained about the position and duties of a Bishop.
I remember talking to an English nobleman, I think it was Earl
Roseberry. Said I to him, "Allow me to introduce to your lordship
Edward Hunter, our presiding Bishop. You have your Bishops in England,
and they are called lords spiritual; this is our lord temporal, and
looks after our bread and cheese? What did any one know of the office
and duties of Deacon, Teacher, Priest, or Elder? Nothing. Who knows
anything about the building of Temples? No one, not even the Jews;
they do not know fully what they were for. God has revealed it to his
Priesthood. The relationship of man and wife—who knows anything about
this? No one. The sectarian priest will get up with a solemn visage
and pronounce a pair to be husband and wife till death. I say from
such folly good Lord deliver me; but the Lord has delivered me through
the Gospel. God raised up Joseph, and made use of him to reveal this
knowledge, and we have to be directed by God alone. He placed in his
Church in days of old Apostles, Prophets, Pastors, etc., for the work
of the ministry, for the edifying of Christ's body, till we all come
to the unity of the faith, to the knowledge of the Son of God. All
those officers disappeared years and years ago, but God has restored
the ancient organizations of his Priesthood on earth—Apostles, High
Priests, Seventies, Elders, Priests, Teachers and Deacons. He has
restored Bishops and their councils, and high councils, for the
accomplishment of his purposes. He first institutes baptism for the
remission of sins, then the laying on of hands for the gift of the
Holy Ghost, the gathering of the people, then the building of Temples.
Witness our Temple here, and the one at St. George; and many others.
God must dictate. We must be willing to carry out his instructions,
united as one body, with feelings of sympathetic kindness and
brotherhood, associated in our family capacities, our quorum
capacities, associated with the Church triumphant, with the men of God
who have lived in former years, without whom we cannot be made
perfect, nor they without us. If diligent and faithful in these
things, it will be well with us. Eternal life is within our reach, and
it is for Apostles, High Priests, Seventies, Bishops, and all that
pertain to the Church of God to rise up and do their duty, perform
their obligations to the Most High; and I pray that our path may be
like that of the just, which shineth brighter and brighter till the
perfect day.[p.212] 

Brigham Young, August 15, 1876

Very Few Will Inherit Celestial Glory—Lust After the Things of the 
World Produces Apostacy—No Real Happiness Outside of 
Godliness—the Lord Requires the Hearts of the Children of Men

Discourse By President Brigham Young, Delivered at 
Logan, Cache Valley, Sunday, Aug. 15, 1876.

(Reported by Geo. F. Gibbs)

Vol. 18,  p.212
I think it is pretty well understood, by my brethren and sisters, that
my labors, as a public speaker, are somewhat limited, compared with
what they used to be.

Vol. 18,  p.212
The, first season the Twelve went on a mission as the Twelve Apostles
I became acquainted with the father of brother William Hyde, who has
just addressed you. Brother Hyde, deceased, was then a boy. He with
his father's family gathered with the Saints; he went to Missouri and
returned to Illinois, and got married. And this afternoon we have
heard one of his sons speak to us. It is forty years this summer since
I first knew the father of this young man. For three years previous to
this I had been engaged preaching the Gospel, and the Spirit of God
would rest down upon me to that degree that, if I did not open my
mouth to preach to the people, it seemed as though my bones would
consume within me, consequently I used to preach long and loud.

Vol. 18,  p.212
For forty-three years I have been snore or less engaged preaching to
the people. My talking organs are now pretty much exhausted, but my
general health is good, even better than when I was a young man. I
never felt better than I do at present. I have lungs enough to serve
me to preach a hundred years, providing the talking organs of my
stomach were correspondingly good.

Vol. 18,  p.212
I came here to rest, to get away from much talking. Since being here,
I have been waited on by the Indians who are passing through, and I
have had to do a good deal of talking to them, besides having to
converse with the brethren.

Vol. 18,  p.212
I sometimes feel that I can hardly desist from telling the Latter-day
Saints how they should live, but my talking organs will not permit me
to say as much as I wish to. The Celestial Kingdom of God is worth
seeking for, and there are times when i see the importance of the
people living their religion that I almost feel to cry aloud and spare
not, if I had the strength to do it. When I consider the greatness of
the kingdom of God, and the privilege afforded us of becoming heirs to
God our Father, and joint heirs with Jesus Christ our elder brother,
and then sense the condition of the Latter-day Saints, I do not wonder
[p.213] that the question was asked of the Savior by his disciples:
"Who, then, can be saved?" There are very few of the children of
Father Adam and Mother Eve, who will be prepared to go into the
Celestial Kingdom. Those who prepare themselves here, below, through
obedience to the Gospel, receiving through their faithfulness the keys
of the Priesthood, and sanctifying themselves through the truth, they
are preparing themselves to become the sons of God. If we become the
sons of God, we shall be joint heirs with Jesus Christ to all the
inheritances that the Father hath prepared for the faithful. But there
are few of all the human family that will ever attain to this highest
state of glory.

Vol. 18,  p.213
We have a work to do just as important in its sphere as the Savior's
work was in its sphere. Our fathers cannot be made perfect without us;
we cannot be made perfect without them. They have done their work and
now sleep. We are now called upon to do ours; which is to be the
greatest work man ever performed on the earth. Millions of our fellow
creatures who have lived upon the earth and died without a knowledge
of the Gospel must be officiated for in order that they may inherit
eternal life (that is, all that would have received the Gospel). And
we are called upon to enter into this work.

Vol. 18,  p.213
The Latter-day Saints who turn their attention to money-making soon
become cold in their feelings toward the ordinances of the house of
God, They neglect their prayers, become unwilling to pay any
donations; the law of Tithing gets too great a task for them; and they
finally forsake their God, and the providences of heaven seem to be
shut out from them—all in consequence of this lust after the things of
this world, which will certainly perish in handling, and in their use
they will fade away and go from us. We, as well as the whole world of
mankind, know that our time is short, our days but a span. And yet we
lust after this filthy lucre, the world's wealth. It matters not how
much of this world's goods a man may possess, his few days soon
expire, and he sleeps with the fathers. To him his riches are no more;
it was only seeming wealth. We cannot expect to receive real wealth
until we receive the riches of eternity, which are eternal. Those
riches will not be committed to us, until we shall have filled our
measures here, having done all the Lord requires of us, towards
perfecting ourselves, and assisting him in the work of the salvation
of the human family. Not until Jesus shall present all things to the
Father, saying, I have completed the work thou gavest me to do; here
are the results of my labors. Then, and not until then, can we possess
real riches, true riches, eternal riches.

Vol. 18,  p.213
How vain it is in man to allow himself to think that he can make
himself happy with the pleasures of this world. There is no lasting
pleasure here, unless it is in God. When men leave the kingdom of God,
their lives are filled with bitterness, their thoughts are full of
fearfulness, and they are sorrowful, day by day. They may tell you
they are happy. But when you probe them, and find out the inmost
recesses of the heart, it is a cup of gall; they are not happy. They
may seek, to the uttermost parts of the earth, for happiness, but they
find it not. Where is happiness, real happiness? Nowhere but in God.
By possessing the spirit of our holy religion, we [p.214] are happy,
in the morning, we are happy at noon, we are happy in the evening; for
the spirit of love and union is with us, and we rejoice in the spirit
because, it is of God, and we rejoice in God, for he is the giver of
every good thing. Each and every Latter-day Saint, who has experienced
the love of God in his heart, after having received the remission of
his sins, through baptism, and the laying on of hands, realizes that
he is filled with joy, and happiness, and consolation. He may be in
pain, in error, in poverty, or in prison, if necessity demands, still,
he is joyful. This is our experience, and each and every Latter-day
Saint can bear witness to it.

Vol. 18,  p.214
There has been much said with regard to our becoming a united people,
living together in what is called the United Order. One man rises up
here, and another there, saying "The Lord does not want my property;
it is brother Brigham, or it is the Bishop," and don't feel disposed
to enter into this organization. This, I admit, is partly true; the
Lord does not care anything about his property. Who made the earth,
and the riches thereof? To whom does the earth belong? "The earth is
the Lord's, and the fullness thereof." Do you suppose that the Lord
cares anything about a man's farm? Nothing at all, for the whole earth
is his? At his command it is gone, and the man who claimed possession
of any part of it, knoweth not whither it has gone. But what does the
Lord want of his people? It is written in this Bible, and is said to
be the words of the Lord, "Son, give me thine heart." Without it, you
are not worth anything; with it, he has your gold and silver, your
houses and lands, your wives and children, your all.

Vol. 18,  p.214
I have taught from the stand in this place, and in other places, for
years, the necessity of our becoming one. I can say to the Latter-day
Saints, you have never heard brother Brigham make a demand for your
property. All I want is to see this people devote their means and
interests to the building up of the kingdom of God, erecting Temples,
and in them officiate for the living and the dead, and be instruments
in the hands of God of bringing up from their graves those who have
slept without having had the privilege of receiving the Gospel, that
they may be crowned sons and daughters of the Almighty. We do not want
your property, we want you. When we all become one in faith and in
spirit, we shall be one in our acts, having the kingdom of God at
heart. And the inquiry will be from the brethren, "What can I do for
my fellow-creatures? Can I be the means of saving a soul? Can I do
anything for my friends who have slept without a knowledge of the
truth, or can I do anything for those who are living in foreign lands?
Yes, I can." These should be the sentiments of our hearts, and this is
required of us.

Vol. 18,  p.214
Many of us have spent considerable of our time in preaching the Gospel
at home and abroad, and in otherwise assisting to establish the
kingdom of God upon the earth, and we are still engaged in this work.
We have donated towards the deliverance of the poor from foreign
lands, bringing them here, where they have the privilege of being
taught further in the plan of salvation, and where they can assist
more materially in the establishment of Zion in the earth.

Vol. 18,  p.214
Many of the poor, after having been brought here, relieved in many
instances, from the depths of poverty, [p.215] no sooner do they
become the possessors of a little means, than they lift their heels
against the Gospel. This is painful to the Latter-day Saints, who
rendered them assistance; it is grieving to God who delivered them.
Still, it is our duty to send the Gospel to all nations, and to
continue to donate means to gather out the poor. The Lord will save a
few, all that will accept salvation according to the design which the
Lord has devised. He has made the plan, not us. It is, not the
conception of man. It was the Gods who sat in council together—they
planned it and now offer it to us. Will we accept of it?

Vol. 18,  p.215
There are only two churches on the earth—only two parties. God leads
the one, the devil the other. As soon as a man hears the Gospel
preached and becomes convinced of its truth fulness, he is tempted of
the devil, who, whenever there is an opportunity, suggests doubt for
his reflection. If he entertain these doubting influences, it is not
long before what he believed true becomes a matter of conjecture.
Another may receive the Gospel, travel and preach it faithfully,
feeling in his heart to exclaim, "Glory to God in the highest!" having
no other motive than to do good to his fellow beings. By and by he
perhaps is left to himself; he now begins to question himself,
saying—"I wonder if I really was right?" This single doubt is perhaps
the beginning of his apostacy from the Church. In the days of Joseph,
people were inclined to turn away from the faith and go into apostacy,
as much as they do now in proportion to our numbers, and I have
sometimes thought more so. You allow the devil to suggest to you that
I am not leading you right, and allow that thought to abide in your
hearts, and I will promise you that it will lead you to apostacy. You
allow yourselves to doubt anything that God has revealed, and it will
not be a great while before you begin to neglect your prayers, refuse
to pay your Tithing, and find fault with the authorities of the
Church. You will be repeating what apostates all say, "The Tithing is
not used aright," etc. There is a feeling that sometimes prompts me to
ask, "Did you ever pay any Tithing to me that I kept? If so, let us be
informed about it." God has so blessed me with regard to things
pertaining to this world, that if it can be shown that I ever received
the benefit of any man's Tithing, I am able to restore it a hundred
fold. This perhaps is a little levity in me, but I indulge in such
things sometimes.

Vol. 18,  p.215
When brother Joseph was alive, he appointed me to appraise property in
the Nauvoo Temple. On one occasion, a saddle was brought in; it was
valued at two dollars, and being in need of a saddle I used it.
Brother Joseph, too, once sent me the half of a pig which weighed
ninety-three pounds. And while preaching in Boston, I received two and
a half dollars in Tithing, which I also used and reported to brother
Joseph. Otherwise not a dime of the Tithing did I ever use in the days
of Joseph; and since his day the right to dictate the use of the
Tithing belongs to me, and I have used what I thought was necessary,
but I have no knowledge of using one dollar of Tithing money for my
own purposes. Though alter these statements I will say their I dictate
the Tithing very little. Neither the Bishops nor my clerks ever ask me
anything about it, they do what they please with it. I do not care
what is doric with it, if it be rightfully and properly used. They are
perfectly welcome to use my Tithing in common with yours; the [p.216]
Lord will hold them responsible for its use. If my brethren whom I
employ to take care of and raise my stock, do as I wish them to do,
they pay my stock Tithing. No man in this Church pays his full
Tithing. I do not pay mine, but I pay as much as anybody; and I never
inquire what is done with it.

Vol. 18,  p.216
When we neglect any one of these duties, the enemy says, "I have made
so much ground." If the devil can induce an Elder to drink a little,
he is not satisfied with this triumph, but says to him, "Your wife and
children know it, don't pray to-night." The Elder says to his family,
"I feel tired to-night, we won't have prayers." The enemy says, "I
have gained another point." You indulge still further, and you will
find other excuses. Your head is not right, your heart is not right,
your conscience is not right, and you retire again without praying. By
and by, you begin to doubt something the Lord has revealed to us, and
it is not long before such a one is led away captive of the devil.

Vol. 18,  p.216
You Elders of Israel, do you not see the necessity of an advance? Do
you not see that we have traveled just as far as we can, without
adopting the revelation the Lord gave at Independence, Jackson County,
namely, that "the property of the Saints should be laid at the feet of
the Bishops, etc., and unless this was done a curse would befall
them?" They refused to do it, and the consequence was, they were
driven from their homes. Unless we obey these first revelations, the
people will decline in their faith, and they will leave the faith of
the holy Gospel. Do the Elders sense this? Yes, a great many of them
do—also a great many of the sisters. Were it not for the faith and
prayers of the faithful ones, this Church would have been given into
the hands of our enemies. It is the faith of the Priesthood, who cling
to the commandments of the Lord, that holds the people where they are.
Supposing you were in a state to say, We will do what is required of
us: It would be enough for me to say, It is your duty to finish that
house (the Tabernacle) without delay, and it would be done, every man
doing his part cheerfully. But, instead of that being the case, we
might apply to brother John for his team: says brother John, "It is
very hard of you to ask for my team. I have only the one span, and I
don't see that I can let you have it." Brother John keeps his team;
but if he could have had faith sufficient to obey the request, the
Lord would have blessed him with two teams. But because he keeps it,
that is his all, and very probably, will remain his all. Again, say
the Priesthood, "I want your house." "Take it." "Your garden." "Take
it." Says one—"Do you feel so, brother Brigham?" Precisely so, I want
to entertain no other feeling. I have nothing but what, if the Lord
requires, it must go freely. He can take nothing more than is already
his. I say, take it, I will trust in him for more. This is the only
safe ground to walk upon. It is the only way by which we can secure
eternal life. Jesus says, "Strait is the gate, and narrow is the way,
which leads to life eternal," but which the New Translation made, that
leads to "the lives," and few there be who find it. But wide is the
gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many there be
who go in thereat.

Vol. 18,  p.216
The Lord would like to see us take the course that leads unto the
strait gate, that we might be crowned sons and daughters of God, for
such are the only ones in the heavens who multiply and increase, and
who frame and [p.217] make and redeem worlds. The rest take an
inferior kingdom, where this privilege is denied them. This the Lord
has made known unto us through the Prophet Joseph; it is published and
so plainly written, that we can read and understand for ourselves. It
is for us to choose whether we will be sons and daughters, joint heirs
with Jesus Christ, or whether we accept an inferior glory; or whether
we sin against the Holy Ghost, which cannot be pardoned or forgiven in
this world, nor in the world to come; the penalty of which is to
suffer the second death. What is that we call death, compared to the
agonies of the second death? If people could see it, as Joseph and
Sidney saw it, they would pray that the vision be closed up; for they
could not endure the sight. Neither could they endure the sight of the
Father and the Son in their glory, for it would consume them.

Vol. 18,  p.217
The Lord gives us little by little, and is ever willing to give us
more and more, even the fullness; when our hearts are prepared to
receive all the truths of heaven. This is what the Lord desires, what
he would delight in doing, for his children.

Vol. 18,  p.217
These are only a few reflections, when we take into consideration our
Christian religion, for it incorporates every act of a person's life.
We never should presume to do anything unless we can say, "Father,
sanction this, and crown the same with success." If the Latter-day
Saints live so, the victory is ours. There are a great many who want
to live so, and I say God bless all such. Amen.

Wilford Woodruff, August 13, 1876

Simplicity and Unchangeableness of the Gospel—It Must Be 
Preached in All the World Before the Savior Comes—
Duties and Responsibilities of the Saints

Discourse By Elder Wilford Woodruff, Delivered in the 
New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Sunday Afternoon, Aug. 13, 1876.

(Reported by Geo. F. Gibbs)

Vol. 18,  p.217
In connection with the young brother, Elder Joseph H. Parry, who has
just returned from a preaching mission to England, I wish to bear my
testimony, and to make a few remarks on the Scripture contained in the
last chapter of St. Mark, commencing at the 14th verse, wherein an
account is given of the Savior's appearing unto the eleven
disciples,[p.218] and of his upbraiding them for their unbelief and
hardness of heart, because they believed not them that had seen him
after he was risen, etc. At this time the following commission he gave
unto them—

Vol. 18,  p.218
"Go ye into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature. He
that believeth and is baptized, shall be saved; but he that believeth
not shall be damned. And these signs shall follow them that believe.
In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new
tongues; they shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly
thing, it shall not hurt them; and they shall lay hands on the sick,
and they shall recover."

Vol. 18,  p.218
It may appear singular to some, why our Elders do not treat on what is
termed "the mysteries of the kingdom." I know of no greater mystery to
the inhabitants of the earth, than the Gospel of Jesus Christ. And yet
the Gospel is so plain, and so easy to be understood, that the
unlearned and the youth can know of it. The Apostle Paul said, "For I
am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God
unto salvation to every one that believeth." He considered it of so
much importance, that, on another occasion, in writing to the
Galatians, he said—"But, though we or an angel from heaven preach any
other Gospel unto you than that we have preached unto you, let him be
accursed." From the fact of the Gospel being so simple, of its being
adapted to the condition and circumstances of all people, and of its
having gone forth by the commandment of the Savior, to all the world,
in the event of its being rejected, condemnation must necessarily
follow.

Vol. 18,  p.218
Notwithstanding the simplicity of the Gospel, where during the last
eighteen hundred years has been the man or the sect that has presented
it to the world, as taught by the Savior and his Apostles, before it
was revealed from heaven, in fulfillment of ancient prophecies, to the
young man Joseph Smith, and preached by him? No voice had ever been
heard to proclaim it. There had never been a church or an organization
upon the earth, since the days of Christ and his Apostles, directed by
the revelations of heaven and owned of God.

Vol. 18,  p.218
The Gospel now being preached to all the world, by commandment of the
Lord to the Prophet Joseph, is the same as taught by Adam, Enoch and
the Savior. It never changes through lapse of time; its ordinances and
laws are always the same, worlds without end. The first principles of
the Gospel taught from the dawn of creation, are faith, repentance and
baptism, and the laying on of hands for the reception of the Holy
Ghost; and they are the same to-day. To certain minds there might be a
mystery connected with these principles. Why, say some, is this so? We
can only answer, because it is the law of the great Jehovah, the plan
framed in the heavens for the salvation and redemption of man. They
are requirements made of the whole human family, which must be obeyed
in order that the prevailing mystery may be banished, and the fruits
and the blessings of the Gospel enjoyed. The Gospel is free to all; it
is without money and without price. But none can officiate in its
ordinances, acceptably to God, except those who have received divine
authority to do so. For, says the Apostle, no man taketh this honor
unto himself, except he be called of God, as was Aaron. But there are
a great many Gospels, all claiming to be of Christ, [p.219] and all
differing, more or less, from one another, and from the one taught by
the Savior, when upon the earth. When he, who has the authority,
preaches the Gospel, he promises, in the name of Jesus Christ, to all
that believe and obey, that the Holy Ghost will be given them. By
virtue of this promise, all such can know for themselves, whether it
is of God, or whether it is of man. If an unauthorized man goes forth,
pretending to proclaim this same Gospel, and it matters not how able
and talented he may be, his doctrine can be detected, because the
promises which were to follow the believers in Christ are not
realized, the Holy Ghost which imparts its gifts unto men are not
received, and hence the fallacy of the doctrines of men is exposed, so
that none need be deceived. Our boys are often called from the plow
and the workshop, to go abroad to the nations to disseminate the
principles of the everlasting Gospel. By what power are our young men
sustained, who go forth, inexperienced, without much education,
presenting in meekness, to a learned and intelligent world, the Gospel
of Christ? God, through his angels, attends them; he strengthens their
feeble knees, and gives them utterance.

Vol. 18,  p.219
I was once preaching to a large assembly in Collinsville, Connecticut;
when I got through, a young clergyman came forward, and asked me if I
had received any diploma from college. I answered him, "No." "Do you
know," said he, "that a man who has not received a college diploma,
has no right to preach?" "No, sir," I said, "I do not know it." "Well,
sir," he said," that is the case." I then asked him to inform me how
it was that Jesus preached, without receiving a college diploma? and
if such things as college diplomas were ever known or read of in the
ministry of Christ and his Apostles?

Vol. 18,  p.219
The Lord chose poor, illiterate fishermen, and sent them forth to
combat, and even to confound the wisdom of the wise. His Gospel is
represented to-day, by the weak things of the earth, and has been now
for over forty years. And what is the result of our preaching? Let
facts speak for themselves. You can behold for yourselves, a people
gathered here from the different nations, all prompted by the same
motives, namely, to build up and establish Zion on the earth, in
fulfillment of the words of God, through the mouths of his Prophets.
Why have we been so successful, thus far, in accomplishing so great a
work? Simply, because God has confirmed our preaching, and the
testimonies we have borne, by conferring the Holy Ghost, with signs
following the believers. Had not this been the case, Utah would be to
day, what it was on the 24th of July, 1847, when the pioneers first
set foot on its soil—a barren, desolate land, unfit for the habitation
of man. The results of our preaching bespoke the fulfillment of
prophecy. Zion has arisen, and some of the prophecies concerning her,
recorded in the Old and New Testament, are having their fulfillment.

Vol. 18,  p.219
Angels have visited the earth and delivered the keys of salvation to
the Prophet Joseph. He lived long enough to effect a complete
organization of the Church, strictly according to the revelations of
God to him. God has in our day given gifts to men, for the perfecting
of the Saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the
body of Christ. The Apostle likened the Church unto a perfect body.
One part cannot say to the other, I have no need of you; but all the
parts [p.220] are necessary to complete the organization; which is
just as necessary to effect the perfection of the Saints of this
generation as of any other. Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, repentance
and baptism for the remission of sin, are absolute requirements, which
must he complied with, before the Holy Ghost can be received. These
signs, says the Apostle, shall follow them that believe: in my name
shall they cast out devils, they shall lay hands on the sick and they
shall recover, etc. These blessings are the right of every honest
believer in Christ. They were set in the Church by the Savior, and
remain with the Church, as a mighty cloud of witnesses throughout this
Territory could testify to; and not only they of this Territory, but
those of every land and clime wherever the Gospel has been preached
and a Branch of the Church organized. Says the Apostle John, this
Gospel is to be preached to all that dwell on the earth, to every
nation, and kindred and tongue, and people; as a witness before the
second coming of our Savior to dwell on the earth, who will come, not
as a lamb to the slaughter, not riding upon a colt, the object of the
people's scorn. But he will come in power and great glory, taking
vengeance upon them that love and fear him not. We, therefore, are
sending glad tidings of great joy to whomsoever will receive them,
that they may crime up to Zion and escape the judgments that will most
assuredly overtake the wicked.

Vol. 18,  p.220
I know that we are engaged in the great latter-day work, the work of
the living God. And I know that Joseph Smith was a Prophet of God
chosen and set apart to usher in this last dispensation of the
fullness o times. He has left a record, published, sealed by his own
blood, confirming the truth of the same. This testimony is in force to
all the world, and it will be in force until the end of time. This we
declare is the kingdom which the Prophet Daniel saw in vision, never
more to be thrown down or given to another people. In these mountains
Zion is to be built up, in fulfillment of prophecy, and every jot and
tittle hat has been spoken of her must come to pass. The last is
first, and the first will be last. The Gospel was first sent directly
to the Jews; the Savior himself was of that lineage, through the loins
of David. He came to his own, but they received him not. He was
reproached of them, from the day of his birth until they crucified him
on the cross. Consequently, the risen Redeemer commanded his Apostles
to turn to the Gentiles. They received the work, and enjoyed the gifts
and blessings of the Gospel, even the Comforter, the Holy Ghost; and
the Priesthood continued with them until a portion of them became
unworthy of it, through their falling away, while the faithful were
harassed and persecuted to their death. The Gospel is now restored to
us Gentiles, for we are all Gentiles in a national capacity, and it
will continue with us if we are faithful, until the law is hound, and
the testimony sealed, and the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled,
when it will again revert to the Jews, whom the Lord will have
prepared to receive it. They will gather to their own land, taking
with them their gold and silver, and will re-build their city and
temple, according to the prediction of Moses and the Prophets. When
this time arrives, which is nigh, even at our doors, let the Gentile
nations who reject the Gospel which is now sent to them, prepare to
meet the judgments of an offended God! For when their cup is full even
to the [p.221] brim, the Lord will then remember the chastisements of
the Jews, his favored people, and at whose hands they will have
received double for their iniquities. Offences must come, said the
Savior, but woe unto them by whom they come. Woe unto the Gentiles,
who have administerd afflictions to the Jews for these many years! Woe
unto them it they now reject this only means of salvation, for the
awful calamities spoken of in these books, the Bible and Book of
Mormon, will certainly befall them.

Vol. 18,  p.221
The principle of gathering has been preached for the past thirty-seven
years. Before this principle was preached by the Elders, a great many
of the people had received the spirit of it; and the consequence was,
that no sooner had it been taught by the Presidency of the Church,
than the people everywhere were ready to receive it. It had been
revealed to them by the Holy Ghost, whose office it is to reveal that
which is past, present, and that which is to come, and no surer,
stronger testimony can be given to any one than it affords. We have
gathered here for the express purpose of establishing Zion, which,
according to the Scriptures, must be before the Gospel can be sent to
the Jews. Passage after passage might be found in the Bible, referring
to our coming here; the casting up of the highway on which the
ransomed of the Lord might travel; the building of our city in a low
place, which was to be called Sought out, a city not forsaken; and how
the Lord would cause springs of water to spring up, and the desert to
blossom like the rose, etc., all of which have had their fulfillment.
But how do the inhabitants of the earth regard these things? With
great indifference. In fact it would be a marvel to me were it
otherwise, for according to the predictions, the people in this age
were to be like unto the people of the days of Noah and Lot marrying
and giving in marriage, practising all manner of wickedness and
abominations, and wholly unprepared for the coming of the Son of Man.
The Jeers were under no condemnation for rejecting the Savior, until
he appeared amongst them as the light of the world, then they had no
longer a cloak for their sins; and in rejecting him, and those who
were sent unto them, they stood condemned before the Lord, and,
consequently, his threatened judgments overtook them. The people who
heard not the Gospel preached from the days of the Apostles until its
restoration in our day, are under no condemnation for rejecting the
Gospel during the time it had been taken from the earth. But the light
again has dawned upon the world, and the Elders of Israel are engaged
proclaiming it far and wide, and as it was with the Jews, so it will
be with the Gentiles who reject it, for the predictions at God's
Prophets must have their fulfillment, and neither you nor I can
prevent it if we would. We are charged with being uncharitable,
because we proclaim these things. We are not to blame—we are merely
the creatures used by the Almighty in doing his bidding. The work is
his, the plan of salvation is the creation of his superior wisdom, not
ours.

Vol. 18,  p.221
Let me say to my brethren and sisters, our responsibilities are great,
far greater than the outside world who reject the Gospel. We have
received the light, the knowledge of God; we are under sacred
covenants to stand by the truth, and by one another in righteousness.
If we are found traitors to the cause, crucifying the Son of Man
afresh, great will be our condemnation. Our time allotted [p.222] us
to tarry here below is short; but our spirits are eternal, and will
live forever, and our future destiny depends on this our earthly
career. The Lord has given his angels charge concerning us; they are
our friends, and their eyes are over us. They stand in waiting with
sharp sickles in their hands, ready to go forth and reap down the
earth. Our calling is to perfect ourselves, to purify Zion, and make
it a fit habitation for the Son of God when he comes; to build
Temples, and in them perform the rites and ordinances for the living
and the dead, and accomplish all that God designs us to do. And that
we may be faithful in the performance thereof, is my prayer in the
name of Jesus. Amen.

Orson Pratt, August 26, 1876

Prophecies of Joseph Smith and Their Literal Fulfillment—the 
Rise of the Church and the Gathering—Martyrdom of the Saints 
and Flight of the Church to the Rocky Mountains—the Great United 
States Rebellion—the Gospel to Be Preached to the Gentiles; 
Then to the Jews—Plagues of the Last 
Days—Millennial Reign

Discourse By Elder Orson Pratt, Delivered in the New 
Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Sunday Afternoon, Aug. 26, 1876.

(Reported by Geo F. Gibbs)

Vol. 18,  p.222
A little upwards of forty-six years ago, the Lord our God, through the
administration of holy angels, organized his Church in the State of
New York, and called men to the ministry, commanding them to go forth
as missionaries, and preach to the people of the United States. They,
in obedience to the command, went forth in their weakness, commencing
their labors in the State of Now York, and succeeded in baptizing
believers, and organizing branches of the Church. From that day to the
present, the Lord has been with his servants, and with the people who
have embraced the message they proclaim.

Vol. 18,  p.222
In connection with the establishing of this Church, the Lord
inaugurated the Gathering, which is peculiar to the dispensation in
which we live. This work of gathering of the people, has continued for
forty-six years, and we can behold its results—a people settled
throughout these mountain valleys, numbering a hundred and fifty
thousand.

Vol. 18,  p.223
I have often reflected upon the early prophecies that were given
[p.223] through our Prophet, Joseph Smith, whom the Lord called to
Organize his Church in this last dispensation, and have often marveled
at their literal fulfillment. I will refer to some of them.

Vol. 18,  p.223
It is well known that the Book of Mormon was translated by Joseph
Smith, from certain plates which he discovered, deposited in a certain
hill, anciently called Cumorah, which is situated in Ontario County,
State of New York, having previously been shown the place in open
vision. This book was translated, and its first edition of five
thousand copies was published, before the organization of this Church.
It was stated in that book, that a Church should arise, and the people
who should embrace the Gospel which it contained, should be gathered
together into one body. For the fulfillment of this, I have only to
refer you to the people, the body of this Church, inhabiting these
mountain vales. This prophecy also speaks of the extent of this future
work—it should not only be preached to the people of this American
Continent, but it should be proclaimed to every nation, kindred,
tongue and people, under heaven, and the gathering should be from all
these nations.

Vol. 18,  p.223
An impostor may prophesy, but he cannot fulfill his own prophecies. If
Joseph Smith was an impostor, as the world say he was, how could he
know beforehand of the rise of this Church, and that the Gospel would
be preached in all parts of this nation? Still more, how could he
know, that it would go to every land, and be proclaimed throughout
every nation of the earth, and even to those inhabiting the islands of
the sea? Has this been fulfilled? All you have to do is to make
yourselves acquainted with the fact. You will find that the Gospel
message has been carried out by our missionaries to the nations of
Great Britain and Ireland, to France, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, and
the countries of Scandinavia, to Austria and Russia, to Asia and
Africa, to Australia and the island of New Zealand, and the various
islands of the South Pacific Ocean, as well as to the Sandwich and
Society Islands. Among all these nations, this work has gone in
fulfillment of prophecy, published before there was any Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Joseph Smith, therefore, so far as
the fulfillment of his prophecies is concerned, has so much to
establish the divinity of his mission.

Vol. 18,  p.223
Let us refer still further to the prophecies contained in the Book of
Mormon. We read in that book, that not only a Church should arise,
etc., but that the blood of the Saints who should embrace its faith,
should cry from the ground to the God of heaven, against the
inhabitants of this nation. How unlikely a thing to be fulfilled!
Here, upon this land, is one of the most free governments given to
man, bestowing upon all, civil and religious liberty. In other lands,
persecution existed in consequence of men's religious convictions;
here all religious societies enjoyed the freedom of religious liberty
to the fullest extent. If an impostor were going to prophesy, would he
not be most likely to predict something that would suit the popular
feeling of the people, something that would naturally come to pass?
But for him to prophesy that the blood of the Saints, who were yet
unconverted, should cry unto God for vengeance, against a people who
glorified in their freedom, who could believe it? The people said such
a thing never could come to pass; Joseph Smith must be an imposter.
[p.224] But how long was it before this met with its fulfillment?
History shows that three years after the rise of this Church, the
Latter-day Saints, numbering some twelve hundred persons, were settled
in Jackson; one of the western counties of Missouri, where they
possessed flourishing homes, which they had made out of the lands they
had bought of the United States Government, and which they had paid
for, and where, in consequence of their having preached the ancient
Gospel, which had been restored to the earth through the ministration
of angels, they met with serious opposition, insomuch that they were
finally driven en masse from their possessions, their homes were torn
down and destroyed, their animals were shot down as you would shoot
the wild beasts of the forest, their hay stacks were burned, and their
corn fields despoiled, and many of the Saints were also sleet dead by
the hands of their persecutors. What for? Was it because they had
committed crimes that merited this treatment? No, their court records
do not show a single instance of our people having broken the laws.
Was it polygamy? No, for the principle of plural marriage was not
known among us then. They said, "You proclaim that God is a God of
revelation. We do not believe it. You say that God has re-organized
his Church on the earth, according to the ancient pattern. We do not
believe it. We do not wish such doctrines, we do not wish our families
corrupted by believing in them, for prophets, and new revelation, and
miracles are all done away with; therefore you must leave us. We have
pledged ourselves, our lives, and all we possess, to drive you from
our midst." Perhaps you strangers may think I am telling you that
which is false. It is written and printed by our enemies, and forms
part of history; and it furnishes another testimony proving the divine
calling of the boy who was inspired of the Lord to translate that
book.

Vol. 18,  p.224
After we had again established ourselves in a new country, and built
up a beautiful city, and when all was peaceful and prosperity
attending us, this same Prophet, on assembling the Elders of this
Church on a certain occasion at Nauvoo, told us that we would have to
flee to the Rocky Mountains for safety. The fulfillment of this
prediction is apparent to all. I might mention scores of others, and
in no instance has that man uttered a single prophecy that either has
not already been fulfilled, to the very letter, or will not have its
fulfillment in the due time of the Lord. I will mention another
prophecy, which was printed in several languages, and published among
the various nations in whose languages it was printed, which was
twenty-eight years reaching its fulfillment. The Lord revealed to the
Prophet, Joseph Smith, that there would be a great rebellion between
the Northern and Southern States, commencing in the State of South
Carolina, and that it should terminate in the death and misery of many
souls. This, as you all know, has been literally fulfilled. When I was
a boy, I traveled extensively in the United States and the Canadas,
preaching this restored Gospel. I had a manuscript copy of this
revelation, which I carried in my pocket, and I was in the habit of
reading it to the people among whom I traveled and preached. As a
general thing the people regarded it, as the height of nonsense,
saying the Union was too strong to be broken; and I, they said, was
led away, the victim of an impostor. I knew [p.225] the prophecy was
true, for the Lord had spoken to me and had given me revelation. I
knew also concerning the divinity of this work. Year after year passed
away, while every little while some of the acquaintances I had
formerly made would say, "Well, what is going to become of that
prediction? It's never going to be fulfilled." Said I, "Wait, the Lord
has his set time." By and by it, came along, and the first battle was
fought at Charleston, South Carolina. This is another testimony that
Joseph Smith was a Prophet of the Most High God; he not only foretold
the coming of a great civil war at a time when statesman even never
dreamed of such a thing, but he named the very place where it should
commence.

Vol. 18,  p.225
I have not time now to notice any others. I wish, however, to say more
particularly to the strangers present, that God informed us
immediately after the organization of this Church, that this Gospel
should be preached first to the nations of the Gentiles, and then the
Lord would call in his servants and give them a special mission to the
scattered remnants of the house of Israel, that are among the Gentile
nations. You have not heard of our trying to convert the Jews. Why?
Because God has decreed and determined that he will fulfill the times
of the Gentiles first, in accordance with ancient prophecy. When that
time arrives, the Lord will have prepared some of the Jewish nation to
receive the Gospel, and then they will gather to their own land, and
rebuild their city upon its former site. You doubtless will remember
those words of the Saviour referring to the Jewish nation, which can
be found in the 21st chapter of St. Luke—"For there shall be great
distress in the land, and wrath upon this people. And they shall fall
by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all
nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until
the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled." How and in what way will the
Lord fulfill the times of the Gentiles? There must first be a revealed
message, a Gospel message, sent to them. The preaching of this message
is referred to in the 14th chapter of Revelations, by the Apostle
John, who in vision saw the angel in the act of bringing it to the
earth. And we are told it was to be preached to all nations which may
be said to be composed of the two peoples known as the Gentiles and
the Jeers. But the Lord has said that "the last shall be first, and
the first shall be last." Jesus came to the lost sheep of the house of
Israel, but they rejected him, and the Apostles were moved upon to
say, "Lo, we turn to the Gentiles;" and they did so, the Jews having
proved themselves unworthy of eternal life, "and the kingdom of God
shall be taken from you," says the Savior, "and given to a nation
bringing forth the fruits thereof." The Gentiles, to whom the Gospel
was to be given, received it, and the gifts and graces of the Church,
which were before enjoyed by Israel, were now manifested among the
Gentiles. But behold, they corrupted themselves, after having received
the kingdom, and Paul perceived the decline of their faith, which was
the beginning of the great "falling away," which he, in his second
epistle to the Thessalonians, said must be before the day of the Lord
came. Also in the 11th chapter of Romans, Paul speaks of the Gentiles
who had received the Gospel as the wild olive tree, having been
grafted into the tame olive tree, and cautions them in this
language—"Because of unbelief, they (Israel), were broken off, and
thou standest by faith. Be not highminded, but [p.226 ] fear. For if
God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not
thee." This, with other prophetic warnings of a similar character, was
disregarded.

Vol. 18,  p.226 
I will refer you to another ancient prophecy contained in the 4th
chapter of the second of Timothy—"For the time will come when they
will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they
heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; and they shall turn
away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables;" and
who, he says, in the previous chapter, shall "have a form of
godliness, but denying the power thereof; from such turn away." It
seems, then, that this people, whom Paul speaks of, were to have a
form of godliness; they were, in other words, to be a pious people,
professedly a very religious people, but were only to possess a form,
lacking all power; to be destitute, therefore, of Apostles and
Prophets, miracles, etc. How long was the people to continue in this
state? John informs us that this state of things would continue a long
time; that, instead of the Church, another great power should arise,
to be called "Mystery, Babylon the Great, the Mother of Harlots, and
abominations of the earth, presenting in her hand a golden cup full of
abominations and filthiness of her fornications; which should be
drunken with the blood of the Saints, and with the blood of the
martyrs of Jesus. And this power was to prevail against the Saints and
destroy them. How long was it to exist? Until another angel should fly
through the midst of heaven, having the everlasting Gospel to commit
to the earth, with power to again administer its ordinances. To whom
is the angel to bring the Gospel? The Scriptures rosy, the first shall
be last, and the last shall be first. The Gentiles were the last to
receive the Gospel in ancient times, but on its restoration by the
angel in the last days, they are to receive it first, and then the
Jews. But before the Jews receive it, the following words of the
Savior must be fulfilled—"Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the
Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled, when the
Gospel again will revert to that people. What do you think will bring
about the fulfillment of the times of the Gentiles? It must be the
promulgation of the Gospel, which the angel brings, which is to be
sounded in the ears of the Gentile nations; all those receiving it are
to gather out from this spiritual wickedness called Babylon the Great,
because God has decreed her downfall. The overthrow of Babylon is
spoken of in connection with the bringing of the Gospel by the angel,
who declares also, "the hour of his judgment is come." Judgment upon
whom? First, upon the Gentile nations, when their times are fulfilled.
In what way? By visiting upon them famines, and pestilences, and
earthquakes; nation rising against nation in war, etc., until the
Gentile nations are overthrown. Or, to speak in the language of John,
who declared that after the angel shall bring the Gospel, another
angel shall follow, crying with a loud voice, saying, Babylon is
fallen, is fallen, because she made all nations drink of the wine of
the wrath of her fornication; she is fallen like a great millstone,
east into the depths of the sea, and no more place found for her.

Vol. 18,  p.226 
How long will it be before the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled?
This is a question I cannot fully answer. It will be in the generation
that the angel comes. Forty-six years have already transpired, since
[p.227] the Lord sent his Gospel message to the Gentile nations; and
for upwards of forty years the Saints have been gathering out from the
midst of Babylon, in fulfillment of another prophecy of John—"And I
heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people,
that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her
plagues. For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath
remembered her iniquities." Remember, strangers and all, that this
gathering of the people was not to result from a cunningly devised
fable, or the natural scheming of man; but it should be in consequence
of new revelation—a voice from heaven, commanding the people to come
out from those nations where the Mother of Harlots has her seat. For
it is written in the revelation of John, that the great waters upon
which the millions called Babylon sit, are nations, and multitudes,
and tongues, and people. "Come out of her my people;" Why? That ye be
not partakers of her sins. How great are her sins? "Her sins have
reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities." Come out
from Babylon, lest you be made partakers of her plagues. Death and
mourning, lamentation and distress, will be visited upon all the
inhabitants of the earth. But blessed are they who come out from
Babylon, for they shall stand in holy places and not be moved, having
kept the commandments of the Most High.

Vol. 18,  p.227
But if you Latter-day Saints who have received the message of the
everlasting Gospel, and who have, in obedience to the voice from
heaven, gathered out of Babylon, if you pollute yourselves by turning
again to the vanities, wickedness, and corruptions of the people from
whose midst you have been delivered, then, says the Lord, "Behold,
judgment shall begin at the house of mod," it shall begin with you
Latter-day Saints, and then will go forth to the nations and kingdoms
of the earth, weeping, wailing and lamentations among all people,
which will come to pass just as literally as that foretold by the
Prophet Joseph Smith, concerning what should take place between the
North and the South.

Vol. 18,  p.227
These plagues named in John's revelations, will take place
literally—"The Lord God will curse the waters of the great deep, and
they shall be turned into blood." "The sea shall become as the blood
of a dead man, and every living thing in the sea shall be destroyed."
And the time will come, when the seven angels having the seven last
trumps will sound their trumps literally, and the sound thereof will
be heard among the nations, just preparatory to the coming of the Son
of man; and all the judgments foretold by John, which are to succeed
the sound of each of the seven trumpets, will be fulfilled literally
upon the earth in their times and seasons. And the wicked will gnaw
their tongues for peace, and will curse God, wishing to die because of
their pain. These are they who repented not when the gospel was
preached to them, and who became hardened in their iniquities, which
were overflowing, in order that God might visit them according to all
that had been spoken by the mouths of his ancient Prophets.

Vol. 18,  p.227
What will become of the Latter-day Saints? When the judgments shall
have ceased, which will be visited first on the house of the Lord,
they who remain will spread forth, increase and multiply; and they
will build upon this continent a great and magnificent city, called
Zion, or the New Jerusalem. And they will build a Temple within that
city, upon which a cloud will rest by day, and the [p.228] shining of
a flaming fire by night; and upon all the assemblies of the people of
Zion the Lord will create this glorious appendage, and will shed forth
his loving kindness. This is the destiny of Zion, as foreseen by
Isaiah and David, and many of the Prophets who have predicted
concerning her.

Vol. 18,  p.228
Says one, I will wait to see if God will do these things. But
peradventure, while waiting, you may be cut asunder, and your portion
appointed among the unbelievers, where there are weeping, and wailing,
and gnashing of teeth. Woe unto them who wait to see if God will
really fulfill the prophecies of his servants, and who repent not of
their sins! But, blessed are they who repent as soon as they hear the
sound of the message, and who turn unto the Lord their God with all
their hearts, for they shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, which
bears record of the Father and the Son, and they shall be prepared for
the dispensation of his providences, and hail his coming with great
joy. The people of the antediluvian world waited one day too long;
they waited until the flood came, when it was too late, and they were
swept away, eight persons only escaping. The Savior, speaking of his
second coming, said—"As it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be
also in the days of the Son of Man. They did eat, they drank, they
married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah
entered into the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all.
Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank,
they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded. But the same day
that Lot went out of Sodom, it rained fire and brimstone from heaven,
and destroyed them all. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son
of man is revealed." Did the Lord raise up a Prophet and warn the
antediluvians by new revelation? He did: and he did the same in the
case of the people in the days of Lot. Will he do the same prior to
his second coming? He will. He is doing it by means of his Gospel;
revealed for the purpose of saving all who receive it, who gather to a
place of safety, as Noah and those who believed his message did; But
the day will come when the Lord will not spare any who remain in
Babylon; that will be, however, when this prophecy of Isaiah is
completely fulfilled—"I will gather them from the east, and from the
west; I will say to the north, give up, and to the south, keep not
back; bring my sons from afar, and my daughters from the ends of the
earth, even every one that is called by name." All this is to take
place in the very dispensation in which the angel should bring the
Gospel, which is the dispensation of the fullness of times. The
Apostle Paul also refers to the same great event, in the following
language: "That in the dispensation of the fullness of times he might
gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven
and which are on earth; even in him." It is the purpose of God then,
not to confine the gathering to earthly Saints alone." What," says
one, "are immortal beings coming down from heaven to live on this
earth?" Certainly, and thus fulfill numerous prophecies in the
Scriptures; one of which is, "They shall reign on the earth." Who are
these persons? They are they whom John heard singing in heaven about
it. They said, "Thou hast redeemed us out of every nation, kindred,
tongue and people, and hast made us unto our God, kings and priests:
and we shall reign on the earth."[p.229] What a glorious song! While
we are singing about going to heaven, all heavenly beings are singing
about coming back to earth to live and to reign. Why? Because this is
their inheritance, they have been made worthy through the blood of the
lamb, and their Redeemer will be their King of Kings and Lord of
Lords, and to his dominion there shall be no end. When this takes
place, then will be fulfilled the saying, that all things which are in
Christ, both in heaven and on earth, shall be gathered together. The
wicked, too, shall be gathered, but in bundles ready for the burning.

Vol. 18,  p.229
Marvel not, therefore, Latter-day Saints, that you have been exalted
out from among the Gentile nations! Marvel not that the Lord has said
to the North, give up, and to the south, keep not back, bring my sons
from afar, and my daughters from the ends of the earth! Marvel not at
the Savior's parable of the gathering of all kinds of fish and
bringing them to the shore! By and by, angels will come among the
Latter-day Saints who have been gathered from the nations, and they
will pluck out one here, and another there, putting them into their
place. The separation of the fish will take place; the bad will be
cast away, while the good will be reserved in vessels for the Master's
use.

Vol. 18,  p.229
May the Lord who has redeemed us from among the nations bestow upon us
the rich blessings of his kingdom, which he has decreed to bestow upon
his people in the latter days! And may this people spread forth on the
right hand and on the left; may they enlarge the place of their
dwelling, and stretch forth the curtains of their habitation, until
they shall become a great mountain, as the Prophet Daniel has
predicted, and fill the whole earth, until the kingdom and the
dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom, under the whole heavens;
shall be given to the Saints of the Most High God! Amen.[p.230] 

Brigham Young, September 17, 1876

Personal Revelation the Basis of Personal Knowledge—Philosophic 
View of Creation—Apostacy Involves Disorganization and 
Return to Primitive Element—One Man Power

Discourse By President Brigham Young, Delivered in the 
New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Sunday Afternoon, Sept. 17, 1876.

(Reported by Geo. F. Gibbs)

Vol. 18,  p.230
I am about to do the very thing I did not intend to do this afternoon,
that is, speak to the people. I have absented myself from your
meetings now for some time, feeling that if I came here my spirit
would be drawn out to such a degree that I would perhaps be under the
necessity of talking to you; I will venture, however, to use my lungs
for a few minutes, and present a few words of counsel to the
Latter-day Saints.

Vol. 18,  p.230
There is a Scripture which reads, "For what man knoweth the things of
a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? Even so the things of
God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God." This is as true a saying
as there is in the Bible. And on one occasion Jesus said, "If any man
will do my will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God,
or whether I speak of myself." Brother Geo. Q. Cannon, who has just
spoken, has testified to the word. I have made these quotations to
confirm and strengthen what lie has said. There are people enough here
to publish to the world that there is a man who testifies that he
knows that God lives, who knows that Jesus is the Christ, the Savior
of the world. I also testify to the truth of these things. I have
proven to my satisfaction, according to the best knowledge I can
gather, that man can be deceived by the sight of the natural eye, he
can be deceived by the hearing of the ear, and by the touch of the
hand; that he can be deceived in all of what are called the natural
senses. But there is one thing in which he cannot be deceived. What is
that? It is the operations of the Holy Ghost, the Spirit and power of
God upon the creature. It teaches him of heavenly things; it directs
him in the way of life; it affords him the key by which he can lest
the devices of man, and which recommends the things of God. The
sayings which I have quoted I have proven to be true, and I bear
testimony to them. The Latter-day Saints have done likewise. Not only
the Saints who are present, and who gathered to Zion, but those of
every nation, continent, or island who live the religion taught by our
Savior and his Apostles, and also by Joseph Smith; they also bear the
same testimony, their eyes have been quickened by the Spirit of God,
and they see alike, their hearts have been quickened, [p.231] and they
feel and understand alike, and there are no disputations among them
with regard to the doctrines of the Savior.

Vol. 18,  p.231
Men begin to apostatize by taking to themselves strength, by
hearkening to the whisperings of the enemy who leads them astray
little by little, until they gather to themselves that which they call
the wisdom of man; then they begin to depart from God, and their minds
become confused. But all who keep the faith are of one heart and one
mind, and this testimony is so confirmed to all that we cannot be
mistaken. If we ask the Father, in the name of Jesus, for such and
such favor, and it be granted to us, should we not acknowledge God in
this? If we hearken to the whisperings of the Spirit of God, we shall
feel ourselves under obligations to do so. In consequence of our
obedience to the will of the Father, we know for ourselves, and our
knowledge is confirmed as we continue to apply the commandments of God
in our everyday life.

Vol. 18,  p.231
Brother Cannon speaks of Christians. We are Christians professedly,
according to our religion. People have gathered to themselves certain
ideas, and laid them down as systems, calling them religion, all
professing to believe and obey the Scriptures. Their religious are
peculiar to themselves—our religion is peculiar to God, to angels, and
to the righteous of time and eternity. Why are we persecuted because
of our religion? Why was Joseph Smith persecuted? Why was he hunted
from neighborhood to neighborhood, from city to city, and from State
to State, and at last suffered death? Because lie received revelations
t rein the Father, from the Son, and was ministered to by holy angels,
and published to the world the direct will of the Lord concerning his
children on the earth. Again, why was he persecuted? Because he
revealed to all mankind a religion so plain and so easily understood,
consistent with the Bible, and so true. It is now as it was in the
days of the Savior; let people believe and practise these simple,
Godlike traits, and it will be as it was in the old world, they will
say, if this man be let alone he will come and take away our peace and
nation. Why? Because—"Shall I quote Scripture? If I do not, I will
make a little." Because it takes away their bread and butter, takes
away their salaries; they become no longer able to impose upon the
people, and to lead them blindly along, while they themselves feast
and fatten upon the labors of these whose souls they profess a
watch-care over. They say, "We shall be broken up, we shall have to
raise our own wheat and potatoes, make our own butter and cheese, and
we cannot bear it, and we will not, we'll drive this religion from the
earth." This is really all the reason there is. A man rises up and
says, "I understand the philosophy of a good many sciences, and I
cannot believe as you Latter-day Saints do." All your philosophy, even
every iota of it which is true, belongs to the religion of the
Latter-day Saints; and I say to all such, if you believe the truth,
you believe just as the Latter-day Saints believe. It is said in this
book (the Bible) that God made the earth in six days. This is a mere
term, but it matters not whether it took six days, six months, six
years, or six thousand years. The creation occupied certain periods of
time. We are not authorized to say what the duration of these days
was, whether Moses penned these words as we have them, or whether the
translators of the Bible have given the words their intended meaning.
However, [p.232] God created the world. If I were a sectarian I would
say, according to their philosophy, as I have heard many of them say
hundreds of times, "God created all things out of nothing; in six days
he created the world out of nothing." You may be assured the
Latter-day Saints do not believe any such thing. They believe God
brought forth material out of which he formed this little terra firma
upon which we roam. How long had this material been in existence?
Forever and forever, in some shape, in some condition. We need not
refer at all to those wire were with God, and who assisted him in this
work. The elements form and develop, and continue to do so until they
mature, and then they commence to decay and become disorganized. The
mountains around us were formed in this way. By and by, when they
shall have reached their maturity, the work of disintegration and
decay will commence. It has been so from all eternity, and will
continue to he so until they are made celestial.

Vol. 18,  p.232
Some of our scholars who have acquired a little smattering of
knowledge rise up and say, "I am an infidel, I do not believe in God."
Well, then, as the Psalmist says, "The feel has said in his heart
there is no God." I make the application of the Psalmist. You do not
know sour right hand from your left. How do you happen to know that
this (the right hand) is the right hand, and that this (the left) is
the left hand? Simply because it has been handed down from parent to
child until this day. Were it otherwise one might say, This (the left
hand) is my right hand, and this (the right) is my left hand. Where
did Professor Morse obtain his knowledge of electricity, and its
application over the telegraph wire? He got it from the God of Heaven,
who is the source of all intelligence; from him proceeds the knowledge
of mechanism and of philosophy in all its phases.

Vol. 18,  p.232
What do men and women who turn away from the faith, as they
occasionally do, turn to? To an empty sound, from a reality to a
shadow. They reject a knowledge of the eternal principles by which the
heavens are, were, and will be; they turn to the follies and weakness
of man and yield to the influences of the devil, who, with the third
part of the hosts of heaven, rebelled against the Father and was cast
out of heaven. What is the ultimate result of this downward course
which some are pursuing? The beautiful organization they now possess,
will decrease in beauty, and continue to decrease until the elements
of which it, is formed dissolve and return to their original state,
just like the action of these mountains, which, in their time decay,
and return to mother clay. They who turn away from the Gospel of the
Son of God, which we preach, turn away from the origin of all truth,
from light into darkness, from wisdom to folly, until they are known
no more forever; this is the end of apostacy. What has already become
of those who, during our short existence as a Church, have come out
against us, politically, judicially, or otherwise, there who have
raised their puny arms to destroy the kingdom of God from the earth!
They have become powerless, like the dew before the rising sun; they
have vanished away, their names are almost forgotten; and if this is
not the case with all, it will be. For Zion must be establised on the
earth, and God, in his power and might, will accomplish it, and none
can stay His purposes. He will gather together in one all things
[p.233] in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth,
and we will assist him.

Vol. 18,  p.233
I testify that Jesus is the Christ, the Savior and Redeemer of the
world; I have obeyed his sayings, and realized his promise, and the
knowledge I have of him, the wisdom of this world cannot give, neither
can it take away.

Vol. 18,  p.233
To you, my brethren and sisters, I wish to give a little counsel. And,
here, let me say, that after I have revealed to you the mind and will
of God concerning you, I am not held responsible for the performance
of your duties. Cease your folly and wickedness, cease running otter
Babylon, and let your young people cease their Sunday and midnight
excursions, and everything that savors of Babylon; for soon she must
fall, she will pass away, the victim of her own wickedness, and it
behooves you to watch and pray, lest peradventure you should be lost
with her. I also say, Cease speaking evil one of another, and cease
being dishonest. Masters, deal honestly and justly with those whom you
hire, who are called servants. Servants, deal honestly and uprightly
with those who employ you, who are called masters, that confidence and
the spirit of brotherhood may be kindled, where now, in too many
instances, the desire to take advantage exists.

Vol. 18,  p.233
We are making an effort, by way of petitioning the City Council, to
close the drinking saloons that disgrace our city. How do the people
feel about it? Are there any Latter-day Saints who would not lift up
both hands against this evil and say, "God be thanked if we can stop
the drunkenness in our streets?" No, not one. Are there any, whether
"Mormon" or non "Mormon," who claim to have the fear of God in their
hearts, but who ought to lend us their full support in suppressing it?
No, not one. A gentleman, well known to you, told me that he had
occasion to wait fifty minutes on one of our streets, near a beer
saloon, and during that time he counted six women come out, three or
four of them had either children in arms, or walking by their sides.
What do you think of that, sisters? It is a disgrace to the name of
lady. Is it any more a disgrace in woman than in man? Yes, because he
is by nature coarser and more prone to such wickedness than she is.
Woman is altogether of a finer nature, and has stronger moral
inclinations; it, is not natural for her to indulge in wickedness that
man takes common delight in. It is a disgrace and a burning shame in
an Elder in Israel to allow himself to become intoxicated; and
further, it is shameful in an Elder to frequent and help sustain these
saloons, these sink-holes of vice. How would the Savior, were he to
come among us, regard such men who are supposed to be engaged in the
work of building up Zion? It would be fair to believe that, as he
disposed of the money-changers who contaminated the Temple, by as he
said, turning it into a den of thieves, so likewise the Elder, who
would lend his influence to turn Zion into a den of drunkards and
gamblers, should be cast out as one unworthy to be engaged in so
important a work. The devil has sent his emissaries among us, some of
whom come in the form of lawyers, doctors and ministers, and others as
saloon keepers and gamblers, and as "gentlemen" whose politeness and
affability are peculiarly striking. Their special mission seems to be
directed to the young of both sexes, to decoy and lead them astray. To
the young man they say, "Come,[p.234] take a drink;" or, "Don't be so
unwise as to allow yourself to be governed by this one man power; be
free and use your liberty, let everybody know that you are a free man
and that you have a mind of your own." And turning to our girls—"Won't
you take a ride, young lady?" She thinks him so nice, he lets her
drive. "O, how lovely this is, don't I look pretty?" "Won't you accept
an invitation to a dance, to the Lake, or to the Gardens, etc.?" Such
courtesies, when accepted, are the beginning of sorrow. There are but
two roads, one in the way of life, glory and excellency, and crowns,
and kingdoms, immortality and eternal lives; the other is drunkenness,
debauchery, beautiful manners in the light, but shameful conduct in
the dark. "O!" say they, "don't you think we are wise? Why, we are
very wise, we have studied and been to college." Yes, I know the
extent of your wisdom. I know, too, the road you are traveling; it
leads down, down, down, until you become as nothing, returning to
native element, and losing your identity,—you are lost forever and
forever. These are they who have sinned away the day of grace, and
denied the Lord, who bought them.

Vol. 18,  p.234
As for supporting the one-man power, as the world term it, I can say
that I never asked a man to vote for me, or to use his influence in
any way to further my individual interests. All I have ever asked of
the Latter-day Saints is, to do the will of our Father in heaven. And
in this, as in all other things, you have the perfect liberty to do as
you please. I can say, as was once said from this stand, God and one
man are a great majority; and God and the Latter-day Saints who are
valiant for the truth, and who live according to the revealed will are
an overwhelming majority, and they will live and reign upon this earth
when it shall be redeemed from its fallen condition, while their
opponents will sink down to perdition.

Vol. 18,  p.234
Some of our young men rise up and say, "I don't believe as my father
believes, I can't see it, and I shall do as I please." This is your
right, to do as you please, your free agency is given to you for that
purpose. But while you avail yourselves of this liberty, which is so
much abused and misunderstood, be careful that you do not defeat your
own desires; for these words are as true to-day as they were when the
Apostle Paul uttered them: "Know ye not, that to whom ye yield
yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey;
whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness."

Vol. 18,  p.234
I believe in the one-man power. Who is that man? Our Father in heaven,
God, the eternal Father, who is in all, knows all, and who made all
that is in heaven, and who brought this world and all its living
creatures into existence. He is the supreme "man." I serve, believe in
and wish to obey in all things. It is my right and privilege to thus
believe, and all who choose to differ from me have the privilege to do
so. I want to continue in that coarse that will secure to me an
exalted salvation. What, to be near to the Lord? I do not know, nor do
I upon this point give myself any trouble. It is pure and righteous
principles I seek, and we must associate them with our every-day life
until they become part and parcel of our existence; for this brings us
happiness, no matter where we are. It is a pleasure for a person to
drink good cold water when extremely thirsty; but when he has
satisfied himself, the extent of his enjoyment is realized, and so it
is [p.235] with all our natural blessings or pleasures. But how
different with regard to the principles of eternal life! Of them we
drink and drink again, and still we thirst for more. These are the
principles which alone can make us happy,—without them we are
miserable In time and will be through all eternity. God bless you.
Amen.

Brigham Young, June 23, 1874

Secret of Happiness—Self Examination—Joseph Smith a Man 
of Obedience to God—Baptism for the Dead—Temporal 
and Spiritual One—a Dream—Order of Enoch, the 
Order of God—a Good Word for the Women

Discourse By President Brigham Young, Delivered in 
the Third Ward Meeting House, Salt Lake City, 
Sunday Evening, June 23, 1874.

(Reported by David W. Evans)

Vol. 18,  p.235
I am here in this Ward, especially to talk to you, my brethren and
sisters. I think I have been here only once before—at the dedication
of this house. I have a few things to say to you, which I hope and
expect will be received and appreciated according to their merit.

Vol. 18,  p.235
Perhaps quite a portion of this little congregation have left their
homes, their friends, the lands of their nativity for the Gospel's
sake, for the sake of their own salvation and that of their families
and friends who would go with them. I will appeal to the experience of
my brethren and sisters who have received the Gospel, and ask them
this question—Is not the Gospel dearer to us than anything else and
all else on this earth? I think I can answer for all Latter-day
Saints, and say, "Surely it is." We hope for life, salvation and
exaltation; we have the privilege of the Gospel and the ordinances of
the house of God, while the inhabitants of the earth, with the
exception of comparatively a very few, have not as yet availed
themselves of this privilege. We preach the Gospel to the people, but
they are so erroneously traditionated and so ignorant with regard to
the facts pertaining to the revelations and will of God to the
children of men, that they turn aside from it and think it no evil in
so doing. They are so educated that they can neglect the Gospel, and
feel measurably justified. This is an item of experience that we could
bring before ourselves and others more fully than, perhaps, it would
be prudent for me to spend the time to do this evening. But [p.236]
the Gospel to us is all in all. To know the will of God, and do it, is
the happiest life that intelligent beings, the children of our Father
in heaven, can live. There is no other condition in life that produces
the same amount of good feeling, peace, happiness, joy, comfort,
contentment and intelligence that the service of the Lord will bring.
If a person is very poor and the love of God is within him, he feels
rich and happy, and can measurably do without food, that is, longer
and better than they can who do not have this experience of the love
of God within them.

Vol. 18,  p.236
The person who enjoys the experience of the knowledge of the kingdom
of God on the earth, and at the same time has the love of God within
him, is the happiest of any individuals on the earth. We, who believe
in and have obeyed this Gospel, look forward with the anticipation of
obtaining a great amount of knowledge and wisdom. When we embraced the
Gospel, the spirit opened up to our minds the fact that the wisdom,
the knowledge and the power of God would increase in the midst of the
Saints. This is our experience: I, knowing for myself, what the Spirit
of the Lord brings to the understanding, testify what it reveals to
others. The same spirit that is given to me, to enlighten my mind, is
given to others; the same that is given to you I have received,
consequently I speak item personal knowledge, from that which I have
experienced and understand, and that I live in; and they who live in
and enjoy the spirit of our holy religion can testify to this.

Vol. 18,  p.236
There is a portion of this congregation who are young, and know but
little about the United States, or about the people there; and there
is a large percentage of our community who know nothing by experience
of the outside world. Ask them if they know anything of California?
No. Anything about the States? No. Did you not come from England? No,
but my parents did; consequently they have not experience. They have
lived here, they have grown up with us. We have brought them up
cheerfully and kindly, and instructed and taught them, and they have
enjoyed the spirit of life and of wisdom and knowledge. These children
who bare been born here in the New and Everlasting Covenant, do not
seem to realize this. This is for the want of experience, which they
will obtain in future life. But those of experience, those who have
left their homes and their all for the sake of the Gospel, are capable
of judging better about these matters.

Vol. 18,  p.236
Now we, as Latter-day Saints, hope for salvation; we are living in
anticipation of eternal salvation. We have left our homes and
everything for the sake of our religion. Many women in our community
have left their husbands; many men have left their wives and children;
young boys have left their parents and brothers and sisters, and young
girls have come away, and left all. They had friends, homes, plenty,
parents, brothers and sisters; yet when the spirit of the Gospel came
upon them they were so enamored with it, and it gave such light,
knowledge and intelligence, that they were willing to forsake all, and
follow With the Latter-day Saints for life eternal. This is the case
with quite a portion of our community. We all, then, started for life
and salvation, and we still have no other object.

Vol. 18,  p.236
Now, my brethren and sisters, I wish to ask—Do we not anticipate
further knowledge, wisdom and blessings, and further communications by
the spirit of the Lord, further demonstrations [p.237] and further
witnesses revelations, knowledge, etc., in this kingdom? We do, every
one of us. We ask the question again, Do we expect that we have
already become perfect, and that we are prepared to be numbered with
the sanctified, and that we are now prepared to be gathered with God's
elect, and that, if we were to hear the voice to-night—"Behold the
bridegroom cometh"—we should be numbered with the wise? Do we
anticipate this? If we do we are wrong, for we are not prepared. We
have passed through a great many scenes, we may say, of tribulation,
though I would have all my brethren understand that I do not take this
to myself, for all that I have passed through has been joy and joyful
to me; but we have seemingly sacrificed a great deal, and passed
through many scenes of trial and temptations, no doubt of this. We
have had to suffer temptation more or less, and we have taken the
spoiling of our goods joyfully. I have, myself, five times before I
came to this valley, left everything that the Lord had blessed me with
pertaining to this world's goods, which, for the country where I
lived, was not a very little.

Vol. 18,  p.237
Well, we have passed these ordeals, and we are still going along. Now
have we profited by all that we have, passed through and experienced,
so that we really do consider that we are sanctified and prepared for
the celestial kingdom of God, or do we believe that there is something
more yet to be done? Why, all hearts reply—There is still
understanding in this kingdom; every heart echoes—We expect to learn
more, we expect to receive more, we are not yet perfect, we are not
complete in our stature as men and women in Christ Jesus. Now I will
just ask, right here—Shall we ever be learning and never able to come
to a knowledge of the truth? No, I say we shall not, but we shall come
to the knowledge of the truth. This is my hope and anticipation, and
this is my joy. The Latter-day Saints, as a people, in many respects
are shortsighted, we are but babes or suckling infants in the Church
and kingdom of God, comparatively, and especially since we bare been
in these valleys. We have enjoyed peace and plenty here; we have been
blessed in our families, and in our flocks and herds, and in our
fields and crops, and we have gathered around us the comforts, and
even the luxuries of life, and some, to a small extent, wealth. Now,
in the enjoyment of all this is the kingdom of God first and foremost
with us? I can say, taking us a people, that our hearts are too much
on the things of this life. We are, perhaps, too skeptical in our
feelings, with regard to the things of the kingdom. We gather, as we
anticipate, mental strength, and we think we are capable of judging
where we are not capable of judging, and the riches, or the good
things of this life, I can not in reality say the riches, but a little
of this world's goods, sometimes blind the mind and becloud the spirit
of a person. I can appeal to the experience of my brethren and
sisters, aged and middle-aged and youth, and even to the children. Go
to the child, and what does its joy consist in? Toys, we may call
them, something that produces, as they think, pleasure; and so it is
with our youth, our young boys and girls; they are thinking too much
of this world; and the middle-aged are striving and struggling to
obtain the good things of this life, and their hearts are too much
upon them. So it is with the aged. Is not this the condition of the
Latter-day Saints? it is. Well, now,[p.238] take us as a people, we
anticipate life eternal; we think we are the best people on the earth,
and we think we have sacrificed more for our religion than anybody
else, though in my belief, and in this respect I probably differ with
most of the Latter-day Saints, for the simple reason that God, our
Heavenly Father, in his religion, does not require men and women to
suffer as false religions do. Take the religions of the heathen, and
false systems of religion generally, and they require sacrifices that
the Lord does not require. The Lord has offered his sacrifice in the
character of his Son; but he does not require us to sacrifice our
children or ourselves as the heathens sacrifice to their gods;
consequently our sacrifices and our sufferings are not to be compared
with those of the heathens. There are professing Christians in our
midst, who are so strict in their religious notions that they would
rise in the morning at five o'clock, and walk miles, if necessary,
rather than miss their religious services; and they are those who are
so zealous that they would measure the soil from here into old
Jerusalem with their bodies if they could, to pay penance, as they
call it. God does not require any such sacrifice as this; neither does
he require any of these sacrifices which involve the shedding of blood
or the loss of life. Such things do not belong to God's religion, they
come through sin and transgression. Perhaps they who show such
manifestations of their faith strengthen it and do themselves some
good. All that is required of us is to sacrifice our feelings and to
overcome the adversary by subduing the last within us for anything but
the kingdom of God on the earth, the glory of God, and the salvation
of our friends and families and of the human family from first to
last; that our whole souls may be devoted to the building up of the
kingdom of God on the earth, and for the salvation of those who sleep,
who died without the Gospel. We want to sacrifice enough to do the
will of God in preparing to bring up those who have not had the
privilege of hearing the Gospel while in the flesh, for the simple
reason that, in the spirit world, they cannot officiate in the
ordinances of the House of God. They have passed the ordeals, and are
beyond the possibility of personally officiating for the remission of
their sins and for their exaltation, consequently they are under the
necessity of trusting in their friends, their children and their
children's children to officiate for them, that they may be brought up
into the celestial kingdom of God. All that the Lord requires of us is
a perfect submission in our hearts to his will. The Latter-day Saints
say at once—"This is correct, certainly it is right that we should
have no other object and aim in our feelings and affections but to do
good and to promote the kingdom of God on the earth.' But the weakness
of man is such, the humanity with which our spirits is clothed is so
frail that we are liable to be overcome. These tabernacles are dull,
subject to sin and temptation, and to stray from the kingdom of God
and the ordinances of his house, to lust after riches, the pride of
life and the vanities of the world, and these things are prone to be
uppermost in the minds of all; old and young, even Latter-day Saints.
The infant wants his toys, the children want nice dresses, and this is
correct; and when we understand how to rightly use the things of the
world, there will be the most beautiful children in Zion that ever
lived on the earth. But we wish the wealth or things of the world; we
think [p.239] about them morning, noon and night; they are first in
our minds when we awake in the morning, and the last thing before we
go to sleep at night; and we dream about how we shall do this, and
holy we shall obtain that, and our minds are continually lusting after
the things of the world. Is not this too much the case with the
Latter-day Saints.

Vol. 18,  p.239
I will ask this question of the few who are here—What think ye, my
brethren and sisters of experience, you that have enjoyed the light of
the spirit, you that can see the travail of the Saints, do you think
that this people called Latter-day Saints are traveling in the path
that they should go in? Do you think that they offer their oblations
and sacrifices to the Lord as they should? What do you think about it?
What is the general expression through our community? It is that the
Latter-day Saints are drifting as fast as they can into idolatry,
drifting into the spirit of the world and into pride and vanity.

Vol. 18,  p.239
You read in the revelations given to John on the Isle of Patmos,
concerning the latter days, that a voice was heard crying to the
Saints In Babylon—"Come out of her, O my people, be not partakers of
her sins, lest ye receive of her plagues, for her sins have reached
unto heaven," etc. Has this voice been heard? Yes, the Latter-day
Saints have heard it. Has the angel flown through the midst of heaven
and delivered the Gospel to the children of men? Yes, we believe all
this. Do we believe that the Lord sent his messengers to Joseph Smith,
and commanded him to refrain from joining any Christian church, and to
refrain from the wickedness he saw in the churches, and finally
delivered to him a message informing him that the Lord was about to
establish his kingdom on the earth, and led him on step by step until
he gave him the revelation concerning the plates? Yes, this is all
correct. Did Joseph receive these revelations? He did. Did the
heavenly messengers come to Joseph, and commit to him the keys of the
Aaronic Priesthood? Yes, we believe all this. Did they commit to him
the keys of the Melchizedek Priesthood? Yes. This is all correct, we
believe all this. Did the Lord speak from the heavens through Joseph,
commanding his people to gather out from the wicked before the
scourges—sickness, pestilence, wars, bloodshed, and the various
calamities spoken of by the Prophets and Apostles, should pass over
the nations? Yes, we believe the Lord has called upon the people who
received the Gospel to come out of Babylon, to separate themselves
from the wicked and to stand in holy places preparatory to the coming
of the Son of Man. All Latter-day Saints believe all this; then I say,
if we do believe it, let us act up to and be true to our faith and to
the knowledge that we have of God and his kingdom. This is what is
required of us.

Vol. 18,  p.239
We have passed from one thing to another, and I may say from one
degree of knowledge to another. When Joseph first received the
knowledge of the plates that were in the hill Cumorah, he did not then
receive the keys of the Aaronic Priesthood, he merely received the
knowledge that the plates were there, and that the Lord would bring
them forth, and that they contained the history of the aborigines of
this country. He received the knowledge that they were once in
possession of the Gospel, and from that time he went on, step by step,
until he obtained the plates, and the Urim and Thummim, and had power
to translate them.[p.240] This did not make him an Apostle, it did not
give to him the keys of the kingdom, nor make him an Elder in Israel.
He was a Prophet, and had the spirit of prophecy, and had received all
this before the Lord ordained him. And when the Lord, by revelation,
told him to go to Pennsylvania, he did so, and finished the
translation of the Book of Mormon; and when the Lord, in another
revelation, told him to come back, into New York State, and to go to
old Father Whitmer's, who lived in a place opposite Waterloo, and
there stop, he did so, and had meetings, and gathered no the few who
believed in his testimony. He received the Aaronic Priesthood, and
then he received the keys of the Melchisedek Priesthood, and organized
the Church. He first received the power to baptise, and still did not
know that he was to receive any more until the Lord told him there was
more for him. Then he received the keys of the Melchisedek Priesthood,
and had power to confirm after he had baptized, which he had not
before. He would have stood precisely as John the Baptist stood, had
not the Lord sent his other messengers, Peter, James and John, to
ordain Joseph to the Melchisedek Priesthood. Then, after some of the
brethren had been out preaching, he had a revelation that they should
go up to the Ohio. I knew of them, though I was not acquainted with
them before they went up there. They were seen by some of my family,
my father saw and conversed with them. Then the way opened for a large
gathering in the State of Ohio. Parley P. Pratt, Oliver Cowdery,
Samuel Peterson, David Whitmer, John Whitmer, and a few others, went
up there and preached the Gospel, and they came among the members of
the society called Campbellites, formerly members of the Close
Communion Baptists, their leader's name being Alexander Campbell. This
man preached the doctrine that baptism was for the remission of sins,
and that split the Church; but when the brethren came to these
societies and taught them, not only baptism for the remission of sins,
but the laying on of hands for the reception of the Holy Ghost, they
believed it, and were baptized for the remission of their sins, and
received the laying on of hands for the Holy Ghost, and then received
other ordinances.

Vol. 18,  p.240
Then the Lord revealed to Joseph to go out to the Ohio, and he went
up; and after he went up he then understood and was taught of the Lord
to send men to the west to hunt out a place for the centre stake of
Zion. They went according to the revelations that Joseph received, and
finally Joseph went up to meet them, in Independence, Jackson County,
Mo., on the borders of the Lamanites. You can read all this in the
Book of Doctrine and Covenants. Then he had not received all at this
time, and at the time that Zion's Camp, as it is called, went up to
Missouri, in 1834, so far as I am aware, Joseph had never received any
intimation as to there being a Patriarch in the Church. On our return
home from Missouri, my brother Joseph Young, while conversing with me,
asked if it would be right for our father to give us a blessing. Said
be—"I feel just as though I want my father to give me a patriarchal
blessing." When we reached Kirtland we talked with Joseph on the
subject, and he said, "Certainly," and finally we appointed a day, and
brother Joseph, the Prophet, came to where we met and ordained my
father a Patriarch, and he was the first man ordained to the office of
Patriarch in the Church, and he blessed his children; and soon [p.241]
after this Joseph ordained his father a patriarch and his father
called his children together and blessed them. Then Joseph had another
revelation, that a record should be kept, and when this was revealed
to him, he then had his father call his house together again, and
blessed them over and a record was kept of it. This is to show you,
and especially those who have no experience in the Church, how the
Lord has led this people along, led them along, led them along.

Vol. 18,  p.241
We were driven from Missouri after Joseph went up there, and we came
to Nauvoo, and the Twelve went to England. While we were in England, I
think, the Lord manifested to me by visions and his Spirit, things
that I did not then understand. I never opened my mouth to any person
concerning them, until I returned to Nauvoo. Joseph had never
mentioned this, there had never been a thought of it in the Church
that I knew anything about at that time. But I had this for myself,
and I kept it to myself, and when I returned home and Joseph revealed
these things to me, I then understood the reflections that were upon
my mind while in England. But this was not until after I had told him
what I understood. I saw that he was after something by his
conversation, leading my mind along, and others, to see how we could
bear this. This was in 1841; the revelation was given in 1843, but the
doctrine was revealed before this; and when I told Joseph what I
understood, which was right in front of my house in the street, as he
was shaking hands and leaving me, he turned round and looked me in the
eyes, and says he—"Brother Brigham, are you speaking what you
understand,—are you in earnest?" Says I—"I speak just as the Spirit
manifests to me." Says he—"God bless you, the Lord has opened your
mind," and he turned and went off.

Vol. 18,  p.241
About this time came a revelation concerning baptism for the dead. I
know that in my traveling and preaching, many a time, I have stopped
by beautiful streams of clear, pure water, and have said to myself,
"How delightful it would be to me to go into this, to be baptized for
the remission of my sins." When I got home Joseph told me it was my
privilege. At this time came a revelation, that the Saints could be
baptized and re-baptized when they chose, and then that we could be
baptized for our dear friends, but at first it was not revealed that a
record should be kept of those who were baptized; but when he received
an additional revelation to that effect, then a record was kept.
Hundreds and thousands, I suppose, were baptized before any record was
kept at all, and they were baptized over, and a record kept of the
baptisms and the names of the administrator, those who acted for the
dead, and of the dead, and of the witnesses. You can read in the Book
of Doctrine and Covenants, the letter that Joseph wrote when he was
away from home in regard to having witnesses at these baptisms. I
relate this to show you that the Lord did not reveal everything at
once; but I need not dwell on this any longer.

Vol. 18,  p.241
I will now say to my brethren and sisters, the Lord, in the first
place, commenced to bring the people together upon the ground of union
and oneness; but they could not bear this. You can read, on page 161,
of the Book of Doctrine and Covenants, a revelation given to the
Colesville Branch. Lemon [p.242] Copley had a tract of land that was
to be given to the Saints, and they were to build up a stake of Zion
until there was another place prepared for the centre stake; but he
apostatized and the people went away. Before this the Lord revealed to
Joseph, that the people would gather out from Babylon, and establish
the kingdom of God upon the principles of heaven. They went up to
Jackson County, Mo., with this in their faith, and with the express
understanding that when they got there, everything was to be laid at
the feet of the Bishop, not at the feet of the Apostles, as they did
anciently. Then, you know, they sold all they had, and brought their
substance and laid it at the feet of the Apostles. The revelation
given through Joseph was to lay all at the feet of the Bishop, who was
to distribute it among the people, according to the revelation given
for that purpose, for their benefit. But they could not bear this,
consequently they were driven from Jackson County, and assembled
again, some in Caldwell, and some in Davies County, and finally they
were driven from the State. this was in the fall of 1838. I recollect,
in Far West, Joseph, talking upon these matters, said—"The people
cannot hear the revelations that the Lord has for them. There were a
great many revelations if the people could bear them." I think it was
the eighth day of July, 1831, Joseph had a revelation that the people
should consecrate their surplus property for the building of the
Temple there in Far West, for the support of the Priesthood, for the
paying of the debts of the Presidency, etc., which I could give an
account of, for I was present when it came. Joseph was doing business
in Kirtland, and it seemed as though all creation was upon him, to
hamper him in every way, and they drove him from his business, and it
left him so that some of his debts had to be settled afterwards; and I
am thankful to say that they were settled up; still further, we have
sent East to New York, to Ohio, and to every place where I had any
idea that Joseph had ever done business, and inquired if there was a
man left to whom Joseph Smith, jun., the Prophet, owed a dollar, or a
sixpence. If there was we would pay it. But I have not been able to
find one. I have advertised this through every neighborhood and place
where he formerly lived, consequently I have a right to conclude that
all his debts were settled.

Vol. 18,  p.242
We will now pass on. You know the history with regard to our leaving
Nauvoo. Now I have it in my mind to ask the question of the Latter-day
Saints—Are they in earnest? Do they mean what they say, when they say
they believe that brother Brigham Young is the legal successor of
Joseph Smith, the Prophet? We believe in Joseph the Prophet; he sealed
his testimony with his blood, consequently we can, with impunity,
believe on him a little better than if he were living. When he was
living, his testimony was not in force upon the people as it is now.
But is brother Brigham the legal successor of brother Joseph? This
people, called Latter-day Saints, by their acts, by their voting, say
they believe he is. Well, we will admit the fact. I have a little to
say, then, and shall come back to former days with regard to the
duties of the individual who leads the kingdom of God on the earth.

Vol. 18,  p.242
In all ages of the world that we have any knowledge of, when there was
a people on the earth whom God acknowledged as his people, [p.243] he
has invariably dictated them in spiritual and in temporal things. This
question was agitated year after year in the days of Joseph. The first
two Bishops in the Church—Edward Partridge was the first—I was well
acquainted with him, and Newel K. Whitney was the second—questioned
the propriety of Joseph having anything to do with temporal things.
Joseph would argue the case with them a little, and tell them how
things were, and bring up Scripture to show them that it could not be
otherwise—that it was impossible for the Lord to dictate people unless
he dictated them in temporal affairs. The very first act after
believing is a temporal act. After I hear the Gospel preached and
believe it, I go down into the waters of baptism, which is a temporal
act: it is an act that pertains to my will and my body, I will that my
body shall go down into the water and be immersed for the remission of
my sins, consequently I have to go to the Elder who taught me the
Gospel, the spiritual portion of the kingdom, and apply to him to
administer this temporal ordinance, and he has to do it; having taught
the doctrine he officiates in the act, and you will find it through
life, every circumstance, in every case the man that dictates the
spiritual kingdom of God, must dictate the temporal affairs, it can
not be otherwise. I say this to you, because the idea in the minds of
a few of the people is—"Brigham ought not to meddle with temporal
affairs." They said so to Joseph, and they said so much about it, that
I went into the Temple at Kirtland, and challenged the men who were
querying on this, to prove or bring up one instance where God did not
manifest his will concerning temporal things whenever he made known
his will to the children of men for establishing his kingdom on the
earth. They always came to the floor; they had to do it, there was
nothing else for them; it prostrated every person. There were William
E. McLellin, John F. Boynton, and Lyman Johnson, who belonged to the
Twelve, Frederic G. Williams, second counselor to Joseph, and
two-thirds of the High Council all talking about this, and I went into
the Temple and just challenged them to show wherein the Lord ever
conferred upon any man in the world the power to dictate in spiritual
affairs, that he did not in temporal affairs? They could not do it. I
told them they could not draw the line between the spiritual and the
temporal. All things were created first spiritual, and then temporal.
Everything in the spirit world was presented as we see it now, and
this temporal earth was presented there. We were in the spirit world,
and we came here into this time, which is in eternity, nothing in the
world only a change of time and seasons allotted to a change of being
that makes it time to us. It is in eternity, and we are just as much
in eternity now, as we shall be millions of years hence. But it is
time measured to finite beings, and it is changeable, and we call it
temporal, while the Pact is it is all spiritual in the first place,
then temporal, then spiritual, and made immortal, consequently you can
not divide them. I say this for those to reflect upon who think that
there is a difference between temporal and spiritual things. I do not
say, for I do not know, that there any such here.

Vol. 18,  p.243
Now we Come to our present condition. You know the past. These
children who were born in this city or Territory, know what they can
remember, and many of them are old enough to have many reflections
[p.244] and can see and understand a great many things; but the older
ones know that this people have drifted just as far as they can
without a reformation. Every spiritual mind knows this. I will now say
to my brethren and sisters, that while we were in Winter Quarters, the
Lord gave to me a revelation just as much as he ever gave one to
anybody. He opened my mind, and showed me the organization of the
kingdom of God in a family capacity. I talked it to my brethren; I
would throw out a few words here, and a few words there, to my first
counselor, to my second counselor and the Twelve Apostles, but with
the exception of one or two of the Twelve, it would not touch a man.
They believed it would come, O yes, but it would be by and by. Says I,
"Why not now?" If I had been worth millions when we came into this
valley and built what we now call the "Old Fort," I would have given
it if the people had been prepared to then receive the kingdom of God
according to the pattern given to Enoch. But I could not touch them.
One would say, "I am for California," another one, "I am for gold,"
and I am for this and I am for that; and some used their influence in
trying to persuade others to go to California. They said—"You can't
stay here, you can't raise anything here, it is too cold, too frosty,
these mountains are not fit to live in, this is not the place for
white people, let us go to California and get some gold," etc.

Vol. 18,  p.244
Now I am going to tell a dream that I had, Which I think is as
applicable, to the people to-day—the 21st day of June, 1874, as when I
had it. There were so many going to California, and going this way and
that way, and they did not know what they wanted, and said I—"stay
here, we can raise our food here, I know it is a good stock country, a
good sheep country, and as good a country for raising silk as there is
in the world, and we shall raise some of the best of wheat. There
stands a man—Burr Frost, and there is Truman O. Angell, who were
present at the time. Said I, "We can raise all we want here, do not go
away, do not be discouraged." That was when the pioneers came; the
next year, it was California, California, California, California.
"No," said I, "stay here." After much thought and reflection, and a
good deal of praying and anxiety as to whether the people would be
saved after all our trouble in being driven into the wilderness, I had
a dream one night, the second year after we came in here. Captain
Brown had gone up to the Weber, and bought a little place belonging to
Miles Goodyear. Miles Goodyear had a few goats, and I had a few sheep
that I had driven into the Valley, and I wanted to get a few goats to
put along with the sheep. I had seen Captain Brown and spoken to him
about the goats, and he said I could have them. Just at that time I
had this dream, which I will now relate. I thought I had started and
gone past the Hot Springs, which is about four miles north of this
city. I was going after my goats. When I had gone round the point of
the mountain by the Hot Springs, and had got about half a mile on the
rise of ground beyond the Spring, whom should I meet but brother
Joseph Smith. He had a wagon with no bed on, with bottom boards, and
tents and camp equipage piled on. Somebody sat on the wagon driving
the team. Behind the team I saw a great flock of sheep. I heard their
bleating, and saw some goats among them. I looked at them and [p.245]
thought—"This is curious, brother Joseph has been up to Captain
Brown's and got my goats." There were men driving the sheep, and some
of the sheep I should think were three and a half feet high, with
large, fine, beautiful white fleeces, and they looked so lovely and
pure; others were of moderate size, and pure and white; and in fact
there were sheep of all sizes, with fleeces clean, pure and white.
Then I saw some that were dark and spotted, of all colors and sizes
and kinds, and their fleeces were dirty, and they looked inferior;
some of these were a pretty good size, but not as large as some of the
large fine clean sheep, and altogether there was a multitude of them
of all sizes and kinds, and goats of all colors, sizes and kinds mixed
among them. Joseph stopped the wagon, and the sheep kept rushing up
until there was an immense herd. I looked in Joseph's eye, and
laughed, just as I had many a time when he was alive, about some
trifling thing or other, and said I—"Joseph, you have got the darndest
flock of sheep I ever saw in my life; what are you going to do with
them, what on earth are they for?" Joseph looked cunningly out of his
eyes, just as he used to at times, and said he—"They are all good in
their places." When I awoke in the morning I did not find any fault
with those who wanted to go to California; I said, "If they want to go
let them go, and we will do all we can to save them; I have no more
fault to find, the sheep and the goats will run together, but Joseph
says, "they are all good in their places."

Vol. 18,  p.245
This will apply precisely to what we are doing at the present time. We
are trying to unite the people together in the order that the Lord
revealed to Enoch, which will be observed and sustained in the latter
days in redeeming and building up Zion; this is the very order that
will do it, and nothing short of it. We are trying to organize the
Latter-day Saints into this order; but I want to tell you, my brethren
and sisters, that I have not come here to say that you have got to
join this order or we will cut you off the Church, or you must join
this order or we will consider you apostates; no such thing, oh no,
the Saints are not prepared to see everything at once. They have got
to learn little by little, and to receive a little here and a little
there Since we commenced to organize at St. George, I have not had a
feeling in my heart but to say to those who can not see this order—Try
and live your religion; get the Spirit of the Lord and keep it; humble
yourselves before the Lord and get his Spirit; ask the Father in the
name of Jesus to open your minds and let you see things as they are,
and you will delight in it. And I say to all those who wish to receive
the Order, come along and we will organize you, and we will do the
very best we can for you. It is true that some who are in the Order
talk very foolishly to those who do not feel to come into it; they
throw out some very unbecoming expressions. This is entirely wrong. It
is not called for, it is not needed, and it will not do the least good
in the world. We must manifest and show to our brethren a purer life
than we have heretofore. I will say to you, who want to be organized
in this Order, we will not take one red cent from you, but the Lord
will add to you riches and honor, if you will take counsel. As we have
said from the beginning, we do not want a man's farm, we do not want
his gold and his silver, and nothing in the world but just his time.
We want to dictate the time of the Latter-day Saints,[p.246] to show
them that we can come into the Order of God, and that we will be that
people that thee Lord has said with regard to temporal things.
Speaking of the Latter-day Saints, the Lord has said—"I will make you
the richest people on the earth," and he can do it just as well as
not, if we have a mind to let him. It is the time of the people we
want to dictate.

Vol. 18,  p.246
I will branch off to another thread of the subject. Here is a brother
who says, "Why, yes, you may have some of my property, or even take it
all; but I want to be a man for myself; I do not want to be dictated;
I want to preserve my own freedom; I do not want to be a slave." What
an idea! It is from the enemy, and because a person has not the Spirit
of the Lord to see how things are. There is not a man of us but what
is willing to acknowledge at once that God demands strict obedience to
his requirements. But in rendering that strict obedience, are we made
slaves? No, it is the only way on the face of the earth for you and me
to become free, and we shall become the slaves of our own passions,
and of the wicked one, and servants to the devil, if we take any other
course, and we shall be eventually east into hell with the devils. Now
to say that I do not enjoy the volition of my own will just as much
when I pray as I would to swear, is a false principle, it is false
ground to take. You take the man who swears, and he has no more
freedom, and acts no more on his own will than the man who prays; and
the man who yields strict obedience to the requirements of Heaven,
acts upon the volition of his own will and exercises his freedom just
as much as when he was a slave to passion; and I think it is much
better and more honorable for us, whether children or adults,
youthful, middle-aged or old, it is better to live by and better to
die by, to have our hearts pare, and to yield strict obedience to the
principles of life which the Lord has revealed, than be a slave to sin
and wickedness. All that the Lord requires of us is strict obedience
to the laws of life. All the sacrifice that the Lord asks of his
people is strict obedience to our own covenants that we have wade with
our God, and that is to serve him with an undivided heart.

Vol. 18,  p.246
I say this because I want you to understand our position. I am the
director and counselor to this people for building up the kingdom of
God on the earth. I am the one who will tell what shall be done, and
how it shall be done, and any man who deviates or says that, there is
any design in connection with the United Order other than to put the
people in a condition and situation to be better and freer, and in
which they will enjoy more of the blessings of heaven and earth than
they can out of it, does not tell the truth. You all know that it
takes intelligence to enjoy. Persons in good-health enjoy their food.
Why? Because they have sensibility and nervous feeling. Take that away
and they would be like that stovepipe. Cut a hole in that, and put
therein a nice beef steak, plum pudding, or a sweet cake, and would
the stovepipe enjoy it? No. Why? Because it, has no sensibility. We
enjoy because we have sensibility. Promote this sensibility, seek to
get more and more knowledge, more wisdom, and more understanding, and
to know the things of God. He is the author of life and of all joy and
comfort; he is the author of all intelligence and of all good to us;
then become satisfied to obey him, and seek to get more and more of
his nature, and learn more and more of him. This will give us [p.247]
greater sensibility, and we shall know how to enjoy, and how to
endure. I say, if you want to enjoy exquisitely, become a Latter-day
Saint, and then Eve the doctrine of Jesus Christ. the man or woman who
will do this will enjoy and endure most; and if they will be humble
and faithful they will enjoy the glory and the excellency of the power
of God, and be prepared to live with Gods and with angels.

Vol. 18,  p.247
We want to build up the kingdom of God on the earth. I do not know but
I am spending more time than I should, but I must say some things
more. This Third Ward is not organized. I do not know when it will be.
We asked your Bishop, and he did not feel exactly prepared to enter
into the Order. We know the reason why. Will he be prepared? Yes. I
want to prophesy that he and his Ward will be prepared by and by, and
I hope my prophecy will be fulfilled. He does not see things as
quickly as I do. I will tell you what my position has always been.
Before I embraced the Gospel, I understood pretty will what the
different sects preached, but I was called an infidel because I could
not embrace their dogmas. I could not believe all of Methodism; I
could not believe all of the Baptists' doctrines; there were some
things they preached I could believe, and some I could not. I could
not fully agree with the Presbyterians in their doctrines, nor with
the Quakers, nor the Catholics, although they all have some truth. As
far as their teachings were in accordance with the Bible, I could
believe them, and no further. I was acquainted with the creeds of
nearly all the various sects of dissenters in America, for I had made
it my business to inquire into the principles in which they believed.
I was religiously inclined in my youth, but I could not believe in
their dogmas, for they did not commend themselves to my understanding,
though a child I had attended their camp meetings, and had seen what
they called the power of God. I had seen then and women fall, and be
as speechless and breathless as that stove before me. I had seen
scientists hold the lightest feather they could procure at the
nostrils and mouths of females to see if a particle of air passed to
or from the lungs, and not a particle was discernable. When a child I
saw all this, but I could not believe in their dogmas. I could not say
the people were not sincere in their faith and acts, but it was all a
mystery to me. I was not old enough, and did not understand enough to
decide. In the days of Joseph, when the revelation came to him and
Sidney Rigdon, while translating that portion of the New Testament
contained in the 29th verse of the third chapter of John, in reference
to the different degrees of glory, I was not prepared to say that I
believed it, and I had to wait. What did I do? I handed this over to
the Lord in my feelings, and said I, "I will wait until the Spirit of
God manifests to me, for or against." I did not judge the matter, I
did not argue against it, not in the least. I never argued the least
against anything Joseph proposed, but, if I could not see or
understand it, I handed it over to the Lord. This is my counsel to
you, my brethren and sisters, and it I were sure my prophecy would be
fulfilled, I certainly would prophesy that all here, who profess to be
Latter-day Saints, will come into the holy Order and rejoice in it.
And if you do not feel to come into the Order, assist those who do,
and do not say anything against them. You who come into the Order, do
not lisp anything against those who do not; if you feel [p.248] right
you will not have the least feeling against them. Come along, for, as
I have said, if I do not find more than fifty men in the kingdom of
God who will go with me to organize the Church and kingdom of God more
perfectly, I shall go ahead. What for? More knowledge, wisdom, and
perfection in the management and control of our temporal affairs. This
is what I calculate to do, and I am going to do Ask me if I am going
into the Order with all that I have? Yes, as I told them in a meeting
not long ago, I am going in with hat, coat, vest, pants, shirt, boots,
and all I have, And if the question is asked, If your family do not,
go into the Order, what are you going to do with your property? I am
going to seal it up to the kingdom of God, for I do not mean that the
enemies of the kingdom shall have a penny if I can help it. I want it
to go to the kingdom of God, I want it appropriated for the salvation
of the human family, to build Temples, to sustain the families of the
Elders who go abroad to preach; I want it to be used for the good of
the poor and for the establishing of truth and righteousness on the
earth. That is all it is for; I have no pleasure in it, I have no
deight in it, it is nothing to me; I want everything that the Lord
places in my possession, my time, my talents, every ability I have,
every penny that he has committed to me to be used to his glory, and
for the building up of his kingdom on the earth. I have nothing but
what he has committed to me. What do you say to that, Jacob? Is that
right? It is exactly. There is not a man here who has got his sight,
hearing, taste and smell, but be is indebted to the Lord for them. The
Lord gave us everything we possess, whatever ability or talents we
have; our Tabernacles and all we enjoy, are the gifts of the Lord, and
all should be devoted to the promotion of his kingdom on the earth,
and I mean that mine shall be, the Lord being my helper.

Vol. 18,  p.248
I do not want to say to this Ward, you must come into the Order, or we
shall not fellowship you, for we shall fellowship you if you do not. A
short time ago, I said to those of this Ward who intended to be
organized, go to the Eighth Ward and organize with them, but it was a
misunderstanding, that I had dismissed Bro. Weiler from being Bishop
here; and if anybody else understood so, I think they are mistaken. He
is your Bishop still, and I charge him now in God's name, not to
trifle with the sacred things of the kingdom of God, or to throw cold
water on them; if he does he will be left dark, and finally
apostatize. I say to you Bishop and to the brethren and sisters, be
faithful, live so that the Spirit of the Lord will abide within you,
then you can judge for yourselves. i have often said to the Latter-day
Saints—"Live so that you will know whether I teach you truth or not."
Suppose you are careless and unconcerned, and give way to the spirit
of the world, and I am led, likewise, to preach the things of this
world and to accept things that are not of God, how easy it would be
for me to lead you astray! But I say to you, live so that you will
know for yourselves whether I tell the truth or not. That is the way
we want all Saints to live. Will you do it? Yes, I hope you will,
every one of you. I say to the Bishop, here, go along and do not
contend against the things of God. You and your counselors are
disposed to argue in regard to the United Order. There should he no
argument in this case; the Spirit of the Lord is the only thing that
can enlighten our minds, and give us a knowledge [p.249] of the things
of God. No earthly argument, no earthly reasoning can open the minds
of intelligent beings and show them heavenly things; that can only be
done by the spirit of revelation. I testify this to the Latter-day
Saints, and I feel to say God bless you, peace be with you. I have not
come bore to scold you, or anybody else. I am sometimes very rough in
my language to the people, and I give them a rough scolding, but I do
not wish any evil to the individual, it is to his wrong acts. If a
person does wrong I am for exposing that, and chastening the
perpetrator if he persists in it. I want wrong doers to refrain. Now,
I say, brother Jacob, teach the things of God. Do not have a doubt
about this any more than about baptism, nor say a word against it. How
many are there in this Church who are now wavering and shaking because
they bare spoken against the ordinances of heaven, and especially
against that ordinance which God has revealed for the exaltation of
the children of men in celestial marriage? Hold that as sacred as your
own soul: if you cannot see the beauty and glory of it, and feel it in
your own hearts, say nothing against it. This earth was placed in the
hands of Adam and his sons, and he is the Lord of the earth; the male
portion of the human family are the lords of the earth, and they are
full of wickedness, evil and destruction, and especially in their acts
towards the female sex. But God will hold them accountable. The fact
is, let the pure principles of the kingdom of God be taught to men and
women, and far more of the latter than of the former will receive and
obey them. What shall we do with them? They want exaltation, they want
to be in the great family of heaven, they do not want to be cast, off,
then they must be taken into the families of those who prove
themselves worthy to be exalted with the Gods. Who is it that can not
see the beauty and the excellency of celestial marriage, and having
our children sealed to us? What should we do without this? Were it not
for what is revealed concerning the sealing ordinances, children born
but of the covenant could not be sealed to their parents; children
born in the covenant are entitled to the Spirit of the Lord and all
the blessings of the kingdom. I know that our children, universally,
have the Spirit of the Lord, and when they get old enough to judge
right from wrong, if they turn from the good and promote evil in their
hearts, then will be the time they sin.

Vol. 18,  p.249
Now, I say to you, brother Jacob, teach the things of God, and do not
trifle with this; do not argue about this at all; if you do not see
and understand, stand still and see the salvation of God. Labor and
help those who wish to go forward, and the Lord will bless you in it.
He will open your minds and give you light and understanding, and you
will be far happier than the wicked. How blessed are you when you are
for God and none else! Then you are ready for whatever he reveals. How
sweet you can sleep! Your dreams are pleasant and delightful, and the
days, weeks, months and years pass away easily and joyfully, you are
so happy.

Vol. 18,  p.250
I pray God to bless you, Amen.[p.250] 

George Q. Cannon, September 17, 1876

Visit to Sabbath Schools—Reflections on the Course 
We Pursue—Common Blessings Sometimes Undervalued—
the Gospel Guarantees Its Own Testimony—Apostacy Rather 
An Evidence of Health, Than a Symptom of Disease—Testimony

Discourse By Elder George Q. Cannon, Delivered in the 
New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Sunday Afternoon, Sept. 17, 1876.

(Reported by Geo F. Gibbs)

Vol. 18,  p.250
It is a great privilege that the Lord has granted to the Latter-day
Saints, to assemble together in peace and quietness, as we do this
day, to worship him and partake of the Sacrament in commemoration of
the death and sufferings of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ; it is a
privilege which I, as an individual member of the Church, appreciate,
and I desire always to do so.

Vol. 18,  p.250
When I reflect upon the many efforts which have been made to deprive
us as a people of our liberties and our rights of worship, I cannot
help feeling that, of all the people who live upon the face of the
earth, we should be the most grateful, and should witness to our
Father and God, by our devotion, that we appreciate the kindness and
mercy he has manifested to us. It seems strange that in this time of
religious toleration and freedom, there should be a call for such
sentiment as this. In a land like ours, it might be thought that every
one would have a right to worship God according to the dictates of his
conscience; but this has not been our experience. Yet the Lord has
preserved us, and has defeated the machinations of the wicked—has
preserved our rights and liberties, and granted to us very many
privileges. Are we, as a people, sufficiently alive to the importance
of these privileges? Do we live in a manner that agrees with the
revelations that the Lord has given to us, to the requirements which
he has made upon us? These are important questions for us to answer.

Vol. 18,  p.250
I met with the Sunday school children this morning in one of the Wards
of this city, and while speaking to them I remarked, what I may remark
here (taking the Bible in his hand), There are no people of whom I
know anything in Christendom who believe the Bible, and are willing
that their children should be taught all of its principle in their
entirety, as do the Latter-day Saints. There is no principle set forth
in the Scriptures that the Latter-day Saints do not incorporate in
their faith and practice. I related to them a little of my experience.
I remember when [p.251] I was a child I read the New Testament. I
inquired of my father if there were any Apostles then upon the earth,
or if there were any people who had the gifts which the disciples of
Jesus possessed? His reply was that he knew of the existence of no
such people. I could not understand it; to my mind, as a child, there
seemed to be as great a necessity for the power of God then, as there
was in those earlier days. I can recall nights when I thought of the
blessings which former generations enjoyed, and felt to grieve that I
could not live in a generation when there were Apostles who had the
power of God. I thought then I would have been willing to endure the
persecution and difficulties which they had to encounter for so
glorious a faith.

Vol. 18,  p.251
This is an advantage we have above every other denomination with which
I am acquainted. We believe the Bible in its entirety—that God is the
same to-day as he was yesterday, and as he ever was—that he is as
willing now as ever to bestow his blessings upon man, if man will
prepare himself to receive them. And if there be an absence of faith
and power, and of heavenly gifts, God our eternal Father cannot be
accused of partiality in withholding them from this generation.

Vol. 18,  p.251
Do we as a people sufficiently bear in mind that God requires us to
live so as to receive and enjoy, to the fullest possible extent, the
gifts and graces which he has to bestow upon his faithful children? I
think, sometimes, we are like other people in this respect—we are very
liable to grow careless, to become willing to allow the time to pass
along without any particular effort on our part to improve ourselves,
to increase in godliness and the power thereof. We have the human
disposition to be at ease in the enjoyment of the earthly comforts by
which we may be surrounded. In this respect human nature has been the
same in all ages, and hence it has almost become proverbial that for a
church to prosper it must be persecuted, and its members placed in
constant jeopardy. But with the knowledge God has given to us this
should not be the case. It should be a pleasure, a source of constant
delight to us, as Latter-day Saints, to keep all the commandments of
God, to seek and contend for that faith once delivered to the Saints,
by which they accomplished such mighty works.

Vol. 18,  p.251
I have said that I greatly desired to live when Apostles were upon the
earth. Are there not hundreds of this congregation who have felt, in
various times in their lives, before they heard the sound of the
everlasting Gospel, that they would traverse this earth, and undergo
all manner of hardships, if they could only have the privilege to
behold the race of a man of God, an Apostle of the Lord Jesus? What
would they not have given to hear words of salvation from such a man,
a man who had authority to teach and to administer the ordinances of
the Gospel? Doubtless there are hundreds present who at various times
in their lives have felt this, having grown up amid contending sects.
I am satisfied that there are hundreds here who felt in their hearts
that there was no sacrifice they were capable of making, which they
would not have gladly made, to have had the privilege they now enjoy.
They are now numbered with the Church of God, and have a knowledge of
this through the power at the Holy Ghost, and the enjoyment of its
gifts and blessings. And yet you talk to these men and women to-day,
and what are their feelings? A number of them feel as zealous and warm
in the work of God as [p.252] they ever did. But, many, doubtless,
have become careless. These blessings have become common because of
the ease with which they have been obtained, and indifference is the
result. Yet are they not just as valuable to-day? Is it not just as
desirable to-day for bureau beings to know that a man has authority to
administer baptism, and that God will recognize the administration? Is
it not a great blessing to have the reality as it was to anticipate
it? Certainly it is! The authority which God has restored to the earth
empowers man to go into the waters of baptism, and then baptize his
fellow-man for the remission of sins, God sanctioning the act. This is
as great a blessing as it ever was. The fact that there are numbers of
men upon the earth thus authorized, does not make the blessing more
undesirable. Because there are thousands of persons now living on the
earth who have received of the blessings which were to follow those
that believed and obeyed the Gospel, does that in the least lessen
their value? I certainly think not; they are just as desirable to-day,
and should be valued by every human being wire has any appreciation
whatever of the things of God. The authority to administer in the
ordinances of the house of God, to say, "Thus saith the Lord," to
counsel, instruct, warn, and reprove, is peculiar to the Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and in this respect we are
different from all other people. While this is so, we do not exclude
any others from partaking of these benefits. We also—to use a phrase
already adopted—we also were Gentiles, in ignorance concerning this
Gospel at one time, that is, the bulk of us were. Therefore, while we
claim for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints this power,
we do not claim it as belonging to us and ours exclusively, but to be
diffused froth this Church to all the inhabitants of the earth so fast
as they will receive the doctrines of Jesus Christ and have faith to
obey them. And this is glad tidings of salvation to all people—glad
tidings of salvation in this ago of unbelief, which might be said to
be an age of universal darkness and ignorance concerning Jesus Christ.
There is scarcely a man to be found who knows anything about God, and
who believes in the literal resurrection of the body. Even ministers,
as well as members of the various denominations, are in this
condition. It is a great blessing that at such a time as this there is
a people upon the face of the earth who testify, in all solemnity and
boldness, before God, before angels, and before men, that God has
spoken from the heavens, that he has broken the silence that has
reigned for ages over the world, and has once more communicated his
mind and will to man; that in this age these "glad tidings" have been
communicated from the heavens by the ministrations of holy angels and
the voice of God himself.

Vol. 18,  p.252
Now this is the message of glad tidings which the Latter-day Saints
have to bear, not to themselves and their children alone, but to all
the inhabitants of the earth, and to every nation and kindred, tongue
and people, that God lives, that Jesus lives, that the same powers
exist as existed anciently, that the same Gospel is powerful to
salvation to-day as it was eighteen hundred years ago, that the Holy
Ghost exists, and that men can receive it by taking the course pointed
out by the servants of God anciently. Who would not be gladdened by
such a message, if they could believe it to be true? WoUld not
ministers rejoice in it? Would not the people? Would not all the
inhabitants of the [p.253] earth rejoice and praise God, if they could
belive such tidings as these? The fact that they do not believe them
does not lessen their value, their truthfulness, nor their importance.
There are those who do believe them, they are found in these
mountains, they are Latter-day Saints, but called "Mormons" by those
who do not choose to give them their proper name; and they differ from
every religious sect and denomination in Christendom. Their belief is
that God has revealed himself to man in the day and age in which we
live, has restored the everlasting Gospel, the Holy Ghost, and the
gifts and graces thereof. I do not believe there is a man in
Christendom, nor in heathendom, nor upon the whole face of the earth,
however wicked he might be, who would not in his secret heart be
thankful if he understood and knew these things for himself; but there
is that unbelief and hardness of heart, there is that power the
adversary exercises over the children of men, which blinds their eyes
and beclouds their understanding, making the things of God appear
unreasonable to them; until it becomes fashionable for men of
education to think it necessary that they should doubt the existence
of God, and of Jesus Christ, and the atonement, because, forsooth,
they cannot comprehend the plan of redemption in all its details.
Because the resurrection cannot be understood by them, they must deny
the truth of the resurrection and doubt and deny the truth of the
atonement and mediation of Jesus Christ. This is fashionable in these
days. Yet here is a people, and I rejoice in it, who do believe in
God, who testify that they know God lives; that they know that Jesus
is the Savior of the world; that they know that the Holy Ghost is
poured out upon men who obey and do his will; who now testify that
they know that God bestows his gifts and blessings upon man as he did
in ancient days. To me it is exceedingly interesting to know that
there is a people in these mountains who cherish this faith,
notwithstanding their weaknesses and failings, and notwithstanding
some of them turn away from the truth and become aliens to the
covenants of Christ. Notwithstanding all these things, still there is
a people who do have this faith; who cherish it, and who seek to teach
it to their children after them.

Vol. 18,  p.253
But it is important for us that we should look well to our ways,
whether we appreciate the blessings God has bestowed upon us, and put
them to a proper use, or not. How can we know that Jesus is the
Christ, and that he lives? How can any man know it? I have many times
in my life been inquired of by intelligent men upon this point. "You
say that Jesus lives, how do you know it? You say there is a
resurrection of the body and that you know it. How do you know it?" It
is only a few weeks ago that a gentleman of superior abilities and
excellent culture, a man for whom I had formed considerable
attachment, said, "I would give all the world, if I had it, to know
what you say you know. You say you know God lives, you say you know
that Jesus is the Savior of the world, you say there is a literal
resurrection of the body. I do not know these things, I cannot find
out anything about them. My reason cannot be satisfied with the
principles offered to me in favor of these ideas." And he thought I
ought to be a most happy man to have such a faith. I told him that he
could have it by taking the course God had pointed out. Can any of us
know these things by reading the Bible, or by hearing our fathers say
so? No, the [p.254] information derived from such a source is only a
matter of belief. The Mohammedan believes in the Koran, and that
Mohammed was a true prophet, because his parents teach him so. And
shall the believers in Jesus Christ, and in his atonement base his
faith upon no better foundation than this? The heathen believes his
doctrine and teaches it to his children. Belief alone is not
sufficient. We must know, if we ever get eternal life. "To know God
and Jesus Christ whom he has sent, is life eternal."

Vol. 18,  p.254
What difference is there between Christians and Mohammedans upon this
point? The Christians believe that Jesus is the Christ, because the
Bible says so; the Mohammedans base their belief in Mohammed, because
their fathers and mothers tell them he was a prophet and the Koran is
true. Jesus says—"If any man will do his (the Father's) will, he shall
know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of
myself." He also says, "I am the way, the truth and the life." His
Apostle Peter says—"Repent and be baptized, every one of you, for the
remission of sins, dud ye shall receive the Holy Ghost." This was the
promise, and through it every minister claiming to be authorized to
represent the Gospel can be tested. He who is a minister of Jesus
Christ has the right and authority to make certain promises to
believers, and these promises heaven will fulfill and man cannot. If a
man come forward professing to be a minister of Jesus Christ,
promising the believers that they should receive the Holy Ghost by
complying with certain conditions, and the promise fails in its
fulfillment, what evidence has such a one that the minister is sent of
God? None at all. But if a man come, saying, "The Lord has sent me
forth; I have been called, commissioned and ordained, and have the
authority to go forth and call upon the people to repent and be
baptized, and if they do so they shall receive the Holy Ghost through
the laying on of hands;" if the people, after obeying the
requirements, do receive the Holy Ghost, they then have a testimony
that he is a man of God. This, when received and retained, is an ever
living, ever present witness. It is in this way that the Latter-day
Saints know that this is the Gospel of Jesus Christ; they know that
Jesus is the Savior of the world because they have received the
promised blessings. But will the reception of one item of knowledge
alone save us? No. We must grow from faith to faith, from knowledge to
knowledge, cultivating and cherishing the knowledge which our Father
has given us until we arrive at power and receive gifts we do not now
enjoy. This is the privilege of the Latter-day Saints. It is not a
knowledge based upon some past experience, but to know to-day, to have
a living faith within, by communion with God, by having our prayers
answered. This latter is one of the best and surest evidences man can
have. When he is in difficulty, when in danger, he can go to God, and
ask him to grant him the deliverance he needs and he receives it.

Vol. 18,  p.254
Of what value is religion, unless this blessing can be enjoyed? I care
not how much piety people may affect, if they do not have their
prayers answered there is not much real, live faith connected with
their religion. This is a good test for us. Do we live in such close
communion with God, day by; day—not in the remembrances and
reminiscences of the past, but living in the knowledge of to-day—that
we can go to [p.255] him asking in the name of Jesus, and receive an
answer to our prayers? That is a test of fellowship with God and of
Gospel truth. This ought to he the experience of every one every day
we live, not, as I say, dealing in the remembrance of past favors, not
something we received when we joined the Church or during some
subsequent time, but because of favors we receive and enjoy to-day.
This is happiness which the world cannot give nor take away, that
makes a man happy in the midst of his enemies. Like Daniel he may be
cast among wild beasts, or like the three Hebrew children he may be
thrown into a fiery furnace, still be is happy and can praise his God.
Our religion cannot be laid aside, as we would our Sunday garments,
and be forgotten until the following Sunday. It is a religion that
enters into our every day dealings with man, of parents with children
and children with parents, we carry it in our entire lives and we
exhibit it in the fruits of our lives, dealing kindly and mercifully,
justly and honorably one with another, administering the words of
consolation to those who are afflicted, enjoying the spirit of it when
we get up in the morning and through the day, until we retire at
night. This is the way to live, and for this purpose God has revealed
the Gospel. Anything short of this is not true religion. The man who
does not so live, does not enjoy the blessings God is willing to
bestow upon him. You have tested this, you Latter-day Saints who have
been members of this Church since its early rise. Were you not happy
when your enemies were persecuting you, when you were driven from your
homes? Were you ever more happy than when upon the plains, trusting
entirely in the providence of God, traveling like Abraham did, not
knowing whither you were going? And were you not happy when you came
here in the midst of privations? Certainly you were. Happiness was n
your hearts, and gladdened your countenances. Why? Because the peace
of God was within you, it rested upon you and you rejoiced in it. For
this purpose religion, as it is called, is revealed. What is religion?
Does true religion make man different from what he is naturally? Yes,
it can do so if his nature is defective; if he inherit bad passions,
improper appetites and wrong inclinations, it enables him to subdue
them. Some suppose it is sinful to be merry, to dance or to witness
amusements. Young people, especially in the world, often say, "I don't
want to be religious; I'll put it off until I get old; I want to enjoy
myself." These ideas have their origin in false traditions. There is
nothing that affords real happiness except in keeping the commandments
of Jesus Christ. Our holy religion incorporates every blessing man can
enjoy; there is no good thing you can desire in righteousness that is
not incorporated in the religion of Jesus Christ. God, who creaked us,
knew the wants of our being, and therefore, adapted the Gospel to our
natures.

Vol. 18,  p.255
It is generally thought that "Mormonism" is going to the wall because
men and women leave the Church. It has often been said, let Fashion be
introduced and ministers be sent here, let mines be discovered, and
other agencies be brought to bear, and the problem of "Mormonism"
would soon then be solved. I have no doubt that many people who are
called Latter-day Saints have succumbed to drunkenness, and perhaps to
other vices. But does this affect the truth? Is that any evidence that
"Mormonism," or the Gospel of [p.256] Jesus Christ, is to be
overthrown? Not in the least. I cannot share in the gloomy
apprehensions that some are disposed to indulge in respecting the
future of this people. I think there never was a time when the
prospects of the future of the Church were better than they are at
present. I do not anticipate disaster. I expect men will fall away;
this has been the case always, and as long as the adversary has power
over the children of men it will continue to be so. I thank God that
certain men have a disposition to leave this Church, and so draw the
line between those who are serving the Lord and those who are not. I
mourn that men should be so unfortunate; but when I see the work of
cleansing going on it is an evidence to me that the body of the Church
is healthy. We are being brought in contact with the vices of the
world, and if Latter-day Saints cannot retain their faith in the midst
of these things the sooner they become disfellowshipped the better for
the Church. If, however, we can endure all things for the sake of the
Gospel of Christ, if we can maintain the faith valiantly, in
prosperity as well as in adversity, then is our faith grounded upon
the rock. It would make no difference to such people if there were
five thousand liquor and gambling saloons in our city, they would be
unmoved and undisturbed by such things. God will have a tried and
chosen people, even as gold is seven times purified; if, therefore,
there be any dross about us it will be taken away. If persecution will
not do it, it is very probable the Lord will use other agencies to
bring about the same purpose, so that the end will be accomplished.

Vol. 18,  p.256
I bear testimony that this is the work of God. I know, as well as I
know I live, that God raised up Joseph Smith and bestowed upon him
knowledge and power and enabled him to organize the Church of Christ
in its primitive purity, as it exists and flourishes to-day, in these
mountains. I know also that he has bestowed the same power and
authority upon his servant Brigham, and I know, too, that the people
who will obey his counsels will be blessed, as they always have been,
and that the anger of the Lord will be enkindled against the people
unless they do obey him, because the Lord has set him to guide and to
lead the people. To lead the people blindly without knowing themselves
whither they are going? No, certainly not. When the President of this
Church gives counsel, it is the privilege of the Latter-day Saints to
know, for themselves, by the testimony of Jesus within them, that such
counsel is right, and no higher testimony can be given any man than
this. It is the privilege of all to know whether this is the work of
God or not, according to the Savior's promise, which leaves the world
without excuse. It is a matter of great importance for a man to
testify before God and angels that these things are true. If he be an
impostor, then the responsibility of that man is dreadful; if his
testimony be true, then those who hear and reject it assume greater
responsibility. That God may help us to stand pure and unspotted
before him, is my prayer in the name of Jesus. Amen.[p.257] 

Brigham Young, October 8, 1876

Philosophy of Man Upon The Earth—the Great and 
Grand Secret of Salvation—Are We One—Nature of Stewardship—
Increase of Temples—Hear Ye, Mothers

Discourse By President Brigham Young, Delivered 
at the Semi-Annual Conference, Salt Lake City, 
Sunday Afternoon, Oct. 8, 1876.

(Reported by Geo. F. Gibbs)

Vol. 18,  p.257
I hope to be able to make myself heard by this large congregation.
This moving of feet, whispering to each other, the crying of children
and the noise made by those who are walking, are like the murmuring of
many waters. When there is perfect quietness, I am satisfied that my
voice can be heard all over this house, and no one who is blessed with
good ears for hearing need miss a word. I should feel more satisfied
if I could prevail on our brethren, when speaking from this stand, to
speak directly in trout, so that they could be heard as far as
possible. Many of our experienced Elders, in their conversation to the
people, turn first to the right and then to the left, and every time
they turn either way, a portion of the congregation is unable to
distinctly understand that which is spoken; whereas, if they were to
speak directly to the front, the voice would divide and go equally to
each part of the house, and all would hear. Whether I shall be able to
continue my remarks to any length I do not know; I shall try, however,
to use judgment in speaking, so as not to injure myself.

Vol. 18,  p.257
I will give a short text, to both Saint and sinner, and I think if we
were to include ourselves among the latter and say we are all sinners,
we would come nearer the fact than to class ourselves among the
former, although we hope to be Saints, are trying to be Saints, and
probably a great many of those who are called Latter-day Saints will
yet become Saints indeed.

Vol. 18,  p.257
First, the philosophy of man upon this earth. This cannot be learned
by studying the sciences of mankind, it is only understood by the
revelations of God to ourselves. I will give you a part of my own
visions upon this matter. Mankind is composed of two distinct
elements; the first is a spiritual organization in eternity, the
second is a natural organization on this earth, formed out of the
material of which this earth is composed. Man is first spiritual, then
temporal. As it is written in the revelations of God to man, all
things were first created spiritual, and secondly temporal.[p.258]
That is, spirits were begotten, born and educated in the celestial
world, and were brought forth by celestial bodies. By tracing this
subject a little we might understand how this is brought about. The
spirits before inhabiting bodies are as pure and holy as the angels or
as the gods, they know no evil. This, their first estate, is the
commencement of their experience.

Vol. 18,  p.258
These spirits I shall leave for the present, and refer to our first
par rents, Adam, and Eve, who were found in the Garden of Eden,
tempted and overcome by the power of evil, and consequently subject to
evil and sin, which was the penalty of their transgression. They were
now prepared, as we are, to form bodies or tabernacles for the
reception of pure and holy spirits. When the body is prepared, at the
proper time, the spirit enters the tabernacle, and all the world of
mankind in their reflections and researches must come to this
conclusion, for the fact is they can come to no other—that when the
mother feels life there is an evidence that the spirit from heaven has
entered the tabernacle. So far, this is the philosophy of our being.
As has been said, in consequence of sin, the body is subject to sin,
and it requires all the efforts and power that man can exert in order
to resist temptation that this pure and holy spirit may bring into
subjection the body, so that it may be sanctified by the Gospel or the
law of Christ. The inquiring mind will ask, Why is this so? Simply
that we may know good from evil; all the facts which you and I
understand are by contrast, and all glory, all enjoyment, every
happiness and every bliss are known by its opposite. This is the
decree, this is the way the heavens are, the way they were, and the
way they will continue to be, forever, and for ever. Never was there a
time when evil was not in existence, but the time will, come when this
evil will pass away and be no more, so far as this world is concerned,
and nothing will be able to endure only that which is pure and holy,
and Christ will destroy death and him that hath the power of death.
This applies to this earth, and the ordeals which it passes through
with those that are upon it until the winding-up scene.

Vol. 18,  p.258
But to return to this organization. We find a pure spirit inhabiting
the tabernacle of the creature which is always prompting the
individual to good, to virtue, to truth and holiness; all of which
emanate from that source of purity from which this spirit came. And
here the evil that came through transgression that is in this
tabernacle, is warring with this pure spirit, it seeks to overcome it,
and is striving with all its power to bring this spirit into
subjection, into bondage to the law of sin. This is the warfare which
Paul refers to when speaking of the "thorn in the flesh," which is no
more or less than the spirit contending against the flesh, and the
flesh against the spirit. This pure spirit will remain in a condition
to receive the operations of the spirit of God, which has gone forth
into the world, and which lightens every man that comes into the
world, regardless of his condition, birth or education; the spirit of
Christ lightens them all, and instructs their pure spirits, which are
organizations in the germ and in their growth, to become independent
beings, even sons and daughters of the Almighty; and it will continue
to thus operate until this body, this sinful tabernacle, has warred
against the spirit and overcome. it to such a degree as to entirely
subject it to the man of sin.[p.259] And when the flesh attains this
victory over the spirit, then is the time spoken of when man has
sinned to that degree that, says the Apostle, "ye shall not pray for
them, for they have sinned a sin unto death." Then the spirit of the
Lord ceases to strive with them, they no longer receive light, having
passed the day of grace. Until then every man and every woman is on
saving ground, and they can be redeemed from sin.

Vol. 18,  p.259
Flow is it that the Latter-day Saints feel and understand alike, are
of one heart and one mind, no matter where they may be when they
receive the Gospel, whether in the north or the south, the east or the
west, even to the uttermost parts of the earth? They receive that
which was promised by the Savior when he was about to leave the earth,
namely, the Comforter, that holy unction from on high which recognizes
one God, one faith and one baptism, whose mind is the will of God the
Father, in whom there dwelleth unity of faith and action, and in whom
there cannot be division or confusion; when they received thus further
light, it matters not whether they have seen each other or not, they
at once become brothers and sisters, having been adopted into the
family of Christ through the bonds of the everlasting covenant, and
nil can then exclaim, in the beautiful language of Ruth, "Thy people
shall be my people, and thy God my God!" And the fact that we receive
this Comforter, the Holy Ghost, is proof that the spirit in warring
with the flesh has overcome, and by continuing in this state of
victory over our sinful bodies we become the sons and daughters of
God, Christ having made us free, and whoever the Son makes free is
free indeed. Having fought the good fight we then shall be prepared to
lay our bodies down to rest to await the morning of the resurrection
when they will come forth and be reunited with the spirits, the
faithful, as it is said, receiving crowns, glory, immortality and
eternal lives, even a fullness with the Father, when Jesus shall
present his work to the Father, saying, "Father, here is the work thou
gavest me to do." Then will they become gods, even the sons of God;
then will they become eternal fathers, eternal mothers, eternal sons
and eternal daughters; being eternal in their organization, they go
from glory to glory, from power to power; they will never cease to
increase and to multiply world's without end. When they receive their
crowns, their dominions, they then will be prepared to frame earth's
like unto ours and to people them in the same manner as we have been
brought forth by our parents, by our Father and God.

Vol. 18,  p.259
I have often remarked that if the Latter-day Saints, and all the world
understood the philosophy of their own being, they would bow in humble
reverence to him who is the Author of our being and the author of all
wisdom and all knowledge known among the children of men. It is very
little comparatively that we do know, and but very little we can
really comprehend. It is believed that our scientists and philosophers
are very far advanced, and that wonderful progress has been made in
the nineteenth century; but notwithstanding all the knowledge and
power of philosophy which so distinguishes our age, who among our most
learned can create as simple a thing as a spear of grass or the leaf
of a tree? No one; this can only be [p.260] done through the natural
process; no one can organize the simplest particle of element
independent of the laws of nature. When the philosopher of the age
reaches that perfection that one can waft himself to the moon or to
the north star, or to any other of the fixed planets, and be there in
an instant, in the same manner that Jesus did when he ascended to the
Father in heaven and returned to the earth again, then we may begin to
think we know a little. When we shall possess the power and knowledge
to cause heavenly planets to take their position, giving them their
laws and boundaries which they must obey, and which they cannot pass,
then we may begin to feel that we possess a little wisdom and power.

Vol. 18,  p.260
The great and grand secret of salvation, which we should continually
seek to understand through our faithfulness, is the continuation of
the lives. Those of the Latter-day Saints who will continue to follow
after the revelations and commandments of God to do them who are found
to be obedient in all things, continually advancing little by little
towards perfection and the knowledge of God, they, when they enter the
spirit world and receive their bodies, will be able to advance faster
in the things pertaining to the knowledge of the Gods, and will
continue onward and upward until they become Gods, even the sons of
God. This I say is the great secret of the hereafter, to continue in
the lives forever and forever, which is the greatest of all gifts God
has ever bestowed upon his children. We all have it within our reach,
we can all attain to this perfected and exalted state if we will
embrace its principles and practice them in our every-day life. How
accommodating, how glorious and divine are the dealings of God with
his fallen children! We have been called from darkness to light, from
the power of Satan to the living God. By obeying the whispering of
this Holy Spirit, which we have received by virtue of obedience to the
Gospel, which prompts us to purge from within us all sinful desires,
we can say we are no more in the world, but we are in Christ, our
living head. The philosophy of our coming out from the world is the
putting off the old man sin, and the putting on of the new man Jesses
Christ. How is this to be done? After we believed the Gospel we were
baptized for the remission of our sins—and by the laying on of hands
we received the Holy Spirit of Promise and felt that "we shall be
one." I felt that I should no longer have need to keep a day-book and
ledger in which to keep my accounts, for we were about to consolidate
and become one; that every man and every woman would assist by
actually laboring with their hands in planting, building up and
beautifying this earth to make it like the Garden of Eden. I should
therefore have no farther occasion to keep accounts, I should
certainly accumulate and earn more than I needed, and had not a single
doubt but what my wants would be supplied. This was my experience, and
this is the feeling of every one who receives the Gospel in an honest
heart and contrite spirit.

Vol. 18,  p.260
But how are we now? What is our present condition?

Vol. 18,  p.260
Are we one temporally? Just about as much as Babylon is. One says, "I
am for the mines, I am engaged on my farm or my factory, I am so
engaged in my mercantile [p.261] business that it absorbs all my time,
therefore do not trouble me, do not infringe on me." And who are they?
Generally they are men who, like myself, came here not only poor, but
in debt. I was driven from my homes and possessions, five times
stripped of my earthly possessions. When we arrived in this valley, we
were in a destitute condition. Others came here as destitute as we
were, but are now comparatively wealthy—how do they feel? They wish to
do just as they please. Ask them if they believe that the law of God
requires us to enter into a general copartnership in all our business
relations, living and working together as one family? They will tell
you, "No, I don't believe any such thing." Those of this class who are
merchants will say, "I want to get rich, I will buy where I please,
and will sell at a hundred per cent., five hundred per cent., or a
thousand per cent., if I can." You may do so if you will, but your end
will be lamentable. You count the men who have broken up their homes
and gone in search of gold, and then count those who have carried out
my advice, and you will readily acknowledge that the latter class is
by far the better off, not only financially, but morally and
spiritually. You, my brethren and sisters, who were poor when you came
here, but who now, through the blessing of God, ride in your carriages
and live in fine houses, enjoying all the comforts of life, as well as
good health, and the society of friends, how do you feel? As for
myself, I have not the slightest feeling in my heart that I own a
single thing. What I am in possession of, the Lord has merely made me
a steward over, to see what I will do with it. Now, my brethren and
sisters, do you feel the same? If you do you will each enquire what is
my duty? One duty is to go to work and build this and other Temples,
and the other ones can be built long before we can finish this one.
Shall we do so? I say we will. If we had reached that perfect state of
unity which we Should have long before this, and still hope that we
yet shall, do you suppose we would ask a man to pay Tithing on ten
bushels of wheat, or a hundred or a thousand? No, all that would be
necessary under such circumstances would be to say, brother so-and-so,
from you we want so much, and from another so much. "Yes," they would
say, "Take it. I have nothing. It is all the Lord's, let it be used to
do him service in the building up of his kingdom." "What would you do,
brother Brigham, if you were required to give up all your substance?"
Just what I have always been willing to do. I would continue to do my
duty and trust in God for the results; that is what I have done all my
life. This, doubtless, seems foolishness in the eyes of the world,
they cannot understand it, neither have they any means of
understanding it, for "the things of God knoweth no man but the Spirit
of God." Before I embraced this Gospel I had studied the creeds of the
Christian world. When I inquired of them with regard to heavenly
things, why we came here, and the nature of the relationship we
sustained to God and to heavenly beings, could I get any information?
No, not the least idea. I once heard one of the leading Elders in the
Episcopal Methodist Church undertake to explain to his congregation
one of the simplest of things, namely, "What is the soul of man?"
After he had labored for two long hours, having exhausted his
language, for knowledge [p.262] he had none, he straightened back in
the pulpit and said, "My brethren and sisters, I must come to the
conclusion that the soul of man is an immaterial substance." What a
pretty thing to look at! Excuse me. As far as the spirit and feeling
of many of these people are concerned with regard to morality, and
their endeavors to send the Gospel to the heathen nations, it is
excellent. And there are, doubtless, millions of just as honest people
among the several religious denominations as are amongst the
professedly Latter-day Saints. But they have not the Gospel, they are
in darkness with regard to the plan of salvation, and their teachers
are blind guides, totally unable to give the people the living word,
the way of life. If they live up to the best light and knowledge they
have and can get, they are safe, and in a saved condition. What is the
sin of the ministry and people of the present Christian denominations?
It is that light has come to them and they reject it. The condemnation
of the Jewish nation was that light had come into the world, but they
chose darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil; so
says the Savior. The same Gospel that Jesus taught to those who
rejected him, is entrusted to us to preach to the whole world with the
same consequences which must reach them at some time, in some
condition.

Vol. 18,  p.262
We have been hunted and driven from place to place, and the wicked
have sought our destruction, simply because we offer to them the
light, the truth, the everlasting Gospel. Although we have been robbed
of our homes and possessions, they have not succeeded in destroying us
yet. Will they succeed? I think not. The Lord has said he would gather
his people for the last time, which he is doing; he will not suffer
that they shall be overcome, and the kingdom wrested from them as
heretofore. Neither will he be mocked and derided when he comes this
time—not because the wicked would not repeat the same treatment if
they were permitted—but because he will come in judgment, taking
vengeance on the wicked and on the ungodly, and with the besom of
destruction the refuge of lies and all those who love and make lies
will be swept from the earth, and few men will be left. If the
Latter-day Saints do not desist from running after the things of this
world, and begin to reform and do the work the Father has given them
to do, they will be found wanting, and they, too, will be swept away
and counted as unprofitable servants.

Vol. 18,  p.262
Latter-day Saints, go and take up a labor with yourselves, urge
yourselves to the belief that the Lord is God, that his eyes are upon
the works of his bands, that even the sparrow does not go unfed, nor a
hair of our heads fall to the ground unnoticed. Labor with yourselves
until you have confidence in God and in his revelations to us; become
one in temporal things as well as spiritual things as fast as you can.
Enter into the compact, the association we call the United Order, that
we may commence to do the work we have undertaken to do.

Vol. 18,  p.262
Now, I will make a proposition, and you may have five years to do the
work I am about to assign you. To the people of the Sevier Valley,
Millard County, Iron County, Piute County, Beaver County, with Juab,
Kane, Washington, and Sanpete Counties, I will say, Go to work and
build a Temple in Sanpete. As soon as you are ready to commence, I
will, provide the plan. The ground [p.263] is already selected. We do
not ask whether you are able to do this; but ask yourselves if you
have faith sufficient to do it, for we know that you are perfectly
able to do it if you are willing, and do it inside of three years from
next April. Then to the people of Box Elder County, the Malad Valley,
Cache Valley, Soda Springs, and Bear Lake Valley, Rich County, and the
people on Bear River, I say, unite your labor and commence as soon as
you can to build a Temple in Cache Valley. Again, to the people of
Weber County, Davis County, Morgan and Summit Counties, Salt Lake
County, Tooele and Utah Counties, with the people east and west, I
will say, Go to work and finish the Temple in this city forthwith. Can
you accomplish the work, you Latter-day Saints of these several
counties? Yes, that is a question I can answer readily, you are
perfectly able to do it, the question is, Have you the necessary
faith? Have you sufficient of the Spirit of God in your hearts to
enable you to say, Yes, by the help of God our Father, we will erect
these buildings to his name. There will be little money comparatively
needed, it is nearly all labor, such as you can perform. If the people
had paid their Tithing, and paid the hands employed on the Temple in
proportion as I have done, that building would have been finished
before now. But I am not obliged to build Temples for the people; this
is our common duty, in order that all may have the privilege to
officiate for themselves and their dead. How long, Latter-day Saints,
before you will believe the Gospel as it is? The Lord has declared it
to be his will that his people enter into covenant, even as Enoch and
his people did, which of necessity must be before we shall have the
privilege of building the Centre Stake of Zion, for the power and
glory of God will be there, and none but the pure in heart will be
able to live and enjoy it. Go to now, with your might and with your
means, and finish this Temple. Why, for what reason? The reasons are
very obvious, and you understand them.

Vol. 18,  p.263
A few words to the sisters—you mothers who are trifling with the
ordinances of the house of God, and the blessings that are proffered
to you, I will say that the time will come, if you persist in doing
so, when you will mourn, and will be willing to give worlds, if you
possessed them, for the privilege of living your lives over again.
Some of you are treating with contempt the oracles of the kingdom of
God upon the earth, and in the commission of this sin you trifle with
your own salvation, as well as the salvation of your children. Repent,
and turn unto God, and teach your children the importance of doing the
same, and of the sacredness of the ordinances and the laws of God. It
is the mother's influence that is most effective in moulding the mind
of the child for good or for evil. If she treat lightly the things of
God, it is more than likely her children will be inclined to do the
same, and the Lord will not hold her guiltless when he comes to make
up his jewels; he will disown all such when he comes to claim his own,
and will say, Go hence, I never knew you.

Vol. 18,  p.263
The question may be asked, Are you going to discontinue to give
endowments here? I think it is very probable that you will have to go
where there is a Temple, or go without. In consequence of our having
been driven from our homes, and because of our destitute
circumstances, the Lord has permitted us to do what we have done,
namely, to [p.264] use this Endowment House for Temple purposes. But
since, through the mercies and blessings of God, we are able to build
Temples, it is the will and commandment of God that we do so.

Vol. 18,  p.264
I thank you for your attention. We will adjourn this Conference until
the 6th day of April next, to meet at ten o'clock a.m., in the Temple
at St. George. We intend to dedicate it then. We shall dedicate some
parts this fall, and commence to work in it.

Vol. 18,  p.264
I feel to bless the people, and say, May Heaven be kind to you. Amen.

Orson Pratt, August 20, 1876

Youthful Experiences—Preaching Without Purse and 
Scrip—Individual Testimony Abundant and Satisfactory—Joseph 
Smith not An Impostor—His Promises Fulfilled—Form 
of Church Organization Imperative—Its 
Restoration in Prophecy and Fact

Discourse By Elder Orson Pratt, Delivered in the New 
Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Sunday Afternoon, Aug. 20, 1876.

(Reported by Geo. F. Gibbs)

Vol. 18,  p.264
We have heard, this afternoon, the testimony of one of our young
brethren, Elder Mathoni Pratt, who has just returned, rejoicing in the
truth, from his first preaching mission abroad.

Vol. 18,  p.264
When speaking of his late experience, my mind was carried back to the
days of my youth, when, at the age of nineteen, I went forth to the
world to preach the great principles embraced in the faith of the
Latter-day Saints. I, too, felt my weakness, being then very timid and
bashful, never having been accustomed to public speaking, But the
Lord, in whom I placed my trust, gave me strength according to my
faith and perseverance, to proclaim the truth to the people. The Holy
Ghost, which had been given me, brought to mind the Scriptures of
eternal truth, in the very moment needful to present them to the
people. Passages which I had merely read, in my early school days,
came as vividly to my mind as though I had committed them to memory.
This was in fulfillment of a promise of God to all his faithful
servants. The Lord, through new revelation, has commanded his
servants, who go forth as missionaries in this last dispensation, to
take no thought beforehand [p.265] what they shall say, for it shall
be given them in the very moment what they shall say. This has been
verified in very deed in my experience. Sometimes, in consequence of
my weakness, I would take forethought upon some few subjects, but
after rising to express these things to the people, they would be
taken from me.

Vol. 18,  p.265
There are many promises which God has made to his servants in these
latter times, and in connection with these promises he has given many
commandments which we are required to observe and keep. One of these
commandments, given to his missionary servants in the year 1832, reads
as follows: "Verily I say unto you, let no man that goes forth to
preach my Gospel, from this hour, take purse or scrip." We therefore
went forth, as the ancient Apostles, taking no thought for the morrow
what we should eat, or what we should drink, or wherewithal we should
be clothed. For, said the Lord, consider the lilies of the field, they
toil not, neither do they spin, and the kingdoms of this world, in all
their glory, are not arrayed like one of these. There was another
promise made in connection with these commandments: "They who go forth
without purse or scrip, and are faithful in all things, shall not be
weary in mind, neither in body, limb, nor joint, neither shall they go
hungry or athirst."

Vol. 18,  p.265
This, is another great promise which has been verified upon me to the
very letter. I have gone to foreign nations, without one farthing to
either procure food or a night's lodging, and God has opened up my
way, so that I have lacked no needful thing. This is not only my
experience, but the experience of thousands who have also tested, in
like manner, the truth of this promise. In the early rise of this
Church, I sometimes had to sleep out in the open air, the same as our
Savior had to do, as he said, "The foxes have holes, and the birds of
the air have nests, but the Son of Man hath not where to lay His
head." And so it hath been with many of his latter-day servants. Yet
we experienced no particular inconveniences by being obliged to sleep
at night on the ground; neither have we suffered when calling on the
people from time to time, as servants of God, to obtain food, any more
than Elijah did, when he fasted forty days, or Moses when he was forty
days and forty nights without eating or drinking. There was a power
over and in those ancient servants of God, that satisfied the cravings
of the appetite, in passing through such circumstances, and such power
was not withheld from us.

Vol. 18,  p.265
After the Lord told us how to go forth to the world with this Gospel
message, he said, He that receiveth you, receiveth me; and he that
receiveth me, receiveth my Father; and he that receiveth my Father,
receiveth my Father's kingdom. He also said, He that rejecteth you,
and your words and testimony, rejecteth me; go away from him and
cleanse your feet with pure water, and bear testimony of it to your
Father, and return not again to that man or house; and whatsoever
village or city you enter do likewise. And another great promise, made
in connection with this, is that every soul that believes on your
words, and is baptized in water for the remission of sins, shall
receive the Holy Ghost, and these signs shall follow them that
believe. In my name they shall cast out devils, heal the sick, open
the eyes of the blind, unstop the ears of the deaf, and the tongue of
the dumb shall speak; and if any [p.266] man administers poison to
them, it shall not hurt them.

Vol. 18,  p.266
The promise, therefore, unto all who receive this Gospel, is that they
shall not only receive remission of their sins, but they shall also
receive the Holy Ghost through the laying on of hands; a promise which
God alone can fulfil. Suppose this Church was an imposition, and this
Gospel message not divine, would not the people who have rendered
obedience to its requirements have proved it long ago to be false?
Certainly they would, and the message itself, with its advocates,
would have died away and come to nought. Would they have continued, as
many have done, for over forty years in this Church; and would the
people, numbering in this Territory about one hundred and fifty
thousand, have gathered as they have done from nearly all the
civilized nations, to the great interior of this continent, if the
promises made them through this Gospel had not been fulfilled. No, you
might have preached and promised, but it would have been of no effect.
There is a vast cloud of witnesses, not only these of this
congregation, but I speak of the entire people.

Vol. 18,  p.266
Do you know, Latter-day Saints, that this work is true? You do. How do
you know it? Not merely because the men who proclaimed it told you it
was true. How then do you know it? You know it by virtue of your
obedience to the message; you have done the will of the Father, and
you have realized the fulfillment of the promise; so that it is not a
matter of guesswork, of mere opinion; you know beyond a single doubt
that it is the work of the living God.

Vol. 18,  p.266
Suppose an impostor was to undertake to preach this Gospel, offering
the same promises to believers, which of course would not be
fulfilled. Do you not therefore see that it would be impossible to
gather such people together from the different nations? But, when the
promises are realized, the people receiving something they never
before experienced, when those effects are strictly in accordance with
the words of God, then they have a testimony that cannot be denied.
But says one, "We hear people belonging to the different Christian
sects and denominations say that they receive the spirit of God; you
say the same. How are we to judge between you and them?" I would
answer in the language of the Apostle John, who, in the first verse of
the fourth chapter of his General Epistle said, "Beloved, believe not
every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because
many false prophets are gone out into the world." The true spirit
imparts signs to all believers. Do the Methodists, the Baptists, the
Presbyterians, or any of the Christian sects receive a spirit of this
kind? Do they lay their hands on the sick, and are the sick healed? If
they do then they are true believers; but if they do not, it shows
that they have been deceived. Do they even profess to have these
signs? No. Why? Because they know they are not in possession of them;
and in order to excuse themselves with a view of making everybody
believe they are true believers, they say these signs were only to
follow the servants of God in the first age of Christianity. Let us
examine carefully the written word, to see whether this is so or not.
Jesus, as is shown in the 16th chapter of St. Mark, commencing at the
15th verse, said to the Eleven Apostles, "Go ye into all the world and
preach the Gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized
shall be [p.267] saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. And
these signs shall follow them that believe: In my name shall they east
out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; they shall take up
serpents, and if they drink any deadly thing it shall not hurt them;
they shall lay hands on the sick and they shall recover." Were the
believers here referred to confined to certain individuals? No, this
Gospel message was to be preached to every creature in all the world,
and the promise was to every body that believed and obeyed. Some argue
that when the Gospel was first introduced, it was necessary that these
signs should follow the believers, in order that all the world might
be convinced of its divinity; but that when the Gospel had been fully
established, by signs and wonders, they were no longer needed. This is
believed in and accepted as truth by the great majority of the
Christian world. This being the case, I have often wondered why there
were not more infidels in the world, than we have a knowledge of.
Because a man inclined to infidelity might say, "If you do not believe
in one part of the Gospel, what use is there in my believing any of
it? If you can take upon yourselves the right to do away with a part
of the Gospel, why may not I do away with the whole of it?" The signs
which the Savior promised should follow believers are just as much a
part of the Gospel as salvation itself is.

Vol. 18,  p.267
But how shall we "try the spirits?" I do not know of a better and
surer way than to follow the word of God. In ancient times hands were
laid on the head of the baptized believer and the Holy Ghost was
given, and it produced certain effects, insomuch that when the hands
were taken from the heads of the individuals thus blessed, often times
they would speak with other tongues, and prophesy, foretelling future
events, etc. And the effects of the Holy Ghost were so miraculous and
manifest that a certain sorcerer, named Simon Magnus, doubtless
thinking it would be a great acquisition to his catalogue of wonders,
offered the Apostles money, if they would empower him to perform the
same. But Peter said unto him, "Thy money perish with thee; repent of
this thy wickedness," etc. "For I perceive that thou art in the gall
of bitterness and in the bond of iniquity." There was a power
attending the demonstration of those men of God, in ancient days, that
left no doubt in the minds of those who experienced it; they knew that
it was a power not from man.

Vol. 18,  p.267
After the Lord had commissioned the Elders of this Church, some
forty-four years ago, to preach this Gospel to all nations, he
promised that to those who would believe and obey their words, should
be given power to do many wonderful works, they should open the eyes
of the blind, and unstop the ears of the deaf, and the tongue of the
dumb should be made to speak, and the lame man should be made to walk,
etc. Has this promise been fulfilled, Latter-day Saints? Yes, you know
it has been literally fulfilled. You yourselves when living in a
scattered condition, in places where the Gospel found you, have laid
your hands upon the heads of your little children and others, who were
sick, and, in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by virtue of the holy
Priesthood, you have rebuked the sickness, and you have seen the sick
restored to health. You have also witnessed the deaf restored to their
hearing, and the blind receive their sight. By these and [p.268] other
manifestations of the power of God, you knew that we were the servants
of God, and that our message was divine. The world say that Joseph
Smith was an impostor. I would ask, Can there be any more effectual
means of detecting an impostor, of determining the truth or falsity of
his profession, than for him to make to public promises of this kind?
It he were an impostor, the signs spoken of would not follow
believers, and the power to perform these wonderful works would not be
given to those who obeyed his words. Do you not know, strangers, that
an impostor would carefully avoid giving such unmistakable proofs of
his impositions? Yes, he would be as cautious as the Methodists, and
the rest of the so-called Christian denominations, for they do not
even profess a belief in them, much less to declare themselves to be
in possession of them. But the tact that these signs do follow
believers, that this power does exist, is testimony sufficient, and it
is a testimony to all the world, that this Gospel message which we
preach is divine, and that God is able to do to-day the same as he did
anciently; and you, Latter-day Saints, are witnesses concerning these
things.

Vol. 18,  p.268
Having examined the message that, these missionaries proclaim, let me
speak a little upon another subject. If you now travel over the broad
face of the Christian world, and ask the several Christian sects if
they have inspired Apostles in their church, who receive revelation as
they of old did? The answer will be positively no. Why do you not have
them, are they not part of the Gospel? Hear what the Lord has said
upon this subject through the Apostle Paul—"God hath set some in the
Church, first Apostles, secondarily Prophets, thirdly teachers, after
that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities
of tongues." And these are members of the body called the Church. Yet
you say you have not the first member necessary to constitute the
body. God has certainly set in his Church Apostles. Where are they,
and where are their revelations? When there happens to be some
difficulty on points of doctrine among you, do you go to the ministers
you profess to have, requesting them to inquire of the Lord concerning
the matter? Oh no, you say, the canon of Scripture is full, and there
is to be no more revelation. No wonder, then, you have not the first
officer of the Church; he would be to you a superfluous member, if
there is to be no more revelation. But how do you know this? Has the
Lord ever said that the time would come when he would have no more
inspired Apostles in his Church? Says one, My minister says so. I
would advise you to go to your minister and ask him where he obtains
his evidence to prove that the canon of Scripture is full. You will
find that he will appear dumb, because no man can put his finger upon
a single passage of Scripture proving such an assertion. Perhaps some
have tried to believe it, by quoting certain verses front the last
chapter of the Revelation of the Lord to St. John, when on the Isle of
Patmos; I have had them quote it to me. You will recollect that John,
while on the Isle of Patmos, ninety-six years after the birth of
Christ, received wonderful revelations, the Lord commanding him to
write them. He wrote them on parchment, and upon the closing up of the
scroll the Lord says, "If any man shall add unto these things, God
shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book." This is
often quoted, perhaps [p.269] without knowing or considering that
John, after his release from Patmos, as history informs us, wrote the
Gospel of St. John. Supposing that John was questioned on this point,
how do you think he would have explained himself? He would have said
that that caution had reference to the book written on Patmos. He
would have said further, that the caution was against man's adding,
but that God has the right to give to his people line upon line,
precept upon precept, here a little, and there a little, book after
book, yea, even ten thousand revelations, or more as he may deem
proper; and he never pronounced a curse against himself, but that man
has not the right to add a single word. The same language may be found
in the book of Deuteronomy, which of course has a direct bearing to
the five hooks of Moses, without any reference whatever to the
succeeding books of the Bible. May not the same objection be just as
consistently raised against all the books of the Old and New Testament
which follow the last book written by Moses, containing the same
caution, as against the new revelation of to-day? Surely the people
who lived in and after the days of Moses might just as consistently
have objected to receiving any further revelations from the Lord,
because of the caution referred to appearing in the Book of
Deuteronomy, as the people of to-day have for objecting to receive any
new revelation, because the same caution appears in the last chapter
of the revelation on Patmos. Both have reference to particular books
only, and it is absurd and folly in the extreme for men claiming to
have any knowledge of God, and the great plan of salvation to
interpret it otherwise. And it can be for no other reason than to
attempt to cover up the state of apostacy which the whole world is in,
that causes the ministers of the various sects to quote this passage
as they do.

Vol. 18,  p.269
There is another passage of Scripture which I will refer to, in
connection with this; it reads as follows: "When Christ ascended up on
high, he led captivity captive and gave gifts to men. And he gave some
Apostles; and some, Prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors
and teachers; for the perfecting of the Saints, for the work of the
ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ," etc. It is
acknowledged that you have not Apostles as part of your Gospel. Let us
inquire further. Have you got Prophets? No, you assert there is to be
no more Prophets. Have you workers of miracles or healers of the sick?
No. Have you discerners of spirits, or speakers with tongues, or do
angels minister to you? No, you assert that these are all done away.
Do you not know that all these constitute the body of the Church of
the living God, and that all these are necessary to form the whole, so
that one part or member cannot say to another, "I have no need of
you?" What then have you got? You reply, We have teachers and pastors.
Then you consider that you have the body of Christ among you? You
reply, "O yes; we are the Church of Christ." Who authorized you to do
away with these essential parts of the body or Church of Christ? Have
you not been instructed of the Lord through the mouth of his Apostles,
that "If all were one member, where were the body?" If pastors and
teachers are the only members you have, how is it possible that the
body can exist among you? The Apostle, in thus comparing the human
body complete with all its members to the body or Church of [p.270]
Christ, said—"The head cannot say to the foot, I have no need of you,"
etc. By what principle of right, therefore, can the legs or feet,
which may be said to represent pastors and teachers, say to the head,
which represents the Apostles, "I have no need of you?" You say you
have only a couple of the members of the body, and that you have
received no further revelation from God, the canon of Scripture being
full, authorizing you to do away with the other members. Were then is
the Church organization as established by the Savior? No where, among
the sects, upon the whole earth, neither has it been for many
generations past. You say, we are uncharitable. We are only comparing
your church organization with that of the Bible. We are told to "Try
the spirits," and I know of no better way than to do so by the Word of
God. Remember that he who dwells in the heavens will judge you by his
words in the great day of judgment. You pastors and teachers, you who
profess to be authorized of God, how will you feel in that great day,
when you shall appear before him to be judged out of the books? When
you hear him declare that he placed in his Church, first Apostles,
then Prophets, etc., and when he shall ask you the reason why you did
away with them, how will you feel, what will you say? Your only answer
can be that "we did away with them, because they were unpopular, and
because we had not faith sufficient to obtain revelations ourselves,
and in order to hide our apostacy we said they were no longer needed."
Remember, all ye, the testimony of the Savior—"My words shalt judge
you in the last day."

Vol. 18,  p.270
The Lord has restored his everlasting Gospel, with all its gifts and
blessings, and in all its fullness, and has called men and commanded
them to publish it among the inhabitants of all the earth. Judge ye
whether it be the Gospel, or whether it be a man-made system. If it be
false, prove it to be so; bring forth your strong reasons; otherwise
lay your hands upon your mouths, and let your tongues be dumb. There
may be imperfections in some of the people who represent this Gospel,
for the wheat and tares are to grow together until the second coming
of our Lord, when he will separate them; but there are no
imperfections in the Gospel; it is perfect so far as God has seen
proper to reveal himself to the human family. Will an imperfect system
save the people in any part of the world? No. If the Gospel we preach
is not true, there is certainly among you none true; and we,
therefore, are only one among the others; for we know they are not
true, because the written word testifies against them. But we present
to you a system which is perfect, and which we know to be true,
because the promised signs follow the believers.

Vol. 18,  p.270
This Gospel must be preached to all peoples everywhere, fulfilling the
prophecy of John the Revelator, contained in the 14th chapter of
Revelations. Judge ye whether that day has come or not. We declare
that the angel referred to there has flown, and we bring forth the
evidence of witness who saw and conversed with him. And we are
commissioned of God to carry the Gospel to all nations under heaven,
bearing testimony that it is the eleventh hour—the last time that God
will ever send laborers into the vineyard. We testify that when this
Gospel is preached faithfully to all the world, then will the end of
the wicked world come; then shall the Son of Man come, sitting upon a
white [p.271] cloud, as predicted in the same chapter. Then woe to the
nations that reject this warning message, for they shall be visited
with consuming fire, and all that shall be found doing wickedly shall
be burned up. This is the dispensation of the fullness of times that
should come in the last days, gathering out the Lord's elect from the
four winds of heaven; a dispensation of the Lord's judgments spoken of
in connection with the flying of the angel in the midst of heaven; and
these judgments are nigh even at the door. Amen.

Joseph F. Smith, April 8, 1876

The Gospel Trumpet—Salvation More Than Baptism 
and the Laying on of Hands—Responsibilities of Believers—
Labors and Opportunities of the Spirit World—the Office of the 
Holy Spirit—Knowledge of the Gospel, Certain and 
Sure—Its Fruits Good, and Manifest in the 
Lives of Those Who Receive It

Discourse By Elder Joseph F. Smith, Delivered at the 
Forty-Sixth Annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ, 
of Latter-Day Saints, in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake 
City, Saturday Afternoon, April 8, 1876.

(Repoted by Geo. F. Gibbs)

Vol. 18,  p.271
It is with humility, desiring that the Spirit of the Lord may rest
upon you, my hearers, as well as upon myself, that I arise to address
you. I am requested to "blow the Gospel trumpet." I do not know that I
shall be able to make myself heard by this large congregation, unless
all keep quiet and exercise that faith which it is our privilege to do
when assembled in a worshiping capacity.

Vol. 18,  p.271
If we are in the line of our duty, we are engaged in a great and
glorious cause. It is very essential to our individual welfare that
every man and every woman who has entered into the covenant of the
Gospel, through repentance and baptism, should feel that as
individuals it is their bounden duty to use their intelligence, and
the agency which the Lord has given them, for the promotion of the
interests of Zion and the establishment of her cause, in the earth.
Those who are not faithful in the discharge of these duties cannot be
wholly acceptable to God; for they are more or less in the condition
of [p.272] the Church which was complained of by the angel to the
Apostle John, as being neither hot nor cold, but luke-warm, and
therefore only fit to be "spewed out," or to be disowned of God.
Manifoldly more deserving of this rebuke and chastisement are those
who are not only indifferent to the interests of the cause of God and
its growth in the earth, but who murmur and find fault and who,
instead of putting their shoulders to the wheel, actually try to
retard its progress by using what little influence and means they
possess to obstruct the onward march of the kingdom.

Vol. 18,  p.272
It was said by the Son of God, "Verily, verily, I say unto thee,
Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." This
was said to Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews, who evidently believed
that Jesus was sent of God, but who went to him by night, being
ashamed to be seen seeking so humble a person in the day time, having,
no doubt, that feeling of worldly pride which animates the bosoms of
many of the present generation, he dared not identify himself with the
Savior of the world, because his reputation and standing in society
would be sacrificed. But he marvelled at the saying of Christ, and
upon further inquiry the Savior explained by declaring that, "Except a
man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the
kingdom of God." And I may say still further, that being born of the
water and the Spirit alone, will not enable a man to enter into the
kingdom of heaven. There is something still beyond, which is just as
necessary as this, the first ordinance of the Gospel, which must be
observed and honored by those of this new birth in order that they may
obtain the full salvation which is sought after.

Vol. 18,  p.272
On this particular occasion the Savior was speaking of Baptism, and in
order to impress it upon Nicodemus, that it might be understood then,
as well as to be in force in all future time, so that people need not
be deceived, he spoke thus emphatically on this point of doctrine. It
therefore matters not how devout, honest, or sincere we might be in
the profession of our faith in God, or in the system of religion we
might have adopted, and which we believe to be the everlasting Gospel,
without this ordinance of baptism we cannot be saved—but first having
repented of our sins with that repentance which needeth not to be
repented of, in other words, putting away from us every evil, and
shunning even the appearance of sin, then to be baptized by one
authorized of God for the remission of those sins, and for the
reception of the Holy Ghost, we thus becoming heirs of God, and joint
heirs with Jesus Christ; true branches, having been grafted into the
true vine, bearing fruit of the good seed, bringing forth an hundred
fold to the honor and glory of God. I repeat, it matters not how
honest we may be or profess to be in our convictions, without this
repentance and baptism and reception of the Holy Ghost, which
constitute the new birth, we are not of the family of Christ, but are
aliens, estranged from God and his laws, and in this fallen condition
we shall remain, whether in the body or in the spirit, for time and
for eternity, unless we render obedience to the plan devised in the
heavens for the redemption and salvation of the human family,

Vol. 18,  p.272
The Latter-day Saints may say, We were taught this doctrine by the
Elders in our native lands, and we believed it and repented of our
[p.273] sins, and were baptized, and we received the gift of the Holy
Ghost, which was a testimony to us that we had done the will of the
Father, and since then our testimonies have often been confirmed
through the manifestations of the power of God, and the renewal of His
spirit in our hearts. Why, therefore, say they, is it necessary to
refer to these things now? Perhaps a reason may be found for so doing
in the fact, that, judging from the actions of many who profess to be
Latter-day Saints, it would seem that they had come to the conclusion
that they had completed their work, that the requirements of the
Gospel were all complied with, and nothing now remained but for them
to enter upon the inheritances promised to the faithful. We perhaps
forget, in consequence of the things of time, which so tempt our
fallen nature, that, having been born anew, which is the putting away
of the old man sin, and putting on of the new man Christ Jesus, we
have become soldiers of the cross, having enlisted under the banner of
Jehovah for time and for eternity, and that we have entered into the
most solemn covenants to serve God and to contend earnestly for the
establishment of the principles of truth and righteousness on this
earth continually while we live. And having been "bought with a
price," that is, having been redeemed from the power of sin through
the atoning blood of the Savior, as the Apostle says, "We are not our
own;" we are his, and we are dependent on him, not only for the light
and knowledge which we have received by virtue of the Gospel restored
in this dispensation through the Prophet Joseph Smith, but for all
temporal blessings, and even for our very earthly being. Therefore, it
is not consistent with our high and holy calling to allow ourselves to
become careless and indifferent to the interests of the cause we have
espoused, lest we fail through our inconsistency, and return "like the
sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire," and peradventure be
found traitors to the sacred cause in which we have enlisted, and
forfeit the gift of eternal life to which we have been made heirs.
There is a course marked out for us to walk in—it is that strait and
narrow path which leads back to the presence of God; the lamp to light
our onward march is the Holy Ghost, which we received on or after our
new birth. If we falter and turn aside, our lamp will burn dim and
finally go out, when lo, the Comforter, the source of revelation, will
leave us, and darkness will take its place; then how great will be
that darkness! In proportion to the light we possessed will darkness
overpower us, and unless a speedy repentance is made the darkness will
increase within us, until we lose sight of our calling and forget Him
who redeemed us and claimed us for his own. The Apostle Paul, in his
First Epistle to the Corinthians, says: "Know ye not that ye are the
Temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man
defile the Temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the Temple of God
is holy, which Temple ye are." His language is applicable to us as
Latter-day Saints, and destruction must overtake us, which is as
certain as it is that God is a just being, if we render ourselves
unworthy of the calling and name we bear by failing to perform the
duties devolving upon us.

Vol. 18,  p.273
In referring to the subject of baptism as essential to salvation, it
may be asked by some, What would [p.274] become of those who heard not
the Gospel, and who therefore had not the opportunity of being
baptized, claiming as we do that the Gospel was taken from the earth
in consequence of its being rejected when proclaimed by Jesus and his
Apostles. I would say to such that God has made ample provision for
all his children, both the ignorant and the learned; those who have
not had the Gospel preached to them in the flesh, will hear it in the
spirit, for all must have the plan of salvation presented to them for
their acceptance or rejection before they can become amenable to the
law. "For," says Paul, "where there is no law there is no
transgression." To those who have not heard the Gospel in the flesh,
if they have not already heard it preached in the spirit, they most
assuredly will, and that, too, by men who have previously preached it
on the earth, who have died faithful servants, they will continue
their labors in the spirit world, and those who receive the Gospel
from them will "live according to God in the spirit," and all who hear
it will "be judged according to men in the flesh," "for," says the
Apostle Peter, "for this cause was the Gospel preached also to them
that are dead." (1 Peter, 4, 6.) When, therefore, the law is revealed
to them and they become instructed in it, then will they be held
responsible. If they receive it, their kindred or friends who remain
upon the earth perhaps, during the Millennium, will act for them, that
is, they will be baptized for and in their behalf, for the remission
of sins, and be confirmed members of the Church of Jesus Christ, in
the same manner as that work is being done now; there being only one
faith, one Lord, and one baptism, which law is eternal and
unchangeable, and therefore it is applicable to the dead as well as
the living in all ages and climes; and further, no living creature who
has become subject to sin and the power of death in consequence of
mortality, can evade this law and be redeemed, for it is the door to
the fold of Christ, which fold cannot be entered, only through the
door. So great and important is this labor, and so necessary for the
salvation of the human family, both the living and the dead, that, as
the Prophet Joseph said, it will occupy the whole period of the
Millennium to consummate it.

Vol. 18,  p.274
In connection with this work is that spoken of concerning Elijah the
Prophet, namely, "the turning of the hearts of the children to the
fathers, and the hearts of the fathers to the children," which if not
done the whole earth will be smitten with a curse.

Vol. 18,  p.274
The kingdom of God must be erected upon the principles which Christ
has revealed, upon the foundation of eternal truth, Jesus himself
being the chief corner-stone. These holy and sublime principles must
be observed and honored in our lives, in order that we may obtain an
exaltation with the sanctified in the kingdom of God.

Vol. 18,  p.274
The beauty of these principles is they are true, and the satisfaction
derived from their adoption is the knowledge which we receive
convincing us of this fact. We have not believed a fable, neither are
we cherishing a cunningly devised scheme, but we have been inducted
into the truth, having Christ for our head, who is our forerunner, our
great High Priest and King. It is true, there are few comparatively
who acknowledge allegiance to him, and there are many of these who do
not apparently comprehend the [p.275] importance and binding character
of their covenants, or allegiance. This is greatly to be reverted, not
that the loyal and faithful subject will lose anything in consequence;
but because they who refrain from exercising themselves in his cause
will sustain the loss, a loss, too, which they cannot now estimate. It
is indeed sorrowful that any should be indifferent to this
all-important matter. Who is there of those that have been, or now
are, associated with this Church, who have not felt the power of the
Holy Ghost, and realized in some measure the benefits of that Spirit
through the knowledge which it imparts? This question will meet all of
us, those who turn away from the truth, and those who are and will
remain indifferent to the cause of Zion, as Well as the faithful, when
we shall appear before the bar of God, to render an account of our
deeds done in the flesh.

Vol. 18,  p.275
The Holy Ghost is a personage who acts in Christ's stead. Just before
the risen Redeemer left the earth he commanded his disciples to tarry
in the city of Jerusalem until they should be endued with power from
on high. They did so, and agreeable to promise the Comforter came
whilst they were met together, filling their hearts with unspeakable
joy, insomuch that they spake in tongues and prophesied; and the
inspiring influence of this holy being accompanied them in all their
ministerial duties, enabling them to perform the great mission to
which they had been called by the Savior. We axe informed that, on a
certain occasion, whilst engaged preaching the Gospel, many who heard
them were convinced of the divinity of their mission, and they cried
out, saying, "Men and brethren, what shall we do?" They were not told
to come to the anxious seat to be prayed for, or to believe in Jesus,
for they already believed and were convinced; but "Peter said unto
them, Repent, and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus
Christ, for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of
the Holy Ghost." The office of the Holy Spirit is to enlighten the
minds of the people with regard to the things. of God, to convince
them at the time of their conversion of their having done the will of
the Father, and to be in them an abiding testimony as a companion
through life, acting as the sure and safe guide into all truth and
filling them day by day with joy and gladness, with a disposition to
do good to all men, to suffer wrong rather than to do wrong, to be
kind and merciful, long suffering and charitable. All who possess this
inestimable gift, this pearl of great price, have a continual thirst
after righteousness. Without the aid of the Holy Spirit no mortal can
walk in the straight and narrow way, being unable to discern right
from wrong, the genuine from the counterfeit, so nearly alike can they
be made to appear. Therefore it behooves the Latter-day Saints to live
pure and upright, in order that this Spirit may abide in them; for it
is only possessed on the principle of righteousness. I cannot receive
it for you, nor you for me; every one must stand for him or her self,
whether of high or humble birth, learned or unlearned, and it is the
privilege of all alike to be made partakers of it.

Vol. 18,  p.275
I know that God lives, and that he has revealed himself. I know that
the Holy Ghost has been conferred upon the children of men, and that
the Gospel has been restored to the inhabitants of the earth in its
fullness. I know that the Holy Priesthood, which is the power of God
delegated to man, has been restored [p.276] to the earth. I do know
that God has delivered his people and that he will continue to deliver
us and lead us on in his own peculiar way from conquering to conquer,
from victory to victory, until truth and righteousness gain the
ascendency in this His earth, inasmuch as we remain true to him and to
one another.

Vol. 18,  p.276
The question may arise in the minds of some, How do you know these
things?

Vol. 18,  p.276
Perhaps I can, in part at least, answer the question by asking
another—How does the child, or youth, immediately know when he
performs the first wicked act of his life? Is there not within him a
consciousness of right and wrong? This is a portion of divinity which
lights every one who is born into the world, which acts as a monitor
to the heart and soul, and never fails to impress the mind with an
unmistakable sense of right and wrong.

Vol. 18,  p.276
This same spark of divinity, this monitor which speaks unmistakably to
the understanding of the child, disapprovingly of his wrong, will
speak, in just as unmistakable language, approvingly of good and
righteous deeds. Therefore I know what I declare to be true, because
my conscience approves of my obeying the requirements of the Gospel;
this inward monitor testifies to my spirit that in rendering this
obedience I do right, and gives me the self-same assurance when I am
in the discharge of any other duties, whether officiating in the
capacity of an Elder or in the performance of those duties which, as
an individual, I owe to society.

Vol. 18,  p.276
Is this the only way? No, I know it by the sight of the eye, by the
hearing of the ear, and by the feeling of the heart. I know that
"Mormonism" is true, because the fruits of it are pure and good. The
fruits of our religion can be seen and heard, and their influence can
be felt. For instance, here is a brother who does not take the name of
the Lord in vain; he does not steal, nor lie, nor commit adultery,
neither would he bear false witness against his neighbor; he honors
his parents and seeks to do to others as he would wish to be done by;
he bears the full fruit of the Spirit which he has received by virtue
of his obedience to the Gospel, which is "love, joy, peace,
longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance;" his
influence is good, and you know that he has drunk at the pure
fountain, that he has gathered his figs from the fig tree, for were it
otherwise his actions, the fruits of his life, would be of an opposite
nature. Further, this unmistakable assurance, which is derived through
yielding obedience to and practising the principles of eternal life,
is continually being confirmed, as it were, by "line upon line and
precept upon precept," through the revelations of the Holy Spirit,
which is a coutinuous and unfailing source of intelligence, of joy and
happiness, drawing him who possesses it nearer unto God, and will
eventually cause him to appear like unto his Maker.

Vol. 18,  p.276
It is the feel who has said in his heart, "There is no God," and it
would indeed be a weak and foolish mind that would rest satisfied
without out knowing beyond a doubt the Author and Source of his
religion when the opportunity of ascertaining the fact is extended to
him.

Vol. 18,  p.276
I know the fruits of my religion are good, they are flavored with the
sweets of heaven, and they imperil health and life to the soul, and I
know that God, the Creator of heaven and earth, is its author. No man
need wonder whether this be really true or not, for all may know for
[p.277] themselves, all may partake of the fruit of the vine and eat
and live, all may drink of the eternal spring, and drink and thirst
for more. These things I declare to you to be true and faithful. I
have been acquainted with them from my youth, and I have felt their
influence from my childhood. I have seen the effect of their opposite,
and I know whereof I speak. I cannot deny these things, neither can
any man who has ever known them, although he may apostatize from them,
except he deny himself and his God.

Vol. 18,  p.277
The man who embraces what is called "Mormonism," but which is really
the Gospel of the Son of God, and lives according to its precepts,
will never lie nor steal; he will not dishonor his parents nor despise
his poorer brethren; he will never, no never, speak against the Lord's
anointed, nor be ashamed to own his God, to whom he owes homage and
gratitude now and forever; he will never do a dishonorable act, nor
fail to acknowledge God in all things, neither will he refuse to
render implicit obedience to the revelations of God which are
applicable to him. It is true, man may err in judgment, he may be
wanting in many things because of his fallen nature, but the system of
salvation is perfect. Jesus, the Only Begotten of the Father, in whom
there was no blemish, is its author; he is the Standard to all the
world, and will be forever. He had power to lay down his life and take
it up again, and if we keep inviolate the covenants of the Gospel,
remaining faithful and true to the end, we too, in his name and
through his redeeming blood, will have power in due time to resurrect
these our bodies after they shall have been committed to the earth.

Vol. 18,  p.277
Let us, then, my brethren and sisters, be valiant for the truth,
maintaining our integrity to God and our brethren in all meekness,
that we may at last come to the knowledge of God and Jesus Christ whom
he has sent, whom to know is life eternal; this is my prayer in the
name of Jesus. Amen.[p.278] 

John Taylor, November 5, 1876

Position of the Latter-Day Saints—Protestantism Makes 
No Claim to Revelation—Priesthood, How Restored, Its Purpose—
Persecution the Heritage of the Church—the People Must Know 
the Will of God, and Do It—Respect the Authorities; 
and Respect Our Profession—Avoiding 
All Evils, Cleave to the Good

Discourse By Elder John Taylor, Delivered in the New 
Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Sunday Afternoon, Nov. 5, 1876.

(Repoted by Geo. F. Gibbs)

Vol. 18,  p.278
In meeting together on Sabbath days we assemble generally for the
purpose of renewing our spiritual strength by partaking of the emblems
of the broken body and shed blood of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,
communing with our own hearts and reflecting upon things pertaining to
the kingdom of God, and of speaking and listening to those things that
have a tendency to enlighten our minds and establish us in the faith,
to increase and confirm our hopes, and to enable us to press onward
with avidity, confidence, and renewed determination in the path which
the Lord has marked out for us to travel in.

Vol. 18,  p.278
As Latter-day Saints, we occupy a singular position in the world. Our
views and ideas, theories and faith, doctrines and ordinances are in
many respects different from those which exist abroad, and from those
which many of us have been educated in. We have become Latter-day
Saints in obedience to strong convictions, which have been forced upon
us by the Spirit of the living God, and through the teaching,
testimony, and evidence that have been brought to bear upon our minds
by those who visited us and imparted to us the principles of the
Gospel. In this respect we differ from a great many of the religious
sects.

Vol. 18,  p.278
When Protestantism started, it, did not come with a revelation from
God, nor did it profess any direct authority from him nor any
communication with or from him. It protested simply against certain
errors which existed in what was then called the Catholic Church. The
Reformers did not propose to introduce any direct communication from
God, but simply to correct certain prominent abuses that they
considered had crept into the church; and those men were considered
heretics by the church they had left.

Vol. 18,  p.278
Since that time a spirit and feeling of a similar nature have existed
more or less among other peoples. If we examine the ideas and acts of
Luther, Melancthon, and some prominent [p.279] reformers, we find that
a great many sects and parties have since then taken the same liberty
with their creeds and formulas, which they took with their mother
church; and they have generally used the same kind of argument,
namely, if it was right and proper for the first reformers to protest
against the doings, acts, ordinances, and proceedings of the church
which had by them been considered heretofore as the only Christian
Church, and to protest against the acts of its Priesthood, and the
doings of the people, it was proper also for other reformers to arise
and correct those first reformers on many doctrines, views and
principles that they may have entertained. This kind of spirit having
been inaugurated and adopted, like leaven, it has worked, increased
and spread, until great numbers of sects and parties have appeared
through Christendom, all claiming the same rights that the first
reformers exercised, in correcting what they believed to be wrong and
unscriptural.

Vol. 18,  p.279
With us, Latter-day Saints, it is very different. We have never
claimed any affinity or connection with, or professed to derive any
power or authority from, any of the parties, no matter what name they
may bear, nor to any of the Dissenters who have separated themselves
from them. We have never professed an adherence to any ell those
principles that have been promulgated by others. The origin of our
faith is that God has spoken, that, in the midst of conflicting
opinions which prevailed with regard to him, he has thought proper to
settle that question once and for all by the revelation of his will to
the human family. Hence, we as Latter-day Saints have based our faith
upon these revelations, given originally to Joseph Smith, and taught
by those who have been ordained and set apart by him, and who have
gone forth as messengers to the nations of the earth to proclaim not
what somebody else said in former times only, not to make known what
other men have done in other dispensations alone; but to reveal to the
human family what the will of God is concerning them. This is the
position we occupy as Latter-day Saints. If we have any ideas of a
God, we have obtained them through these revelations, if we have a
worship which is accepted of God, it is because the Lord has dictated
as to its form and manner; if we have a Priesthood, it is because some
of the ancient Priesthood who existed heretofore on the earth and now
administer in the heavens, have come and conferred, upon man on the
earth, this authority; if we have ordinances of any kind, it is not
because other people have received these ordinances through whom we
have obtained them, but because Goal has revealed them to us direct;
and if we bare various officers in the Church, it is not because we
have copied after any other church or people, but, because God has
told us what his order is, what his law is in relation to these
matters, and the proper manner of government to conduct and direct the
affairs of God upon the earth. It is in short the revelation of the
will of God to man in these the last days.

Vol. 18,  p.279
Now without any kind of circumlocution, these are some leading
prominent features of our faith. Predicated upon these the quorums of
Priesthood associated with our Church have been established, which are
the First Presidency, the Twelve Apostles, High Priests, Seventies,
Elders, Bishops, Priests, Teachers, Deacons and Patriarchs, with all
[p.280] the various organizations that exist in the Church and kingdom
of God. All these were given not by the wisdom or intelligence of man,
nor were they instituted according to any pattern that elsewhere
exists upon the earth at the present time, nor based upon any faith
promulgated by any body of divines, by any scientific or literary
associations, by any system of theology or philosophy, on any plan of
any kind introduced by man's wisdom; but they were introduced by the
Almighty according to the revelations of God to us, for our guidance
and direction in all of our affairs in life, to prepare us to
accomplish not our own will, but the will of our Father in Heaven; not
to carry out any ideas of our own but the ideas, intentions, commands
and directions of the Almighty, that we might gather together from the
nations of the earth those who are willing to listen to the principles
of eternal truth, and form a grand nucleus in the valleys of the
mountains, which should grow, increase, and spread under the guidance
and direction of the Almighty, until the kingdoms of this world become
the kingdoms of our God and his Christ. This is really the thing we
have engaged in, and we are indebted to him for his direction and
instruction from its first inception to the present time, and we shall
be thus indebted, from this time henceforth and forever, for the
guidance, instruction, teaching and protection of the Almighty to
enable us to consummate the work which he originated and organized.

Vol. 18,  p.280
It matters not to us what the opinions of men may be pertaining to
these matters. God has given us a mission to perform, and in the name
of Israel's God, and with his assistance, we will try to do it. The
ways of God, the plans and designs of the Almighty, have never been
very congenial to the feelings of human nature, or to the waywardness
of the human family. Whenever God has made known his will to man in
any age of the world's history, there has always been a spirit of
antagonism which has prevailed more or less against it. This same
opposition exists to-day, and has done from the first organization of
this Church; and I will say it will continue to go on and increase and
become more intensified in proportion to the growth and spread of the
principles of truth. We sometimes think we have had a great deal to
contend with. It is true, we have had a little, but we might have had
more. Those who have made themselves acquainted with the sayings of
the holy Prophets contained in the word of God, as made known on the
continent of Asia, as well as on this continent, and the prophecies
which have been given through the medium of Joseph Smith, in relation
to this same subject, are very well aware that the Church is
comparatively in its infancy, and so also are the persecutions of
those who are opposed to it. We have been in the habit of reflecting
on the position of the nations, for instance, and upon the calamities
which must overtake them, overlooking perhaps the various powers which
are to be brought against God's people. These have assumed at various
times different shapes; at first, organizations merely operated
against Joseph Smith, then persecutions arose in small towns and
villages against those who believed in this modern Prophet; then it
followed us into States, then we had to endure exile from different
counties in Missouri, and afterwards from one place to [p.281]
another, until finally we had to evacuate the State. We then found
ourselves assuming a little more importance in Illinois, and we
learned too, that as we increased there in strength and importance, so
proportionately increased opposition to us and to the principles we
advocated until we had to pledge ourselves to leave a large and
beautiful city and an extensive district of country, and then we came
here to these valleys of the Rocky Mountains. Since then antagonism
has presented itself in a variety of forms, through United States
officers, military and civil, until it culminated in the United States
sending out an army against us. Since then they have adopted every
kind of method that man's ingenuity could invent to harass and annoy
us and to interfere with our civil, social and religious rights, and
with our interests, peace, and prosperity.

Vol. 18,  p.281
Is this the end? No, for if the Scriptures be true we have not got
through yet. We have not yet built up the kingdom, and consequently
the struggle is not over; nay, it has hardly commenced.

Vol. 18,  p.281
Nor are we alone in the dealings of God with the people in this
dispensation. The Jews will have to perform quite a role in these last
times. They also will have to endure a large amount of trials,
persecutions, and difficulties, which have yet to come upon them. They
will in due time be gathered together to their own lands like we are
gathered here; and nations will go up against them, and then too will
certain nations come against us; but we have not yet got through with
the United States. In relation to events that will yet take place, and
the kind of trials, troubles, and sufferings which we shall have to
cope with, it is to me a matter of very little moment; these things
are in the hands of God, he dictates the affairs of the human family,
and directs and controls our affairs; and the great thing that we, as
a people, have to do is to seek after and cleave unto our God, to be
in close affinity with him, and to seek for his guidance, and his
blessing and Holy Spirit to lead and guide us in the right path. Then
it matters not what it is nor who it is that we have to contend with,
God will give us strength according to our day. There is no question
in the hearts of all good Latter-day Saints about the future destiny
of the Church and kingdom of God upon the earth; that with them is a
settled fact. Neither does it concern them what this man or the other
man may do, it makes no particular difference. God has a certain
object to accomplish, and he will do it in his own way and in his own
time. He holds the nations as dust in the balances; he will manipulate
them and their affairs as he pleats, and they cannot help themselves;
he will also manipulate the affairs of the Latter-day Saints, having
his watchcare over them, as he ever has had over all his people. If we
are found to be willing and obedient, and on the Lord's side for
right, for truth, and integrity, for virtue and purity and holiness,
adhering to the principles of truth and the laws of life, then God
will be with us, and he will sustain all those who adhere to these
principles; for be it remembered that these are the principles we
profess to believe in, and those who are not governed by them he will
move out of the way; they will drop down on the right hand and on the
left as many have done before, and the pure and virtuous, the
honorable and upright, will go forth from conquering to conquer until
[p.282] they shall accomplish all that God designs them to do on this
earth; and when they get through he will supply their places with
others, who will also take hold and roll forth the kingdom in all its
majesty, until the things spoken of by all the holy Prophets be
fulfilled; and hence in relation to these matters we cannot change the
fiat of Jehovah, which has gone forth, nor alter his decrees.

Vol. 18,  p.282
He has designed to gather together his people into one, and his spirit
into one, and his power into one. The Scriptures say that God will
gather together all things, whether they are things in the heavens or
things on the earth; he will gather them all into one, and his people
will be gathered into one, and his word will be gathered into one, and
hence, "The Nephites shall have the words of the Jews, and the Jews
shall have the words of the Nephites; and the Nephites and the Jews
shall have the words of the Ten Tribes, and the Ten Tribes shall have
the words of the Nephites and the Jews." And he will go on and
accomplish his purposes in his own way, and no man can stay his hand.
We may think we can, we may think we can do this thing and that thing
according to our own caprice, and theories and judgment; but God will
frustrate and entirely overthrow all that is based upon the principles
of truth, and carry Israel through triumphant.

Vol. 18,  p.282
We are starting in on some things for the accomplishment of this
object. The spirit of God has been operating upon President Young, to
try to get us united in temporal affairs. We make sorry blunders about
it sometimes. I have sometimes thought we are slow to understand, and
very slow to perform; but still we are doing a little, and progressing
a little here and there in these things, and our feelings begin to be
drawn out a little, as the Indians say [pointing to a small piece of
his finger] about so much. We begin to think there is some meaning in
it, and that it is binding upon us, and those who do not do much keep
up a thinking; if we only continue to keep up thinking and praying as
well as doing, we will get at it by and by, and get into a better
position than we now occupy.

Vol. 18,  p.282
It is a good deal with some of us in relation to some of these matters
as with the man who cried out, "Good Lord and good Devil," for we
don't know whose hands we are going to fall into, and would, perhaps,
like to make friends with both; we manifest a little of our own way, a
little of the way of the Gentiles, and a very little of the way of the
Lord.

Vol. 18,  p.282
Now, if I understand my religion aright, if I understand the
Scriptures and the operations of the Spirit of God, we have got, as a
people, to come to this—let us know the will of God, and we will do
it, no matter where it strikes, what interest it may come in contact
with, or whose views it may overturn. That is my idea of "Mormonism,"
as I have learned it. I consider that God is at the helm. We have not
dictated or found out any thing belonging to the problem we are
working, not a man among us; all we have received comes from God. If I
understand anything concerning these things, it is that the word of
God is law and must be obeyed. If we want to be good, faithful
Latter-day Saints, we have got to be willing to submit to the will of
God in all things. We must feel as was once exclaimed on a certain
occasion by the ancient Israelites, "The Lord shall be our Judge, the
Lord shall be our King, the Lord shall be our Ruler, and he shall rule
over us." That is the way I figure up these things; and if this was
not [p.283] so I would not give anything for our religion, or our
religious ideas. I do not think that any of us can regulate, manage or
conduct any of these matters, unless God be with us. And I will tell
you another thing, God will not be with us unless we are one. Says
Jesus, "That they all may be one, as thou, Father, art in me, and I in
thee, that they also may be one in us." "I in them, and thou in me,
that they may be made perfect in one." And the oneness will not
consist in each one of us seeking his own interest, his own emolument,
and to extend his own ideas and influence; but in his seeking the
interest and welfare of another, the establishment of Zion, that the
welfare of all may be cared for and reached, both among the living and
the dead in all time and eternity. This is the way I have been taught
to regard these things. God is not setting up a kingdom for you, or
for me, or for any individual person.

Vol. 18,  p.283
There are a good many points connected with these things when we come
to reflect upon them, which are of a good deal of importance to us.
How shall we arrive at them? Firstly, by getting right ourselves; in
our spirits and feelings one towards another; in upholding and
sustaining correct principles and correct authority, and as a
community in being governed by the Lord our God. How can I expect to
be blessed of God if I do not conduct myself as a Saint of God? Can I
expect his Spirit? No. Can I expect to have the sweet whisperings
thereof to lead me in the path of life, if I trample under foot his
precepts? No. What then? There are a great many other things. I will
tell you of one which I have noticed lately that prevails to quite an
extent among us. I find a great many among the Latter-day Saints who
are a good deal like those spoken of by Peter, "they are not afraid to
speak evil of dignities. Whereas angels, which are greater in power
and might, bring not railing accusation against them before the Lord."
Jude the Apostle, referring to the same thing, says, "Likewise also
these filthy dreamers defile the flesh, despise dominion, and speak
evil of dignities. Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the
devil, he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against
him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee."

Vol. 18,  p.283
Now, as good Latter-day Saints, let us look at some of these things
calmly. Have we got Bishops in our Church? Yes; but I was going to
say, who the devil cares about Bishops? You do not say it exactly like
that, but you think it sometimes, don't you? Then we have the Twelve
Apostles. Well, who cares about the Twelve? Then, we have the First
Presidency. Well, who cares about them? If we go a little farther, it
will be, Who the devil cares about God? It will certainly lead to
that, if we continue to pursue that course. Are our Bishops all
perfect? No. Are the Twelve? No; I wish they were. Are the First
Presidency? I hope they are. Are the Saints perfect? I wish you were.
We are all surrounded by weaknesses and infirmities. I acknowledge I
am, and I think I could so speak for some of my brethren, but I do not
propose to confess their weaknesses. Notwithstanding all the blessings
conferred upon us through the Gospel we have received, we, all of us,
have "the treasures in earthen vessels." I suppose that God has given
us these infirmities that no flesh might glory in his presence, but
that we might all feel out, littleness and weakness,[p.284] realizing
every day that we need to pray just as the Lord taught His disciples
to pray, saying, "Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name;"
let me reverence thee and thy name! "Thy kingdom come." O God, let
these principles, that dwell with thee in the heavens, grow in my
heart, and let them spread and expand until the earth shall be filled
with the knowledge of God, and until the kingdom of God shall prevail.
"Let thy kingdom come, and thy will be done on the earth as it is done
in heaven;" that there may be a people who will listen to thy law, and
be governed by thy behests. "Let thy will be done on earth as it is
done in the heavens." O Father, I am a poor, helpless, frail creature,
"lead me not into temptation, but deliver me from evil," for I need
thy help. "Give me this day my daily bread, etc., and deliver me from
evil, for thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory, forever and
ever. Amen." Do not we all need to offer up this prayer every day? I
do not think it would hurt us to do so.

Vol. 18,  p.284
Then there is another principle connected with it—"Forgive us our
trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us." Do you
constantly think of that? We get down upon our knees, and many of us
think we are pretty decent fellows; but there is brother So-and-so, he
does not do exactly right, and I do not like him very well, and I have
been talking about him a little, for he has done me an injury, and I
would like to have full retribution; but, O God, won't you forgive my
sins? I will, says the Lord, on condition that you forgive your
brother and only on that condition. "If thou bring thy gift to the
altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee:
leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be
reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift." When
this law is complied with, then we can say, forgive our trespasses as
we forgive those that trespass against us. In our present condition,
if the Lord were to answer our prayers, many of us would not be
forgiven. If we want the entire people to be good Saints, let us be
good Saints ourselves. Let him that says to another, "You must not
steal," steal not himself. You that teach your brother not to speak
evil of his neighbor, do you refrain from doing it yourself? One of
the Apostles says that each one should prefer his neighbor to himself.
We surely have not got that far yet, at least I do not think we have.
Some, who think themselves pretty good people, would like to get
another man's money or property, but they would not like to be
operated upon in the same manner, and then they allow themselves to
think they have the favor of God in such things This is a grievous
mistake, for we are required to love our neighbors as ourselves.
Because one man is more talented than another, he should not use that
talent to take advantage of his brother, and then expect that God will
approve of his actions, for he will not do it; he never did, nor ever
will. We should operate for one another's interest, having sympathetic
feelings for each other. We are supposed to be brethren in the Church
and kingdom of God, knit together by the indissoluble ties of the
everlasting Gospel, not for time only, but for eternity. Hence all our
operations should be for that end, founded on the principles of
righteousness and friendship.

Vol. 18,  p.284
We send our missionaries to almost every country for the purpose of
preaching the Gospel and bringing [p.285] their converts to Zion, and
then we go to work and cheat one another. Is this right? No! Then let
us repent of our wrong doing, and do right, and let the spirit of
right find room in our hearts, and let it be diffused through our
families. Let husbands love their wives, and be full of kindness
towards them. Let wives study their husbands, and with kindness seek
to make a heaven for them, that love and happiness may reign in our
habitations. Let parents teach their children both by precept and
example, the virtues of Gospel truths, that they may grow up in the
love and fear of God, and that you may be the blessed of the Lord, and
your offspring with you.

Vol. 18,  p.285
Let us then begin to treat our Bishops with consideration, and then
they ought to treat us in the same manner. Saith Jesus to Peter, on a
certain occasion, "Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto
him, Yea, Lord, thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed
my lambs." Do not every time they come near you, throw rocks at them;
but feed the flock, over which you have the watch care, with the bread
of life, with the bread of intelligence and eternal truth; be unto
them fathers, full of mercy, kindness and benevolence, and then they
will love you, they will draw near you and sustain you, that is, those
who are good will, and the others will naturally drop off on the right
hand and on the left.

Vol. 18,  p.285
Again, we have our ideas of the rule of the Priesthood. Supposing you
may think your Bishop does not do right; you are not always his judge
about those matters; there are others who can judge him. Some of us
are too much inclined to look upon these men as enemies, when really
they are our friends. Should we feel that we are better than our
neighbors? Rather let us try to do them good than injury. Some of us
think that our Teachers are of very little importance. I will tell you
how I regard them. If the Teachers do not come to visit me as often as
I think they should, I do not like it very well. When they do come, I
acquaint my family with it, call them together, and then tell our
visitors that we are all under their jurisdiction, ready and anxious
to hear from them the words of eternal life. That is how I feel
towards the Teachers, and in the same manner I respect all the
Priesthood in the various positions they occupy. Shall I assume to
dictate to those who are above me? No, never. Will you? That is for
you to say, not for me. It is well that we reflect upon these things,
to pray for our brethren in the Priesthood, pray that the spirit and
power of their office and calling may rest upon them and that they may
be led, and be able to lead others, in the paths of life.

Vol. 18,  p.285
These are some of our duties, Latter-day Saints, and these are some of
my feelings on these subjects. Let us then seek to do right, and take
a correct and proper course in all things; and, if all things do not
work always according to our ideas and notions, never mind, leave
these things in the hands of God, he will direct and overrule
everything for the welfare of those who do right. "No man can harm
you, if you be followers of that which is good." It is for us all to
take a course that we may secure the favor and approbation of the
Almighty, that we individually may be led by him, having his spirit
always with us. Then if the Presidency be under the guidance of the
Almighty, and God direct the Priesthood through them in all its
ramifications, carrying out his will in the building up of Zion on the
earth, then we shall be [p.286] one with them and one with God. This
is what we are after, and may God help us to carry out his purposes
and designs.

Vol. 18,  p.286
In relation to the events to come, they will be developed just as fast
as we are prepared for them, and I fear faster. Will God operate upon
the Lamanites, and fulfill his word to the Jews? Yes. Will he gather
the ten tribes? Yes. Will he establish his name and kingdom in the
earth? Yes. Will he overthrow the wicked nations that fight against
him? Yes, and he will continue to extend his principles and power
"until the kingdoms of this world shall become the kingdoms of our God
and of his Christ." God will have his laws honored, and in his time
his decrees must be consummated, until every tongue confess and every
knee bow to him who is the Lord of all. These are things which will
most assuredly be accomplished.

Vol. 18,  p.286
God has given us our little labor to perform, which is associated with
these matters. Let us go forth as men, in the humility and strength of
our Father, and do the work he has given us to do, seeking continually
in all earnestness for his blessing to guide us, and he will direct us
in the path of righteousness, and by and by we shall overcome and
triumph, and with the celestial spirits who have gone before, we shall
join in singing, "Glory, honor, might, majesty and dominion be
ascribed unto him who sits upon the throne and to the Lamb, forever."
Amen.

Orson Pratt, November 12, 1876

Salvation Tangible—Personality of God—Character 
of God—Pre-Existence of Man—Jesus Our Elder Brother—
Transformation of the Earth—Creation and 
Organization—Its Final Destiny, the Home of the Saints—
Revelations By Joseph Smith in Harmony With Scripture

Discourse By Elder Orson Pratt, Delivered in the New 
Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Sunday Afternoon, Nov. 12, 1876.

(Reported by Geo. F. Gibbs)

Vol. 18,  p.286
I am pleased to see so large a company assembled together,
notwithstanding the inclemency of the weather; it shows to me that
there is an interest in the minds of the Latter-day Saints in regard
to their future salvation. We, as a people, have passed through many
scenes trying and afflicting to our natures, which we have endured
because of [p.287] the anxiety of our hearts to obtain salvation.
People who are sincere will manifest their sincerity in undergoing
great tribulation, if necessary, for the sake of being saved. This
mortal life is of small consideration, compared with eternal salvation
in the kingdom of the Father. There is nothing pertaining to the
things of this present life that is worthy of being named, in contrast
with the riches of eternal life. Jesus, in speaking upon this subject
when he was on the earth, asks this question: "For what is a man
profited, if he gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what
shall a man give in exchange for his soul?" There is nothing so
precious, nothing of so great importance, as that of securing, in this
life, the salvation of our souls in the world to come. Far better is
it if we can gain salvation by passing through various scenes of
affliction and persecution in this world, than to give way to its
pleasures and vanities, which can only be enjoyed for a season, and
afterwards lose that eternal reward which God has in store for the
righteous.

Vol. 18,  p.287
It is true we look upon our future reward in quite a different light
from the religious world generally. We look for something tangible,
something we can form some degree of rational conception of, having a
resemblance in some measure to the present life. But how very
imaginary are the ideas of the religious world! I do not now refer to
the heathen world, but to the enlightened Christian nations, the two
hundred million of Christians now existing on the earth. If you ask
these people about the future state of man, some will give you one
idea and some another, all more or less, perhaps, differing from each
other, but in the main they all agree, namely, that it is a state
entirely spiritual, that is, unconnected with anything tangible like
this present life, an existence which cannot be conceived of by
mortals.

Vol. 18,  p.287
You may think I am misrepresenting our Christian friends. I will
therefore say that for many years now I have been engaged, more or
less, in the study of religion, and have therefore read quite
extensively the ideas of the religious world. I have not accepted the
ideas of a few individuals belonging to the various sects, but I have
appealed to their standard writings, their articles of faith, which
are adopted by the various religious bodies and known as their creeds.
For instance, in the articles of faith of a great many of the
religious sects, an idea like this is set forth—that there is a Being
who is entirely spiritual, called God, and that Being is described as
consisting of three persons, and these three persons are without body,
without parts and without passions. Such is the God that is worshiped
by the Methodists—a people whom I highly respect, and whose meetings I
attended in my early youth more than those of any other religious
denomination. The three persons that compose this one God are the
Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, all of whom are said to be
without bodies or passions; and in connection with this, one of the
cardinal doctrines of their faith, they tell us that one of this holy
Trinity, namely Jesus, was crucified, dead and buried, and that on the
third day he arose again tram the dead and ascended into heaven.

Vol. 18,  p.287
When I was a boy, attending the Methodist meetings, I, as many now do
who are of maturer years, accepted sincerity for truth. But when I
grew to manhood my attention was called to this article of faith; I
tried in all earnestness to [p.288] comprehehd it, but could not, and
cannot to this day. It is one of those incomprehensible things which
cannot be grasped by the human mind. You, my hearers, try now with me
for a few moments to comprehend, if you can, a being consisting of
three persons, and these three persons without any body, parts or
passions. I had been taught, when studying the exact sciences, that
everything that existed was composed of parts, that there could not
exist anything as a whole unless it existed as parts. I could not,
therefore, understand how it was that one of these three persons could
be crucified if he had no body; how it was possible and be consistent,
with reason, for him to lay down his body—something he never
possessed—and arise again from the tomb, taking up that same body.
This is indeed a mystery!

Vol. 18,  p.288
Now it so happens that the Scriptures do not teach anything so absurd,
so irreconcilable and so contrary to our senses. This is a man-made
doctrine, the creation of uninspired men. The Methodists did not
originate this doctrine,—it existed and was widely believed in before
the days of the good man, John Wesley.

Vol. 18,  p.288
The Latter-day Saints believe that there is a true and living God,
that this true and living God consists of three separate, distinct
persons, which have bodies, parts, and passions, which belief is in
direct opposition to this man-made doctrine. We believe that God, the
Eternal Father, who reigns in yonder heavens, is a distinct personage
from Jesus Christ, as much so as an earthly father is distinct in his
existence from his son. That is something I can comprehend, which I
conceive to be the doctrine of revelation. We read about Jesus having
been seen, after he arose from the dead. Stephen the Martyr, just
before he was stoned to death, testified to the Jewish people that
were standing before him at the time, saying, "Behold, I see the
heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing on the right hand of God."
Here, then, the Father and Jesus, two distinct personages, were seen,
and both had bodies. We find numerous other authorities bearing out
this same idea. I do not intend to dwell upon this subject, because
the greater portion of this congregation understand the scriptural
view of this subject; hence it is not necessary to speak lengthily on
it. We may, however, say a few things with regard to the passions of
these personages.

Vol. 18,  p.288
It is declared, as part of the belief of the Methodists, that God is
without passions. Love is one of the great passions of God. Love is
everywhere declared a passion, our of the noblest passions of the
human heart. This principle of love is one of the attributes of God.
"God is love," says the Apostle John," and he that dwelleth in love
dwelleth in God, and God in him." If, then, this is one of the great
attributes of Jehovah, if he is filled with love and compassion
towards the children of men, if his son Jesus Christ so loved the
world that he gave his life to redeem mankind from the effects of the
fall, then, certainly, God the Eternal Father must be in possession of
this passion. Again, he possesses the attribute of Justice, which is
sometimes called Anger, but the real name of this attribute is
Justice. "He executeth justice," says the Psalmist; also, "Justice and
judgment are the habitation of thy throne." Justice is one of the
noble characteristics of our heavenly Father; hence another of his
passions.

Vol. 18,  p.289
We have it recorded too in this [p.289] sacred Bible, that God was
seen by ancient men of God. Jacob testifies as follows: "for I have
seen God face to face." I know that there are other passages of
Scripture, which would seem to militate against this declaration. For
instance, there is one passage which reads, "No man hath seen God at
any time." This is in direct contradiction to the testimony of Jacob.
The way I reconcile this is that no natural man can see the face of
God the Father and live, it would overpower him; but one quickened by
the spirit, as old father Jacob was, could look upon God, and converse
with him face to face, as he says he did, he must have seen a
personage, a being, in his general outlines like unto himself; man, as
Moses informs us, having been created in the image of God.

Vol. 18,  p.289
We might refer to many other passages of Scripture, bearing on this
subject. The Prophet Isaiah saw God; he saw not only the Lord, but a
great congregation in connection with him, so that his train filled
the Temple. He is always represented by those who have seen him as a
personage in the form of man.

Vol. 18,  p.289
Having cited a very few evidences, let, us inquire into the character
and being of God, the Eternal Father. We are the offspring of the
Lord, but the rest of animated nature is not; we are just as much the
sons and daughters of God as the children in this congregation are the
sons and daughters of their parents. We were begotten by him. When?
Before we were born in the flesh; this limited state of existence is
not our origin, it is merely the origin of the tabernacle in which we
dwelt. The mind we are possessed of, the being that is capable of
thinking and reflecting, that is capable of acting according to the
motives presented to, it, that being which is immortal, which dwells
within us, which is capable of reasoning from cause to effect, and
which can comprehend, in some measure, the laws of its Creator, as
well as trace them out as exhibited in universal nature, that being,
which we call the Mind, existed before the tabernacle.

Vol. 18,  p.289
But says one, "That does not look reasonable." Why not? Do you not
believe that the Spirit will endure forever? O, yes. You may ask, what
becomes of the spirit, separated from the body of flesh and bones,
when this body lies in the grave? Has it life and intelligence and
power to think and reflect?" Let us hear what was said by those who
sat under the altar, who were slain for the word of God, and for the
testimony which they held, as seen and heard by John while on Patmos.
"And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and
true, dost time not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on
the earth? The Lord tells them that they should "rest yet for a little
season." These faithful servants of God are anxiously awaiting the
time when the Lord will avenge their blood? Why? Because that will be
the time when their bodies will be redeemed, they look forward with
great anxiety to the time when they shall be again identified with the
fleshly tabernacle with which they were known and distinguished while
on the earth—hence this prayer.

Vol. 18,  p.289
Here we find another and further existence for the spirits of men who
exist in heaven, who are capable of thinking, of using language, of
understanding the future, and of anticipating that which was to come.
Now, if they could exist after they leave this tabernacle, while the
tabernacle lies mouldering in the dust, why [p.290] not exist before
the tabernacle had any existence? Was it not just as easy for an
existence to be given to spiritual personages before they took
possession of bodies as it is for them to exist after the body decays?
Yes, and these are our views, founded upon new revelation; not the
views of uninspired men, but founded upon direct revelation from God.

Vol. 18,  p.290
Where did we exist before we came here? With God. Where does he exist?
In the place John denominated heaven. What do we understand heaven to
be? Not the place described by our Christian friends, beyond the
bounds of time and space, for there is no such place, there never was,
nor ever will be; but I mean a tangible world, a heaven that is
perfect, a heaven with materials that have been organized and put
together, sanctified and glorified as the residence and world where
God resides, Born there? Yes, we were born there. Even our great
Redeemer, whose death and sufferings we are this afternoon
celebrating, was born up in yonder world before he was born of the
Virgin Mary. Have you not read, in the New Testament, that Jesus
Christ was the first-born of every creature? From this reading it
would seem that he was the oldest of the whole human family, that is,
so far as his birth in the spirit world is concerned. How long ago
since that birth took place is not revealed; it might have been
unnumbered millions of years for aught we know. But we do know that he
was born and was the oldest of the family of spirits. Have you not
also read in the New Testament that he is called our elder brother?
Does this refer to the birth of the body of flesh and bones? By no
means, for there were hundreds of millions who were born upon our
earth before the body of flesh and bones was born whom we call Jesus.
How is it, then, that he is our elder brother? We must go back to the
previous birth, before the foundation of this earth; we have to go
back to past ages, to the period when he was begotten of the Father
among the great, family of spirits. He became, by his birthright, the
great Creator. God, through him, created not only this little world,
this speck of creation, but by him the worlds were made and created.
How many we know not, for it has not been revealed. Suffice it to say,
a great many worlds were created by him. Why by him? Because he had
the birthright, he being the oldest of his father's family, and this
birthright entitles him, not only to create worlds, but to become the
redeemer of those worlds, not only the redeemer of the inhabitants of
this our earth, but of all the others whom he created by the will and
power of his Father.

Vol. 18,  p.290
But says one, "By that expression one would infer that other worlds
have fallen as well as our own, having doubtless been placed in a
state of temptation, and it so it would be fair to presume that there
was a Garden of Eden to each of these worlds, containing all kinds of
fruit, among which was the Tree of Knowledge of good and evil, and
that they became fallen precisely in the same manner as ours did, and
consequently they would need a redeemer; and, therefore, the people of
these worlds would be redeemed and saved according to their diligence
and faithfulness in keeping the commandments of God?" Have you not
read in the first chapter of Genesis of two persons appearing on this
earth before man was made, when one who was God, said to the other,
"Let us make man in our image, after our likeness?" Does not that
bespeak a pre-existence of [p.291] another personage besides the
Almighty? And have you not read too in the same chapter that "God
created man in his own image; male and female created he them?" When?
It is said to have been on the sixth period, or, according to King
James' translation, "on the sixth day? Do you mean to say, we were all
in existence on the sixth day? Yes. But on the seventh day, we are
told in the following chapter, "there was not a man to till the
ground. Is it not very singular that all should have an existence on
the sixth day, and on the following day there was not a man in
existence to till the ground? Why not? Because man was not yet placed
in this temporal creation, but he had an existence then in heaven,
where we were begotten. You and I were present when this world was
created and made—you and I the, understood the nature of its creation,
and I have no doubt that we rejoiced and sang about it. Indeed, the
Lord put a very curious question to the Patriarch Job, apropos of
this. He said to him, "Where wast thou when I laid the foundation of
the earth?" Where wast thou, when the morning stars sang together, and
all the sons of God shouted for joy?"

Vol. 18,  p.291
Supposing Job to be living now, and this same question put to him, and
supposing too, that, instead of answering it himself, he were to seek
to the learned Christian world for enlightenment on the subject, what
do you think would be the nature of the answer he would receive? It
would be, in effect, "Why, Job, when the Lord laid the foundation of
the earth, you had no existence, for you were not born." Why did not
Job so answer the Lord? It was because he understood something about
man's previous estate. He was wise in making no reply to the Lord, for
doubtless he felt himself unable to do so. But we find that Moses
understood the subject, for at the time the children of Israel
transgressed he and his brother Aaron fell upon their faces before the
Lord, and Moses, pleading with great power and faith in behalf of the
children of Israel, used these words, "O God, the God of the spirits
of all flesh," etc. He understood that God was the Father of our
spirits, and he addressed him as such. I think too that the Apostles
in ancient days must have had an idea of the pre-existence of man,
judging from a certain question which they put to the Savior. It is
said that "as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his
birth. And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this
man, or his parents, that he was born blind?"

Vol. 18,  p.291
Let us now consider this question in connection with present modern
ideas, and we shall at once perceive how utterly foolish it will
appear. To state the question fairly in other words we might say,
Master, was this man born blind because he had sinned? The very nature
of this question would indicate, to those even who do not believe in
the principle, that this blind man had an existence before he was born
into this world, and that he was capable, too, of committing sin. To
show yet more clearly that the principle of man's pre-existence is
founded on biblical authority, I will quote you part of the Savior's
prayer to the Father, just prior to his crucifixion—"And now, O
Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had
with thee before the world was." Here we find Jesus actually referring
to the time he dwelt with his Father before he took upon himself
[p.292] a body of flesh and bones. He also says, "For I came down from
heaven, not to do mine own will, but, the will of him that sent me."
He came down from the presence and abode of his Father. On another
occasion, while addressing the Jews, he says, "Verily, verily, I say
unto you, before Abraham as, I am." He was, in fine, the first-born of
every creature, and consequently the eldest of our Father's family.

Vol. 18,  p.292
If, therefore, it be now admitted that our elder brother had a
previous existence with the Father, why should it be thought
unreasonable that the rest of the family should have a pre-existence
as well as the First Born? He was born according to man in the flesh,
and why not his younger brethren have a similar birth with him in the
spirit?

Vol. 18,  p.292
But now this carries us back still further, and invites us to
ascertain a little in relation to his Father. A great many have
supposed that God the Eternal Father, whom we worship in connection
with his Son, Jesus Christ, was always a self-existing, eternal being
from all eternity, that he had no beginning as a personage. But in
order to illustrate this, let us inquire, What is our destiny? If we
are now the sons and daughters of God, what will be our future
destiny? The Apostle Paul, in speaking of man as a resurrected being,
says, "Who (Jesus) shall change our vile body, that it might be
fashioned like unto his glorious body," which harmonizes with what
John says, "It doth not yet appear what we shall be, but we know that
when he shall appear we shall be like him." Our bodies will be
glorified in the same manner as his body is; then we shall be truly in
his image and likeness, for as he is immortal, having a body of flesh
and bone, so we will be immortal, possessing bodies of flesh and
bones. Will we ever become Gods? Let me refer you to the answer of the
Savior to the Jews when accused of blasphemy because he called himself
the Son of God. Says be, "Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye
are gods? If ye called them gods, unto whom the word of God came, and
the Scriptures cannot be broken." This clearly proves to all Bible
believers that in this world, in our imperfect state, being the
children of God, we are destined, if we keep his commandments, to grow
in intelligence until we finally become like God our Father. By living
according to every word which proceeds from the mouth of God, we shall
attain to his likeness, the same as our children grow up and become
like their parents; and, as children through diligence attain to the
wisdom and knowledge of their parents, so may we attain to the
knowledge of our Heavenly Parents, and if they he obedient to this
commandment they will not only be called the sons of God, but be gods.

Vol. 18,  p.292
In the 1st verse of the 14th chapter of Revelations, we are told that
John saw one hundred and forty-four thousand persons standing with the
Lamb upon Mount Zion, and they had a peculiar name written in their
foreheads—even their Father's name, him whom we call, in our language,
God. Then there will be written upon the foreheads of these hundred
and forty-four thousand this insignia, the Father's name and they will
be gods; and they will associate with him as do the Father and his
Only Begotten, that is, the only son begotten in the flesh.

Vol. 18,  p.292
From this we can draw the conclusion that God, Our eternal Father, who
is a spiritual being, has a body of flesh and bones, the same as his
children will have after the resurrection.[p.293] 

Vol. 18,  p.293
Says one, to carry it out still further, "if we become gods and are
glorified like unto him, our bodies fashioned like unto his most
glorious body, may not he have passed through a mortal ordeal as we
mortals are now doing? Why not? If it is necessary for us to obtain
experience through the things that are presented before us in this
life, why not those beings, who are already exalted and become gods,
obtain their experience in the same way? We would find, were we to
carry this subject from world to world, from our world to another,
even to the endless ages of eternity, that there never was a time but
what there was a Father and Son. In other words, when you entertain
that which is endless, you exclude the idea of a first being, a first
world; the moment you admit of a first, you limit the idea of endless
The chain itself is endless, but each link had its beginning.

Vol. 18,  p.293
Says one, "This is incomprehensible." It may be so in some respects.
We can admit, though, that duration is endless, for it is impossible
for man to conceive of a limit to it. If duration is endless, there
can never be a first minute, a first hour, or first period; endless
duration in the past is made up of a continuation of endless
successive moments—it had no beginning. Precisely so with regard to
this endless succession of personages; there never will be a time when
fathers, and sons, and worlds will not exist; neither was there ever a
period through all the past ages of duration, but what there was a
world, and a Father and Son, a redemption and exaltation to the
fullness and power of the Godhead. This is what Jesus prayed for, and
he did not limit his prayer to his Apostles, but he said, "Neither
pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me
through their word; that they all may be one, as thou, Father, art in
me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us."

Vol. 18,  p.293
But says one, "Does not that oneness mean one person?" No; Jesus meant
that those who believed in him through his servants, might be able to
come up to that fullness and glory and power and exaltation which he
inherited, even to the fullness of the celestial glory, to be crowned
with God the Eternal Father, and with his Only Begotten, to be made
equal, as it were, with them, in power and dominion; agreeing with
some modern revelations God has given through the Prophet Joseph
Smith. He said all they that receive this Priesthood, that is, those
who receive the testimony of the servants of God, they receive me; and
whosoever receives my Father, receives my Father's kingdom; whereupon
all that my Father hath shall be given to him. This is a glorious
promise, to be joint heirs with the Son of God in the inheritance of
all things, even the fullness and glory of the Celestial world, their
bodies eventually to become glorified, spiritual bodies of flesh and
bones, the same as God the Father.

Vol. 18,  p.293
Before the earth was rolled into existence we were his sons and
daughters. Those of his children who prove themselves during this
probation worthy of exaltation in his presence, will beget other
children, and, precisely according to the same principle, they too
will become fathers of spirits, us he is the Father of our spirits;
and thus the works of God are one eternal round—creation,
glorification, and exaltation in the celestial kingdom.

Vol. 18,  p.293
How many transformations this earth had before it received its present
form of creation, I do not know Geologists pretend to say that this
[p.294] earth must have existed many millions of years, and this
assertion is generally made by men who do not believe in God or the
Bible, to disprove the history of the creation of the world, as given
by the Prophet Moses. We will go further than geologists dare to go,
and say that the materials of which the earth is composed are eternal,
they will never have an end.

Vol. 18,  p.294
What is meant by creation? Merely organization. In six days, we are
told, God created this world, also every living thing that then
existed. Did he create any of these things out of nothing? Did the
materials then originate? No, there is no Scripture to be found within
the lids of the Old and New Testament, or Book of Mormon, or Doctrine
and Covenants, or in any of the revelations of God, ancient or modern,
that even intimates such a thing, for such was not the case; but go to
the creeds of men and you will find these things taught. I was taught
them in my youth; they were instilled into my young mind, and of
course I believed them. But as I matured in years and thought,
especially after I began to study the Hebrew language, I learned that
the material of which this earth was made, always did exist, and that
it was only an organization or formation which took place, during the
time spoken of by Moses.

Vol. 18,  p.294
How many transformations this earth passed through before the one
spoken of by Moses, I do not know, neither do I particularly care. If
it had gone through millions on millions of transformations, it is
nothing to us. We are willing, for the sake of argument, to admit that
the materials themselves are as old as geologists dare to say they
are; but then, that does not destroy the idea of a God, that does not
destroy the idea of a great Creator, who, according to certain fixed
and unalterable laws, brought these materials, from time to time, into
a certain organization, and then by his power completed the worlds
that were thus made, by placing thereon intelligent and animated
beings, capable of thinking and having an existence; and then again,
for various reasons, he destroys their earthly existence, until
finally he exalts them from their former condition, and makes them
celestial in their nature.

Vol. 18,  p.294
This is the destiny of this globe of ours; it will eventually attain a
state of organization that will no more be destroyed. When? After God
has fulfilled and accomplished his purposes, after it has rested from
wickedness one thousand years, during which time Satan will not have
power to tempt the children of men, during which time the faithful
will reign, as kings and priests on the earth in their resurrected
bodies, when, too, the kingdom and the greatness of the kingdom under
the whole heaven will be in possession of the Saints of the Most High;
not only in the possession of those who are mortal Saints, but also in
the possession of those who are immortal Saints, appearing as they
will in their resurrected bodies, rising up as rulers, as kings and
priests, upon the face of our globe.

Vol. 18,  p.294
A government administered by such men will be one that can be depended
on; in that respect it will be very different from the political
nations of mortal man. Then there will not be the contention we now
have, for all things pertaining to the government of God's kingdom
will be conducted in order and on the eternal principles of
righteousness.

Vol. 18,  p.294
The Twelve Apostles who were called by Jesus, and who ministered in
his name while they tarried on the earth, will sit upon twelve [p.295]
thrones hereafter, and judge the twelve tribes of Israel. There will
be nothing intangible or etherial about these thrones, they will be
just as real as any kingly throne of the earth. And the Twelve
Apostles will rule over the twelve tribes of Israel for the spade of a
thousand years, having, as they will have, their celestial bodies, and
they will eat and drink at the table of the Lord. He will be here
also, he will be King of kings, before whom all must bow, all must
acknowledge his power—and that will be for the space of a thousand
years.

Vol. 18,  p.295
By and by, when the time comes for this earth to die—for there has
been a great deal of wickedness here—Satan will be loosed to go forth
again to deceive, for there will still be some of the Saints mortal,
who will be subject to temptation, and even Satan will not only try to
deceive the mortal Saints, but he will gather together his armies
around the camp of the Saints.

Vol. 18,  p.295
Then another time comes, when a great white throne will appear, and he
who sits thereon will be glorious in his majesty and power, from
before whose face the earth will flee away and no place be found for
it. Will he annihilate it? No, not a particle of the earth will be
annihilated, not a particle of the earth was ever originated,
consequently not a particle of it will go out of existence; but it
will flee away to its original element, in the same manner as the
human body would were it burned at the stake. The elements would be
diffused among original matter, so with the elements of our earth when
it undergoes its change. John was not satisfied with only seeing the
earth pass away, but he saw still further, even until he beheld a new
heaven and a new earth, for, said he, the first heaven and the first
earth were passed away, and there was no more sea. Again, he testifies
further, saying, "And I, John, saw the holy city, new Jerusalem,
coming down from God, out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for
her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold
the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and
they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be
their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and
there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither
shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away
And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new."

Vol. 18,  p.295
This creation, when made new, will be inhabited by immortal beings,
who will no more be subject to death, consequently there will be no
more pain or sorrow, nothing to mar their peace or to prevent them
from entering into the fullness of happiness and joy.

Vol. 18,  p.295
This, I say, is the destiny of this earth, and the Lord has told us
that the time is nigh at hand. In other words, this is the last
dispensation, and we are preparing for the work of the Millemfium.
When the thousand years are passed, the earth will be made new—it will
then become a heaven, the habitation of the former and Latter-day
Saints, as well as all they who prove themselves faithful who will be
born during the Millennium. How long will they inhabit it? For ever.

Vol. 18,  p.295
When I was a boy, nineteen years old, I first saw Joseph Smith; I
attended a Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints, on the 2nd January, 1831. At that Conference the people
desired him to inquire of the Lord for them—they [p.296] were anxious
to know his mind and will. They were at that time comparatively few in
number, not being more than two hundred. Joseph Smith sat down at a
table, and received a great revelation, which is now contained in this
Book of Doctrine and Covenants. Part of it, in relation to a land of
promise, reads as follows,—"And I will give it unto you for the land
of your inheritance, if you seek it with all your hearts: and this
shall be my covenant with you, ye shall have it for the land of your
inheritance, and for the inheritance of your children for ever, while
the earth shall stand, and ye shall possess it again in eternity, no
more to pass away.

Vol. 18,  p.296
When I sat and heard that revelation, as it was uttered by the Prophet
Joseph, and written by his scribe, I thought to myself, that is a very
curious doctrine for I had not then learned that this earth was to
become our future home and heaven, and I did not think Joseph Smith
knew it. But it seemed so curious to me to bring myself to believe
that the Lord was going to give us part of this earth, to possess it,
and our children after us, while time should last, and to retain it
through all eternity, never more to pass away. This was so different
from anything I had been taught—I was utterly confounded—to think that
my Father in heaven would come and live here on this earth! But when I
came to read the Bible on this subject and found how numerous the
passages were promising that the Saints should inherit the earth
forever, I was perfectly astonished that I had never thought of it
before. "Blessed are the meek," says the Savior, "for they shall
inherit the earth." The meek have been driven into the dens and
mountains of the earth, having had to hide themselves up from their
persecutors, while the wicked, the proud and the haughty have
inherited the earth. Yet here is a promise that the meek shall inherit
this earth, which all of course would readily admit has never had its
fulfillment. Then again I was still more confirmed of the truth of
this doctrine when finding other corroborative passages. David, for
instance, in his 37th Psalm, says, "the wicked shall be cut off. the
righteous shall inherit the land, and dwell thereon for ever." I go
back to the Books of Moses, and there ascertain that the earth is
promised to the Saints forever. I came to the Acts of the Apostles,
wherein the martyr Stephen, in answering the charge of blasphemy,
tells of Abraham, how he came to leave his own country, and how that
the Lord had promised him a land for an inheritance which "he would
give to him for a possession, and to his seed alter him," and yet he
never possessed any of it, "no, not so much as to set his foot on,"
and this same promise was confirmed to Isaac and Jacob. And when I
read in the Revelations of John about the new song that he heard them
sing in heaven about their coming back to the earth (Rev. v, 9, 10), I
was fully confirmed that the new revelation was from God. One portion
of the song which John heard the angels sing was, "For thou wast
slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred,
and tongue, and people, and nation; And hast made us unto our God
kings and priests; and we shall reign on the earth."

Vol. 18,  p.296
How very plain it is when we once learn about our future heaven. We do
not have to pray, according to the Methodists, for the Lord to take us
to a land beyond time and space, the Saints secure abode. How
inconsistent to look for a heaven beyond [p.297] space! the heaven of
the Saints is something we can look forward to in the confident hope
of realizing our inheritances and enjoying them forever, when the
earth becomes sanctified and made new. And there, as here, we will
spread forth and multiply our children. How long? For eternity. What,
resurrected Saints have children? Yes, the same as our God, who is the
Father of our spirits; so you, if you are faithful to the end, will
become fathers to your sons and daughters, which will be as
innumerable as the sands upon the sea shore; they will be your
children, and you will be their heavenly fathers, the same as our
heavenly Father is Father to us, and they will belong to your kingdoms
through all the vast ages of eternity, the same as we will belong to
our Father's kingdom.

Vol. 18,  p.297
He that receiveth my Father, says the Savior, receiveth my Father's
kingdom, wherefore all that my Father hath shall be given to him. It
is a kind of joint stock inheritance, we are to become joint heirs
with Jesus Christ to all the inheritances and to all the worlds that
are made. We shall have the power of locomotion; and like Jesus, after
his resurrection, we shall be able to mount up and pass from one world
to another. We shall not be confined to our native earth. There are
many worlds inhabited by people who are glorified, for heaven is not
one place, but many; heaven is not one world but many. "In my Father's
house are many mansions." In other words—In my Father's house there
are many worlds, which in their turn will be made glorified heavens,
the inheritances of the redeemed from all the worlds who, having been
prepared through similar experience to our own, will inhabit them; and
each one in its turn will be exalted through the revelations and laws
of the Most High God, and they will continue to multiply their
offspring through all eternity, and new worlds will be made for their
progeny. Amen.[p.298] 

Lorenzo Snow, October 6, 1876

Apostolical Succession and Responsibility—Social Position Affords 
No Release From Responsibility—If the Office Does not 
Honor a Man, He is Called to Honor the Office—Man's 
Future, Dependent on Integrity Here

Discourse By Elder Lorenzo Snow, Delivered at the 
Semi-Annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of 
Latter-Day Saints, Held in the New Tabernacle, Salt 
Lake City, Friday Afternoon, Oct. 6, 1876.

(Reported by Geo. F. Gibbs)

Vol. 18,  p.298
We, the Latter-day Saints, profess to have received from God the
fullness of the everlasting Gospel; we profess to be in possession of
the holy Priesthood—the delegated authority of God to man, by virtue
of which we administer in its ordinances acceptably to him; and we
testify, to the whole world that we know, by divine revelation, even
through the manifestations of the Holy Ghost, that Jesus is the
Christ, the Son of the living God, and that he revealed himself to
Joseph Smith as personally as he did to his Apostles, anciently, after
be arose from the tomb, and that, he made known unto him those
heavenly truths by which alone mankind can be saved. This, as was
remarked by President Wells this morning, is assuming a very important
and responsible position, knowing, as we do, that God will hold us
accountable for the disposition we make of this sacred trust which he
has committed to us. As the Apostles appeared before the world, after
they had received their commission from the risen Redeemer, to preach
the Gospel of the kingdom to all nations, promising all who believed
on their word, the Gift of the Holy Ghost through the laying on of
hands, to we appear. As they by virtue of their commission, declared
with all assurance, amidst persecution and opposition, the Gospel to
be the power of God unto salvation to all those who believed and
obeyed, so declare we. As they preached faith in the Lord Jesus
Christ, baptism for the remission of sins, and the laying on of hands,
by those duly authorized, for the reception of the Holy Ghost, as
being essential to salvation, so preach we. As they by the power of
the Holy Ghost became witnesses of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the
faithful bearers of his Gospel message to the whole Gentile world, so,
by and through the same Holy Spirit, we have become witnesses of him,
and, having been called by the same divine and holy calling, we
therefore assume the [p.299] same position.

Vol. 18,  p.299
Then, having assumed this position, we assume all the responsibilities
of ambassadors of Christ, we become answerable for our individual
acts, and for the manner in which we use the talents and ability the
Lord has given us. Now the question is, do we sense our position, do
we comprehend fully the nature of the work we have undertaken to
consummate? I am sometimes led to believe that some of our brethren,
Elders in Israel, are too ready and willing to shirk the obligations
they are under by reason of their covenants, the faith they once
possessed seems to be almost exhausted, and they appear to settle down
into the quiet satisfaction of a mere nominal membership in the
Church. There are others who think because their names are not very
widely known, because they are perhaps only employees, occupying
narrow spheres, that it does not matter much what habits they
contract, or what kind of examples they set before their brethren. But
then, if they held responsible positions, such as the Presidency of
the Church, or a counsellorship, or if they belonged to the Quorum of
the Twelve, or were they President of the High Council, or of the High
Priests or Seventies, then they would consider it important how they
conducted them selves. Herein they manifest great weakness or gross
ignorance, their lamp is either growing dim or they never sensed the
position they assumed in taking upon themselves the responsibilities
of the Gospel.

Vol. 18,  p.299
We are told in the parable of the Savior that the kingdom of heaven is
as a householder who delivered his goods to his servants as he was
about to travel into a far country. To one he gave five talents, to
another two, and to another one. The one that received the five
talents went and traded, and made other five talents, doubling the
portion that had been entrusted to him, and he also that received two
talents went and gained other two. But he that received the one
talent, went and digged in the earth, and hid his lord's money. He
doubtless considered that his responsibility was so small that he
could not do much, and consequently he would not exercise a talent so
inferior. Does not this apply directly to the condition of some of our
Elders? Says one, "I am only a carpenter, or a tailor, or,
peradventure, only a hod-carrier, therefore it cannot matter much how
I deport myself, whether I do or do not honestly discharge my duties
in my humble sphere. But it would be very different if I were acting
in some more responsible and prominent position."

Vol. 18,  p.299
Stop, my brother; do not allow yourself to be deceived by such
alluring sentiments. It is true you may only be a hod-carrier, but
remember you are an Elder in Israel, you are an ambassador of the Lord
Jesus Christ, and if you are in the line of your duty you are in
possession of that which the world cannot give nor take away; and you
are held accountable to God for the honest use of the talent over
which he has made you steward, whether it be large or small.

Vol. 18,  p.299
Again, you exert a certain degree of influence, and be it ever so
small, it affects some person or persons, and for the results of the
influence you exert you are held more or less accountable. You,
therefore, whether you acknowledge it or not, have assumed an
importance before God and man that cannot be overlooked, and from
which you cannot be released if you wish to sustain the name you bear.

Vol. 18,  p.300
And what of the prospects of that [p.300] individual? I say that if he
honors his calling, and is found faithful to the trust reposed in him,
his prospects for salvation and exaltation in the kingdom of God are
just as good as any other man's. If he comprehends his position and
lives accordingly, his prospects are equally good with any man that
ever lived since the days of father Adam to the present moment; and it
is just as important that he deport himself properly according to the
sphere in which he walks, as it is that any other individual should,
who may be called to act in a higher position; or, in other words, who
may have been made steward over a larger number of talents. If the man
of limited influence and small talents be not trustworthy and faithful
in that which belongs to another, which may be committed to his
charge, how can he expect ever to come in possession of the true
riches, or even receive that which he calls his own? For mark well the
language of the Savior bearing directly on this—"He that is faithful
in that which is least is faithful also in much; and he that is unjust
in the least is unjust also in much."

Vol. 18,  p.300
Therefore, let it be understood and always remembered by those who may
be called to follow the humbler occupations in life, that it is
absolutely necessary, for their growth and progress in the kingdom of
God, that while acting therein they master the situation, that they
establish and form a character and a living name, by which they may be
known and distinguished hereafter among the sons of God. I respect the
man occupying the humblest position, if he is faithful in the sphere
in which he acts, and is truly an honest man; I deem him just as
honorable as any person who may act in a higher position. The Lord
does not require so much of the man who possesses but one talent, as
of him who possesses more than one; but, according to that which he
hath, so shall it he required of him. Let all, therefore, be
encouraged, and seek to improve the talents they severally possess;
and let him who may have the one talent use it and not hide it in the
earth; that is, let him who may be endowed with little ability improve
himself, and not complain because nature may not have been so
propitious to him as to his more fortunate brother. Let us all be
satisfied with our lot in life, and should it not be so desirable as
we could wish, we should seek with becoming diligence to improve it,
ever feeling grateful for our earthly being, and more especially for
the Spirit of God we have received through obedience to the Gospel.

Vol. 18,  p.300
President Young has said from this stand, that the poor are often
harder to govern than the rich. There are, doubtless, many brethren
present to-day, who preside in our various settlements, that can
readily corroborate the statement. This should not be so, for one of
the important objects of the Gospel is to benefit the poor temporally
as well as spiritually; and, therefore, of all other classes of
people, the poor should be the most willing to be directed and
governed. The Lord has ever been mindful of his poor; to them, while
in their adverse circumstances, he has granted privileges which are
withheld from the rich. The fact that the poor had the Gospel preached
to them was one of the evidences of Jesus being the Christ, which he
himself gave to the disciples of John in answer to the question, "Art
thou he that should come, or do we look for another?" The poor have
always been an especial charge of the servants of God, in all [p.301]
ages; and strikingly has this charge been sustained in this
dispensation by President Young and his brethren. The Presidency of
this Church have always been mindful of the poor, in donating
themselves and using their influence upon others to assist in the
gathering of the poor Saints from the various nations to this land;
and upon their arrival here have caused homes and food to be provided
for them until such times as they could provide for themselves; and
they have constantly manifested a disposition to elevate the poor, and
to protect them against that arbitrary power which peradventure might
be used against them by their richer brethren.

Vol. 18,  p.301
The Gospel binds together the hearts of all its adherents, it makes no
difference, it knows no difference between the rich and the poor; we
are all bound as one individual to perform the duties which devolve
upon us. "And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another
man's, who shall give you that which is your own?" Now let me ask the
question, Who do possess anything, who can really and truly call any
of this world's goods his own? I do not presume to, I am merely a
steward over a very little, and unto God I am held accountable for its
use and disposition. The Latter-day Saints have received the law of
the Gospel through the revelations of God, and it is so plainly
written that all can understand it. And if we understood and
comprehended the position we assumed in subscribing to it when we
entered into its covenant through baptism for the remission of sins,
we must still be conscious of the fact that that law requires us to
seek first the kingdom of God, and that our time, talent and ability
must be held subservient to its interest. If this were not so, how
could we expect hereafter, when this earth shall have been made the
dwelling-place of God and his Son, to inherit eternal lives and to
live and reign with him? Who shall say that the rich, or those that
possess many talents, have any better hope or prospect to inherit
these blessings than the poor, or those who have but one talent? As I
understand it, the man who works in the shop, whether as tailor,
carpenter, shoemaker, or in any other industrial department, and who
lives according to the law of the Gospel, and is honest and faithful
in his calling, that man is just as eligible to the receiving of these
and all the blessings of the New and Everlasting Covenant as any other
man; through his faithfulness he shall possess thrones, principalities
and powers, his children becoming as numerous as the stars in the
firmament, or the sands on the sea shore. Who, I ask, has any greater
prospect than this?

Vol. 18,  p.301
I remember reading an anecdote when a boy, of a man who, through his
wisdom and patriotism, had gained great renown, but who, through envy,
was assigned to a position which was considered very degrading. On
entering upon its duties, it was said that he made this significant
remark: "If the office does not honor me, I will honor the office.
Much difficulty would be avoided, and our condition and situation
would be much more encouraging, if we all honored the office in which
we are called to act. We are told that the Lord himself made clothes
for our first parents, or, in other words, on that occasion, acted as
tailor, also that Jesus Christ, was a carpenter. Now, the Savior must
have been an honorable and honest carpenter, or he never could have
merited the position he afterwards occupied. If we could get the
brethren [p.302] and sisters to see the importance of acting honestly
and faithfully in their respective callings, much of the annoyances
and troubles we now experience would be averted, and the work of God
would roll on with re-doubled rapidity, and all his purposes would be
more rapidly and speedily accomplished; and besides, as a people, we
would be better prepared than we now are for the dispensation of his
will. "Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus: Who,
being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with
God." Again we are told, "It doth not yet appear what we shall be, but
we know that when he shall appear we shall be like him." This spirit
should influence us in all our dealings. If we all acted in keeping
with its sacred whisperings, there would be little difficulty in the
establishment and working of the United Order, for all would then be
faithful in the performance of their several duties. But if, whether
as tailors or carpenters, clerks or merchants, we prove unfaithful,
"who," says the Savior, "shall give you that which is your own?" On
the same principle, if we as Elders fail to keep the covenants we have
made, namely, to use our time, talent, and ability for the upbuilding
of the kingdom of God upon the earth, how can we reasonably expect to
come forth in the morning of the first resurrection, identified with
the great work of redemption? If we, in our manner, habits, and
dealings, imitate the Gentile world, thereby identifying ourselves
with the world, do you think, my brethren, that God will bestow upon
us the blessings we desire to inherit? I tell you no, he will not! In
all our business occupations we must prove ourselves better than any
other people, or we forfeit all. We must build ourselves up in the
righteousness of heaven, and plant in our hearts the righteousness of
God. Said the Lord, through the Prophet Jeremiah, "I will put my law
in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their
God, and they shall be my people." This is what the Lord is
endeavoring to do, and this he will accomplish in us if we conform to
his will.

Vol. 18,  p.302
Then let us practice honesty and diligence in our various callings,
seeking unity, and to cultivate the spirit of brotherhood financially
as well as spiritually, that we may be in readiness, upon call, to go
forth and build up the Centre Stake of Zion, and prepare a house in
which to meet the Lord our Savior and Redeemer.

Vol. 18,  p.302
May God bless you, my brethren and sisters, and enable you to act
always as wise stewards over that with which you have been
entrusted.[p.303] 

Brigham Young, January 1, 1877

The Great Privilege of Having a Temple Completed—Past 
Efforts for this Purpose—Remarks on Conduct—Earth, Heaven, 
and Hell, Looking at the Latter-Day Saints—Running After 
Holes in The Ground—Arrangements for the Future

Remarks By President Brigham Young, Delivered at 
the Temple, St. George, Jan. 1, 1877.

(Deseret News)

Vol. 18,  p.303
"I cannot consent in my feelings to retire from this house without
exercising my strength, the strength of my lungs, stomach and speaking
organs, in speaking to this people. I hardly dare say what is in my
heart to say to this people. Perhaps it would not be prudent, but I
will say a few encouraging things to the Latter-day Saints, that is,
they ought to be encouraging. We that are here are enjoying a
privilege that we have no knowledge of any other people enjoying since
the days of Adam that is, to have a Temple completed, wherein all the
ordinance of the house of God can be bestowed upon his people.
Brethren and sisters, do you understand this? It seems that a great
many of the people know nothing about it. It is true that Solomon
built a Temple for the purpose of giving endowments, but from what we
can learn of the history of that time they gave very few if any
endowments, and one of the high priests was murdered by wicked arm
corrupt men, who had already begun to apostatize, because he would not
reveal those things appertaining to the Priesthood that were forbidden
him to reveal until he came to the proper place. I will not say but
what Enoch had Temples and officiated therein, but we have no account
of it. We know that he raised up a people so pure and holy that they
were not permitted to remain with the wicked inhabitants of the earth,
but were taken to another place. We as Latter-day Saints have been
laboring for over forty years, and the revelations given us in the
first were to establish the kingdom by gathering the Saints, building
Temples, and organizing the people as the family of heaven here on the
earth. We reared up a Temple in Kirtland, but we had no basement in
it, nor a font, nor preparations to give endowments for the living or
the dead. It was left by the Saints before it was completed, they
going to Missouri. Joseph located the site for the Temple Block in
Jackson County, Missouri, and pointed out the south-east corner of the
Temple in the year 1831,—also laid the corner stone for a Temple in
Far West, Caldwell County, Mo. These Temples were not built. We built
one in Nauvoo. I could pick out [p.304] several before me now that
were there when it, was built, and know just how much was finished and
what was done. It is true we left brethren there with instructions to
finish it, and they got it nearly completed before it was burned, but
the Saints did not enjoy it. Now we have a Temple which will all be
finished in a few days, and of which there is enough completed to
commence work therein which has not been done since the days of Adam,
that we have any knowledge of. Now those that can see the spiritual
atmosphere can see that many of the Saints are still glued to this
earth and lusting and longing after the things of this world, in which
there is no profit. It is true, we should look after the things of
this world and devote all to the building up of the kingdom of God.
According to the present feelings of many of our brethren, they would
arrogate to themselves this world and all that pertains to it, and
cease not day nor night to see that it was devoted to the building up
of the kingdom of the devil, and if they had the power they would
build a railroad to carry it, to hell and establish them. selves
there. Where are the eyes and the hearts of this people? Where is
their interest for their own salvation and that of their forefathers?
We enjoy privileges that are enjoyed by no one else on the face of the
earth. Suppose we were awake to this thing, namely, the salvation of
the human family, this house would be crowded, as we hope it will be,
from Monday morning until Saturday night. This house was built here in
this place purposely, where it is warm and pleasant in the winter
time, and comfortable to work, also for the Lamanites, and also those
coming from the south, and other places to receive their endowments,
and other blessings. What do you suppose the fathers would say if they
could speak from the dead? Would they not say, 'We have lain here
thousands of years, here in this prison house, waiting for this
dispensation to come? Here we are, bound and lettered, in the
association of those who are filthy?" What would they whisper in our
ears? Why, if they had the power the very thunders of heaven would be
in our ears, if we could but realize the importance of the work we are
engaged in. All the angels in heaven are looking at this little
handfull of people, and stimulating them to the salvation of the human
family. So also are the devils in hell looking at this people, too,
and trying to overthrow us, and the people are still shaking hands
with the servants of the devil, instead of sanctifying themselves and
calling upon the Lord and doing the work which he has commanded us and
put into our hands to do. When I think upon this subject, I want the
tongues of seven thunders to wake up the people. Can the fathers be
saved without us? No. Can we be saved without them? No, and if we do
not wake up and cease to long after the things of this earth, we will
find that we as individuals will go down to hell, although the Lord
will preserve a people unto himself. Now we are ready to give
endowments, do you have any feelings for those who have died without
having the Gospel? The spirit was awakened in the people in the north
when we gave the word that we should do no more work in the Endowment
House—they carne to us crying and pleading to be baptized for their
dead. What else could they do? They can come here and do the work for
their dead, and put these poor prisoners on the ground where they will
be free. Do we realize this? As long as we tarry here, we are subject
[p.305] to the world. But now go to, like men and women, and say, we
will embrace the truth and enter into the covenants of God and carry
them out. Then the bonds are broken, and the hearts of the people are
united in the Father. Perhaps, brethren and sisters, you will not get
my meaning, but now go to work and let these holes in the ground
alone, and let the Gentiles alone, who would destroy us if they had
the power. You are running after them, and some of our brethren are
putting their wives and daughters into their society, and will go to
the devil with them too, if they do not look out. I would not have a
dollar on the earth if I had to get it there. It has been the kingdom
of God with me. What I have, I have got in this kingdom. Well, now,
some of the Elders are running after these holes in the ground, and I
see men before me, in this house that have no right to be here. They
are as corrupt in their hearts as they can be, and we take them by the
hand and call them brother. You will go to hell, lots of you, unless
you repent. You may think this is plain talk, it is not as plain as
you will find by and by. If you should ever go to the gates of heaven,
Jesus will say he never knew you. While you have been saying your
prayers and going to your meetings and are as corrupt in your hearts
as men can be. You had better stop now and repent of your sins and sin
no more, while there is yet time, and before the doors are closed
against you. I want to wake you up, and if I had the power to lift the
veil from your eyes and let you see things as they are, you would be
astonished. Not but what them are a great majority of the people as
good as they know how to be. Now I will say, bless the people, that
they may do better, but show some of the Elders of Israel according to
their present conduct a dollar on one side and eternal life on the
other, and I fear they would choose the dollar.

Vol. 18,  p.305
"We are now prepared to attend to baptizing and giving endowments, and
shall appoint Tuesdays and Wednesdays for baptisms, and Thursdays and
Fridays for endowments and sealings, as a standing appointment for the
present.

Vol. 18,  p.306
"God bless you. Amen.[p.306] 

John Taylor, December 31, 1876

Respect to the Dead—Pre-Existence the Key to This—the 
Future Life Depends on This—the Latter-Day Saints Dependent 
Upon Revelation for Their Knowledge of These Things—Life 
Persecutions As Nothing, Contrasted With the Promises 
Pertaining to the Future—Men's Future Glories 
As Are the Laws They Abide

A Funeral Sermon, Preached By Elder John Taylor, at the 
14th Ward Assembly Rooms, Salt Lake City, Sunday, Dec. 31, 1876, 
Over the Remains of Sister Mary Ann, the Beloved 
Wife of Elder George E. Bourne.

(Reported by Geo. F. Gibbs)

Vol. 18,  p.306
We are met together on this occasion, as we frequently are called upon
to do, to pay our last respects to the departed dead. This is one of
the incidents connected with humanity, and one that always commands
our serious attention. There has an immutable decree gone forth from
the Almighty, that man must die; and it matters not what our standing
in society or station in life may be, all alike must submit to the
divine behest.

Vol. 18,  p.306
When we look back to the generations that have passed, letting our
minds wander through the various ages float have transpired since the
commencement of the human family upon the earth, we see, as it were,
multitudes of human beings who have had their entrance into and exit
from this world, a great rolling wave of human life coming and going.
They have existed simply for a short time, mingling with and operating
among their fellow beings, and then they have faded away, their bodies
have decayed and returned to mother earth, while they themselves have
left this world and gone into another state of existence.

Vol. 18,  p.306
We might bring this reflection a little nearer home, by inquiring. How
many are there yet living of my acquaintances who were in existence
when I was born? But few comparatively; and so it is with a great many
others. We come into the world, we think and reflect, we act and
operate, we carry out certain ideas, plans and calculations, we live
but a short time and then die, leaving all things with which we were
connected pretty much as they were when we came here.

Vol. 18,  p.306
We frequently talk of the advancements made in society and the
progression of the world generally in intelligence, in science, in
literature, etc. But what is all that to the man when he is about to
leave his earthly tenement, to go hence? Of what [p.307] moment is it
to him how bright his genius, or how expansive and varied his learning
may be? It makes no difference, he is gone, and is apparently helpless
and inanimate, at least so far as the body is concerned. We struggle
sometimes while we are occupants of these mortal bodies, for riches
and position, for tame and honor. We jostle one against another,
entertaining various Conflicting sentiments, ideas and theories, but
they are all leveled with the balance in the grave. Such has been and
such is the position of the human family.

Vol. 18,  p.307
There is a scripture which reads, "And as it is appointed unto man
once to die, but after this the judgment." If we are only to be
associated with this world, if, when this vital spark expires, we end
our entire existence, it would be scarcely worth while to pay that
attention to its affairs that we do, merely for so short a time. But
when we reflect, we are reminded that man is a dual being, possessing
a body and a spirit, and that he is associated with this world and the
next, that he is connected with time and eternity. It then becomes a
matter of more grave and serious importance. These are things which we
cannot ignore, even if we would. According to our ideas of things as
they have been revealed to us, we had an existence before we came
here. We came here to accomplish a certain purpose which was decreed
by the Almighty before the world was. We came to receive bodies or
tabernacles, and in them to pass through a certain amount of trial in
what is termed a probationary state of existence, preparatory to a
something to be developed hereafter. Hence this world is the state of
our probation, and we look forward to the future as something with
which we are as much connected as we are with anything pertaining to
time. We look forward to another state of existence with that degree
of certainty and confidence that we do when we go to bed in the
evening expecting to see the light of the sun in the morning, or that
we do with anything else that is associated with any of the affairs of
this world upon which we place any degree of certainty. Were it not
so, it would be, as I have already stated, of very little importance
what our struggles were, or what we had to do with in this world. We
would feel, as Paul philosophically describes it, namely, "If in this
life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable."
And then he further says, "If the dead rise not, let us eat and drink,
for to-morrow we die." Or, in other words, if in this world only we
have hope, let us seize upon any and every opportunity presented to us
and enjoy life, mingle with and join in the giddy strife of the world,
and glide along with the stream, for our days are but a span, as a
shadowy they pass away and we are no more.

Vol. 18,  p.307
But it so happens that we regard these things in a very different
point of view, it having been revealed to us from heaven what the
position of man was, what it now is, and what it will be. In relation
to this, no matter what our religious sentiments may be, or what the
views of men are pertaining to these matters, there is a kind of
inexorable fiat that comes down the stream of time, that sweeps away
the human family one after another—the good and the bad, the righteous
and the unrighteous, the rich and the poor, all classes, all grades
and all conditions must submit to it. It is true, we read of some very
few individuals who have avoided it. For instance, Enoch and his city
were caught up without seeing death. We read that when [p.308] Moses
departed this life, his body could not be found. Elijah, too, ascended
up to heaven without dying. Also John, the revelator, was permitted to
live upon the earth until the Savior should come, and the Book of
Mormon gives an account of three Nephites, who lived on this American
Continent, who asked for the same privilege and it was granted to
them.

Vol. 18,  p.308
I am not now talking to the dead; she is gone, she has left us, her
ear is not sensitive to our voice, her faculties are dormant; but I am
speaking to the living. In reflecting upon these matters we must see
that in a short time we shall be in the condition that our sister is,
whose remains now lie before us. The question that necessarily arises,
and it is one that engages the attention of all people of every age
and country, is, What of the future? Men have had their various
theories in relation to these matters, which have differed more or
less according to the day and age in which they lived, according to
the intelligence they possessed, and according to the circumstances
with which they were surrounded, over which, perhaps, they had very
little control. All men, more or less, however, have had a desire to
aim at exaltation in the hereafter, or happiness of some kind. They
have had feelings in their bosoms that would naturally lead them to
this. I do not remember reading of any people, no matter how low and
degraded they were, but what had some kind of ideas, more or less
distinct, in relation to the future, though they were and now are very
much confused in some particulars, worshiping, for instance, gods made
of gold, silver, brass, etc., and in some ages they had thousands of
gods. But why did they worship them? Because they believed they had
something to do with their destiny, and they wanted to secure their
favor and approbation. There are a great many of these feelings
existing at the present time among the heathen nations. There are some
who believe that when they die they go into the bodies of beasts and
various animals and occupy them; and others, that there is some kind
of happiness provided for them. They used to talk in early days about
the Elysian Fields, after having passed the river "Styx;" where they
anticipated some kind of pleasant enjoyment, the nature of which they
knew not. There is a very large body of men at the present time who
are what is called Mohammedans, and they have their peculiar ideas of
heaven. Then we have Christianity in all its phases, with all its
ideas, theories, opinions, plans and calculations, which are as much
diversified perhaps as anything in existence upon the face of the
earth to-day. Them is, too, a lack of certainty and intelligence
generally in relation to these matters. Some of the Indians believe
that when they die they go to some pleasant hunting grounds, where
there is plenty of buffalo, elk and deer, and where they can revel in
the enjoyment of the chase, and where they can possess everything
necessary to make them comfortable.

Vol. 18,  p.308
As Latter-day Saints we differ from all of them. We are dependent upon
the revelations which God has given unto us pertaining to the future,
and which are in strict accordance with revelations which he gave at
different times to his ancient Saints. Our faith and opinion are that
being dual, immortal beings, possessing a body and a spirit,
associated with time and eternity, it is proper for us to know and
comprehend something pertaining to the future; and not, as is
generally done [p.309] by mankind, take a leap, as it were, in the
dark; or as I have frequently heard people say, and Christians at
that, "We do not know anything about the future, we have got to leave
ourselves entirely in the hands of God." Of course we have all got to
do that, and that too is proper in one sense of the word. But there
were men in former times that had very different ideas from this; they
lived back, away back, in what they now call the "dark ages." For
instance, I will name Job and quote you language expressing his mind
on this point. "For I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that he shall
stand at the latter day upon the earth; and though after my skin worms
destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God; whom I shall see
for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not for another." There is
something expressed in that very different from the vague, indefinite
idea that many Christians seem to entertain in relation to these
things. There is something definite and certain about it. I know, said
Job. How did he know? A man could know nothing pertaining to the
future so far off, could know nothing about the vitalizing, quickening
influence of certain powers, that could so operate upon the remnants
of humanity that had been buried in the grave, as to bring them forth
to life, causing them to see, to hear, and to understand. How and by
what principle could he see these things develop, unless by some
super-human influence which had been manifested to him? He could only
know it upon this principle—that "the things of God knoweth no man,
but by the spirit of God," and being, too, in possession of that
spirit and possessed of life and light and intelligence that flow from
God, he looked through the dark vista of future ages and comprehended
the purposes of God in regard to the human family and in regard to
himself. John the revelator, too, "saw the dead, small and great,
stand before God;" he saw the sea give up the dead which were in it.
Others saw, by the same spirit, the grave open and the power of God
rest upon the people therein, and then burst the barriers of the tomb,
coming forth again with health and vitality. There is no human reason,
no human intelligence, with all its boasted enlightenment and
scientific research, that could unravel a mystery of this kind. Yet,
away back in the dark ages, a man inspired by the spirit of God is
heard to say, "I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand
at the latter day upon the earth;" and he knew too that in his flesh
he would see God. Such language has a tendency to bring certain ideas,
thoughts and reflections to our minds. An intelligence of this kind is
not a phantom, it is a reality.

Vol. 18,  p.309
If we follow out the Scriptures in relation to these things, we find
the same principles developed and the same ideas entertained wherever
they had the Gospel of the Son of God, wherever they had the light and
intelligence that flow from him. Amongst all peoples wherever the
Gospel existed this intelligence prevailed, and it was that which
buoyed them up and sustained them amidst all the vicissitudes and
changes which they had to battle with in passing through time. Men of
such persuasion were generally considered visionary. They were scouted
at by others who were considered more practical, but whom I should
call fools. They had to endure all kinds of ignominy and reproach; in
fact it was and is so ordered that it becomes necessary, in this
probationary state, that they should pass through certain ordeals in
order to prepare and quality them [p.310] for something that was to
come. They had these things to pass through and they could not avoid
it. Job was upbraided by his friends and persecuted by his enemies; he
was robbed and stripped of everything he owned in the world, even
bereft of his children, and his wife, his bosom companion, turned upon
him, saying to him at last, "Curse God and die!" But said Job, "What?
shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive
evil?" "The Lord gave and the Lord hath taken away, blessed be the
name of the Lord." Why was it that he had to be thus tried? That he
might, as stated elsewhere, be made perfect through suffering. (1
Peter, 5, 10.)

Vol. 18,  p.310
We read again of a certain man who, while enrapped in vision, saw many
of the purposes of God roll forth; and among other things he saw a
number that were clothed in white raiment, and a he were engaged in
singing a new song. Upon inquiring who those persons were, he was told
that they had come "up through much tribulation." What men having to
endure tribulation for fearing God and keeping his commandments? Yes;
and it was necessary, in the wisdom of God, that they should. Those
were they that came up through much tribulation having washed their
robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. And therefore are
they next the throne and serve their Maker day and night.

Vol. 18,  p.310
There are some peculiar lessons and important instructions developed
in many of these things, as we see them portrayed. I speak now to the
Latter-day Saints. We, a few of us, have had our share of these
things. I have seen people, in the early days, who had to pass through
a good deal,—stripped, robbed, pillaged, beaten, killed, murdered for
their religion's sake. They were driven from their homes, they
wandered about as exiles. They could truly say as Jesus once said,
"The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the
Son of man hath not where to lay his head." They had not where to rest
themselves except on the bare earth, whereon I have seen hundreds and
thousands of Latter-day Saints lind their shelter, when they were
fleeing from the hands of merciless, ignorant Christian people. Did
they know what they were doing? No. Did the Saints know what they were
doing, and the object of their suffering? Yes, and they do to this
day. They had implanted in them a hope, which comes through obedience
to the Gospel of the Son of God, that blooms with immortality and
eternal life. It was in view of these things, like it was with some
that Paul speaks of—they "were tempted, they were tried, they were
persecuted, they were whipped and sawed asunder; they wandered about
in sheep skins and goat skins, finding their homes in dens and caves
of the earth, of whom the world was not worthy." These very people
that endured these things the world was not worthy of; and they
declared plainly that "they sought a better country, even a heavenly,
wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God. For he hath
prepared for them a city, a city which has foundations, whose builder
and maker is God." The very thing that Jesus said they should have
when he spoke to his disciples and said, "In my Father's house are
many mansions. 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; tidal where I am ye may be also.

Vol. 18,  p.310
There is something about these ideas animating and cheering, that
gives life and vigor to the bureau [p.311] mind while traveling
through the world, and having to meet with the various conflicts and
difficulties that frequently obstruct our path.

Vol. 18,  p.311
Looking upon ourselves as eternal beings, connected with heaven as
well as earth, with eternity as well as time, what difference is it to
us what our lot may be, whether we abound in wealth, or whether we
have to struggle with grim poverty; whether we possess the good things
of this world, or have to crawl around like Lazarus did, and be glad
to cat of the crumbs that fell from the rich man's table? It will soon
be with the rich as if they were not rich, and with the poor as if
they had not to struggle—all will find a level in the grave.

Vol. 18,  p.311
What are our views pertaining to the future? What claim have we on the
Almighty? Can we say as one did, "For we know that if our earthly
house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, a
house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens?" If we can say
that, it is all right; no difference what our position, no difference
what our circumstances, if our hearts are pure before God, and our
spirits are upright, and we conscientiously feel that we are in the
line of our duty, living in the tear of God and are enabled to cleave
to him and keep his commandments, and walk in accordance with his
precepts, all is right. No mallet whether we live long or short, it
makes no difference, God takes care of his people, and all is well.

Vol. 18,  p.311
Do we have trials? Yes, and it is necessary that we should; but
whatever you do, let not your trials interfere with your duties and
responsibilities to God. If troubles do come along, and we find st
hard to battle with the things of life, never mind, let us cleave to
God, to truth, to virtue, to righteousness, and maintain our
integrity, and we will always feel that God is our friend, and that
all is well. We will feel like saying, let the winds blow, and the
rain descend, and the storms come, no matter what position we occupy,
if God gives us power to breast the conflict, if we keep the
commandments of God, and have our faith and hopes centered in the Lord
beyond the vail, we shall feel that God is our Father and friend, and
we are his children, and that he will own us and take care of us in
time as well as in the eternities to come.

Vol. 18,  p.311
Well, what about others? Are you not very prescriptive in your
feelings? No, not at all. I am willing, as an individual, to endure
any thing that God may be pleased to place upon me, inasmuch as I have
his grace to sustain me. I can do nothing of myself, neither can you,
without the divine assistance. Have I my weaknesses? Yes. Have you
weaknesses? Yes. Are any of us perfect? No. We are placed in this
world to prove us. What shall we do? Why, fear the Lord and do the
best we can, trusting in him. If we do that, all is right pertaining
to the future. But what are we all aiming at? I am looking for a
celestial glory. I want to be associated with the Church of the
first-born, whose nantes are written in the heavens, and with Prophets
and Apostles, and with all the holy men of God who were inspired with
the same heres, who lived generations ago, as well as with such men
who now live. If I can only fight the good fight of faith, and lay
hold of eternal life, then all is right. What of others? They are in
the hands of God, and so are we. But are we all going to get into the
celestial kingdom? I am afraid not. Not all the Latter-day Saints? I
am afraid not. We read that many are [p.312] called, but few are
chosen. We read also that there were five wise and five foolish
virgins. The wise virgins, we are told, had oil in their lamps, and
their lamps were trimmed and burning. They were prepared to meet the
bridegroom whom they expected. The others had no oil in their lamps at
the time the cry was raised for all to go forth and meet their Lord.
They had become careless and indifferent, and while the foolish
virgins were away trying to procure oil for their lamps, the bridgroom
came, and only those who were prepared to meet him went in with him,
when the door was shut. "Not every one that smith unto me, Lord, Lord,
shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of
my Father which is in heaven." That is the way I read these things.

Vol. 18,  p.312
Now, then, we have these principles before us, and it is for us to do
right, and act honorably and virtuously, uprightly and consistently,
and all will be well. If we do not, it will not be well, for every man
will be judged according to the deeds done in the body. And in regard
to others who receive not the Gospel, they too will be judged
according to their works. Did God make any of his children for the
purpose of destroying them? I think not. I think he will do the very
best he can with all of us. But will he take the disobedient and the
careless and indifferent ones into the celestial kingdom, to dwell
with him and with the just who are made perfect? I think not. There
are bodies celestial, bodies terrestrial, and bodies telestial. "There
is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another
glory of the stars; for one star differeth from another star in glory.
So also is the resurrection of the dead." To judge from these facts,
does it look to you reasonable that all the Latter-day Saints will get
into the celestial kingdom of our God? To me it does not. But the Lord
has revealed to the children of men many great things, and has taught
them many great principles; if they do not receive those principles,
and adhere to them, and keep his commandments, are they to be damned
and buried in hell forever? I think not.

Vol. 18,  p.312
Some of our sectarian friends think that we have curious ideas about
them. I tell you what it arises from. We are aiming at what we term a
celestial glory. They do not understand this. Will they get a glory?
Yes, they will get all that they are looking for, just as much as they
can abide, as much as it is possible for God to center upon them under
the circumstances. And will the heathen be saved? Yes, all the
children of God, no matter by what name they are called, will be
saved, receiving as high a glory and salvation as they are capable of
receiving. But are all going to inherit a celestial glory? No, but the
degree of their glory will altogether be ahead of their ideas with
regard to it. It may doubtless be said of them, as it was said of
others, that "eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered
the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that
love him." These are facts which we all Latter-day Saints entertain,
and God does, and who would raise an objection?

Vol. 18,  p.312
Because we have been persecuted and maltreated, should we entertain
feelings of hatred and animosity for the human family? No! All good
Latter-day Saints who possess the light and life of Christ, who have
thus suffered, feel as Jesus did during his moments of bitterest pain,
when he said, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do."
God [p.313] is the God and Father of all the spirits of all flesh that
now live, that have lived through all the ages of time, and he is
interested in the welfare and salvation of all; but he, as well as we,
is governed by law, and hence he is no respecter of persons, but gives
unto all according to their works. I have set my mark high, and if God
will give me grace sufficient to overcome every evil and to surmount
every trial, I intend to continue to fight the good fight of faith,
and lay hold of eternal life.

Vol. 18,  p.313
With regard to sister Bourne, to whose remains we now pay our last
respects and which lie before us, it is all right, a right! I too have
had my friends leave me. Do I feel sorry? No. They have gone and they
rest from earthly trouble, and I expect to follow alter them. I well
remember the conversation I had with my father when he was about to
depart this life. I said, "Father, you are going?" He said, "Yes." I
then said, "That is right, father you came into the world a little
before me, and you are leaving a little before. I will not try to
disgrace you, and by and by i will come too." It is true, we do not
like to lose a good, kind companion, a wife, a husband, a child, a
brother, a sister, or any of our near and clear friends or relatives;
but we have to do it, and it is right and proper that we should. They
go a little before us; when we get there they will receive and welcome
us, and say, "God bless you, you have come at last." That is the way I
look at it. I expect to strike bands and embrace my friends who have
gone before, who have proved themselves faithful and true. Why should
I mourn when they leave? Of course, I like their company and
association, but it was not designed that I should always have it
here. We came here to live, and to die that we may live; and we are
all moving, moving, passing off this stage of time. It is for us to
prepare for the eternities to come.

Vol. 18,  p.313
I pray God to comfort the hearts of the husband, children, relatives
and friends of this our departed sister, and say, May the peace and
blessings of God be and abide with you, and may he lead us in the
patios of life, and enable us to straggle for the glory and exaltation
that are within our reach, until we shall have overcome, and be
prepared to enter into the celestial kingdom of the Father, which may
God grant for Christ's sake. Amen.[p.314] 

Orson Pratt, December 3, 1876

Prophecies Unfulfilled—Changes in the Configuration of the 
Globe—Miracles the Result of Laws not Yet Perfecly Understood—the 
Re-Formation of the Earth—Its Character During the Millennium—
Its Purification By Fire—the New Heavens and the New 
Earth—the Gospel the Celestial law, and Only 
Passport to Existence on a Celestialized Earth

Discourse By Elder Orson Pratt, Delivered in the Twentieth 
Ward Meeting House, Salt Lake City, Sunday Afternoon, Dec. 3, 1876.

(Reported by Geo. F. Gibbs)

Vol. 18,  p.314
The following passages of scripture were read—The 24th chapter of
Isaiah, from the 1st to the 6th verses, and from the 17th to the 23rd
verses; the 6th chapter of Revelations, froth the 12th to the 17th
verses; the 34th chapter of Isaiah, from the 1st to the 4th verses;
and the 13th chapter of Isaiah, from the 6th to the 13th verses.

Vol. 18,  p.314
Elder Pratt then said—I have read these passages, not with the idea of
selecting from them any one passage, but more particularly to impress
upon the congregation the fact that something must take place which
never has been fulfilled.

Vol. 18,  p.314
Since the day that Isaiah lived and prophesied among the people, you
will admit, with me, that there never has been a universal destruction
of all the wicked and the transgressors from off the face of the
earth. There have been scores of millions of sinners upon the earth
since the utterance of this prophecy to the present time, but the
wholesale destraction spoken of has never taken place. You will all
admit with me also that the signs which are to appear in the heavens,
about the time of this universal destruction of the wicked, have not
vet taken place. We are told not only that the sun shall be darkened
in his going forth, but the stars shall refuse their shining. It only
the sun were to be darkened, the heathen nations, that could not
account for it, might say it had reference to some great eclipse, such
as has occurred in different ages; but when they find that all the
stars of heaven withhold their light, and there is not even so much as
a glimmer of light, and the sun too becomes as black as sackcloth,
they cannot impute it to an eclipse, for an eclipse would not destroy
the light of the stars that are scattered over the concave of heaven.
We are also told, in connection with this, that the earth is to be
afflicted as well as the heavenly bodies; it is to roll to and fro
like a drunken man, the [p.315] mountains are to be broken down, and
the whole earth is to be dissolved. No such thing has ever taken place
since the day this prophecy was uttered; it is therefore yet to be
fulfilled.

Vol. 18,  p.315
Again Isaiah in the 40th chapter has said that "every valley shall be
exalted, and every mountain and hill shall he made low: and the
crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain: and the
glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it
together." Such an event as that has never occurred, for we have many
mountains in all parts of the earth, and the valleys are not yet
exalted, neither are the rough places made smooth. We are told that
not only are the mountains to be broken down, and the valleys exalted,
and the rough places made smooth, but the earth itself is to he
dissolved. This agrees with the prophecies of the Psalmist David. He
was permitted to see the great day of the coming of the Lord, and has
described it, in many of his psalms; among other things which he says
shall take place, is that the hills should melt like wax at the
presence of the Lord. They of course will fall down by the force of
gravity, and fill up the valleys; such an event has never taken place
since the day the prophecy was uttered.

Vol. 18,  p.315
We are told also in another place by the Prophet Isaiah, how that the
servants of God in those notable days should call upon the name of the
Lord, saying, "Oh that thou wouldst rend the heavens, that thou
wouldst come down that the mountains might flow down at thy presence.
As when the melting fire burneth, the fire causeth the waters to boil,
to make thy name known to  thine adversaries, that the nations might
tremble at thy presence," which prayer shall be answered.

Vol. 18,  p.315
Another thing is spoken of, besides all these changes that I have
named. There will be a great removal of certain portions of the earth.
"The earth is moved exceedingly," as contained in the 19th verse of
the 24th chapter of Isaiah, and in the following verse, still
referring to the changes that this earth is to undergo, it reads, "And
shall he removed like a cottage." We are still further told in the
same chapter that "the Lord maketh the earth empty, and maketh it
waste, and turneth it upside down," etc.; that is, many portions of
the earth which now lie buried will be thrown to the surface, and many
portions which now are the upper crust of the earth will be turned
under.

Vol. 18,  p.315
The earth is now divided into continents and islands. We may ask, are
these to change their location? The answer is, yes. The Apostle and
revelator John, in the 6th chapter of Revelations, tells us that, he
saw, in vision, after the opening of the sixth seal, among other
remarkable things, that "every mountain and island were moved out of
their places." Such islands as Great Britain will change their
location, as well as those of the Pacific Ocean and all others in like
manner; and I have no doubt there will be a vast change between the
location of continents and the location of the great oceans and seas
at that time. The earth will doubtless be rolled back to the position
it formerly occupied. We read that there is to be a restitution of all
things spoken of by the mouth of all the holy Prophets. If the earth
is to he restored to its former condition, as it once existed soon
after the creation, then, so far as continents and oceans are
concerned, there will be a restitution of those portions of the globe,
as [p.316] well as many things not mentioned in prophecy.

Vol. 18,  p.316
These passages which I have read occurred to my mind principally after
I came to this house. I had nothing particular to present to the
congregation, nothing studied or prepared. I prefer to depend upon the
spirit of the Lord to direct me when engaged in preaching the Gospel,
and my mind seems to be directed to the great events that are to
transpire in the overthrow and destruction of the wicked nations—the
great events to transpire in which the sun will become black as
sackcloth, and every star withhold its light and cast themselves down
as the falling of figs from the fig-tree, all of which will be very
remarkable in their nature.

Vol. 18,  p.316
The Prophet Joel says, "it, shall come to pass afterward, that I will
pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters
shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall
see visions:" "And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the
earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned
into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible
day of the Lord come," etc. Do you suppose, my brethren, that the Lord
would have inspired such men as the Psalmist David, the Prophets
Isaiah, Joel, John the Revelator, as well as many others, to speak of
events of this description, which were to take place in the latter
times, if no such thing would transpire? No, certainly not. These
things too are so frequently alluded to that we cannot have any
dubiety upon our minds in regard to the design of the Lord.

Vol. 18,  p.316
I have no doubt a great many changes have taken place upon our globe
since that great change wrought upon it at the time of the creation.
There certainly was a great change wrought upon it then, for we are
told that when the Lord organized the earth it was enveloped in a
great ocean of water, there being no dry land in sight. But the Lord,
by his power and word, or, in other words, by his immutable laws,
caused that the waters should be gathered together into one place, and
hence the dry land appeared. I do not suppose that this change was
effected in the twinkling of an eye; I believe the Lord has certain
established laws by which he accomplishes his wonderful works
pertaining to all his creations. How long this submerged earth had an
existence before the Lord commanded the great deep, that enveloped the
whole surface of the same, to be removed, is not for me to say; no one
can tell how many years, or thousands of years, or how many millions
of years, this earth may have existed in the form of partial or
imperfect organizations before this great event happened, of which
Moses gives an account. The periods mentioned in the history, as
recorded in the 1st chapter of Genesis, are represented as beginning
with the evening and ending with the morning. Seven such periods are
mentioned. How long these periods, called days, were, I cannot tell;
it is very evident they were not governed by the rotation of the earth
on its axis, because the sun did not give light during the first three
days or periods. It was on the fourth day that the Lord caused the
light of the sun to shine upon this little speck of creation. But
there were three days prior to that, when the sun did not shine upon
the earth. What then was to distinguish between the light and darkness
we of course cannot say. There was an eternity of past duration,
before the period, called "the first day." The [p.317] materials we,
as Latter-day Saints, believe existed from all eternity, the materials
had no beginning; they were not created.

Vol. 18,  p.317
There is one particular to which I wish to call your attention. The
ocean seems to have been gathered by itself, when the dry land
appeared, and whether or not there were any islands at that period of
our globe's history, we are not informed. You might inquire—What has
occasioned two great continents and two great oceans intervening
between them, and how are we to account for the appearance of islands
and seas as they now exist? These are the results of other changes
since the days of the organization of this earth, as proclaimed by
Moses. The flood, no doubt, produced some changes on the surface of
our globe, but still I do not believe, for a moment, that it could
have produced the changes we now see. So far as the location of the
different islands and continents is concerned, we descend to a period
since the flood. In the days of Peleg, we are told, the earth was
divided. This is a very short historical notice of a very marvelous
event. If we had the whole account of this occurrence precisely as it
transpired, it would certainly be extremely wonderful. Supposing that
the one great ante-deluvian continent, which must have existed prior
to that time, were to be divided by several thousand miles of water,
would not that be a most wonderful event?

Vol. 18,  p.317
It may be enquired, what natural laws could have performed such an
event? I do not pretend to say that any regular, uniform laws exist by
which it was accomplished; but there are laws, perhaps, that finite
man does not comprehend and fully understand, which might occasion the
division of the earth. The Lord has under his control all the laws of
nature, whether uniform or not. It is just as easy for the Lord to
cause water to stand up as perpendicular walls, instanced in the case
of the children of Israel crossing the Red Sea, as it is to cause
these waters to settle to their common level. What causes water to
find its level? It is the power of God, and nothing else. We give it
the name of gravitation; but the power of gravitation is nothing more
nor less than the power God exercises upon the elements, producing
uniform laws.

Vol. 18,  p.317
Has the Lord no other laws in operation but the law of gravity? Yes,
he can cause the law of gravity to be in subjection to other laws. For
instance, a certain man was cutting down wood with the Prophet Elisha
when his axe fell into deep water, to all appearance lost; and the man
was somewhat exercised about it, because the axe was borrowed. The
Prophet, understanding the nature of certain laws higher than that of
gravitation, exercised the power of the Priesthood with which he was
endowed, commanding the iron to swim, and it did so.

Vol. 18,  p.317
Again, on another occasion, the Prophet Elisha, knowing that he must
succeed the Prophet Elijah in the ministry, and that Elijah was about
to be translated and taken to heaven, asked of him a certain favor
before he ascended, namely, that a double portion of his (Elijah's)
spirit might rest upon him. Elijah said in response, "Thou hast asked
a hard thing; nevertheless, if thou seest me, when I am taken from
thee, it shall be so unto thee; but if not, it shall not he so." It
pleased the Lord to grant unto Elisha his desire, for he beheld the
Prophet ascend to heaven in a chariot of fire, drawn by horses having
the appearance of fire. He then took the mantle of Elijah,[p.318] that
fell from him, and with it he smote the waters of the Jordan, saying,
"Where is the Lord God of Elijah?" And they parted hither and thither,
and Elisha went over on dry ground. Here, then, we perceive a power
greater than gravitation.

Vol. 18,  p.318
As we have already observed, when the children of Israel had passed
over the Red Sea, the waters were thrown up like walls on either side
of them; the Lord caused the same waters to flow down upon their
enemies, totally destroying them.

Vol. 18,  p.318
Again, while Israel was journeying in the wilderness we are informed
that they came to the river Jordan, and that as the Priests who bore
the ark of the Covenant touched the water with the soles of their
feet, the waters rose up in a heap, and all Israel passed over on dry
ground.

Vol. 18,  p.318
From these simple testimonies we have shown that God controls the laws
of nature. Again, the fact of the Prophet Elijah being taken up to
heaven, records another instance of the laws of gravitation being
overcome by a more powerful one. Again, the ascension of Jesus, after
he had commissioned his disciples to preach the Gospel to all the
world, was another instance of the law of gravitation being overcome
by the power of God. Then let no person suppose that all the great
events that will hereafter transpire upon the surface of laud and sea,
have got to take place by reason of some slow progressive changes,
occupying hundreds of thousands and perhaps millions of years,
according to the ideas of modern geologists. Can they show the way the
Lord can govern and control these things, bringing about events, in
the course of a very short time, that perhaps would take millions of
years to accomplish by the mere progressive changes, such as are
recognized by geologists? How easy it would be for that same power to
be made manifest, in commanding the great ocean to leave its present
bed and to gather together in the polar regions in our globe. One may
ask, What would hold them there? They now occupy the common level
surface as near the centre of gravity as they can, and sustain the
centrifugal force exercised by the rotation of the earth on its axis.
If they should be rolled back, whence they came; if a great equatorial
continent, in one continuous belt, encircled the globe, and the two
polar regions were covered with oceans, what would hold them in their
position? It might be done without infringing particularly on the laws
of gravitation. How easy it would be for the Lord to compress the
polar regions of our globe, and cause the equatorial regions to rise
higher, so as to balance the polar waters, and retain them in the
arctic and antarctic regions.

Vol. 18,  p.318
It may be objected, that should such a condition exist, even though we
should admit the power of God in thus dividing the waters, and giving
us an equatorial continent, yet this would not protect the inhabitants
of the equator from the burning heat of the sun, and it would be
utterly impossible for the inhabitants of the earth to inhabit the
equatorial region, if this should be the case How easy it would be for
the Lord to alter the position of the earth's axis, giving it a
greater inclination to the plane of the ecliptic, so that the two
tropics should extend thirty-five or forty degrees north and south of
the equator. What effect would this have? It would have the effect of
giving greater heat to the poles, and also of giving less heat to the
equator.

Vol. 18,  p.318
The earth will be shaped into the form best adapted to the occupation
of a higher order of beings. Now, [p.319] children of mortality occupy
this globe. In some portions of the earth we suffer extremes of heat
and cold. The Laplander has guarded against this in his snow house,
while the people of the torrid regions have to guard against intense
heat. And there is much suffering by the inhabitants of the earth, in
their present state of mortality, from the extremes of heat and cold.
But in relation to the great event I have named, I have no doubt but
what every motion and arrangement that the Lord will cause to take
place upon the surface of our globe, will have a tendency to prepare
it for the habitation of beings of a higher order of intelligence than
those who now occupy it. In testimony of this, we will refer you to
some few passages of Scripture. The inhabitants of the heavens, who
now reside in the presence of God the Father, and his Son Jesus
Christ, do not always expect to reside there; they have anticipations
as well as we. And they expect to receive another place or location
than where they now reside. Have you not read that peculiar passage
contained in the 5th chapter of the Revelations, in relation to the
inhabitants of heaven? The Revelator, John, heard them sing a new and
beautiful song, about the unsealing of a certain book—"Thou art worthy
to take the book, and to open the seals thereof; for thou wast slain
and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and
tongue, and people, and nation; And hast made us unto our God kings
and priests: and we shall reign on the earth," etc.

Vol. 18,  p.319
What! the inhabitants of heaven coming to reign on this earth? Yes.
Some of you may say, "I should not think that heavenly people would
want to leave the presence of God and the Lamb, where all is peace and
happiness, where there is no sin to mar the peace of that blessed
abode. I should not suppose that they could anticipate joy in coming
back to this earth." But the earth is to undergo a change ill which it
will be sanctified and made glorious when the sinners are destroyed.
When the Lord performs what I have read to you, namely, that the
inhabitants of the earth are to be burned up, and few men left; and
all the armies of the wicked slaughtered. And when the prediction of
Isaiah is fulfilled, that the slain will be from one end of the earth
to the other, and the earth changed in its position, and a beautiful
climate introduced, and all the dry ground made habitable, and the
rough places made smooth, the valleys raised, and the mountains
levelled down, I think they will then delight to come here. Because
this is their old home, where they once lived. "Thou hast redeemed us
to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and
nation; And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall
reign on the earth."

Vol. 18,  p.319
How will they reign? Will they come here as spiritual personages
without bodies of flesh and bones? No. There will be a resurrection,
and when these great events take place on the earth, which are so
clearly predicted by so many of the ancient worthies, who held
communion with God, the graves will give up the righteous dead. The
Saints who were heard singing that new and beautiful song, even the
spirit of the just, will come from the celestial paradise to claim
their resurrected bodies, no more to be subject to death—they will be
immortal and eternal. They will have intelligence in proportion to
that exalted condition of their spirits and bodies,[p.320] and the
earth will be adapted to them as a dwelling-place. This is the reason
why these changes are to take place.

Vol. 18,  p.320
Geologists say it would take some millions of years to effect any
changes of the earth in regard to the location of its continents and
islands, and a great number of intelligent readers are inclined to
this belief. But there is a God who will disappoint them all, who will
show forth his power, causing the earth to rock to and fro like a
drunken man; a God whose power is able to cause the mountains to be
cast down, and the valleys to come up. When it rains upon the exalted
valleys, it will wash down the rich soil upon the rocky mountains
which have sunk beneath, making them fertile; and thus the whole
surface of the earth will become a fit abode for man in his improved
and perfected state, whether immortal or mortal.

Vol. 18,  p.320
"Do you think," one may say, "there will be mortal beings living on
the earth, when these heavenly hosts come?" Yes, and they will dwell
together. What, people not subject to sickness, or to sorrow, or
punishment, people whose bodies are celestial and immortal, who will
endure in their bodies to all eternity! Will they mingle with mortal
beings? Yes. Have we any Scripture to sustain us in this? Yes. Our
Savior was immortal when he arose from the tomb, his body of flesh and
bones was no longer sensitive to pain; it was a glorified, immortal,
and eternal body. Could he mingle with the children of mortality? Yes,
for on a certain occasion the Apostles, doubtless thinking the Savior
to be dead, went to their nets, their former pursuit. But Jesus
knowing their hearts, went to the sea-shore and there made a fire. By
and by he called them to land, and they came. He took a fish and
broiled it on the coals, and gave it to them to eat, and he ate with
them. He was immortal, they were mortal. Was there any perceptible
difference between the appearance of the Savior on this occasion, and
his disciples? No; he did not permit his glory to shine forth, as he
did on the Isle of Patmos, when John received his heavenly
manifestations. His glory was withheld, and they had no difficulty in
looking upon his person.

Vol. 18,  p.320
I have no doubt there will be a certain degree of the glory of the
immortal beings withheld from the children of mortality, during the
whole period of the millennium. Kings and priests will come here to
reign, and will mingle freely among their children of whom they are
ancestors. And those who are mortal can receive instruction from those
who are immortal, that will prepare them for the time when the earth
is to undergo a still greater change The children of mortality will
need this preparation in order to live when this earth is burning up,
which is to be its final destiny.

Vol. 18,  p.320
When Jesus comes, the events that I have named will take place. The
earth is destined to pass away; after these immortal beings have dwelt
upon it for one thousand years, after Jesus has been here reigning as
King of kings and Lord of lords, and people have become familiar with
him and all the ancients, by and by the earth will be burned up. You
may inquire, "What is the use of burning it up?" I tell you my reason
why I suppose the earth will be burnt up. It has been cursed by reason
of the fall. In the early ages God said, "Cursed is the ground for thy
sake; in sorrow thou shalt eat of it all the days of thy life," etc.
That curse has [p.321] not been fully removed to this day, the earth
has groaned under wickedness. Its inhabitants have had to suffer all
the inclemencies of a rigid climate or the intensities of heat and
cold. Millions have thus suffered for many thousands of years, all in
consequence of the curse that came upon this creation. This curse is
not all to be removed, at once, it will be removed, in part, during
the Millenium. The curse will not occupy the whole face of the earth
to the same extent during that time as it has during the days of
wickedness. But so great has been the curse that God decreed that it
should suffer death like unto man; it cannot escape it, the change
must come, the final change, which is equivalent to death itself. The
Prophet Isaiah speaks of the earth dying: "And they that dwell therein
shall die in like manner." As it shall die, so shall all who dwell
upon it. When shall it see death? Not until after the Millennium,
after the reign of righteousness for the space of one thousand years;
after, too, "the little season," during which period of time Satan
will be loosed out of his prison. It will continue in its temporal
state with a portion of the curse upon its face, until the devil shall
gather together his armies at the end of the thousand years, when he
will marshal them, bringing them up on the breadth of the earth, and
compassing the camp of the Saints and the beloved city. Then the Lord
will make the final change; then the last trump will sound, which will
bring forth all the sleeping nations; they will come forth with
immortal bodies no more to be subject to temporal death. They will
come forth from their sleeping tombs, and the sea will give up the
dead which is in it. The graves of the wicked will be opened, and they
will come forth; and a great white throne will appear, as recorded in
the 20th chapter of Revelations, and the personage who sits on it is
described. Jesus comes then in his glory and power, in a manner far
greater than has ever been manifested on this earth before; so great
will be the glory of him who sits upon the throne, that from before
his face the earth and the heaven will flee away, and no place shall
be found for them.

Vol. 18,  p.321
Will not that be a greater change than casting down the mountains,
etc., which is to take place at the beginning of the Millennium? The
earth is to be burnt by fire, returning to its original elements. It
does not say there shall be no place found for the elements, but there
shall be no place found for the organized world. Like ourselves, the
organization of the mortal body will cease, it will be finally
dissolved, and the elements of which it is composed will be scattered
in space; but that same God that controls the laws by which it exists
now will in due time, and when he sees proper, speak to these
elements, and by his Almighty power they will again come together, and
be formed into a new earth, as is clearly portrayed in the 21st
chapter of St. John's Revelations. The Apostle not only saw the heaven
and the earth pass away, but he saw "a new heaven and a new earth: for
the first heaven and the first earth were passed away."

Vol. 18,  p.321
How do you suppose this near earth will be made? Do you suppose the
Lord will go away into the immensity of space, and gather together new
materials and command them to be organized? No, he will take the same
materials, the elements which will have been dissolved by fire, and he
will command them again to be reorganized, adapting the resurrected
creation to the condition of [p.322] the inhabitants that will occupy
it. It will then be far more glorious than it will appear, during the
thousand years of rest; it will then be reorganized by Almighty God in
the most perfect form, so that it shall be capable of eternal and
everlasting endurance, no more to be dissolved, no more to suffer from
the action of the elements one upon the other, as has been the case
with this earth, during its temporal existence. But it will continue
to all eternity, and who are to inhabit it? The Saints who have before
lived upon it, during the seven thousand years of its temporal
existence.

Vol. 18,  p.322
Have we any account to sustain us in this? Yes, for after John saw the
new heaven and new earth, the next thing he tells us of is the
population of the new earth. "I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem,
coming down from God out of heaven. prepared as a bride adorned for
her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven, saying, Behold,
the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and
they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be
their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes, and
there shall he no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither
shall these be any more pain, for the former things are passed away."

Vol. 18,  p.322
The earth then will be made new, immortal, eternal in its nature; and
holy beings that John saw come down in this holy city will he its
inhabitants. No more death, no more sorrow, etc.; in other words, this
earth, this creation, will become a heaven. The heavens that exist now
are innumerable to man. God has from all eternity been organizing,
redeeming and perfecting creations in the immensity of space; all of
which, when they are sanctified by celestial law, and made new and
eternal, become the abode of the faithful former inhabitants, who also
become immortal, through and by celestial law. They are the mansions
referred to by the Savior—"In my Father's house are many mansions." In
other words, we may say, In our Father's dominions are many mansions.
They are not like mansions built by men, they are worlds of greater
and lesser magnitude. The first grade are exalted, celestial bodies,
from which celestial light, will radiate through the immensity of
space.

Vol. 18,  p.322
We are anxiously praying to dwell in the presence of God the Father,
when we depart this life. Where will it be? He will dwell with man
upon the earth. Will this confine him to this earth? No, not any more
than the kings of the earth are confined to their palaces, or the city
in which they may dwell. They have the right to visit the different
portions of their dominions and even any parts of the earth. So will
God our Eternal Father, when he selects this earth as a habitation,
make it as one of his dwelling places, but he will have power to go
from one celestial world to another, to visit the myriads of
creations, as may seem to him good.

Vol. 18,  p.322
In thus referring to the changes that the earth must undergo we might
ask, Are we living now so as to be prepared for all the dispensations
of God's providence? Are we prepared to receive our inheritance upon
this earth, when it shall be made eternal? If we keep the celestial
law which God shall give to us; or in other words, if we are born
first of the water by baptism, and then of the spirit by the baptism
of fire and the Holy Ghost, and if we continue to walk in this spirit
in newness of life, being new creatures before the Lord our God, and
becoming [p.323] sanctified by the celestial law, even the law of the
Gospel, we will then be prepared to inherit this creation, when it
shall be made new, and sanctified, and become immortal.

Vol. 18,  p.323
If we are not thus prepared, where shall we go? God is the author of
many creations besides those that are celestial. He will prepare a
creation jUSt adapted to the condition of such people—those who are
not sanctified by the Gospel in all its fullness, and who do not
endure faithful to the end, will find themselves located upon one of
the lower creations, where the glory of God will not be made manifest
to the same extent. There they will be governed by laws adapted to
their inferior capacity and to the condition which they will have
plunged themselves in. They will not only suffer after this life, but
will fail to receive glory and power and exaltation in the presence of
God the Eternal Father; they will fail to receive an everlasting
inheritance upon this earth, in its glorified and immortal state.
Therefore how careful the Latter-day Saints should be in order to
merit the association of the happy throng whom John heard singing that
new song. We desire our inheritance on this earth as well as they. If
they could rejoice in anticipation of receiving an inheritance on the
earth, how much more can we who know compartively nothing of the joys
of heaven, when our globe will be glorified, a fit habitation for
immortal, glorified beings.

Vol. 18,  p.323
Let us keep the commandments of the Most High; let us so order our
lives that we can have a claim open the Father, looking forward to
that period of time when these mortal bodies, which must slumber in
the dust, will come forth from the grave, fashioned after the likeness
of his most glorious body, to inherit the same glory with him.
Amen.[p.324] 

John Taylor, December 31, 1876

Burial Services, An Ancient Practice—God, the God of the 
Living—Keys Committed to Joseph Smith. the Last Dispensation—
Jesus the Great Redeemer—An Everlasting Priesthood—the 
Powers of the Resurrection—Scriptural, Philosophical, 
and Certain—Sealing Powers Eternal

A Funeral Sermon, Preached By Elder John Taylor, at the 
7th Ward Meeting House, Salt Lake City, on Sunday Afternoon, 
Dec. 31, 1876, Over the Remains of Ann Tenora, the Wife 
of Isaac Waddell; and Also Over the Remains 
of George W., Son of Edward Callister

(Reported by Geo. F. Gibbs)

Vol. 18,  p.324
After the reading of the 15th chapter of let Corinthians, commencing
at the 20th verse, by Elder David McKenzie, Elder Taylor said:

Vol. 18,  p.324
It is a sad thing to meet together as we have done on the present
occasion, and to find here two of our friends from different families
who have been smitten by the hand of the destroyer, thus having to
attend to a double funeral ceremony. It seems to be my lot to-day to
be mixed up with these matters, for I have just come from attending to
one funeral in the 14th Ward; and now I meet again with you to join in
praying our last sad respects to the departed dead. There is something
about these things that touches the most sympathetic feelings of human
nature. God having planted these things in our bosoms, I presume it is
right and proper that they should be exercised and cherished.

Vol. 18,  p.324
In reading the history of some of the ancient men of God, such, for
instance, as Jacob, Joseph, Abraham and others, there was great
reverence and respect evinced towards them, not only by their friends
and relatives, but by strangers. On the death of Jacob there was a
very large concourse of people assembled from the land of Egypt,
including "The servants of Pharoah, the Elders of his house, and all
the Elders of the land of Egypt, and all the house of Joseph and his
brethren and his father's house And there went up with him both
chariots and horsemen, and it was a very great company, and they
mourned with a great and very sore lamentation." The Egyptians joined
with the relatives in mourning his death. The same feeling was
manifested when Joseph and others died. Then were feelings of sympathy
manifested towards the bereaved and also towards the dead. These
feelings exist more or less among us. We, like them, have ideas
pertaining to the future, that [p.325] are pregnant with importance
and that are full of interest to every reflective mind.

Vol. 18,  p.325
When Abraham died, Isaac knew that he was a man of God; he had
unquestionably heard his father talk over communications he had had
with God, and he doubtless knew very well, when he was taken by his
father to be offered up as a sacrifice, that it wes in obedience to a
Commandment of God; he knew very well that his father had
communications with the Lord and received revelations from him, and
that he had distinct and correct ideas also in regard to the future.
Jesus, you will remember, in speaking of Abraham, said, "Abraham saw
my day and was glad." Abraham had promises made to him pertaining to
the land of Palestine, that were not really fulfilled in his time; and
Stephen, soon after the Savior of the world died, in talking about
Abraham, said that God had promised it to his seed; and yet, says
Stephen, the Lord "gave him none inheritance in it; no not so much as
to set his foot on; yet he promised that he would give it to him for a
possession, and his seed after him, when as yet he had no child."
There are men now living among the descendants of Abraham, who expect
to see that promise fulfilled, when his descendants will again inherit
that land of promise, and when all things spoken of by the mouth of
the Prophets will be accomplished. The measuring line will yet go
forth again in Jerusalem, and Jerusalem will yet be inhabited on its
own place, even in Jerusalem. Abraham will vet realize the fulfillment
of the promises made to him and will stand in his proper place and
position as their father and the proper representative of his seed in
the grand jubilee in this earth, when the purposes of God shall be
accomplished pertaining thereunto.

Vol. 18,  p.325
In connection with this it was said on a certain occasion, "I am the
God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not
the God of the dead, but of the living." We also find a statement in
the Book of Doctrine and Covenants, referring to father Joseph Smith
and others, who it is said "sitteth with Abraham at his right hand."
Consequently Abraham lives, and not only Abraham, but father Joseph
Smith, as well as many others of our brethren with whom we have been
acquainted, who have died true and faithful to the cause. From another
revelation, pertaining to one of the High Councils that was organized,
we learn that God had taken them to himself and that they retained
their Priesthood, that it belonged to them, and no man could take it
from them, and that they were with the Lord.

Vol. 18,  p.325
In relation to these things there is something very interesting to all
right-minded persons who are good and faithful Latter-day Saints. We
believe that these men of whom we have spoken, as well as Adam, Seth,
Noah, Enoch, Methuselah and all "the Church of the first-born whose
names are written in heaven" have their proper position there, as well
as the Apostles who lived cotemporary with the Savior. Of these
worthies it is said that when Jesus shall come they will come with
him, clothed with power and glory. In another place we are told that
they, the Apostles, will "sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve
tribes of Israel."

Vol. 18,  p.325
Again, there are other things associated with these matters, all
bearing more or less upon the same points. When God, selected Joseph
Smith to open up the last dispensation, which is called the
dispensation [p.326] of the fullness of times, the Father and the Son
appeared to him, arrayed in glory, and the Father, addressing himself
to Joseph, at the same time pointing to the Son, said, "This is my
beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him." As there were
great and important events to be introduced into the world associated
with the interests of humanity, not only with the people that now are,
but with all people that have ever lived upon the face of the earth,
and as what is termed the dispensation of the fullness of times was
about to be ushered in, Moroni, who held the keys of the unfolding of
the Book of Mormon, which is a record of the people who lived upon
this American continent, came to Joseph Smith and revealed to him
certain things pertaining to the peoples who had lived here and the
dealings of God with them, and also in regard to events that are to
transpire on this continent.

Vol. 18,  p.326
Then comes another personage, whose name is John the Baptist. He
ordained the Prophet Joseph to that portion of the Priesthood of which
he held the keys, namely, the Aaronic, or lesser Priesthood.
Afterwards came Peter, James and John, who held the keys of the
Melchizedek Priesthood, and of the dispensation of the fullness of
times, they being the last in their day to whom it was committed, and
therefore they came to him and revealed to him the principles
pertaining to the Gospel, and the events to be fulfilled. Then we read
again of Elias or Elijah, who was to act as a restorer, and who
committed to him the powers and authority associated with his
position. Then Abraham, who had the Gospel, the Priesthood and
Patriarchal powers, in his day; and Moses, who stood at the head of
the gathering dispensation in his day, and had these powers conferred
upon him. We are informed that Noah, who was a Patriarch, and all in
the line of the Priesthood, in every generation back to Adam, who was
the first man, possessed the same. Why was it that all these people
should be associated with all these dispensations, and all could
communicate with Joseph Smith? Because he stood at the head of the
dispensation of the fullness of times, which comprehends all the
various dispensations that have existed upon the earth, and that as
the Gods in the eternal worlds and the Priesthood that officiated in
time and eternity had declared that it was time for the issuing forth
of all these things, they all combined together to impart to him the
keys of their several missions, that he might be fully competent,
through the intelligence and aid afforded him through these several
parties, to introduce the Gospel in all its fullness, namely, the
dispensation of the fullness of times, when, says the Apostle Paul,
"He might gather all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and
which are in earth, even in him." Consequently he stood in that
position, and hence his familiarity with all these various
dispensations and the men who administered in them. If you were to ask
Joseph what sort of a looking man Adam was, he would tell you at once;
he would tell you his size and appearance and all about him. You might
have asked him what sort of men Peter, James and John were, and he
could have told you. Why? Because he had seen them.

Vol. 18,  p.326
We are living in this dispensation, which is pregnant with greater
events than any other dispensation that has ever existed on the earth,
[p.327] because in it is embraced all that ever existed any where
among any people of the earth. Hence why we look upon Joseph Smith as
so great and important a character in the world's history. I think he
was one of the greatest Prophets that ever lived, Jesus himself
excepted. Enoch was a great man, a mighty Prophet, he had a great many
sacred and heavenly things committed to him. He performed a great work
in his day—he walked and talked with God, he preached the Gospel and
gathered the people as we do, and then he and his city were caught up
to heaven, to return to earth in the latter days. He performed his
work and afterwards God took him. How Joseph Smith will compare with
him will be better understood when Zion is built up and redeemed, and
Enoch's Zion comes down to meet it. They both held important positions
and both will stand in their lot as decreed by Jehovah.

Vol. 18,  p.327
Enoch received many revelations and obtained great power from God, and
unquestionably the influence of that power was felt by the surrounding
peoples. For when certain peoples gathered themselves together against
him and his people in a belligerent attitude, Enoch stood forth and
prophesied, and the earth shook and trembled, and the people stood
afar off and fled from his presence. Of the power he possessed, and
the heavenly manifestations he had, we have very little account.

Vol. 18,  p.327
When speaking of these various dispensations, ideas altogether
different present themselves to our minds. My mind has been always
more or less engaged contemplating the wonderful works of God. Even at
an early age, before I became acquainted with the principles of our
revealed religion, I frequently used to ask myself, "Who am I? What am
I? What am I doing here? What is the object of my earthly being? Where
did I come from, and where am I going to?" I have since had the same
reflections; but now I have a better method of arriving at
conclusions, the Gospel having enlightened me in regard to a great
many of these principles. When we entertain and speak of the things of
God and his dealings with humanity, we do not deal with things small
and insignificant in their character, but with things great and
stupendous, things that are worthy the care and supervision of the
great God. When the Gods created the earth, they did it for certain
purposes. Having organized it according to the eternal purposes of
God, they separated the waters from the dry land, so that the land
appeared. They next caused light to shine upon it before the sun
appeared in the firmament; for God is light, and in him there is no
darkness. He is the light of the sun and the power thereof by which it
was made; he is also the light of the moon and the power by which it
was made; he is the light of the stars and the power by which they
were made. He says it is the same light that enlightens the
understanding of men. What, have we a mental light and a visual light,
all proceeding from the same source? Yes, so says the scripture, and
so says science when rightly comprehended. All these things were
organized according to the eternal purposes of God in relation to the
earth on which we live, and then man was placed upon it; and
afterwards the beasts, birds and fishes and seeds of every kind,
everything bearing seed after its kind, having power to propagate its
own species and perpetuate itself on the earth. I do not wish now to
[p.328] deal with details, for that would lead us from the subject.

Vol. 18,  p.328
What next? Man is placed upon the earth. For what? The very first
command given to him was to be fruitful and multiply, and replenish
the earth. Or in other words, "I have put you in possession of certain
faculties for a certain purpose. I have prepared the earth for you. I
have my spirits living with me in the eternal heavens, and in the
proper time it is my will that they shall come forth to inhabit
tabernacles." He organizes every thing according to these principles.
Then man appears in a certain condition, and there is but a shadow
between him and the heavens that nothing but the light of the Gospel
can remove; a forgetfulness, as if we were puzzled over an uncertain
dream; a curtain is spread over the whole human family, and they are
thrown upon the world to struggle along as best they can, having to
contend against great powers and unseen influences that exist and
whose object is to war against humanity. For Satan had already been
struggling in the heavens among the sons of God, from whom he
dissented, and thus he became the devil, and they that took sides with
him became his angels. We are told they numbered a third of the hosts
of heaven, and whilst they fought and struggled with the Gods for the
power and supremacy, they were cast out from heaven and they came
here, where Satan became the prince and power of the air. What to do?
To tempt and try fallen man. They wander up and down the earth for
this purpose, thus man is placed in a position to be tried, combatting
as he has to do with all manner of influences which seek his
overthrow.

Vol. 18,  p.328
While in this condition it was necessary that man should receive
additional power and intelligence to enable him to combat successfully
these evil influences; hence the Gospel was revealed to him. If after
receiving this light and knowledge he should fall a prey to the enemy
of his soul, he would become more or less subject to the rule of this
evil power, and titus sutter according to the extent of his fall. But
if he should contend against these powers and spirits and against
every weakness his flesh might be heir to and come off victorious, he
is promised celestial glory in the eternal worlds and eventually to
become as a God.

Vol. 18,  p.328
What next? We find the powers of darkness beginning to prevail in the
hearts of fallen man. For instance, the first two living sons, one of
them killed the other and was a murderer. What a prospect; how the
devil would laugh, saying, "Since Cain has slain his brother Abel,
there is no son remaining but a murderer, so what becomes of your
kingdom? But God cave unto Adam another son named Seth, who
represented the interests of his father and the interests of God. And
in order that they should not be led down to the gates of death, Jesus
was provided as a Savior, as a lamb slain from before the foundation
of the earth. And hence Job said, "Deliver him from going down to the
pit: I have found a ransom." God made this provision in the beginning;
he knew that man would fall and would pass through these ordeals, for
known to God are all things from the commencement of the world. It is
written here in the Book of Doctrine and Covenants, that the planet on
which he lives is a great Urim and Thummim, which reveals everything
pertaining to this lower world and its inhabitants. And the holy
beings who reside there can gaze upon us mortals whenever they please,
looking also into the future or the past; hence they know it as it
is.[p.329] 

Vol. 18,  p.329
But he provided a Savior, and in the early ages of time they looked
forward to the coming of the Messiah, as we now look back to it. Of
the multitudes on the continent, st Asia who comprehended these
things, we have very little knowledge, the accounts of what transpired
among them are very meagre. On this continent they spoke very plainly
about the Gospel and the coming of the Redeemer, and although very
plain are quite limited. Then a great many plain and precious parts
have been taken away from these Scriptures.

Vol. 18,  p.329
Do you think the Jews to-day would want to publish things pertaining
to Jesus, describing the manner in which he would come? I should think
not. In a conversation I once had with Baron Rothschild he asked me if
I believed in the Christ? I answered him, "Yes, God has revealed to us
that he is the true Messiah, and we believe in him." I further
remarked, "Your Prophets have said, 'They shall look upon him whom
they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for
his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in
bitterness for his first-born,' 'And one shall say unto him, What are
these wounds in thy hands? Then he shall answer, Those with which I
was wounded in the house of my friends.'" Do you think the Jewish
Rabbies would refer you to such scripture as that? Said Mr.
Rothschild, "Is that in our Bible?" "That is in your Bible, sir."

Vol. 18,  p.329
The Book of Mormon and the Bible refer to many other similar passages
referring to the same event, as well as passages referring to the
Savior's birth. "Behold," says Isaiah, "a virgin shall conceive, and
bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel." Again the Savior says,
"Abraham saw my day and was glad. Ancient people of God, in whose
hearts was enkindled the flame of inspiration, looked forward to that
memorable event when the Lamb slain from before the foundation of the
world would offer himself as a sacrifice, whilst we look back to the
same thing. We break bread and eat, and we drink water in the presence
of each other every Sabbath day, and we do it in remembrance of the
broken body and shed blood of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ; and
this we will continue to do until he comes again. When he does come,
the Latter-day Saints expect to be among that favored number that will
eat and drink with him at his own table in our Father's kingdom. I
expect this just as much as I expect to eat my supper tonight.

Vol. 18,  p.329
There is something truly grand in the reflection of the Savior's
return to the earth, and man and his fall and redemption. We read of
certain men that lived at various times, who, by virtue of the
Priesthood they held, identified themselves with the cause of God, and
interested themselves in the redemption of the world· The Priesthood
they had is everlasting, it administers in time and eternity; and the
men who held it live forever, and they continue to operate in their
several positions and Priesthoods. Just as the angel who appeared to
John on the island of Patmos. The Apostle fell at the feet of this
heavenly messenger to worship him. But the angel said unto him, "See
thou do it not; I am thy fellow servant, and of thy brethren that have
the testimony of Jesus: worship God." And as Moses and Elias who
appeared to Jesus and to Peter, James and John on the Mount; and as
Moroni, John the Baptist, Peter, James and [p.330] John and others
appeared to Joseph Smith.

Vol. 18,  p.330
In speaking with the Prophet Joseph once on this subject, he traced it
from the first down to the last, until he got to the Ancient of Days.
He wished me to write something for him on this subject, but I found
it a very difficult thing to do. He had to correct me several times.
We are told that the "judgment shall sit and the books be opened." He
spoke of the various dispensations and of those holding the keys
thereof, and said there would then be a general giving up or
accounting for. I wrote that each one holding the keys of the several
dispensations would deliver them up to his predecessor, from one to
another, until the whole kingdom should be delivered up to the Father,
and then God would be "all in all." Said he, "That is not right." I
wrote it again, and again he said it was not right. It is very
difficult to find language suitable to convey the meaning of spiritual
things. The idea was that they should deliver up or give an account of
their administrations, in their several dispensations, but that they
would all retain their several positions and Priesthood. The Bible and
Doctrine and Covenants speaks about certain books which should be
opened; and another book would be opened, called the Book of Life, and
out of the things written in these books would men be judged at the
last day.

Vol. 18,  p.330
To continue. We find Satan getting great power. Enoch there appears,
who is commissioned to go forth and preach the Gospel, as we are doing
in this our age. He succeeded in converting people, and they gathered
together and built up a city, and they were three hundred and
sixty-five years in becoming fully established in the truth. By the
time we shall have had a little more experience we perhaps shall have
become a little more prudent, realizing the position we occupy to the
authority of the Priesthood and power of God, and our dependence upon
Jehovah, realizing too our own failings and weaknesses, and learning
to lean upon God and go forth as his servants in his holy fear, and
developing within us those nobler attributes that exalt man to the
presence and image of his Creator. This the Gospel will do for us if
we will only let it. It will bring us into communication with God, and
through it we shall know and understand him and his laws, and the
principles of eternal truth.

Vol. 18,  p.330
What next? God had to destroy the world. People then were like the
corrupt of our age; they are crumbling to pieces, and they will
continue to decay, for the seeds of dissolution are rooted in them,
and they in their present condition can no more be united than you can
make a rope out of sand—the materials are not cohesive and this nation
will go down. Not only our nation but other nations will crumble.
Thrones will be cast down mid empires will be no more. The whole earth
will be shaken and men's hearts will fail them, in consequence of the
things that are coming upon the earth. Why? Because of all their sins
and iniquities, and further because they reject God in rejecting the
Gospel of the Son of God, which is being preached among them, loving
darkness rather than light.

Vol. 18,  p.330
Did God punish the people anciently who thus rejected him and his
servants? Yes, he cut them off from the face of the earth, and planted
another seed. Why? Because it was just and proper and right that he
should do so. What, just to destroy a whole people?[p.331] Certainly,
it was the very best thing that he could do for them. If I were going
at it, I do not know that I could do things any better. What, kill so
many millions of people? Yes. How do you make this out? If I were one
of those spirits—and I expect I was there, and perhaps we had a hand
in it for aught I know—if, I say, I were one of those spirits in the
eternal world and saw the corruptions of their hearts when the Gospel
had been preached to them, and the spirit of God was withdrawn from
them, and they left to themselves to indulge their wicked desires and
acts, preparing themselves for perdition and teaching their children
iniquity, I should have felt like saying, "O Lord, have we got to go
to the earth and receive bodies through such corrupt men? Is it right
and just that we should endure the evils that they would entail on us
in consequence of their sinful acts with which we have had nothing to
do?" "No," says the Lord, "I will cut them off and raise up a better
seed." He did so, and by doing so he prevented these wicked people
from propagating their species. They were all cast into prison, where
they remained until the Savior appeared among them, after His
crucifixion. He opened their prison doors and preached to them the
same Gospel that they had rejected and which the Jews rejected. If
these spirits in prison receive the glad tidings of great joy and live
accordingly, they will, as we are informed by the Lord in the Book of
Doctrine and Covenants inherit a terrestrial glory, because they were
found not worthy of propagating their species, they were not worthy to
become fathers and mothers of lives.

Vol. 18,  p.331
The Lord then commenced the race again with Noah, but according to the
history we have of his family, the Lord had to bear a great deal with
them. There was nothing very remarkable about them, they got into
trouble often enough, and the prospect even then, judging after the
manner of men, was not very flattering for poor humanity.

Vol. 18,  p.331
Since then there has been a continual struggle between the powers of
darkness and the power of God for the mastery. In the days of Peleg
the Lord divided the earth, hence the eastern and western hemisphere,
doubtless thinking by doing so he would have a better opportunity to
preserve some of the human family from going down to perdition. But
still the devil found ready access to the hearts of the people
generally, and many became so corrupt that God had to destroy them.
But before allowing his justice to overtake them, he saved unto
himself certain good seed and planted it in different parts of his
vineyard. He took away the ten tribes. We do not hear anything about
them now, but we shall by and by. He brought the Jaredites here, and
afterwards the Nephites and Lamanites, and placed others in in other
places.

Vol. 18,  p.331
Next comes the dispensation of the fullness of times, when God is to
gather together all things in one, for the Gods have decreed, and the
ancient Prophets and Apostles have witnessed to it, that in the last
days these things shall be accomplished. It is for this purpose the
Gospel is restored, and man placed again in communication with God,
and hence we have received the Book of Mormon as one of the events
which were to transpire in our day, as it is written, "The Jews shall
hear the words of the Nephites, and the Nephites shall hear the words
of the Jews, and the Nephites and the Jews shall hear the words of the
ten tribes." He [p.332] will gather his word in one, and will gather
his people in one, even all things he will gather together in one,
whether they be things that are in heaven or things on the earth; and
the powers and priesthood of heaven will unite with the priesthood on
the earth for the accomplishment of this purpose. This accounts for
our coming to this western land. We have been influenced to gather
here for a purpose which is known to God, but hidden from the world.
It is said, "I will take you one of a city, and two of a family, and I
will bring you to Zion. And I will give you pastors according to mine
heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding."

Vol. 18,  p.332
What next? When the people shall have been gathered in fulfillment of
this prophecy, judgments will again be visited upon the wicked, as a
necessary consequence. Will such visitations really take place? Yes, I
know that this part, too, of the Lord's designs will be fulfilled, for
God revealed it to me long, long ago. We need not be too anxious for
the destruction of the wicked, for it will be indeed terrible when it
comes, it will make every feeling man weep for sorrow over the trouble
and affliction that will come.

Vol. 18,  p.332
What next? Then we commence to talk about the future, something in
which we are all interested, and to which our minds are more
immediately drawn on such solemn occasions as this. Says Job, "If a
man die, shall he live again? All the days of my appointed time will I
wait till my change come." All these people who have lived have died,
and live again; they have passed away, forgotten as a dream, or as
night at the approach of the opening day. That is so in one sense,
according to human ken; yet there is a reality associated with this
matter, pregnant with importance to the human family. We have read
here some remarks in relation to these matters, and the Gospel unfolds
these things to our view. We are told that there is a natural body,
and there is a spiritual body. The natural body is sown in corruption,
and it is raised in incorruption, etc. We shall all pass away by and
by, as these our friends have; they have gone to sleep for a little
while, to rise again, and to bear their part among the sons and
daughters of God in the eternal worlds, and we shall have to follow
and pass through the same ordeal. "It is sown in dishonor, it is
raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is
sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body." We, as Latter-day
Saints, comprehend in part these things, as relating to the designs of
God pertaining to the human family. We get a glimpse at some of them,
but we only see in part, and know in part; this imperfect state of
things will remain until that which is perfect shall come, when that
which is in part will be done away. But it is our privilege now,
through obedience to the principles of the Gospel, to be full of light
and life and intelligence, and the power of God, to comprehend correct
principles, to walk in the light as he is in the light, and to have
fellowship with God the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ,
realizing and knowing that the atoning blood of Christ cleanses from
sin, and that we are his sons and daughters, and have a right to the
eternal glories that God has prepared for those who love him and keep
his commandments.

Vol. 18,  p.332
The Apostle Paul in answer to the question, "Holy are the dead raised
up, and with what body do they come? said, "Thou fool, that [p.333]
which thou sowest is not quickened except it die. And that which thou
sowest, thou sowest not that body that shall be, but bare grain, it
may chance of wheat, or some other grain." I remember reading a remark
made by Tom Payne. He said, "Thou fool, Paul, that which thou sowest
is not quickened except it die not." Both of these perhaps are true.
The Savior said, "The maid is not dead, but sleepeth;" also, "He that
believeth on me, though he were dead, yet shall he live. And whosoever
liveth and believeth in me shall never die." Have these our friends
gone to sleep? Yes; but when he who says, "I am the resurrection and
the life," shall speak, the bodies we now see lying lifeless and
inanimate, will be quickened, bone shall come to its bone, and sinews
and flesh will cover them, until the whole being will be resuscitated,
and the dead, as has been said, will stand upon their feet, an
exceeding great army. So all mankind, the righteous and the
unrighteous, shall stand before God, having been quickened in the
flesh. "As in Adam all died, so in Christ shall all be made alive."

Vol. 18,  p.333
What, will every body be resurrected? Yes, every living being; "but
every man in his own order, Christ the first fruits; afterward they
that are Christ's at his coming. Then cometh the end." That is, the
Saints shall live and reign with Christ a thousand years. One of the
Apostles says, "But the rest of the dead live not again until the
thousand years are expired." But all must come forth from the grave,
some time or other, in the self-same tabernacles that they possessed
while living on the earth. It will be just as Ezekiel has described
it—bone will come to its bone, and flesh and sinew will cover the
skeleton, and at the Lord's bidding breath will enter the body, and we
shall appear, many of us, a marvel to ourselves.

Vol. 18,  p.333
I heard Joseph Smith say, at the time he was making a tomb at Nauvoo,
that he expected, when the time came when the grave would be rent
asunder, that he would arise and embrace his father and mother, and
strike hands with his friends. It was his written request that when he
died, some kind friends would see that he was buried near his bosom
friends, so that when he and they arose in the morning of the first
resurrection, he could embrace them, saying, "My father! my mother,"
etc.

Vol. 18,  p.333
How consoling it is to those who are called upon to mourn the loss of
dear friends in death, to know that we will again be associated with
them! How encouraging to all who live according to the revealed
principles of truth, perhaps more especially to those whose lives are
pretty well spent, who have borne the heat and burden of the day, to
know that ere long we shall burst the barriers of the tomb, and come
forth living and immortal souls, to enjoy the society of our tried and
trusted friends, no more to be afflicted with the seeds of death, and
to finish the work the Father has given us to do!

Vol. 18,  p.333
I know that some people of very limited comprehension will say that
all the parts of body cannot be brought together, for, say they, the
fish probably have eaten them up, or the whole may have been blown to
the four winds of heaven, etc. It is true the body, or the
organization, may be destroyed in various ways, but it is not true
that the particles out of which it was created can be destroyed. They
are eternal; they never were created. This is not only a principle
associated with our religion, or in other words, with the great
science of life, but it is in [p.334] accordance with acknowledged
science. You may take, for instance, a handful of fine gold, and
scatter it in the street among the dust; again, gather together the
materials among which you have thrown the gold, and you can separate
one from the other so thoroughly, that your handful of gold can be
returned to you; yes, every grain of it. You may take particles of
silver, iron, copper, lead, etc., and mix them together with any other
ingredients, and there are certain principles connected with them by
which these different materials can be eliminated, every particle
cleaving to that of its own element.

Vol. 18,  p.334
Our text says, "All flesh is not the same flesh: but there is one kind
of flesh of men, another of beasts, another of fishes, and another of
birds." As the gold and the silver and other minerals can be mixed
together and again separated, so the different kinds or particles of
flesh may be united, one going into the other through natural
processes, but the same God by whose wisdom the laws were made which
so govern the mineral bodies, separating them one from another, has
also framed and made laws by which the various particles of the
different kinds of flesh can be separated, each returning and cleaving
to its respective element. The component parts of man can no more
become the flesh of beasts or fishes than gold can become silver, lead
turn to iron, or copper to gold. Each is separate and distinct from
the other.

Vol. 18,  p.334
These things are strictly scriptural, they are strictly scientific and
philosophical, and are in accordance with the laws God has revealed to
us, and who can refute them?

Vol. 18,  p.334
What about our deceased friends? Our kingdom and Priesthood are
organized according to the order God has given us, and we expect,
every one of us, to stand in our proper place in the eternal worlds,
according to the order of the Priesthood which we represent.

Vol. 18,  p.334
We then come to the sealing power. Here, say, is a man and woman who
have been sealed together for time and eternity. Does it mean
anything? If it means anything, which it certainly does, it means just
what it says. If the husband of this our departed sister continues
faithful to the end, maintains his integrity to God, and fights the
good fight of faith, he will claim her in eternity, and they twain
will be one flesh. This young man, some one will have to act for him
over the marriage altar in having some one sealed to him. He and his
wife, through their faithfulness, will by and by become the father and
mother of lives, and in this way the eternal purposes of God will be
consummated, and his work be perpetuated.

Vol. 18,  p.334
The first command of Jehovah was for man to multiply and replenish the
earth. Now the command is to build Temples. For what purpose? That
they over whom Satan has had power may be adininistered for, reaching
back, back to the beginning of time, that they may be brought forth
and inherit the blessings and privileges of the kingdom of God, and
that we, ourselves, may be prepared to live and reign with him for
ever. Let us continue to live in humility and meekness before God,
seeking in faith and good works to get an increased portion of His
Holy Spirit, that we may comprehend the laws of God and live according
to the principles of eternal truth.

Vol. 18,  p.334
I would say to the friends of the departed dead, be comforted, all is
right, all is well, and all will continue to be well with us, if we
will only [p.335] fear God and keep his commandments. It is far better
to die in the fear of God, than to live without God. When I see people
die who are prepared, having a claim on eternal life, do I feel sorry?
No, I do not. I would a thousand times rather have my children to be
laid in the silent tomb, as thousands of our youth are, than I would
see them depart from God and his ways. My earnest desire is that I and
my children may live to serve God, and that he will take us hence
before we should be permitted to violate his commands or forsake his
law. Lot me live the life of righteousness and may my last days be
spent in doing good to my fellow man and honor to my God.

Vol. 18,  p.335
May the Lord bless and sustain these our friends who are called upon
to mourn for a short season, and may the Lord bless the Saints in
Zion, and his servant Brigham. and those who stand shoulder to
shoulder with him, and all good men, now and forever, is my prayer in
the name of Jesus, Amen.

Orson Pratt, February 25, 1877

Daniel'S Vision—Nebuchadnezzar's Dream—Its 
Interpretation—the Coming of the Ancient of Days—Joseph 
Smith's Prophecy—Things Yet to Be Fulfilled—the Valley of God 
Where Adam Dwelt—the Establishment of the Kingdom 
of God—the Coming Millennium and 
Triumph of the Saints

Discourse By Elder Orson Pratt, Delivered in the Eighteenth 
Ward Meeting House, Salt Lake City, Sunday Afternoon, Feb. 25, 1877.

(Reported by Geo. F. Gibbs)

Vol. 18,  p.335
I will read a few passages from the book of the Prophet Daniel, which
he received from the Lord through vision, and which relate to the
latter days—a prophecy which has not yet been fulfilled. It will be
found in the 7th chapter commencing with the 9th verse—

Vol. 18,  p.335
"I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of Days did
sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like
the pure wool; his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as
burning fire.

Vol. 18,  p.335
"A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him: thousand
thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand
stood before him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened.

Vol. 18,  p.335
"I beheld then because of the voice of the great words which the horn
spake, I beheld even till the beast was slain, and his body destroyed,
and given to the burning flame.[p.336] 

Vol. 18,  p.336
"As concerning the rest of the beasts, they had their dominion taken
away: yet their lives were prolonged for a season and time.

Vol. 18,  p.336
"I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came
with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of Days, and they
brought him near before him.

Vol. 18,  p.336
"And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all
people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an
everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that
which shall not be destroyed."

Vol. 18,  p.336
This prophecy relates to a period of time in the history of our race,
when thrones are to be cast down, when kingdoms and the various
governments which exist upon the face of the earth are to be
overthrown; to a period when only one kingdom or one government shall
have dominion, and its dominion will extend to the ends of the earth;
a kingdom too which we are told, in the second chapter of Daniel's
prophecy, is to be everlasting in its nature, and not like those other
kingdoms which Daniel says are to be overthrown. This divine kingdom
is to have a universal dominion, so far as this world is concerned. It
is represented, in its beginning, as being very small, compared to a
stone cut out of the mountain without hands, but which rolls forth
gathering strength as it rolled, until all other kingdoms, of human
invention and human authority, should cease to exist, should be broken
to pieces and become, as is plainly declared, like the chaff of a
summer's threshing floor, which the wind carried away and no place was
found for it.

Vol. 18,  p.336
I presume there is no person in this congregation, but what will, with
me, admit, that no such period has ever arrived, since that prophecy
was uttered. But such a period will arrive in the history of our
earth. The Prophet Daniel clearly saw that the stone, which was to be
cut out of the mountain without hands, which should smite upon the
toes of the image—the great image which represented the kingdoms of
this world—should be a divine work, a work that the Lord himself would
accomplish among men. In other words, the Lord condescended to give to
one of the most powerful kings who has ever dwelt upon the earth, so
far as human power is concerned, a dream which represented to him all
the kingdoms of this world; but when he awoke he could not even
remember the dream. It however made a deep impression on his mind, and
he knew there was something very important attached to the dream. So
exercised was he, that he issued a proclamation to the inhabitants of
the city of great Babylon, requesting all the wise men to tell him the
dream, and then to give him the interpretation thereof. If they could
tell him the dream, he, of course, would have confidence in the truth
of the interpretation; but if he himself were to tell the dream, if it
were possible to remember it, he would not know whether the
interpretation would be correct or not. Being a monarch of absolute
power, he threatened death to the wise men, if they failed to tell him
the dream, and also to give him the interpretation. Daniel, with his
three friends who were Jews, besought the Lord in the matter, and the
Lord revealed to Daniel the dream and the interpretation thereof. The
dream as Daniel related it to king Nebuchadnezzar was as follows—

Vol. 18,  p.336
"Thou, O King, sawest, and beheld a great image. This great image,
whose brightness was excellent, stood before thee; and the form
thereof was terrible. This [p.337] image's head was of fine gold, his
breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass, his
legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay. Thou sawest till
that a stone was cut without hands, which smote the image upon his
feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces. Then was
the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to
pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing
floors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for
them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and
filled the whole earth."

Vol. 18,  p.337
The Prophet then interprets the dream, naming every particular of its
meaning. "Thou art this head of gold." That is, his dominion, the
Babylonish empire, and the kingdoms and nations round about, over
which the Lord had made him ruler, represented this head of gold. "And
after thee," continued the Prophet, "shall arise another kingdom
inferior to thee," represented by the breast and the arms of silver. A
third kingdom was to arise after that, represented by the brass. Then
a fourth kingdom was to follow, representing the iron kingdom, or a
kingdom of great strength. But it divided, represented by the two legs
of iron. This iron kingdom represents very closely the Roman empire,
in all its strength and greatness. That empire was divided and it was
known as the eastern and western empire, represented by the two legs
of iron, one having its seat at Rome, the other at Constantinople. But
the feet and toes were governments more modern to grow out of the iron
kingdom, after it should lose its strength. These are represented by
the ten toes or ten kingdoms which should be partly strong and partly
broken. They should not have the strength of the legs of iron, but
they should be mixed with miry clay, indicating both strength and
weakness. These last kingdoms and governments (such as have existed
during the last few centuries, on the eastern and western hemispheres)
complete the great image.

Vol. 18,  p.337
The head or gold kingdom, having lost its universal dominion, is still
represented by its descendants, under various forms of governments in
Asia.

Vol. 18,  p.337
The descendants of the silver kingdom are still existing in Persia,
and in the western parts of Asia.

Vol. 18,  p.337
The brass kingdom has its present representatives in the east of
Europe, extending into Asia.

Vol. 18,  p.337
The descendants of the once great iron kingdom are found mostly in
Europe, extending in some measure into Asia, and in still greater
measure into America.

Vol. 18,  p.337
The present existing nations represent two things—first, in a
governmental capacity, they represent the feet and toes of the great
image; second, in the capacity of lineal descent, they represent all
the former kingdoms of this terrible image.

Vol. 18,  p.337
The image being now completed, another government of divine origin is
to be set up, forming no part of this great image. Being entirely
separate from and unconnected with this great image, it should not
even represent a toe or finger of the image, nor any other part or
portion thereof.

Vol. 18,  p.337
"Thou sawest till a stone was cut out without hands," etc. In other
words, all these other governments have been formed by human wisdom
and ingenuity; but, by and by, a separate and distinct government,
represented by a little stone, should be cut out without hands.[p.338]
What I understand by this is something that man should have nothing to
do with, so far as the divinity of its formation was concerned. For it
is interpreted thus—"And in the days of these kings shall the God of
heaven set up a kingdom." It is God, then, who organizes it; he
confers the power and authority upon those who shall minister in its
government; truman wisdom does not enter as a constituent, either in
the founding or government of the same.

Vol. 18,  p.338
The fifth kingdom is, therefore, be peculiar from all the others in
its organization. It is further said, that "it shall never be
destroyed, and the kingdom shall not be left to other people." The
four kingdoms which preceded it were transferred, first to one nation,
and then to another, until the image was complete, until human
governments had nearly fulfilled their destiny; then a kingdom or
government should be set up on the earth that should never be
destroyed. It should not be taken from one people and given to
another, as Babylon was taken from the Babylonians and given to the
Medes and Persians; and as the Medes and Persians had their kingdom
transferred and given to the Greeks and Macedonians; and as the latter
had their kingdom transferred from them and given to the Romans; and
as the Romans, in turn, lost their universal dominion and great power,
and were broken up into little petty kingdoms, such as now exist. But
this latter kingdom was not to be thus transferred; it was to be
permanent, it was to increase in greatness and strength, until it, or
the little stone which represented it, became as a great mountain,
filling the whole earth. Or, as the Prophet Daniel says, that "the
Saints of the Most High shall take the kingdom and shall possess the
kingdom for ever, even for ever and ever." "And the kingdom and
dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven
shall be given to the people of the Saints of the Most High, whose
kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and
obey him." This portion of the prophecy has not yet been fulfilled,
only so far as the setting up of God's kingdom is concerned.

Vol. 18,  p.338
The four beasts, described in the first part of the 7th chapter, are
those four kingdoms represented by the great metallic image of gold,
silver, brass, etc. In this 7th chapter, the Lord does not say
anything about the stone to be cut out of the mountain without hands,
and the rolling of that stone, and the breaking in pieces of the
various kingdoms and governments; but he does represent in this
chapter one great and important event that will transpire at a certain
time in the history of our race, namely—"I beheld till the thrones
were cast down," etc. He beheld, too, how this work of destruction
should be done, for that is described in the 2nd chapter.

Vol. 18,  p.338
After the earthly thrones were cast down, Daniel says, "And the
Ancient of Days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair
of his head like the pure wool: his throne was like the fiery flame,
and his wheels as burning fire. A fiery stream issued and came forth
from before him: thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten
thousand times ten thousand stood before unto him.

Vol. 18,  p.338
How much is ten thousand times ten thousand? Only a hundred millions,
but that would make quite a large congregation. All the inhabitants of
the United States only number about forty millions, counting [p.339]
men, women and children. If they were assembled in one place, it would
present a grand spectacle; but suppose we double that number, making
it eighty millions, what a vast congregation that number of people
would make, we can hardly grasp in our comprehension its extent; and
still we will add to it another twenty millions so as to equal the
size of the congregation which the Prophet Daniel saw standing before
the Ancient of Days. Such a body of people must extend over a great
many miles of country, however closely they may be collected together.
I doubt whether the extremes of such a congregation could be seen by
the natural eyes of mortals; they would be lost in the distance.

Vol. 18,  p.339
Why will this vast assemblage of people stand there? What will be the
object of the Ancient of Days, in coming with this vast multitude, and
what is to be accomplished? We read that the four beasts, representing
the powers of the earth, will exist st the time of the coming of the
Ancient of Days. And that the fourth beast, represented by the Roman
Empire and the kingdoms that have grown out of it, will be "slain and
his body destroyed and given to the burning flame." Here then we can
read the destiny of that portion of the inhabitants of the earth
constituting the fourth beast; or, in other words, the destiny of the
kingdoms of Europe, who were to arise and grow out of that fourth
power. We can read the final destiny of the kingdoms of Europe,
namely, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Scandinavia, and the
great northern power, Russia, Austria and Prussia, and all those
various nations, that more particularly pertain to this great iron
power that once so cruelly oppressed the people; its "body shall be
destroyed and given to the burning flame," which signifies the nature
of the judgment that will befall them. According to other prophecies,
contained in Daniel, a succession of judgments, great and terrible in
their nature, will overtake them, before the fire spoken of comes.
Nation will rise against nation in war, kingdom against kingdom: or in
the language of Isaiah, "Behold, the Lord will come with fire, and
with his chariots like a whirlwind, to render his anger with fury, and
with his chariots like a whirlwind, to render his anger with fury, and
his rebuke with flames of fire. For by fire and by his sword will the
Lord plead with all flesh; and the slain of the Lord shall be many."

Vol. 18,  p.339
It seems then that the body of the fourth power is to be given to the
burning flame, that signifies the utter extinction of that power from
the face of the earth. The heathen nations representing the other
three beasts, will not then be destroyed: but their lives are to be
prolonged, and their dominion is to he taken away. Though their lives
will be prolonged, yet they will not have power to rule and govern,
only as they are permitted. It you will read from the beginning of the
36th to the end of the 39th chapters of Ezekiel, you find much said,
in regard to the heathen nations. "And the heathen shall know that I
am the Lord," etc. But the fourth power represents the nations of
modern Christendom. They have not the privilege of the heathen, in
having their lives prolonged. Why? Does the speaker mean to say that
modern Christendom is more wicked than the heathen? Yes; the people of
Christendom possess more light and knowledge than the heathen, and
therefore, they are under the greater condemnation; for according to
the [p.340] light and knowledge they severally have, will they be
judged. The more enlightened nations, so called, are rejecting the
Gospel message which is being sent to them by divine authority; and
for that reason their utter destruction is inevitable, and, as had
been decreed, they must pass away. Their lives will not be prolonged.
Not only the kingdoms and governments of Europe, and the western
portion of Asia are to be thus visited, but also those who have grown
out of these kingdoms, that have emigrated to this western hemisphere,
and elsewhere. For instance, this great republic must pass away in the
manner indicated unless the people repent. There is only one condition
by which they can be preserved as a nation, and the Lord himself has
decreed it. We can read it in the various revelations which God has
given, respecting this land. The Book of Mormon, for instance, speaks
in many places, of the overthrow of the government that should exist
on this land if they should reject the divine message contained
therein. Inasmuch as they repent not, the Lord has said that he would
visit them in his anger, and that he would throw down all their
strong-holds. And he further says, that he will cut off their horses
out of their midst. This will doubtless be done through some great
calamity or disease. He also says that he will cut off the cities of
our land, that all manner of lying, deceits, hypocrisy, murders,
priestcrafts, whoredoms and secret abominations shall be done away,
having reference particularly to this nation. He says, too, "I will
execute vengeance and fury upon them, even as upon the heathen, such
as they have not heard." We are told, too, that the nature of these
judgments is to be swift and terrible, coming upon them like a fierce
wind, when they expect it not; when they are crying peace and safety,
behold sudden destruction is at their doors.

Vol. 18,  p.340
I might dwell still longer on the judgments to come upon this American
nation, according to modern revelation. In 1832 the Lord foretold to
the Prophet Joseph Smith that there should be a great war between the
Northern and Southern States. This revelation is published in the Book
of Doctrine and Covenants, a standard work of the Church, and also in
many languages, many years before the war commenced. At that early
period we were told that the Southern States would rise against the
Northern States, and the Northern against the Southern States in war,
terminating in the deaths and misery of many souls. We were told also
that this war would begin with the rebellion of South Carolina.

Vol. 18,  p.340
When I was a boy, a little over 20 years of age, I had the privilege
of taking a copy of that revelation, and I carried it around with me,
oftentimes reading it to the congregations that I preached to. Its
subject matter formed a text from which I many times preached, as well
as a topic of conversation with strangers, whose acquaintance I would
happen to make in traveling from place to place.

Vol. 18,  p.340
How do you think such information was received by the people to whom
it was imparted? They would not believe it; they had no idea of its
being a revelation from God to them; they considered it one of the
impositions that the "Mormons" had gotten up to delude the people. To
tell them that this great government would be divided and go to war
with each other, was something entirely foreign to their minds; it was
something to which they paid heedless regard, ofttimes treating it
[p.341] with ridicule and laughter. I preached in the New England
States, and in various portions of the Union, and such was the way
these things were received. The shedding of blood was then one of the
remotest feelings of the American people; yet it came to pass
precisely as predicted, and we all know the results of that dreadful
war. That war, we must remember, was only one solitary judgment,
compared with what will come, and that, too, in the near future. It
has been revealed that the time will come in the history of our
nation, that one State will rise against another, one city against
another, even every man's hand shall be against his neighbor, until
the whole Republic will be in general commotion and warfare. How and
when this will take place, the Lord, in his wisdom, has not told us;
but it is sufficient for us to say, that he has told us of the facts
that such and such will be the case.

Vol. 18,  p.341
For aught we know, the fulfillment of this prophecy may grow out of
politics. If the people are very nearly equally divided in politics,
this feeling may run so high, in years to come, as to be the direct
cause of war. And if this should be the case, it would very naturally
spread to every neighborhood in the Union. One class of political
opponents would rise up against the other class in the same city and
country, and thus would arise a war of mobocracy.

Vol. 18,  p.341
If a war of this description should take place, who could carry on his
business in safety? Who would feel safe to put his crops in the
ground, or to carry on any enterprise? There would be fleeing from one
State to another, and general confusion would exist throughout the
whole Republic. Such eventually is to be the condition of this whole
nation, if the people do not repent of their wickedness; and such a
state of affairs means no more or less than the complete overthrow of
the nation, and not only of this nation, but the nations of Europe,
which form the feet and toes of that great image. They are the powers
to be first broken; it is not the nation representing the head of
gold, the remnant of the Babylonish Empire that still exists in Asia,
that will be attacked first, neither is it the Persians and Medes,
whose descendants still live; but the Lord will first break up those
kingdoms which represent the feet and toes of the image, of which I
have been speaking. After that, he will proceed to break in pieces the
kingdoms that represent the brass, the silver, and the gold. Some are
to be spared for a little season. The kingdom of God is to roll forth,
and a certain person is to come, accompanied by a great host; the name
of this person is the Ancient of Days. And who are they that compose
the mighty host? Are they immortal beings? Doubtless most of them will
be immortal Saints, but there may be some mortals among them. The
being called the Ancient of Days will not be a mortal person, his
glory is too great, he has passed through his mortality, and he will
have the oversight of this numerous host, at least a hundred million
of people.

Vol. 18,  p.341
Who would be the most likely person to fill this important position?
He is called the Ancient of Days. Can you tell me, who the most
ancient person is that lived on the earth, during the most ancient
days? All, all will acknowledge that it is Adam. Inasmuch as he has
proven himself a righteous man, it is right and proper that he should
by divine appointment, have dominion over the righteous of his
posterity, who should exist from his day, down to that period, when he
comes in his glory;[p.342] and this ten thousand times ten thousand
spoken of will be the faithful of his own posterity. They shall stand
before him, and certain books are then to be opened. If we understand
the nature of those records, we should doubtless find much written
concerning kingdoms, nations and individuals. They are the records
which are kept in heaven, in which all things pertaining to the
peoples of the earth are recorded. Or, as the Book of Mormon expresses
it, giving the language of the Savior when on this American continent,
that "all things are written by the Father;" that is, by his
authority, by his direction are all things written. The records of the
nations—their rise and decadence, with everything pertaining to them,
in a national capacity, will be written. Then there will be the
records of families and of individuals, even of all people and tongues
of the earth. The books will be opened, and the judgment will sit.
What judgment? Not the final judgment, because that is to take place
more than a thousand years after this. This judgment refers to the
nations that will then exist, and it is out of these records and by
this judgment will they be judged. The calamities spoken of will take
place in fulfillment of the Scriptures, and of the great purposes of
Jehovah.

Vol. 18,  p.342
It may be asked, Do you think this vast congregation will actually
come, and, if so, to what place will they come? I will read a new
revelation upon the subject given May 18, 1838, almost thirty-nine
years ago. It was given when the Prophet Joseph Smith, and the
Latter-day Saints, had gathered themselves together in Missouri, about
forty or fifty miles north of Jackson County. They had assembled at a
place that they called Spring Hill, and the Lord revealed to Joseph,
on that occasion, things concerning this great event. This place,
Spring Hill, is alluded to by the Lord, in this revelation, as being
anciently called Adam-ondi-Ahman, because it is the place where Adam
shall come to visit his children, or the place where the Ancient of
Days shall sit, as spoken of by Daniel the Prophet. Here, then, we
have a key to the important personage, called the Ancient of Days,
that he is our father Adam, and that be is to sit in judgment, among
certain numbers of his children, in that certain region of country.

Vol. 18,  p.342
You may inquire why he should come to that particular place, on this
western continent? The reason is, because he once dwelt there. you may
say, I really thought that Adam lived in Asia, and if he did, we have
no account of his leaving there. I will read another revelation,
contained in this Book of Doctrine and Covenants, given on the 8th day
of July, 1838, wherein it is represented that Adam occupied that
region of country. The revelation was given in Far West, Missouri. I
will only read a few verses—

Vol. 18,  p.342
"For have I not the fowls of heaven, and also the fish of the sea, and
the beasts of the mountains? Have I not made the earth? Do I not hold
the destinies of all the armies of the nations of the earth? Therefore
will I not make solitary places to bud and to blossom, and to bring
forth in abundance, saith the Lord. Is there not room enough upon the
mountains of Adam-ondi-Ahman, and upon the plains of Olaha Shinebah,
or the land where Adam dwelt, that you should covet that which is but
the drop, and neglect the more weighty matters? Therefore come up
hither unto the land of my people, even Zion."

Vol. 18,  p.343
We have then an understanding [p.343] that it was the place where Adam
dwelt. Perhaps you may be anxious to know what "Ondi-Ahman" means. It
means the place where Adam dwelt. "Ahman" signifies God. The whole
term means Valley of God, where Adam dwelt. It is in the Original
language spoken by Adam, as revealed to the Prophet Joseph.

Vol. 18,  p.343
Next, let us turn to another passage, referring to the same subject,
contained in the Book of Doctrine and Covenants, on page 355, verse
53, being part of a revelation given on the 28th of March, 1835—

Vol. 18,  p.343
"Three years previous to the death of Adam, he called Seth, Enos,
Cainaan, Mahalaleel, Jared, Enoch and Methusaleh, who were all high
Priests, with the residue of his posterity who were righteous, into
the valley of Adam-ondi-Ahman, and there bestowed upon them his last
blessing. And the Lord appeared unto them, and they rose up and
blessed Adam, and called him Michael, the Prince, the Archangel. And
the Lord administered comfort to Adam, and said unto him, I have set
thee to be at the head—a multitude of nations shall come of thee, and
thou art a prince over them for ever. And Adam stood up in the midst
of the congregation, and notwithstanding he was bowed down with age,
being full of the Holy Ghost, predicted whatever Should befall his
posterity unto the latest generation These things were all written in
the Book of Enoch, and are to be testified of in duo time."

Vol. 18,  p.343
Here then we perceive that the way Adam obtained these promises was in
this Conference held by the great Patriarch, wherein he called his
children and his children's children together for eight generations,
all of whom were righteous men hence their names are particularly
mentioned, while millions of his children, descendants that were
wicked, have not their names mentioned. The righteous of all his
posterity were assembled with him, in that place, in the valley called
Adam-ondi-Ahman. What a glorious Conference that would be, a
Conference wherein the Lord himself appeared? I think if the
Latter-day Saints thought they could behold the lace of the Lord, they
would gather together at our Conferences, and let nothing hinder;
there would not many righteous stop back, but they would generally
come together from all parts of the Territory. I do not know that
those holy men who assembled in Conference with Adam had any promise
beforehand that they should behold the face of the Lord; but they went
in faith, in obedience to the call of their aged father; they no doubt
exercised much earnestness of spirit, in order to obtain a blessing
from the hands of the Lord. The Lord answered their prayers, and he
appeared to them, and gave them much consolation, and be set Adam to
be at their head, to be a prince over them and over all his posterity
for ever. And I have no doubt, if We had the Book of Enoch referred to
in the revelation, in which book all the prophecies predicted by this
aged man are written, we would find something predicted about his
posterity now living. I think he would tell about his coming as the
Ancient of Days, the great Prince, to his posterity. He told his
children in that grand Conference all about it, and they understood
it, and it was all written in the Book of Enoch, to be testified to in
due time. These perhaps are some of the books that are to be opened on
that grand occasion.

Vol. 18,  p.343
You may ask, Why the necessity of this vast multitude from, the
heavens to assemble here on the earth?[p.344] It is to fulfill many
prophecies besides that of Daniel; it is to fulfill prophecies that
have been predicted by all holy then that understood the great events
of the latter days, that the Saints who are in heaven are to come down
here on the earth, and are to be organized here on the earth, and are
to be united with the Saints on the earth, us one grand company, each
one understanding his place. I do not think there will be any
contentions or jealousies, as for instance, whether the high Priests
are greater than the Seventies, but all will understand their proper
place and position, because their positions will be pointed out to
them by the Ancient of Days, the father and prince of all, even down
to those last ordained to the Priesthood. Perhaps these records will
recall the positions we are all to occupy; for I believe, to the Lord
was known the end from the beginning.

Vol. 18,  p.344
But why all this? Why should it be given to all to know their proper
places? Why should the books be opened, and why should the fourth
beast be destroyed and the body given to the burning flame? It is
explained in the same connection—"I saw in the night visions, and
behold one like the Son of Man came with the clouds of heaven."

Vol. 18,  p.344
To whom does this glorious personage come? He comes to the Ancient of
Days. What, that personage coming in glory, majesty and dominion, with
the clouds of heaven, to the Ancient of Days! What for? In order that
he might receive from him the kingdom, in its order, every person
standing in his proper position, everything organized after the most
perfect order. The Ancient of Days delivers up the kingdom, thus
completed, to the Son of Man, whose dominion becomes so great that all
peoples, nations and languages serve him; and his dominion is
everlasting and shall have no end.

Vol. 18,  p.344
I do not know how there could be anything more perfect for the coming
of Christ than what is here recorded. It is certainly a great and
grand work; and without such a work everything would be in confusion
at his coming. How great and glorious will be that period when Jesus
will come in the clouds of heaven! He makes this preparation
beforehand, so that there may be a people ready to receive him. People
of mortality, as well as immortal beings, all knowing their positions,
will form the grand Council, and they will be organized ready to
receive Jesus when he comes to reign as King of kings and Lord of
lords upon this earth.

Vol. 18,  p.344
Do you think there will then be any quarrelling about political or
other matters pertaining to the government? I do not think there will
then exist, in that grand Council, the condition of affairs which we
see presented here in our own nation. There will be no quarrelling
about a president or any other position. All things then will be
regulated by the law of God. That will be recognized in those days. A
feeling of perfect unanimity will exist among the people, and division
and dissension will be unknown. We have had so much division in our
country, and among the nations, for so many generations that it has
become a common thing among the people. In order to be enlightened and
independent and liberal, it is thought that every man must be against
his neighbor, and every man must set up his judgment in relation to
matters, though it may be in contradistinction to that of his
neighbor's. All this, in a government like our republic, is
acknowledged as legitimate. Let a man now be brought forward as a
candidate for the presidency of the United [p.345] States, against
whose private character not a syllable has been uttered and you will
soon see even the most respectable of our newspapers turn with slander
against him; everything they can imagine having a tendency to injure
him, in the estimation of the public, will be said of him; and if the
people generally believed it, he would be considered one of the
wickedest of men, and his character would be blackened from the
Atlantic to the Pacific. This cannot be a system of true
republicanism; it must be the result of the imperfections of fallen
man, and consequently it must pass away and be forgotten. But when the
kingdom of heaven shall be fully established, I do not think there
will be the least division; everything will be conducted perfectly;
and hence peace and union will exist. Those who will dictate the
affairs of that kingdom will be one, even the same as the Father and
the Son are one. Do you suppose the Father quarrels with the Son about
matters of government? Not in the least; they are perfectly united.
Why are they thus united? Because each one understands that the other
is in possession of knowledge, and wisdom, and purity, and holiness,
and both being intelligent and pure, comprehending the end from the
beginning, therefore both are in perfect accord with each other in all
things. You will remember the prayer of the Savior, "Neither pray I
for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through
their word." He prayed that all they who should believe might become
one, even as he and the Father are one. But was he not mistaken? Would
he not do away with our liberty and independence, if all who believed
should become one? Such a condition would not give us the opportunity
of quarrelling with each other. Unity is the greatest and most
heavenly principle of government. If we can find out what is right,
would it not promote the peace and welfare. of all to carry out in
unity every principle of right, and discourage that which is wrong?

Vol. 18,  p.345
Another prayer, one that is generally used, and which Jesus gave to
his disciples, was, "Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy
name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven,"
etc. His government must be established here, and his will must be
done in perfection, as it is in heavenly worlds. It is folly in the
extreme for man to argue that our liberty would be curtailed were this
prayer to be answered on our heads to-day. On the contrary our
independence would be enhanced; for we would then, as a matter of
course, be more like unto the great Captain of our salvation. If the
will of God were really done on earth as in heaven, a state of peace
and happiness would exist, there would be little complaining or
murmuring, and the people would have entire confidence in each other.
On going to their beds at night they would have no need to go to the
trouble of locking their doors and seeing that everything was secure
from theft, for there would be no thieving, no one to wrong his
neighbor, in any way whatever. If you had anything you wished left in
the open air during the day or night, it would not matter how valuable
it might be, you could do so without entertaining the least fear of
anybody taking it from you.

Vol. 18,  p.345
This will be the order of things to exist here on the earth, and which
will be recognized by all nations that will then exist, and it will
continue for a thousand years. And at the expiration of that time this
kind of government will not even then be [p.346] done away, although
as many as can be influenced by Satan to apostatize will do so, at
that time, and there will be a great division of the people, at the
end of the thousand years. The Saints then, will have become very
numerous, probably more numerous than ever before; and they will be
obliged to gather together in one place, as we now do from the four
quarters of the earth. They will have to pitch their camps round
about, for the "beloved city" will not Ice large enough for them. It
is called by John the Revelator, the camp of the Saints, a beloved
city, where the Saints gather to, from the nations of the earth. Satan
will gather his army, consisting of all those angels that fell and
left the courts of heaven, when he did, besides all those that will
apostatize from the truth, at the end of the thousand years: they too
will mingle with the immortal ones of Satan's army, all being of the
same spirit and mind. He with his army will come against the Saints,
and the beloved city, and encompass them round about. His army will be
so great that it will be able to come upon the Saints on all sides: he
is to encompass their camp. Because of the favorable position he is to
hold, in that great last battle, and because of the vast number of his
army, he doubtless believes that he will get the mastery and subdue
the earth and possess it. I do not think he fully understands all
about the designs of God: for John tells us when this great army shall
be gathered in position, around the camp of the Saints, that "fire
came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them?" Devoured whom?
Not those who are fallen angels, for they have no bodies to be
devoured; but this fire from heaven will devour the wicked apostate
race who will have listened to them and who will have joined Satan's
army; they will be consumed, consequently the kingdom of Christ will
not be overeome by Satan or taken away from the Saints. Remember the
words of Daniel—"The kingdom shall not be destroyed, neither shall it
be given to another people." Though they apostatize at the end of the
thousand years, though they seek every possible plan to overthrow the
kingdom, though they may gather up their strength and have Satan and
his fallen angels to fight with them, yet that kingdom that was
organized at the beginning of the thousand years will still exist.
Fire is the great agency that will devour the wicked, after which this
camp and beloved city and all the inhabitants belonging to it will be
caught up to heaven.

Vol. 18,  p.346
Then comes the period and time when the earth must undergo its final
change, far exceeding any former changes. For at the beginning of the
Millennium, the mountains will melt, and flow down like wax at the
presence of the Lord; then the earth is to be moved exceedingly and
tossed to and fro. Though the ocean is to roll back to its former
position; although these and many other wonderful changes will take
place when Christ comes, they are nothing compared to the changes that
are to take place after the thousand years, after Satan's army is
destroyed. Then the great white throne appears. There, after the holy
city and the New Jerusalem are taken up to heaven, the earth will flee
away from before the presence of him who sits upon the throne. The
earth itself is to pass through a similar change to that which we have
to pass through. As our bodies return again to mother dust, forming
constituent portions thereof, and no place is found for them as
organized bodies; so it will [p.347] be with this earth. Not only will
the elements melt with fervent heat, but the great globe itself will
pass away. It will cease to exist as an organized world. It will cease
to exist as one of the worlds that are capable of being inhabited.
Fire devours all things, converting the earth into its original
elements; it passes away into space.

Vol. 18,  p.347
But not one particle of the elements which compose the earth will be
destroyed or annihilated. They will all exist and be brought together
again by a greater organizing power than is known to man. The earth
must be resurrected again, as well as our bodies; its elements will be
re-united, and they will be brought together by the power of God's
word. He will then so organize these elements now constituted upon
this earth, that there will be no curse attached to any of its
compound thus made. Now death is connected with them, but then
everything will be organized in the most perfect order, just the same
as it was when the Lord first formed it. He then pronounced everything
as "very good." It could not be otherwise; a being that is infinite in
wisdom and knowledge, and a being that had power in proportion to it,
could organize an earth into a most perfect form; and he did so and
pronounced the same very good. But man brought a curse on the earth.
Man brought a change, not only on man, but upon the animal creation,
and not only upon the animal creation, but upon all the elements of
which the earth was formed. This curse was, as it were, transfused
throughout every particle of the creation, so that wherever you turn
your eyes death, and destruction, and sorrow exist. But the same Being
that organized it, and pronounced it very good, will organize it
again. It will come forth again from its condition of chaos, by the
power of his word, a celestial body, prepared for the abode of a
higher order of beings, those who have kept the celestial law, those
who, through obedience to the laws of God, become exalted. They are
the ones who will have the privilege of inheriting the earth for ever
and ever. When he gets it all prepared, he will bring down the
inhabitants thereof, the holy city, the New Jerusalem.

Vol. 18,  p.347
I propose making a few remarks in relation to that city, for the
benefit of strangers, should there be any present. We look upon the
Near Jerusalem, separate from the old Jerusalem. The old Jerusalem
will be re-built by the Jews upon its former site, and during the
Millennium it will become a very glorious city, and its inhabitants
will be a blessed and honored people. We are told by the Prophet
Ether, that the Lord will build a city on this American continent,
which will be called the New Jerusalem. The reason it will be called
new is because it never before existed here. Both of these cities will
be caught up, When the earth undergoes its final dissolution, and when
made new, they will come back again, the New Jerusalem first, followed
by the old Jerusalem.

Vol. 18,  p.347
A great many have supposed that the description of the glory and
beauty of the city that comes down from heaven was the New Jerusalem,
but it is not so. That description given by John in relation to the
second city, was a holy city—old Jerusalem. We have an account of its
walls and the height of them, we have, too, an account of its twelve
gates, its houses and its inhabitants, and also of the glory of God
that shall be in the city. But have we any enlarged description of the
New Jerusalem? No. I have no doubt, however, that the city of the New
[p.348] Jerusalem will be equally glorious with the one that John saw
and described.

Vol. 18,  p.348
John saw the New Jerusalem coming down from heaven and speaks of its
inhabitants. Then one of the angels took him away to a high mountain,
and showed him the second city, when descending to the earth.

Vol. 18,  p.348
The Book of Mormon speaks very plainly upon this subject. The Prophet
Ether, as recorded in the latter part of the book, speaking of these
two cities, says, that both are built by man, under the direction of
the Almighty; and that the Lord has decreed that when they are built,
they shall not waste away nor be destroyed. There are a great many of
our houses that are wasting. You may build them of granite, and half a
thousand of years will begin to waste them away. Thus it is with
whatever material, used in building our cities; while man is under the
curse there will a constant wasting away of his habitations. But not
so, with regard to the old Jerusalem, which is to be re-built; and not
so with regard to the New Jerusalem, which is to be built on this
Continent. Why not? Because God is all-powerful, and when he makes a
decree in relation to anything, it must be fulfilled. If he said to
the ancient Nephites, Record your prophecies and writings upon plates
of gold, and I will preserve them, that they shall not wax dim, that
time shall not have power to waste them; but the records shall be
preserved, he was abundantly able to preserve them by his power, and
fulfill his promise. The same Being, who is able to preserve the
sacred records, has power to preserve sacred and holy habitations.

Vol. 18,  p.348
Therefore, Latter-day Saints, when you return to build up the waste
places of Zion, and when you build up the New Jerusalem upon the place
that he has appointed, whatever materials shall be used, by the
blessing of the Priesthood, which God has ordained, these materials
will endure forever: they will continue during the thousand years,
without waste, and when they shall be caught up to heaven, when the
earth flees away, they will still endure in all their perfection and
beauty. When these cities shall descend again upon the new earth, in
its immortal and eternal state, they will still be as endurable as the
earth itself, no more to be subject to the curse, and therefore, will
no more waste; death is gone—everything that is corruptible in its
nature has ceased, so far as this habitable globe is concerned, and
all sorrow and mourning are done away.

Vol. 18,  p.348
May God bless the Latter-day Saints, and may our minds be kept
steadfast upon the nature and glory of the promises to the righteous,
and the great events that must be fulfilled, looking for the coming of
the Church of the First Born, looking for the day of peace, the day of
rest, when Jesus shall reign king of kings as he now reigns in heaven.

Vol. 18,  p.348
May the Lord stir up the minds of his people that they may seek for
those things in the future, and may we put away from our minds
everything calculated in its nature to shut out the spirit of the
living God from our hearts, is my earnest prayer, in the name of
Jesus. Amen.[p.349] 

George Q. Cannon, April 4, 1877

Feelings in the Temple—Value of the Sacred Records—The
Gospel Finds Testimony in Opposition—The Gospel Always the 
Same—Martyrs versus Heroes—Ordinances for the Dead

Discourse By Elder George Q. Cannon, Delivered in the 
Temple, at St. Georgee, on Wednesday Morning, April 4, 1877, 
at the First of the Two Days' Meetings Held 
By the St. George Stake of Zion.

(Reported by Geo. F. Gibbs)

Vol. 18,  p.349
It is with peculiar feelings I arise to speak to you, my brethren and
sisters, for the short time remaining, in this holy Temple. If I were
to describe my feelings on entering and worshiping in this house, I
would occupy more time than remains to be used, and I do not know if I
were to attempt to do so I could succeed. Each one present can the
better estimate the feelings of his brother from those entertained by
himself.

Vol. 18,  p.349
I was here last fall, and then my emotions upon entering this room
were of the most peculiar character. I felt overpowered, and I have
felt so each time I have entered the building. It is a holy place, and
all those who come here should be holy; they should examine
themselves, and finding themselves guilty of wrong, they should make
up their minds in the strength and power of God to put it away. I do
not think that any person who has any of the love of the truth, the
love of righteousness, or the fear of God abiding in his heart, can
enter this building without being impressed with the sacredness of the
spirit which reigns here, and that seems to pervade even the
atmosphere we breathe. My fervent prayer to God is that this building
will be kept clean and pure, free from every act and spirit
antagonistic to the holy influences that God has promised to bestow
upon the pure in heart who enter herein; and that this building will
stand as long as it shall be necessary to fulfil the purposes of God.

Vol. 18,  p.349
The remarks we have heard from President Wells are very true, and are
so in keeping with the Scriptures, that every Latter-day Saint who has
heard them, must be satisfied of their truth. It is always a cause of
joy to me that, in the providences of God our heavenly Father, the
sacred records we have, which have come down through so many ages, and
which are recognized by Christendom to be the words of God (at least
acknowledged by all Christians to be so, whether they believe it or
not); I say that in the providence of God these records have come down
to us in as pure condition as we find them. Because it is a comfort to
a people like we are, whose names are cast out as evil, and who are
derided and visited with every kind of contumely,[p.350] accused of
every conceivable crime, to know that the doctrine and ordinances that
we believe in have a similarity to, and are in strict accordance with,
those of the recognized word of God. We need not go to the Book of
Mormon and the Book of Doctrine and Covenants alone, for the proofs of
the truth of the work we are engaged in; for in appealing to those
books we only appeal to a corroborative testimony showing that God's
words and dealings with the children of men are the same in all ages
of the world. While he gave his revealed word to the ancients on the
Eastern Continent, he also gave to the inhabitants of the Western
Continent his word, and they both agree. He has also given to us, his
people in the last days, his word. By these three witnesses, or these
three divine records, his word is corroborated and maintained. Having
received the word of God from these various sources, we can rejoice
this day in the great truth that the doctrines we teach, the
ordinances we have submitted to, and that have been and are being
administered to us, and that our lives when we live as we should, are
in strict accordance with these three records, which we know to be the
word of God, but particularly in accordance with the Bible, which the
Christian world acknowledge to be true. This has always been a great
cause of joy to me, and I have been greatly strengthened in knowing
that no reference could be made to any part, or to any doctrine or
principle of the Bible, which was not believed in and practised by the
Latter-day Saints to the extent of their ability, that is, so far as
the doctrine or requirement was applicable to them. Of course, where
distinct revelations were given to people under peculiar conditions
and of a peculiar character, as for instance, Noah or Abraham, or the
disciples when they were commanded to flee from Jerusalem, the common
sense of all men would suggest that such requirements were not
applicable to us. It is not necessary for us to build an ark, or to do
any of these things, especially commanded to others; but where general
revelations, doctrines, ordinances, or commandments are revealed or
communicated to the people of God, we as a people have received all
such, and they form part of our faith and belief, and we, to some
extent at least, are engaged in carrying them out. In conjunction with
these glorious facts, precisely the same consequences or results flow
from the teachings of the servants of God in these days as in the days
of old. God confirmed the word by signs following. The adversary in
the same spirit of hatred that characterized his attacks upon the work
of God in all ages, is in these last days as bitter and as determined
to cause the same results to follow the preaching of the servants of
God, and the administration of the ordinances of life and salvation,
as at any previous time in the world's history, thus showing that the
old antagonism that existed between God and Belial, the old animosity
that actuated the mind of those whom he inflamed to crucify the Son of
Man, and to destroy his Apostles, had not died out, but was as
determined in this our day to effect the ruin of those who believe in
the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, who have submitted to its
ordinances, as at any previous time in the history of the world.

Vol. 18,  p.350
If we had believed all that is taught in the Scriptures, and had not
received the promised blessings; or if we had believed in all written
in the Scriptures, and had received the promised blessings, and had
not [p.351] received the hatred and animosity of the wicked, there
might have been cause for doubt as to our having obeyed the Gospel. We
might have been assailed with a fear that some thing was lacking in
the system, and that, therefore, we could not be the people of God
after all. But when, in addition to the doctrine that God has
revealed, and the ordinances of life and salvation that he has
restored and commanded us to obey, that is, to believe in Jesus
Christ, to repent truly and sincerely of all our sins, to be baptized
for remission of them, by one holding the authority, and then receive
the Holy Ghost through the laying on of hands, and its gifts and
blessings and its powers, for our names to be cast out as evil, to
have our names heralded through the earth as the most ungodly and
wicked and abominable people that live upon the earth, to have men
think that in destroying us they would be doing God's service; I say
that when these characteristics attend the administration and
ordinances of the House of God, we can rejoice even as the ancients
did in the knowledge that there is no peculiarity of feature
pertaining to the ancient Gospel from the days of Adam to John the
Revelator, or from the days of Jared and his brother to Moroni, or
from the days of Joseph and Hyrum to this our day, that does not
attend the Gospel now. Not only is there no feature, characteristic or
peculiarity absent, but there is no sign or evidence lacking of its
being the same work of God. Precisely the same signs follow now, and
precisely the same external evidences follow the preaching of the
Gospel now, as anciently. Having these signs and evidences and
blessings, should we not, as a people, rejoice exceedingly? Should not
our hearts be full of thanksgiving to Almighty God, that, however
humble and obscure and illiterate, however contemptible in the minds
of the children of men, our doctrines, lives and characters may be,
our names are numbered with the holiest, the best and the greatest
that have ever trod the footstool of God, that our names are numbered
with Jesus the first-born, the Son of God, and with Enoch, Abraham,
the friend of God (distinguished above all the sons of men by that
glorious evidence of God's nearness to him, being called his friend),
and with all the holy Prophets whose lives are living testimonies to
the divinity of their calling? If we would enjoy the society and glory
of such personages we must be willing to suffer as they did; and if
not so, we can not reasonably expect to be numbered among the happy
throng who are to live and reign with Jesus. When we shall have done
all they have done, passed through and experienced the same blessings
that they have, drunk the same cup, and been baptized with the same
baptism, and, when necessary, laid down our lives as they have in
testimony of the truth, then we can reign with them.

Vol. 18,  p.351
It is easy to die in the heat of battle, or when men are selected for
some heroic duty, and the eyes of the world are upon them; but this is
not the manner in which the servants and people of God have lost their
lives. Jesus was crucified between two thieves, the most ignominious
death to which any one could be subjected, and those who crucified him
believed him to be worthy of such a fate. They disseminated among the
people such slanders and misrepresentations of his works and actions
that many felt justified in taking the responsibility of shedding his
blood upon themselves and their posterity.

Vol. 18,  p.352
Thus it always has been with the servants and Saints of God. They do
[p.352] not die when their lives are taken by violence in a manner
which the world calls heroic or glorious; but as malefactors, the
ignominious death administered to those who are slain for the
testimony of Jesus, and thus it always has been with God's children,
the brightest, the best and noblest, that ever lived. They have had to
lay down their lives as Joseph did, slain in the prison where he was
confined. The same self-sacrifice, the same godlike self-sacrifice is
required at the hands of the servants and Saints of God in this our
day, as was required of those in ancient days, when they were east
into dens of wild beasts, into the fiery furnace, or when sawn asunder
and subjected to every kind of violent death because of their supposed
wickedness.

Vol. 18,  p.352
I thank God this day for the restoration of this truth, I thank God
that I was ever counted worthy to live in the day when the revelations
of Jesus are restored. I thank God, with all my heart, that I am a
member of this Church; I think it the most glorious honor and dignity
that could be conferred upon me, and more so in the goodness of God in
permitting me to officiate in the holy Priesthood. I thank him too
that he has inspired his servants to lead forth his people and bring
us here, and that through the kind providences of God and the wise
counsels and administrations of his servants, we are blessed with
those glorious privileges in being permitted to rear a habitation to
the name of the Most High in which we worship this day; this chaste,
this grand, this magnificent house of God.

Vol. 18,  p.352
When I reflect upon what God has done for us, in addition to that
which I have alluded to, it gives me deeper gratitude still in knowing
that in all the revelations given us concerning ourselves and our
future glory, there has been no concealment concerning the destiny of
our dead who have passed away without a knowledge of the Gospel. There
would have been something lacking in our joy had this revelation not
been made, for we could not have contemplated our own happiness in the
eternal worlds with any degree of satisfaction, if we had been
disturbed by the thought that our ancestors could not partake of the
same blessings we had received. But God in his mercy has revealed his
purposes to us, so that there are none that understand the Gospel who
cannot enter into this house and glorify God in his heart because of
the fullness of these blessings; and because we know the Lord
possesses all the glorious attributes we have ascribed to him.

Vol. 18,  p.352
You enquire of the enlightened men of Christendom respecting their
dead, and they readily acknowledge it to be a subject they know
nothing about. A great many think that the heathen nations who have
died in ignorance are consigned to the miseries of a never-ending
hell. Who with such feelings and belief can glorify God in their
hearts and ascribe to him the glorious attributes of mercy and
justice, and recognize him as a just and merciful being?

Vol. 18,  p.352
But when we received the Gospel, there came with it a distinct message
of mercy, a message of glad tidings of great joy, that not only the
living should receive the testimony of Jesus, not only should the
living rejoice in the glorious principles of life and salvation, but
the dead themselves should hear the voice of the servants of God, and
the glad tidings of salvation should be proclaimed in their hearing,
and through the exercising of their agency in receiving these truths,
their prison doors could be unlocked and they come forth and receive,
as though in the flesh, the [p.353] same blessings, exaltation and
glory, according to their good wishes and good deeds. Thus has been
swept from our minds every cause of doubt respecting our dead, and our
hearts warmed towards them with joy unspeakable, and consequently we
combine our efforts to erect such a building, such a holy house as
this is. Thus we, in our hearts, witness to God the Eternal Father,
that we have received indeed of a truth the testimony that he has
given to us, that we believe the same to be true, and that we will,
with the aid and power which he bestows upon us, devote our entire
lives to the interests of his kingdom, bequeathing the same spirit and
energy to our children after us, that they too may labor, with all
their might, mind and strength End the ability with which God shall
endow them, to carry on and extend the great work of redemption and
salvation until every son and daughter of Adam shall receive the glad
tidings of salvation, and shall be administered for in the holy
temples which shall be prepared for that express purpose.

Vol. 18,  p.353
That God may help us to do this with all our might and strength is my
prayer in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Brigham Young, April 6, 1877

The United Order—the Duty of the Priesthood—the 
Gospel not Communism—Teaching the People How to 
Live—Independence of Babylon—the Saints Will Continue to 
Spread—Unity of Purpose and Action, Will Bring Again 
Zion—Free Schools Criticised—Educational 
Status of Our Children

Discourse By President Brigham Young, Delivered at the 
Semi-Annual Conference, Held in the Temple, at 
St. George, Friday Morning, April 6, 1877.

(Reported by Geo. F. Gibbs)

Vol. 18,  p.353
I would like to say a great deal during this Conference to the
Latter-day Saints, but I shall be able to talk but little, and
therefore when I do speak I wish you to listen, and this I believe all
of you will do.

Vol. 18,  p.353
I think that, as a people, we are nearer alike in the sentiments and
feelings of our hearts, than in our words. From the most excellent
discourse which we have heard this morning from brother Cannon, I
believe that the people might gather the idea that we shall be
expected to divide our property equally one with another, and that
this will constitute the United Order. I will give you my view, in as
few words as possible with regard to this subject, which I will
promise you are correct.[p.354] 

Vol. 18,  p.354
The Lord wishes and requires us to develop the ability within us, and
to utilize the ability of these men, women and children called
Latter-day Saints.

Vol. 18,  p.354
The most of the inhabitants of the earth are incapable of dictating
and devising for themselves. In many instances there is reason for
this, for they are opposed to that degree that for the lack of
opportunity they are not able to develop the talents and ability that
are within them. This is the condition of the people of most of the
nations of the earth. All those who come out from the world, espousing
the Gospel of Jesus, place themselves in a condition to be taught of
him, but instead of teaching them personally, he has raised up his
authorized teachers to do this work, and what floes he expect of us to
do? He requires, absolutely requires, of us to take these people who
have named his name through baptism, and teach them how to live, and
how to become healthy, wealthy and wise. This is our duty.

Vol. 18,  p.354
Supposing that the property of the whole community were divided to-day
equally amongst all, what might we expect? Why a year from to-day we
should need another division, for some would waste and squander it
away, while others would add, to their portion. The skill of building
up and establishing the Zion of our God on the earth is to take the
people and teach them how to take care of themselves and that which
the Lord has entrusted to their care, and to use all that we command
to glorify his holy name. This is the work of regenerating, of
elevating mankind to the higher plane of the Gospel; in other words,
of simply teaching them their duty.

Vol. 18,  p.354
With regard to our property, as I have told you many times, the
property which we inherit from our Heavenly Father is our time, and
the power to choose in the disposition of the same. This is the real
capital that is bequeathed unto us by our Heavenly Father; all the
rest is what he may be pleased to add unto us. To direct, to counsel
and to advise in the disposition of our time, pertains to our calling
as God's servants, according to the wisdom which he has given and will
continue to give unto us as we seek it

Vol. 18,  p.354
Now, if we could take this people, in their present condition, and
teach them how to sustain and maintain themselves and a little more,
we would add to that which we already have; but to take what we have
and divide amongst or give to people, without teaching them how to
earn and produce, would be no more nor less than to introduce the
means of reducing them to a state of poverty.

Vol. 18,  p.354
I do not wish for one moment to recognize the idea that in order to
establish the United Order our property has to be divided equally
among the people, to let them do what they please with it. But the
idea is to get the people into the same state of unity in all things
temporal, that we find ourselves in with regard to things spiritual.
Then let those who possess the ability and wisdom direct the labors of
those not so endowed, until they too develop the talents within them
and in time acquire the same degree of ability.

Vol. 18,  p.354
What do you say to this doctrine? Is it right or wrong? [The
congregation answered, "It is right."]

Vol. 18,  p.354
We want to get at a correct understanding respecting all these matters
which so materially concern us. What would be the first lesson
necessry to teach the people, were we to commence to direct [p.355]
their labors to the great end of becoming of one heart and one mind in
the Lord, of establishing Zion and being filled with the power of God?
It would be to stop expending and lavishing upon our dear selves all
needless adornments and to stop purchasing the importations of
Babylon. We can ourselves produce every thing necessary for our
consumption, our wear, our convenience and comfort, right here at
home. We can produce and manufacture the material necessary to
beautify our lands, gardens and orchards; to beautify and furnish our
houses, and to adorn the beautiful bodies which we inhabit without
sending our means to France, to England and other countries for things
which can a little better be made at home among ourselves. The
material of which these cushions were made, which adorn the pulpits,
were pro-dated here. After it was taken from the sheep, it was
manufactured at our Provo factory into the cloth you now see; and the
material of which the silk trimmings were made, was raised, spun, and
made up by some of our sisters in this Territory. We might exhibit to
you handkerchiefs, dress patterns, and shawls, all of silk, made by
our sisters out of the raw material produced here through the
enterprise and industry of a few. These are only simple specimens of
what can be done. Suppose I were to say, "Ladies, how do you like
them?" Do you not think they would say, "Pretty well?" We can improve
on what has been done, and we want you to do so. Plant out the
mulberry tree, and raise the silk, and let your dresses, your shawls,
your bonnets and your ribbons, and everything you use to clothe and
adorn your bodies, be the workmanship of your own hands. Let the
brethren take hold and Garry out in every department the same
prniciple of home manufacture until we shall be able to produce the
materials, and make up every article necessary to clothe and adorn the
body, from the crown of the head to the soles of the feet. Then we
shall become a self-sustaining and growing people, and we shall have
to do it. All this is in the elements in which we live, and we need
the skill to utilize the elements to our growth and wealth, and this
is true financiering.

Vol. 18,  p.355
We can now see the growth of the Latter-day Saints, and it is
marvelous to us to see the multitude of little towns springing up here
and there, and we are under the necessity of saying, Give us more
room, for the older settlements are thickening up, and the people are
spreading out and filling up new valleys continually. You can see the
shoots putting forth and taking root; still the old stock is good, is
alive and rapidly increasing.

Vol. 18,  p.355
It has been asked if we intend to settle more valleys. Why certainly
we expect to fill the next valley and then the next, and the next, and
so on. It has been the cry of late, through the columns of the
newspapers, that the "Mormons" are going into Mexico! That is quite
right, we calculate to go there. Are we going back to Jackson County?
Yes. When? As soon as the way opens up. Are we all going? O no! of
course not. The country is not large enough to hold our present
numbers. When we do return there, will there be any less remaining in
these mountains than we number today? No, there may be a hundred then
for every single one that there is now. It is folly in men to suppose
that we are going to break up [p.356] these our hard earned homes to
make others in a new country. We intend to hold our own here, and also
penetrate the north and the south, the east and the west, there to
make others and to raise the ensign of truth. This is the work of God,
that marvelous work and a wonder referred to by ancient men of God,
who saw it in its incipiency, as a stone cut out of the mountains
without hands, but which rolled and gathered strength and magnitude
until it filled the whole earth. We will continue to grow, to increase
and spread abroad, and the powers of earth and hell combined cannot
hinder it. All who are found opposing God and his people will be swept
away and their names be forgotten in the earth. As the Prophets Joseph
and Hyrum were murdered, and as they massacred our brethren and
sisters in Missouri, so they would have served us years and years ago,
if they had had the power to do so. But the Lord Almighty has said,
Thus far thou shalt go and no farther, and hence we are spared to
carry on his work. We are in his hands, the nations of the earth are
in his hands; he rules in the midst of the armies of heaven and
executes his pleasure on the earth. The hearts of all living are in
his hands and he turns them as the rivers of water are turned.

Vol. 18,  p.356
We have no business here other than to build up and establish the Zion
of God. It must be done according to the will and law of God after
that pattern and order by which Enoch built up and perfected the
former-day Zion, which was taken away to heaven, hence the saying went
abroad that Zion had fled. By and by it will come back again, and as
Enoch prepared his people to be worthy of translation, so we through
our faithfulness must prepare ourselves to meet Zion from above when
it shall return to earth, and to abide the brightness and glory of its
coming.

Vol. 18,  p.356
My brethren and sisters, I do really delight in hearing our brethren
speak on this holy order of heaven. Unity of purpose and action, in
carrying out the will of our Father, has been my theme all the day
long; but I have continually plead with the Saints not to waste their
substance upon the lust of the eye and the flesh, for that is contrary
to the will and commandments of God. I wish to say that whoever have
faith enough to inherit the celestial kingdom will find that their
inheritances will be upon this earth. this earth is our home; by and
by it will be sanctified and glorified, and become a fit dwelling
place for the sanctified, and they will dwell upon it for ever and
ever. I will further say I labor for the earth, I never mean to be
satisfied until the whole earth is yielded to Christ and his people.
When brother George Q. tells us we should not labor for the earth and
the things of this world, he means we should not labor with sinful
motives, and to gratify the lusts of the flesh. But if we possessed
the treasure of the Gentile world, could we not send our Elders to the
ends of the earth, bearing the precious Gospel to all living? Could we
not sustain their families during their absence? Could we not build
Temple after Temple and otherwise hasten on the work of redemption?
Yes. But keep the people in poverty and how are we to accomplish this
great work? I say, let us gather and accumulate the things of the
earth in the manner indicated by the Lord, and then devote it to God
and the building up of his kingdom. What do you say to this doctrine,
is it right or wrong? [The congregation said, "It is right."] What
little property I have I wish it to be [p.357] devoted to the building
up of Zion, and I suppose I have as much as any other man in the
Church. I am always ready to receive and take care of the blessings
that God showers upon me, and am always ready and willing to devote
the same to the building up of his kingdom.

Vol. 18,  p.357
Many of you may have heard what certain journalists have had to say
about Brigham Young being opposed to free schools. I am opposed to
free education as much as I am opposed to taking away property from
one man and giving it to another who knows not how to take care of it.
But when you come to the fact, I will venture to say that I school ten
children to every one that those do who complain so much of me. I now
pay the school tees of a number of children who are either orphans or
sons and daughters of poor people. But in aiding and blessing the poor
I do not believe in allowing my charities to go through the hands of a
set of robbers who pocket nine-tenths themselves, and give one-tenth
to the poor. Therein is the difference between us; I am for the real
act of doing and not saying. Would I encourage free schools by
taxation? No! That is not in keeping with the nature of our work; we
should Ice as one family, our hearts and hands united in the bonds of
the everlasting covenant; our interests alike, our children receiving
equal opportunities in the school-room and the college.

Vol. 18,  p.357
We have to-day, more children between the ages of 5 and 20 years, who
can read and write, than any State or Territory of the Union of a
corresponding number of inhabitants. This is not exactly sustained by
the statistics published of a few of the States, but from what we know
of the n we believe it to be the fact.

Vol. 18,  p.357
On the whole we have as good school-houses as can be found, and it is
our right to have better ones, and to excel in everything that is
good.

Vol. 18,  p.357
As to my health I feel many times that I could not live an hour
longer, but I mean to live just as long as I can. I know not how soon
the messenger will call for me, but I calculate to die in the harness.
Amen.[p.358] 

Brigham Young, May 6, 1877

The Lord Rules—the Hand of God in Persecution—the 
Gospel Embraces All Truth—No Need of Worry, the Lord 
Will Deal Out Justice—Joseph Slain for the Gospel—the 
Dissatisfied Will Be Satisfied—Full of Blessing

Discourse By President Brigham Young, Delivered in the 
New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Sunday Afternoon, May 6, 1877, 
After Addresses By Elders Orson Pratt and Geo. Q. Cannon.

(Reported by Geo. F. Gibbs)

Vol. 18,  p.358
I take the liberty of saying a few words on this occasion to both
Saints and sinners. That expression brings to my mind at once—Where
are the Saints? and who are they? And who are the sinners? We are all
sinners; but there is quite a portion of the congregation who are
trying to be Saints. For those who profess to be Saints I have a few
texts of Scripture. With regard to those who believe the truth and
desire to do it; to all who wish to live and preserve yourselves in
the truth, in the love of God, I wish to say, they whom God loves he
chastens. This is so, whether we believe it or not. If we have not
received chastisement, we receive not that witness, that assurance, to
testify to us that we love him. Another text of Scripture: The wicked
are a rod in the hand of God to chasten his people. If the Lord loves
us and we love him, we may expect to be chastened; and it is not
joyous at the time of receiving the chastisement; it is grievous; but
if we are exercised by grace and the spirit of truth, it will yield
the peaceable fruits of righteousness.

Vol. 18,  p.358
I wish to whisper in the ears of the Latter-day Saints, I mean those
who profess to be Saints, Know ye that the Lord reigns, and that the
hearts of all living are in his hands. lie turns the hearts of the
children of men as the rivers of waters are turned. He rules in the
armies of heaven, and does his pleasure upon the earth. When he wills,
no man can hinder it; when he is disposed to open the door, it is not
in the power of man to shut it; and when he closes the door it is not
in the power of man to open it. Remember this, Latter-day Saints, and
all the Christian world, the Pagan, Infidel and Jewish world, and
everybody in the world; and hearken, O ye nations of the earth, and
know ye that God lives, that he has spoken from the heavens, and has
sent forth his everlasting Gospel to the children of men, that through
obedience to the same they may be saved; and if they reject this
message they will be damned. We cannot help it, it is [p.359] not our
business, it is not our doctrine, it is the doctrine of him whom we
serve, of him whom we obey, of him who holds us in existence, who
gives us breath and being, and we have a right to believe in Him, to
love and serve him and to build up and establish his kingdom; and we
are doing it.

Vol. 18,  p.359
If I were to tell you one half of the things that I know in many
particulars it would astonish the half hearted who have but little or
no faith, and who do not understand the workings of the providences of
God among the children of men. But as to the persecution, it is
nothing at all, neither one way nor another, only to purify the Saints
and prepare the nations for the good or evil, for the Lord Almighty to
send forth his judgments to cleanse the earth, to sanctify it, and to
justify the righteous and condemn the guilty, and to prepare the way
for the coming of the Son of Man. I wish to say to you, to those who
are in the truth, as well as to those who are out of the truth, if we
did not have to bear the iron hand of persecution, the principles we
believe in, which attract the attention of the good and the evil upon
the earth and which occupy so many tongues and circumscribe their
philosophy, would be embraced by thousands who are now indifferent to
them. The evildoer would crowd upon our borders; and we have plenty of
them now without receiving any more. They would crowd into this
Church. And this is the reason why brother George Q. Cannon says, he
is pleased and rejoiced because of this persecution. We should be
satisfied with it, we should acknowledge the hand of God in it, and
say: The will of the Lord be done and not ours. By closely watching
the Latter-day Saints, and seeing that they are kept in the line of
their duty by using this kind of a rod, it prevents others from coming
that would affect us more than they can who are outside of this
Church. There is not one man in this city nor in the Territory who
hates the truth and the Latter-day Saints, whose influence I dread,
no, not even the hundreth part, as I do a smooth, slick hypocrite who
professes to be a Latter-day Saint. The former cannot sow the seeds of
infidelity and unbelief in the hearts of the people; but the latter
can.

Vol. 18,  p.359
I wish to say to all the people, The principles of the Gospel that God
has revealed from the heavens to the children of men upon the earth
are worthy the acceptation of the wise, the pure and the just. There
is no true philosophy in existence which is not embraced in the
Gospel, it belongs to the Gospel, it is a part of the Gospel. The
philosophy of the heavens and the earth, of the worlds that are, that
were, and that are yet to come into existence, is all in the Gospel
that we have embraced. Every true philosopher, so far as he
understands the principles of truth, has so much of the Gospel, and so
far he is a Latter-day Saint, whether he knows it or not. Our Father,
the great God, is the author of the sciences, he is the great
mechanic, he is the systematizer of all things, he plans and devises
all things, and every particle of knowledge which man has in his
possession is the gift of God, whether they consider it divine, or
whether it is the wisdom of man; it belongs to God, and he has
bestowed it upon us, his children dwelling here upon the earth.

Vol. 18,  p.359
We take up the principles or ordinances of the house of God, and when
we set them before the people, who would like to believe them?[p.360]
Ask the world of mankind, the heathen world, if there is one doctrine
or principle in all these which is not good for man to receive. If we
could find such a place as an angelic world, we might ask its
inhabitants if we had embraced in our faith a single principle not
good for them. Even they would not find an idea, a doctrine or a
principle but what every person would say, respecting it: "It is just
as good as we could ask for." For the principles of the Gospel are
calculated to purify the heart, the hands, the mouth, the brain, and
every act of the children of men, and to prepare them to live with
perfect and holy beings. These are principles worth seeking for, they
are worth living for, they are worth dying for. As to the struggle
that is going on between the Latter-day Saints and the world, have we
any struggle with them? No. Have we any contention? No, not in the
least. Have we any battle to fight? No, none at all. Are we to marshal
our armies to contend against them? No. Here are the words of truth;
we go forth and declare them to the ends of the earth; it is our
mission and all we have to do. They may war against us, they may
marshal their forces and their armies. God rules, I fear them not. If
I preserve myself in the truth, I am all right. With the principles
that these Latter-day Saints believe in, if we had our own way, and
were not followed up by these blessed scoundrels, would we have any
grog shops? No! Would we permit men to take the name of the Lord in
vain? No. If we could use that moral influence we would stop all
drinking, swearing, stealing, and Sabbath breaking, and speaking evil
one of another; and we would have no dishonest men; we would have all
men do that which is right before the Lord. But no, we must be
followed up. That is all right, perfectly right. Every step we take
and every move we make must be scanned by the devil to see if it is
right. You will excuse the expression. He is watching closely to see
if we live our religion. And he says: "Now, Latter-day Saints, are you
not ashamed whenever you do anything that is naughty?" and tries to
discourage them, that they may turn away from the truth. What should
this do for us? Should it not cause us to refrain from all wrong, and
teach us to do better, even this the chastisement of the devil?

Vol. 18,  p.360
We need not worry about this, that or the other, not in the least; it
is for us to serve the Lord, and see that we do his will. And so far
as persecution and the killing of the Prophets are concerned, whether
of ancient or of modern times, even Joseph and Hyrum Smith, and others
of the Saints, men, women and children, as they have done, we do not
expect that the perpetrators of these deeds will be brought to
justice; not in the least, until the Lord sits upon the case and deals
out justice to them. The cry has been against the Prophets of every
age, against the Apostles and against Jesus himself, and against all
those who have ever preached the truth, and why? Because the systems
of the world are errors; while the Gospel is true, it stands alone, it
is as firm as the everlasting mountains; the storms may beat upon it,
and it is there. But how is it with those who are jealous of us and
who oppose us? We hear some of them who profess Christianity crying,
"Come to Jesus," "Come to Jesus," etc. What is there of it? It, is so
much nonsense. If Jesus were in their midst to-day, they would kick
him [p.361] out; for they did so to his servants. Suppose the Apostle
Paul, or Peter, in tact any of the Apostles were to get into their
chapels, and were to preach from their pulpits their doctrine which
they preached when upon the earth, what do you think they would do to
them? They would Take them and lead them out of doors, saying, "We
will not have any such hypocrites and false Prophets as you are in our
midst."

Vol. 18,  p.361
There is once in a while a good honest man who professes to preach the
truth, and when he does preach, it amounts to this: "My brethren, we
think we are Christians, we are believers in the word of God; but I
tell you if the Apostles were here to-day we would not receive them."
That is what these good, honest preachers would say, and a few do say
it to their congregations.

Vol. 18,  p.361
A false principle, a false theory, whether in mechanism or philosophy,
requires much argument and superior talent to sustain it, but when the
truth is presented it commends itself to the understanding of the
people so readily that it requires no great amount of learning to
substantiate it, nor much skill to declare it to the honest who want
truth, and it remains firm and sound.

Vol. 18,  p.361
Forty-five years ago they were determined to kill the Prophet Joseph.
I have lain upon the floor scores and scores of nights ready to
receive the mob who sought his life. This persecution commenced with a
little neighborhood, then a town, then a county, then a State, and
then the people of the United States; and by and by other nations will
be just as bitter towards us, and the doctrines we preach as many of
the people of our own nation now are. They will struggle and strive,
and plan and devise, saying, Let us take this course, and that course;
and they will struggle until they will come to a stop as though they
were against a mountain of solid rock. They will do all they can to
break us up, and even destroy us; this has been the case now for the
last forty-five years. Joseph Smith had forty-seven law suits, and I
was with him through the most of them, and never was the first thing
proved against him; he was never guilty of the first violation of the
law or of good order. And when Governor Ford asked him to go to
prison, as the mob were so enraged that he could not insure his life,
that he might be safe until he returned from Nauvoo, he said: "I will
pledge you the faith of the State of Illinois for your safety." But as
soon as he was gone, the mob murdered both Joseph and his brother
Hyrum, in the jail. That was to be so. I heard Joseph say many a time,
"I should not live until I am fourty years of age." The spring before
he was killed—his death occurred the 27th of June, 1844—he hurried off
the first Elders of the Church. All right, I thought then, and I think
so now. It is all in the hands of God. They killed Joseph, and what
for? For the Gospel's sake. It was for no evil, for I was well
acquainted with him. He testified to the truth, he sealed his
testimony with his blood. Whether we believe in blood atonement or
not, the Lord so ordered it, that Joseph, as well as others of the
Prophets, sealed their testimony with their blood.

Vol. 18,  p.361
I said here last Sabbath, that, if the people of this government are
not satisfied with what they have already passed through this side of
twenty years past, "Wait a little longer, and they will be perfectly
satisfied with blood." They shed the blood of the innocent; if they
are not satisfied with the blood they have shed of each other, wait a
little while [p.362] and they will shed each other's blood to their
full satisfaction. The Lord has spoken it, and we have nothing to do
with it. If we could, we would hide ourselves away from the scenes
that will take place; but this we cannot do. But wait a little longer,
and the people of this nation, as well as others, will have blood till
they are satisfied with shedding the blood of each other. This is the
prediction of the ancient Prophets, and has been confirmed unto us
through his servant Joseph. The people are in the hands at God, he
will rule all things and deal justly with all mankind; but he will not
suffer this wickedness to dwell on the earth; it must be cleansed. All
that we need to concern ourselves about is to serve the Lord, to trust
in him, so that we may be ready to receive his dealings upon the just
and the unjust, in all his chastisements. Let us live up to the
principles of the just, and God will continue to bless us and deliver
us with the just.

Vol. 18,  p.362
If I had power, I certainly would bless the people with everything
their hearts could wish if they would not sin. I would do, as I heard
the mothers of some of my children say, that went with me to St.
George this winter, that I indulged them in every tiring they wanted.
Why? Because they never manifested a desire for anything wrong. And if
it were in my power I would bless all the inhabitants of the earth,
with everything in which they could glorify God, and purify their own
hearts. 

Vol. 18,  p.362
May God bless you. Amen.

Orson Pratt, May 13, 1877

Melchizedek and Aaronic Priesthoods—Their Peculiarities 
and Jurisdiction—Building Temples—Gathering to Be 
Sanctified—Union and Blessing Its Results

Discourse By Elder Orson Pratt, Delivered in the New 
Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Sunday Afternoon, May 13, 1877.

(Reported by Geo. F. Gibbs)

Vol. 18,  p.362
I will read a few passages contained in a modern revelation, given
through the prophet Joseph Smith, on the 22nd and the 23rd days of
September, 1832—

Vol. 18,  p.362
And the Lord confirmed a priesthood also upon Aaron and his seed,
throughout all their generations—which priesthood also continueth and
abideth forever with the priesthood which is after the holiest order
of God.

Vol. 18,  p.362
And this greater priesthood administereth the Gospel and holdeth the
key of the mysteries of the kingdom, even the key of the knowledge of
God;[p.363] 

Vol. 18,  p.363
Therefore, in the ordinance thereof, the power of godliness is
manifested;

Vol. 18,  p.363
And without the ordinance thereof, and the authority of the
priesthood, the power of godliness is not manifest unto man in the
flesh;

Vol. 18,  p.363
For without this no man can see the face of God, even the Father, and
live.

Vol. 18,  p.363
Now this Moses plainly taught to the children of Israel in the
wilderness, and sought diligently to sanctify his people that they
might behold the face of God;

Vol. 18,  p.363
But they hardened their hearts and could not endure his presence;
therefore the Lord in his wrath (for his anger was kindled against
them) swore that they should not enter into his rest while in the
wilderness, which rest is the fullness of his glory.

Vol. 18,  p.363
Therefore he took Moses out of their midst, and the holy priesthood;

Vol. 18,  p.363
And the lesser priesthood continued, which priesthood holdeth the key
of the ministering of angels and the preparatory Gospel.

Vol. 18,  p.363
It is not my design this morning to speak very lengthily, but it is my
great desire, during the time I may speak, that I may have the faith
and prayers of all the Latter-day Saints present, and of every person
who desires to be edified and instructed. It is also my desire that I
may have a portion of the Holy Spirit to rest upon me, that the words
which I may speak may be instructive and edifying to those who hear.
That is the object of speaking, the object of hearing—to be edified.

Vol. 18,  p.363
From the passages I have read, we learn that God, in all ages of the
world, has had a Priesthood on the earth, that is, a Priesthood after
the order of his Son, sometimes called the Priesthood after the order
of Melchisedec; and that connected with this Priesthood, in all
dispensations, there is a lesser Priesthood, called sometimes the
Priesthood after the order of Aaron, or the Aaronic Priesthood, which
is merely an appendage to the higher Priesthood of Melchisedec; in
other words, it is included in the Priesthood of Melchisedec. It is
more especially called the lesser Priesthood, because those holding
it, and being in possession of no higher authority, can only obtain a
certain portion, or measure of the blessings that the Lord has in
store for his people; it can proceed so far and no farther; it is
limited in its nature, its power, its ordinances and its ministry. But
when combined with the higher Priesthood after the order of
Melchisedec, it then can receive all the blessings that are ordained
of the Almighty to be bestowed upon his people in any dispensation.
Like unto the Melchisedec Priesthood, it is everlasting in its nature,
not given for time alone, to be exercised here for a few years upon
the earth and then cease, but it continues forever, with the
Priesthood which is after the holiest order of God.

Vol. 18,  p.363
The higher Priesthood after the order of the Son of God, we are told,
in a modern revelation, holds the power to commune with the Church of
the First-born that are in heaven, and that too not in a spiritual
sense alone; or, as some would infer, to commune with them without
receiving any revelation, to commune with them without beholding their
personages; but in the literal sense, even the same as one man
communes with another. It holds not only the power of the ministration
of holy angels to be seen personally, but also the power of beholding
the face of God the Father, that through the power and manifestations
of the spirit of God and of his angels we may be prepared to enter
into the presence of God the Father in the world to come, and enjoy
continual communion with him, and be crowned with the glory of the
celestial kingdom, to stand in our place and calling to all eternity,
in connection with all those who hold the Priesthood in the eternal
worlds.

Vol. 18,  p.363
The Priesthood of Aaron, being an appendage to the higher Priesthood,
has power to administer in [p.364] temporal ordinances, such as that
of baptism for remission of sins, the administration of the Lord's
Supper, and in attending to temporal things for the benefit of the
people of God. Among the privileges that are granted to this lesser
Priesthood is to hold communion with holy angels that may be sent down
from heaven.

Vol. 18,  p.364
In the early days of this Church the Lord, through a revelation, set
forth the various appendages of the higher Priesthood, the duties of
its several offices and their callings; also how they should
officiate, and what ordinances they were permitted to administer, and
what was not permitted to be administered by those holding it.

Vol. 18,  p.364
It seems that since these revelations were given, the Church, during
its history, has passed through a variety of circumstances, wherein a
perfect organization according to the rules and laws, as laid down by
modern revelation, has not been entered into. Circumstances always did
more or less to alter the condition of the people. Some, by virtue of
their Priesthood have officiated, without being set apart, in certain
callings that pertain to those who should be selected and set apart
for that purpose. Let me here say, for the benefit of those who have
not studied the Doctrine and Covenants of the Church, that if we have
literal descendants of Aaron, they have the birthright, through their
obedience to the Gospel of the Son of God, to the bishoprick, which
pertains to the lesser Priesthood. It is the presiding authority over
the lesser Priesthood; they have the right to claim it, and to all the
keys and powers pertaining to it, they have the right to be ordained
and set apart to that calling and to officiate therein, and that too
without the aid of two counsellors. That is what we are taught in
modern revelation. But as we have none at present, to our knowledge,
that belong to the seed of Aaron, that has the right to this by
lineage, the Lord has pointed out that those who are ordained to the
higher Priesthood have the right, by virtue of this higher authority,
to administer, when set apart by the First Presidency, or under their
direction and according to their instruction, as Bishops to officiate
in the Presidency of the lower Priesthood. This order has been
followed ever since the Lord revealed these things to this Church. A
Bishop must be ordained to the high Priesthood, and by authority of
that Priesthood he may be set apart as a Bishop to preside over the
lesser Priesthood, to exercise the functions thereof, with the
exception of one condition, that is, he must have two counsellors
ordained from among the high Priests of the Church. These three
persons must officiate in relation to all the ordinances that pertain
to the lesser Priesthood, and to administer in temporal things, having
a knowledge of them by the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, as we are
taught in the Book of Doctrine and Covenants.

Vol. 18,  p.364
Now what I wish to say in relation to this matter is this—In some
portions of our Territory, instead of this organization having been
carried out in all its perfection, we have acted, in some few
instances, for the time being, by appointing a person to take that
position, when he had not been previously set apart to that special
calling. We might refer to persons in some few of our settlements,
both north and south, who have acted as Bishops by virtue of
appointment only, and not ordination.

Vol. 18,  p.365
I understand now that the Spirit [p.365] of the Lord has manifested
unto the President of the Church, who is the proper authority, for the
Twelve to go forth and set in order and organize more perfectly the
various Branches that are located throughout all the Territory, and in
the adjoining Territories. And no doubt those few who are acting in
the Bishoprick without being ordained will receive their ordination,
and there may be many changes, in order to introduce, in all its
perfection, as far as we have knowledge and understanding, a more
perfect organization throughout the Church in these mountains.

Vol. 18,  p.365
The object of this perfect organization is that we may be entitled to
greater blessings therefrom; that we may be entitled to a greater
fullness of the Holy Spirit; that everything may be dictated according
to the mind and will of God, not only in spiritual things, but also in
regard to our temporal matters; and also that every person may know
his place, that his duties may be assigned to him, and by knowing what
is required, that all may the more diligently seek after the Holy
Ghost to direct them in their positions and callings, and have more
faith, more assurance before God, to obtain confidence before the
heavens, and before the brethren, in order that their ministry may
benefit the people. You are well aware that we have been taught, for
these many years, the great necessity of establishing a union in the
midst of this people. Although we are the most united people upon the
face of the earth, of which we have any knowledge, yet we are far from
that perfection of unity which should characterize the Saints of the
Most High God.

Vol. 18,  p.365
I can see, in this order which the President has laid before us, a
beauty, a consistency, a plan which the Lord has revealed that will
entitle the Latter-day Saints to greater blessings and privileges
through which that union will be brought about which we have so long
desired in our hearts.

Vol. 18,  p.365
We preach and declare to all people that God has raised up a kingdom
to prepare the way before the coming of Christ. We declare to all men,
wherever our missionaries go, that this is the grand prepartion for
the coming of our Lord and Savior to regin on the earth. When he does
come, that part of the prayer which he taught us to utter will be
fulfilled, namely, "Thy will be done on earth as it is done in
heaven." Were we permitted to have the veil removed, according to the
hymn just sung, namely that "the veil should be rent in twain," and
were we to behold the order that exists in yonder heavens in the midst
of celestial hosts, we should there see a perfect union—no
dissensions, no bitterness of feeling, no difference of ideas or
opinion in regard to their duties, but all understanding as one, and
all moving as one body to fulfill and accomplish the purposes of
Jehovah.

Vol. 18,  p.365
Now, his will must be done on the earth as it done in heaven, in order
that that prayer which has been offered up by his people ever since it
was revealed, may be fulfilled to the very letter. Hence the great
necessity of the Latter-day Saints preparing themselves by being
united, even as the hosts of heaven are. For remember that the Apostle
Paul says, "that in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might
gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven
and which are on the earth; even in him." If then the General Assembly
and Church of the First-born are to come down out of heaven to dwell
on the earth, how important it is that the Latter-day Saints should
[p.366] be prepared to join this grand company, being united as they
are, having no feeling of dissension, no division in their midst, no
evil or corruption of any nature; no covetousness, no feeling of
individuality in regard to wealth, but having all upon the altar ready
to subserve the purposes of the Most high in building up his kingdom
upon the earth.

Vol. 18,  p.366
This, therefore, is the purpose of this more perfect organization
which is being introduced among the Branches throughout the Territory
of Utah; it is to entitle us to these great blessings promised in the
word of God. It is not only to build a Temple, but many Temples, as
the case may require. This is not the only duty of the Latter-day
Saints, although this duty is one of great importance. But then is it
not of still greater importance that we, as a people, when these
Temples are built, and finished, and dedicated, should be prepared to
enter into the courts of the same, to go in there with a perfect
oneness and union of feeling? Can we expect in these holy Temples,
which are to be dedicated and set apart to the name of the Lord, to
receive the blessings promised in Temples, unless we are a people of
one heart and one mind? I think not. I read, in one of the revelations
contained in this book of Doctrine and Covenants, that when God
commanded a Temple to be built in Jackson County, in the State of
Missouri, he made this promise—"Wherefore," said the Lord, "I
commanded the people of that county, and the people around about in
the settlements, to build a Temple unto my name, and inasmuch as my
people build a Temple unto my name, and suffer no unclean thing to
enter into it, that it be not defiled, behold I will come into it; I
will be there, and my glory shall be there. And it shall come to pass,
that every soul that shall come into that Temple, who is pure in
heart, shall see my face." This is one of the promises and privileges
pertaining to the High Priesthood, after the order of the Son of God.
This is one of the blessings, ordained for all dispensations from the
earliest period to the closing up of the last dispensation of the
fullness of times; that is, in all those dispensations the righteous
were to be blessed with the powers, and keys, and blessings of the
High Priesthood. For this purpose, they were to build Temples to his
name. In these Temples, if they were pure in heart, they would have
this priviledge of beholding the face of God and without this
Priesthood and the ordinances thereof, no man in the flesh could
behold the face of God the Father and live.

Vol. 18,  p.366
We have accomplished a great work thus far. I feel, in connection with
my brethren, to rejoice exceedingly in the work that the Lord our God
has performed in the earth, through us his people. Truly he hath
fulfilled that prophecy given in 1830—"The decree hath gone forth from
the Father, that mine elect shall be gathered in from the four
quarters of the earth to one place upon the face of the land." This
revelation was given before there was any gathering of the Latter-day
Saints. You are my witnesses, and you are also witnesses to yourselves
that the Lord has fulfilled this to the very letter. His elect from
the four winds have come by thousands, and by tens of thousands, and
have gathered to one place upon the face of this land. What has been
the object of this gathering? It is to learn more perfectly of the
ways of God, which we could not have learned in a scattered condition;
in our native countries, while mixed [p.367] up with the wicked and
self-righteous. We are now partly isolated; and we have come from the
ends of the earth, that by our united faith we may accomplish that
which we could not have done by our own individual faith alone.

Vol. 18,  p.367
By and by, when this people shall have sanctified themselves before
the Lord, and organized according to the laws and commandments of God,
having been taught by the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, and by his
servants that minister in their midst, carrying out the counsels and
teachings they receive, they will become like unto one body, as it is
written in the parable contained in the Book of Mormon, that the Lord
will prune the vineyard, or take some of the branches away and graft
them into another branch, etc.; he will make a change of the branches;
he will prune the trees and dig about them, that the roots and the
tops thereof may be kept equal. Understand that the roots and the tops
thereof shall be made equal, so that the tops and branches may not
overcome the roots by taking strength unto themselves. Why? That the
tree may bring forth that fruit which is the most precious unto the
Lord.

Vol. 18,  p.367
Therefore he is gathering us here, that we may become like unto one
body, being sanctified, and become, as another revelation says, "as
fair as the sun, as clear as the moon, that the banners of my people
may be terrible unto all the nations of the earth." Why terrible?
Because of the power of the Lord which will be in the midst of his
people, because of the manifestations of heaven unto his people,
because the nations will hear that God is indeed in the midst of Zion.
They will hear all these things, and the wicked will fear and tremble.
They will fear because of their iniquity; fear and tremble, because of
their wickedness; fear and tremble, because they have supported all
manner of wickedness and corruption, division and strife, and
abominations of every kind in their midst. Therefore restfulness will
seize upon them, and they will know of a surety that the Lord God is
in the midst of the people of Zion, that his power is there, that his
spirit is there, and that he manifests himself there in great glory.
Amen.[p.368] 

Daniel H. Wells April 6, 1877

Prayer By President Daniel H. Wells, 
Dedicating the Temple of the Lord at St George, 
on the Sixth Day of April, 1877, at 10 o'clock A.M.

(Reported by Geo. F. Gibbs)

Vol. 18,  p.368
Almighty and Everlasting God, our heavenly Father, thou who art the
God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; the God of Moses, of David, of
Solomon; the God and Father of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ; the
God of Joseph and of Brigham, even the God of Israel; thou who art the
Father of our spirits; it is to thee we approach this morning to
worship and to offer up our dedicatory prayer in thanksgiving and
praise for this offering, even a Temple which thou hast enabled thy
people to rear unto thy most holy name.

Vol. 18,  p.368
We realize, our Father, that we are dependent upon thee, and that
although we are shut out from thy presence, inheriting many
weaknesses, and made subject to many temptations and sins, we are thy
children, and as such we come before thee in the depths of humility,
with broken hearts and contrite spirits, praying that thine
indulgence, thy tender mercy and compassion may be extended toward us,
and that thou wilt forgive everything that thine all-seeing and
searching eye hath beheld amiss in us.

Vol. 18,  p.368
We thank thee, O Lord, that thy people, whom thou hast led to this
distant land and whom thou hast preserved by thine own right arm, have
been permitted to establish themselves in the homes which thou hast
given them, and that, through thy continued blessings, they have been
enabled to gather together the materials of which this building is
composed, to put together and erect the same, even a Temple, which we
dedicate and now consecrate to thee, that it may be holy unto thee,
the Lord our God, for sacred and holy purposes, and that "the
blessing, even life forevermore," may be commanded here, from heaven,
even from thy presence, and may flow through the ordinance which
appertain unto thy holy place, unto us thy children. We pray that the
blessings pertaining to our eternal salvation and to the establishing
of thy kingdom upon this thine earth may be poured out upon thy holy
Priesthood and thy people, who shall worship and officiate in this thy
holy House.

Vol. 18,  p.368
We dedicate and consecrate the foundation of this building upon which
it stands. Cause, O Lord, that it may not give way nor yield in
consequence of any destructive elements that may be in the soil, or
may the nature of those elements be changed so as to become
strengthening instead of weakening, [p.369] that the same may always
remain firm and sound.

Vol. 18,  p.369
We dedicate and consecrate the lower and upper walls of the building
and the buttresses which support the same, and all the material—the
stone, the lime and the sand, which compose the mortar, and all that
pertains thereunto, together with the flagging, the timbers, the
joists, the floors, and the foundations upon which they rest, that the
same may be protected and preserved, that none of the elements, either
through storms, fire or earthquakes, may have power to destroy,
disturb or injure this thy holy House. We also dedicate and consecrate
unto thee all the openings, entrances, doors and windows, and their
fastenings, of the basement story. We also present to thee the
Baptismal Font, in which is performed the ordinance of baptism for the
living and the dead; with the steps, the railing around, and the oxen
upon which it rests, the foundations, together with the connections
and apparatus for furnishing, conveying, holding and heating the
water, with all that pertains to it, dedicating and consecrating all
unto time, the Lord, our Father and God, that they may be holy unto
thy name. We pray that thy blessing may attend those of thy servants
who administer and who may officiate in the ordinances that may be
performed therein, in behalf of thy people, and in behalf of those,
our progenitors, our relatives and friends, who have gone before us to
the spirit world, so far as we may be enabled and permitted to
officiate for them.

Vol. 18,  p.369
We dedicate to thee also the rooms of this building in the first,
second and third stories, with the pillars and supports thereof,
including the side rooms, with the partition walls, for the purposes
for which they may be used by the Priesthood, for prayer, for worship,
for councils or meetings, or for administering the holy ordinances of
thy House, that they may be holy unto thee, the Lord our God. We also
dedicate the roof and the tower, with its dome, its covering and
walls, and the walls and the battlements around mid above the roof,
with the timbers and frames and supports upon which the roof and tower
rest, and are made permanent, and the fastenings and all that
appertains thereunto, and the materials of which they are composed. We
dedicate also the entrances, the steps and the circular stairs, with
the railings and bannisters thereunto attached. Grant, O Lord, that
the roof which covers all may shield and protect this building from
the storms which may come upon it. We dedicate the pipes which convey
the water from the roof, with their fastenings and the materials of
which they are composed. We also dedicate the chimneys, flues,
conduits, and sewers, and openings for ventilation; also all the
doors, windows, and glass, the hinges and nails and screws, the door
locks and handles, the window weights and cords and fastenings of
every kind; and all the paint, putty, plaster, whitewash and all the
ornamental work within and without, everything used in the
construction and completion of the entire building, from the
foundation unto the top thereof, that all may be holy unto the Lord
our God.

Vol. 18,  p.369
Holy Father, we dedicate unto thee the furniture and utensils used in
the holy washings, anointings and ceremonies of this thy holy House;
also the curtains and frames for partitions; together with [p.370] the
altars and their cushions, and the tables and the chairs, stools and
desks, that all may be sanctified for the use and purposes intended.
We dedicate also the tower on the outside, containing the fountain,
also the aqueduct and pipes conveying the water thereunto. We dedicate
the block of land upon which this Temple is situated, and the fence
which encloses it, with its openings and gates, the hinges, hangings
and fastenings, and the materials of which they are composed; also the
roads and walks leading thereto and through the same.

Vol. 18,  p.370
We dedicate and consecrate the pulpits, with the cushions thereon and
the ornamental fringe around, together with the steps, railing and
bannisters, and the seats, with the cushions on them; and the floors
and the foundations upon which they stand. May nothing unholy or
impure ever enter here, but may the same be holy unto the Lord our
God. Especially do we pray that thy power may rest upon thy servants
who may occupy these pulpits when they shall minister by virtue of
their holy calling, either in preaching, in counseling, or in
transacting business pertaining to the welfare of thy Church and
kingdom here upon the earth.

Vol. 18,  p.370
We implore thy blessings upon the various congregations of thy people
who may assemble in this House from time to time, both in their
incomings and outgoings, and may thy blessing and thy spirit dwell
herein and rest upon them, for their comfort and edification, and
abide richly in their hearts, that they may learn further of thy ways
and walk in thy paths.

Vol. 18,  p.370
We desire also to commend these thy servants and people to thy kind
care and keeping, that they may Be preserved unto thee from the powers
of the wicked and ungodly, and from the powers of all evil and
opposing influences, from whose grasp thou hast heretofore delivered
us in bringing us here to these valleys and the fastnesses of these
mountains. We acknowledge thee and the great deliverance thou hast
wrought out for us, and we pray thee, O God, in the name of Jesus, to
accept of these thy servants and people, and preserve and keep us in
thy most holy keeping. Let the ministering angels from thy presence
attend us, and let thy grace and power be upon us, that we may walk in
the paths of purity and holiness, and be enabled to bring forth thy
purposes and establish thy kingdom in all its fullness, administering
in all the ordinances pertaining to thy House, and also send forth
salvation to all the children of men, scattered abroad upon the face
of the whole earth, for their redemption from sin and bondage, even
from gross darkness.

Vol. 18,  p.370
We now ask, our Father, that we thy servants and people may be
acceptable unto thee, praying thee to grant that thy Holy Spirit may
pervade each heart before thee, that our worship may be such as thou
delightest to behold, and that the revelations of thy mind and will
may continue to be made manifest through thy servant Brigham and all
of thy servants upon whom thou hast conferred the authority of the
holy Priesthood.

Vol. 18,  p.370
We feel not to multiply words before thee, for language is inadequate
to express the fullness of the feelings and emotions of our souls in
being thus privileged to meet before thee in this sacred, this holy
place.

Vol. 18,  p.370
Accept, O God, of this tribute of our hearts, and let thy peace and
blessing dwell and abide here in this holy Temple, which we now
[p.371] with uplifted hearts and hands present and consecrate and
dedicats entire as a sacred offering unto thee, for thy divine
acceptance. May it stand as a monument of purity and holiness as long
as the earth shall remain, commemorative of thy great goodness towards
us thy people, and thy name shall have the honor, the praise and
glory, for we ask all in Jesus' name. And unto thee and our blessed
Lord and Savior and to the Holy Spirit be all power, might and
dominion, worlds without end. Amen.

Lorenzo Snow, April 5, 1877

Necessity for Effort—Regulation of Temporal Affairs—
Consecration and Stewardship—Preparation for Building in 
Jackson County—Responsibility of Presidents—How 
Confidence is Created—the United Order—
Desires for the Future

Discourse By Elder Lorenzo Snow, Delivered at a Two Days' 
Meeting Held By the St. George Stake of Zion, in the 
Temple, at St. George, Thursday Morning, April 5, 1877.

(Reported by Geo. F. Gibbs)

Vol. 18,  p.371
In occupying the time this morning, I wish in the first place to call
your attention to the fact that we are Latter-day Saints, or at least
ought to be, and that as such we are dependent upon the Lord for our
instruction; this is in accordance with our faith that we have to look
to him for assistance under all circumstances, in all places, in all
our affairs of life, and in all matters pertaining to furthering us on
in the principles of godliness.

Vol. 18,  p.371
Assembled together as we are this morning, it is very necessary that
we ask the Lord for his spirit, the spirit of inspiration, to rest
upon us as speakers and as hearers, that we may be enabled to
comprehend things that may be spoken, and that they may be adapted to
our individual needs.

Vol. 18,  p.371
It is impossible to advance in the principles of truth, to increase in
heavenly knowledge, except we exercise our reasoning faculties and
exert ourselves in a proper manner. We have an instance recorded in
the Doctrine and Covenants of a misunderstanding on the part of Oliver
Cowdery, touching this principle. The Lord promised him the gift to
translate ancient records. Like many of us to-day, he had
misconceptions in regard to the exercise of the gift. He thought all
that was necessary for him to do, inasmuch as this gift had been
promised [p.372] him of God, was to allow his mind to wait in idleness
without effort, until it should operate spontaneously. But when those
records were placed before him, there was no knowledge communicated,
they still remained sealed, as it were, for no power to translate came
upon him.

Vol. 18,  p.372
Although the gift to translate had been conferred, he could not
prosecute the work, simply because he failed to exert himself before
God with the view of developing the gift within him; and he became
greatly disappointed, and the Lord, in his goodness and mercy,
informed him of his mistake, using the following language—

Vol. 18,  p.372
"Behold, you have not understood; you have supposed that I would give
it unto you when you toed no thought, save it was to ask me; but,
behold, I say unto you, that you must study it out in your mind; then
you must ask me if it be right, and if it is right I will cause that
your bosom shall burn within you," etc.

Vol. 18,  p.372
So in regard to us, respecting the things which we are undertaking. If
we expect to improve, to advance in the work immediately before us,
and finally to obtain possession of those gifts and glories, coming up
to that condition of exaltation we anticipate, we must take thought
and reflect, we must exert ourselves, and that too to the utmost of
our ability.

Vol. 18,  p.372
The text given us by President Young yesterday, and to which we, in
our prayer this morning, asked God to direct our remarks, was the work
with which we are now immediately concerned, pertaining to our present
wants and necessities. The question here arises, How shall we regulate
our temporal affairs so as to qualify us to perform the duties and
obligations devolving upon us to-day, and secure to ourselves the
blessings of eternal life?

Vol. 18,  p.372
To this subject, so far as the Lord will give me his Holy Spirit,
through the exercise of your faith, I wish to speak this morning. I
desire, however, to confine myself more particularly to the subject
relating to our financial union, uniting ourselves together as
brethren who have entered into the everlasting covenant of the Gospel
of the Lord Jesus Christ, expecting to dwell together in the presence
of God in the celestial world.

Vol. 18,  p.372
We have been told, through the revelations of God, and to which our
attention has often been called, that unless we became one in temporal
as well as spiritual things, it were useless anticipating the fullness
of celestial glory, or a state of oneness in the spiritual things of
God. But what course we are to take in order to arrive at this most
desirable condition seems to remain a difficult, unsolved problem.
Doubtless many have asked themselves, what can we do, and how shall we
do it?

Vol. 18,  p.372
Well, let our minds revert for a few minutes to the time when we
received the fullness of the everlasting Gospel, in the countries
where it first reached us. As soon as we became convinced of the truth
and that the Elders who preached the Gospel were the servants of God,
we offered ourselves as candidates for baptism for the remission of
sins, receiving the Holy Ghost through the laying on of their hands,
and then felt determined to do whatever the Lord should require
through his servants and continue to follow their counsels in all
things, even to the sacrifice of all we possessed, if necessary,
whether pertaining to the world's wealth or that which we held in
[p.373] higher and dearer esteem.

Vol. 18,  p.373
We learned an important and significant fact, that we were his
offspring, inheriting, though only in infantile form, the same
attributes he himself possessed, and that, through probationary
experience, by passing the ordeals of earth, rejecting the evil and
accepting the good, these attributes could be developed until
eventually we might receive a fullness of the godhead, and dwell in
the presence of the Father. We became acquainted with this fact, and
were convinced in our hearts that the object which now appeared before
us, was well worthy of all that we could bestow upon it. Hence we
resolved that we would accomplish the undertaking, though at the
sacrifice of our all. We well understood that in order to attain to
that position that would entitle us to this exaltation, it would be
necessary to submit ourselves wholly to the mind and will of God. We
felt in our hearts to consecrate our wives, our children and our
property, if we had any, and our time and abilities, to the service of
God. Had this law of consecration been presented at that time it no
doubt would have been hailed with joy, as it was in exact accordance
with the spirit of our covenants.

Vol. 18,  p.373
According to the order of the celestial world, as revealed to the
Latter-day Saints, respecting the property we might possess, we were
required to consecrate all to the Lord, and then to be made stewards,
as pointed out by revelation in the Book of Doctrine and Covenants,
and were to continue to devote that which might be entrusted to us to
the service of God; and so far as we increased the property of our
stewardship we were to devote the same to the benefit of the kingdom
of God, which would be used for the building of Temples, emigrating
and sustaining the poor, and for carrying on the great work of
redeeming Israel. This feeling, which we entertained at the beginning,
was to continue to burn in our bosoms, and we were to be faithful and
honest in our professions.

Vol. 18,  p.373
I know that many of us when we came to the valleys, conformed to this
law of consecration, which is now published in the Book of Doctrine
and Covenants. We deeded our property, and many were willing, perhaps
not all, that, if necessary, every part and portion of it should have
been used as the servants of God should have directed. This was the
kind of feeling that we then entertained, and just as long as we
maintained this condition of mind, of willing obedience, it was all
that was required. But I fear that this feeling, which gave us so much
joy, which tended to increase our faith and confidence in God and in
one another, has not continued to grow correspondingly with our
general prosperity, experience and knowledge of the Gospel. My
testimony to you is that, so far as this is the case, we stand this
day not wholly approved of God, although we have the privilege of
worshipping in this Temple, reared to his holy name. But just, so far
as this willingness exists in our hearts to appropriate our means that
we have accumulated for the upbuilding of the kingdom of God on the
earth, and that too without grudging, even as the former-day Saints
laid down theirs at the feet of the Apostles, so far are we approved
and accepted of God. Who, among the Latter-day Saints within the
hearing of my voice this day, could fail to comprehend this?[p.374] 

Vol. 18,  p.374
In much of our business relations one with another, there does not
exist that spirit of union and brotherly interest that should be
maintained. We need to take such a course as will enable us to acquire
it, and this spirit should prevail throughout all our settlements.

Vol. 18,  p.374
Who cannot perceive the hand of God in bringing us away from the
turmoil and strife of the business world to these mountain vales,
where we have the opportunity and the privilege of building up
villages and cities upon the principle of unity which has been
revealed to us, thus affording that necessary discipline which we
could not have obtained among the cities of the Gentiles? This
training cannot be acquired in one year, nor in five years, but its
acquisition is enhanced in proportion to our willingness to make
sacrifices in order to obtain it. By and by the Lord will have
prepared the way for some to return to Jackson County, there to build
up the Centre Stake of Zion. How easy this work can be accomplished,
after we have learned to build up cities and Temples here to his
divine acceptance! Our present experience is a very needful one.
Without it, we should be totally unfitted for the performance of such
a work. We read that the Temple which Solomon built was erected
without the sound of a hammer being heard. There had been a previous
preparation and an experience gained in some distant locality, and a
proper training. The materials were accurately prepared elsewhere, and
when brought together were ready for setting, each piece to its proper
place. As knowledge and efficiency are obtained gradually, we may
expect that the experience that we are getting now in learning how to
build up cities in our present condition, conforming as near as
possible to the holy order of God, is, in order to prepare us by and
by to return to Missouri, whence we were driven, and there build up
cities and Temples to the name of the Most High, upon which his glory
will descend. A condition of willingness to conform our will to the
divine will is what we need. It might not be deemed policy to enter
into covenants by deed, in our property matters, though it may be
hereafter. But so long as the emotions of our souls prompt us to
exclaim, in the language of Joshua, that "I and my household will
serve the Lord," so long as this willingness dwells in our hearts, to
give ourselves up entirely to the service of God, we are then in the
condition to ask the Father to hasten the day when his will shall be
done on earth as in heaven; and further, when the proper time comes to
require the use of our property in the interests of the great work we
are engaged in, the bare mention of it will be sufficient. But, we
ask, should not the Bishop who operates in our temporal matters be a
very wise and good man? Certainly he should, and a man of honor and
integrity, full of the Holy Ghost, loving his neighbor as himself, and
loving the Lord our God with all his might, mind and strength. On
this, we are told, "hang the law and the Prophets." Blessed is he in
whom these two principles are developed, for such a one is without
condemnation; he stands the peer of him referred to in the Scriptures
by the Savior as one "without guile." The people will soon learn to
confide in such a man, as he can establish unmistakable proof before
God and before his brethren that he obeys these commandments in which
are involved all that the Prophets ever lived for.

Vol. 18,  p.374
We will suppose, further, that such an individual as I have described,
who really had obeyed these commandments, were placed to preside over
a city of a thousand people, all of whom too were living in the
advanced condition referred to. He must bear in mind his important
position, high responsibilities, and who appointed him to this
position, he or they in whom God had vested the authority. Why is such
a man called to act as president over a people? Is it in order to
acquire an influence and then to use that influence directly for his
own aggrandizement? No, but on the contrary, he is called to act in
such a position on the same principle as the Priesthood was given to
the Son of God, that he should make sacrifice. For himself? No, but in
the interests of the people over whom he preside. Would he be required
to offer himself up on the cross as did the Savior? No, but to become
the servant of his brethren, not their matter, and to work in their
interest and welfare. Not to exercise the influence thus obtained to
benefit himself, his family and relatives and personal friends, but
esteeming all as his brethren. having rights in common with himself
and, therefore, seeking to bless and benefit all equally according to
the talents and worthiness they may possess, and thus by so doing
develop in himself that fatherly feeling which always exists in the
bosom of the Father.

Vol. 18,  p.374
At the present time it is too often the case that the men who are
called to act in such positions, instead of thus acting according to
their holy calling, use their influence, their Priesthood, the sacred
powers referred upon them, for their own benefit and that of their
children and personal friends. This is highly improper, it is wrong
and displeasing in the sight of God; and of this sin we are called
upon to repent, by putting it away from us, and beginning to live the
lives of Latter-day Saints, according to the sacred covenants we have
entered into.

Vol. 18,  p.374
When you find a man who takes the same interest in those over whom he
presides as he does in himself and family, you will naturally begin to
have confidence in [p.375] that individual. But as soon as you find
that his feelings, by day and by night, and the course of his conduct
are such as to tend directly to benefit himself and his family, you
will say, "What interest has he for us. We must look out for
ourselves." But where a man works for the interest of the community,
he becomes truly a father to that people, working for them with the
same feeling, desire and interest as he would for himself. It might be
said of him, as it should be said of all men, that he loves his
brethren, or in other words, "his neighbor," as himself. Now let the
man who acts as the presiding Elder of his ward, manifest by word and
action these fatherly feelings towards those he presides over, and how
soon we would begin to perceive perfect confidence restored!

Vol. 18,  p.375
Possibly such a man might not always possess financiering abilities,
and possibly the people themselves might not have confidence in his
abilities to manage or direct temporal affairs. This is quite
supposable, for good sound principled men are not always endowed with
great financiering abilities. Yet from the fact of his having
established himself in the hearts of the people, and his being known
by them for his integrity and honesty, and his disposition to work for
the interests of God and the people, willing to make any sacrifice
that might be required of him, he possesses their confidence, and when
once in possession of so sacred a trust, what then might he do in
order to satisfy the minds of the people, which are, more or less,
inclined to be progressive? Let such a man call to his aid those of
his brethren who are the most capable, letting them share his
responsibilities. Because you will find, as a general thing, that
talent is diffused through the many and rarely combined in single
indivduals; and it only needs opportunity in order to be developed. He
might say to one, "Here Brother So and so, you are better adapted to
fill this or that position than I am;" or, to another, "You are the
man best fitted for this department;" and so on until he gets the
talents of all brought out, and instead of diminishing the public
confidence in himself, such a course would add to it. Further, he
would be doing for his brethren that which the United Order designs to
do for all, namely to afford opportunity to develop the gift that
Nature has endowed us with. Therefore, I say that all these matters
can be got along with, provided we have the sure and safe foundation,
which should be based on honesty and integrity to God and the true
interests of his kingdom and people. With a people of one heart and
mind, possessed of the same feelings and aspirations as we were when
we first embraced the Gospel, in connection with our present knowledge
and experience in the practical workings of building up the kingdom,
how easy it would be to establish our home industries or mercantile
institutions and carry them on successfully! Every one would be on
hand, like Israel when, in the desert, and journeying to the land of
Canaan, they were required to build a movable tabernacle for certain
sacred purposes, and the people brought their offerings etc., even
more than were sufficient, and Moses had to cry out to the people to
stop. So it would be with us, as far as willingness on the part of the
people was concerned to take an active part in any general movement
that might be projected. Whatever means or property or time might be
devoted by the community for the establishing of any certain
enterprise, would be done in good faith, for every heart would be
inspired with confidence, everyone considering his interest identified
with that of the whole.

Vol. 18,  p.375
But it takes time to get the people into this condition. Here, in this
southern country, we understand that the people have been endeavoring
to work together in the United Order, meeting with more or less
disappointment. Because of reverses or failures in our attempts to
successfully operate our temporal affairs, we should not allow such
disappointment to detract from the principle itself; but rather let us
attribute our misfortunes to human weaknesses, regarding the principle
as divine, revealed for our special benefit and blessing, and in every
instance of apparent failure let us ever be resolved to "try again."
The principles of Plural Marriage were revealed for the benefit and
exaltation of the children of men, but how much unhappiness has arisen
through failure, on the part of some who have contracted this order of
marriage, to conform to the laws that govern it! But does it arise
through any defect in the order of the marriage system? O no; but from
ignorance and the folly and wickedness of those individuals who enter
into it, who abuse, rather than righteously obey, it. So in regard to
the principles of the United Order. Its principles too are sacred, and
I assure you we will never go back to Jockson County, Missouri, there
to build up the new Jerusalem of the latter days, until there is a
perfect willingness on our part to conform to its rules and
principles. Many years have transpired since we received the
revelation of the United Order, and in one sense that long period of
time bespeaks negligence on our part in not more fully obeying it. The
very principles of that order, in my estimation, were given for our
temporal and spiritual salvation. In order to derive the benefit that
God designed should flow from them, they must be established and
systematized on the principle of righteousness, each person [p.376]
learning to love his neighbor as himself. For us to undertake to deal
with them on any other principle would virtually open the way to
bitter disappointment.

Vol. 18,  p.376
Then allow me to repeat, let me find a community that is willing to
conform to this, bringing to mind the covenants made in the beginning
when we received the fullness of the Gospel, willing to bring to mind
when they dedicated all they possessed—their property, their talents,
their mental and physical powers, to the building up of his kingdom;
remembering the time when we did this, the blessings of God were upon
us, and his Spirit burned within us. Then let those who preach in the
midst of that community of Saints, realize what the Priesthood was
placed upon them for; let them knew and fully sense why they were
appointed to fill such and such an office, viz., that they should act
in the spirit of our Master, a servant of all, that they learn to
consider and esteem ill the same affectionate interest, the welfare of
all, as they do that of themselves, and be in very deed fathers to the
people. Then will they enter into the spirit of the two great commands
upon which, said the Savior, "hang the law and the Prophets," namely,
loving the Lord with all our might, mind and strength, and our
neighbor as ourselves. This, in my opinion, is the foundation of our
future success, temporally and spiritually, in this United Order.
Until we come down to the bedrock of honesty cud sincerity in this
matter, dealing with temporal as with spiritual things,
whole-heartedly, holding all and ourselves sacred to the service of
God, we may expect more or less failure.

Vol. 18,  p.376
Let me say to the brethren who are and who contemplate connecting
themselves actively and entirely with this holy Order, that the
Priesthood was bestowed upon you, as upon the Son of God himself, for
no other purpose than that, through sacrifice, you might be proven,
that, peradventure, at the last day, you might stand approved before
God, and before perfect and holy beings and that, in order to merit
this divine approval, it may be necessary to forget self and
individual aggrandisement and seek the interest of your brethren. If
you are ready and willing to do this, and if your everyday life and
conduct, and the spirit within you testify the fact, you will
establish confidence in the hearts of those wire know you and with
whom you are more immediately associated in temporal matters.

Vol. 18,  p.376
Confidence is ofttimes referred to by our brethren, especially when
speaking on the subject of the United Order. It is spoken of and
written an by the religious, the political, and the financial world;
and the present condition of the whole is such as to force itself upon
our serious attention. We may confidently apprehend that, as history
shall chronicle the developments of this our progressive world, we
shall witness more and more the necessity of it. For as palpable and,
what may be termed, legitimate fraud increases, and the whole world
ripens in iniquity generally, confidence will lessen and become more
priceless and precious. This is quite obvious to all men in whose
hearts dwell a spark of that Spirit by which the Prophets foretold the
destiny of the nations. Confidence can be acquired only on the
principle of righteousness, whether it be allplied to the monarch or
the peasant, the religionist or the non-religionist; merit alone
commands it.

Vol. 18,  p.376
Then let us live the lives of Latter-day Saints, that we may first
beget confidence in ourselves; then we shall begin to have confidence
in each other, in God, and in his promises. A people in this condition
of progress would know no failures, everything would prosper that they
put their hands to, they would grow in faith and in good works. I tell
you, in the name of the Lord God, that the time is coming when there
will be no safety only in the principles of union, for therein lies
the secret of our temporal and spiritual salvation. We have been
enabled to establish settlements, towns, and villages, and we have
been abundantly blessed with the necessaries and conveniences of life,
notwithstanding we have been slow to hearken to and obey the commands
of Jehovah. I would to God that every Bishop and presiding officer
would this day, in this holy Temple, covenant and swear before him,
the Lord our God, that they would turn and serve him with all their
might, mind and strength, and work in the interest of the people as
they would for themselves. For my greatest desire is to see Zion
established according to the revelations of God, to see her
inhabitants industrious and self-sustaining, filled with wisdom and
the power of God, that around us may be built a wall of defence, a
protection against the mighty powers of Babylon; and while the
disobedient of our Father's family are contending, and filling up
their cup of iniquity, even to the brim, and thus preparing themselves
for the burning, we, who are the acknowledged children of the kingdom,
being filled with the righteousness and knowledge of God, may be like
the wise virgins, clothed in our wedding garments, and properly
prepared for the coming of our Lord and Savior.