October 1854
Benson, Ezra T. "Discourse." Deseret News, October 19, 1854: pg. 116.
Deseret News. "Minutes." October 12, 1854: pg. 112. Grant, Jedediah M. "The Immigration—The Perpetual Emigrating Fund—Scoffers." Journal of Discourses. Volume 2. October 7, 1854: pg. 71-74. Hyde, Orson. "Remarks." Deseret News, October 19, 1854: pg. 116. Hyde, Orson. "The Marriage Relations." Journal of Discourses. Volume 2. October 6, 1854: pg. 75-87. Hyde, Orson. "Gathering the Saints—Perpetual Emigrating Fund." Journal of Discourses. Volume 2. October 8, 1854: pg. 61-70. Kimball, Heber C. "Adherence to “Mormonism”—Perpetual Emigration Fund." Journal of Discourses. Volume 7. October 6, 1854: pg. 39-31. Pratt, Orson. "The Perpetual Emigrating Fund—Emigration of the Saints and the Nations." Journal of Discourses. Volume 2. October 7, 1854: pg. 54-61. Smith, George A. "Perpetual Emigrating Fund, Etc." Journal of Discourses. Volume 7. October 6, 1854: pg. 59-62. Young, Brigham. "Debtors to the Perpetual Emigrating Fund." Journal of Discourses. Volume 2. October 6, 1854: pg. 49-53. Young, Brigham. "Marriage Relations of Bishops and Deacons." Journal of Discourses. Volume 2. October 6, 1854: pg. 88-90. Minutes Elders Phineas H. Young Ezra T. Benson Discourse Orson Hyde Remarks President Brigham Young Debtors to the Perpetual Emigrating Fund Two p.m. Elder George A. Smith Perpetual Emigrating Fund, Etc. Elder T. D. Brown President Heber C. Kimball Adherence to “Mormonism”—Perpetual Emigration Fund Six p.m. Elder Orson Hyde The Marriage Relations President Brigham Young Marriage Relations of Bishops and Deacons Saturday, Oct. 7, Ten a.m. Elder James Brown Sustaining of the General Authorities President Brigham Young Daniel Carn Two p.m. Elder Orson Pratt The Perpetual Emigrating Fund—Emigration of the Saints and the Nations President Jedediah M. Grant The Immigration—The Perpetual Emigrating Fund—Scoffers Six p.m. Bishops Meeting President Brigham Young Bishop Hunter Elder Orson Hyde President Jedediah M. Grant Bishop Woolley Sunday, Oct. 8, Seven a.m. Seventies Meeting Ten a.m. Elder Hyde Gathering the Saints—Perpetual Emigrating Fund Elder W. W. Phelps Elder George A. Smith Bishop Woolley Two p.m. Bishop Lorenzo D. Young Bishop Isaac Hill President Brigham Young |
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Minutes Of the General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, held in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, commencing Friday, October 6, 1854, at ten a. m.
President Brigham Young presiding.
In the Stand—Presidents B. Young, H. C. Kimball, J. M. Grant.
Of the Twelve Apostles: O. Hyde, G. A. Smith, L. Snow, W. Woodruff, O. Pratt, E. T. Benson.
Seventies: Joseph Young, L. W. Hancock, Z. Pulsipher, A. P. Rockwood, H. Herriman.
High Priests Quorum: David Pettigrew.
Presiding Bishop: Edward Hunter.
Presidency of the Stake: D. Fullmer, T. Rhoads, P. H. Young.
Clerk of the Conference: Thomas Bullock.
Reporter: George D. Watt.
Singing by the choir.
Prayer by Phineas H. Young.
Singing.
President Brigham Young presiding.
In the Stand—Presidents B. Young, H. C. Kimball, J. M. Grant.
Of the Twelve Apostles: O. Hyde, G. A. Smith, L. Snow, W. Woodruff, O. Pratt, E. T. Benson.
Seventies: Joseph Young, L. W. Hancock, Z. Pulsipher, A. P. Rockwood, H. Herriman.
High Priests Quorum: David Pettigrew.
Presiding Bishop: Edward Hunter.
Presidency of the Stake: D. Fullmer, T. Rhoads, P. H. Young.
Clerk of the Conference: Thomas Bullock.
Reporter: George D. Watt.
Singing by the choir.
Prayer by Phineas H. Young.
Singing.
The congregation was addressed by
Elders P. H. Young,
E. T. Benson,
Orson Hyde, and
President Brigham Young.
Elders P. H. Young,
E. T. Benson,
Orson Hyde, and
President Brigham Young.
Discourse
By Ezra T. Benson
Beloved Brethren and Sisters:--
I deem it a great privilege this morning to stand before you, to occupy a few moments, and express my feelings in that way and manner I may be dictated by the Holy Spirit.
I feel pretty comfortable: I am just as comfortable as I know how to be; and I would be more so, I suppose, if I had more experience, more knowledge, and had cultivated more of the Holy Spirit.
I have listened with much pleasure and satisfaction to the remarks of Br. Phineas this morning; the exhortation is good and palatable to me, and what I prize above all things, whether in life or death, at home or abroad. It is for us as a people to live as we are commanded; even to live by every word that proceedeth from the mouth of God.
It has not been my lot for these last few months to preach to congregations of the Saints concerning the great and glorious cause of God on the earth, but according to my instruction, I have been on the plains, where the souls of men and women are tried to the center. My soul has been tried, so much so that I have not had time even to shave off my beard, since I have been gone.
I have been out on the plains, and I believe I have done the best I could. I started with that intention when I left home with the counsels and blessings of my brethren. I do not say but what I may have erred in many points. I concluded however, I would take my religion, priesthood, and authority along with me, believing I should have use for it before I returned and I found it so. I had use for all the priesthood, judgment, and wisdom I was in possession of, and had received from my heavenly Father, and from the counsel and instructions of my brethren; and I have arrived home again as safe and as sound as I went away. And I feel to rejoice before you this morning.
I am again in the house of my friends; for if they are not here, I know not where to find them on the face of this earth. And I pray continually by night and by day, that the blessings of God may still continue to abide with this people, and that the kingdom of God may roll forth in great power, and that the time may speedily come when the knowledge of God shall cover the earth, as the waters do the mighty deep; when wickedness and abomination shall cease from amongst this people, and they become a righteous people from one end of the kingdom of God to another, when all animosity, malice, and backbiting shall cease; and the power of God rest upon every individual. I expect to live to see that time.
We have to encounter many things on this earth that are not altogether pleasing to human nature; and we may expect to be required to do many things contrary to our own private feelings; but what is this compared to the things of the Holy Spirit and the goodness of God, which he is pouring upon his people? Where is there any real satisfaction, happiness, glory, and peace outside the kingdom of God? They are not to be found on earth; many have sought for them, and have never obtained them until they embraced the fullness of the everlasting gospel. Here we find them—here we find the true oracles of God; we find men here who have borne the heat and burden of the day; who have been faithful and true from the commencement of this kingdom; whose hearts have never quivered or knees trembled in danger, whether in mobs, poverty, adversity, imprisonment, death, or whatever situation they have been placed in, for the sake of the kingdom of God. Under all circumstances they have always been faithful and true.
Well then, shall we be tired this morning while listening to their words and counsels? No; their words are peace to our souls; they are like a stream of living water upon thirsty ground. We are not, at all times, in possession of wisdom enough to appreciate these blessings. This is one thing which is necessary for us to cultivate continually, if we have not already received it, that by our own faith and diligence, and by the light of the Holy Spirit, we may increase knowledge and wisdom, so as to always appreciate the blessings conferred upon us from day to day. It is time we made a commencement.
I am going on to tell my experience, how I have fared upon the plains, and what I have had to encounter; but as to what I have had to encounter, it is all nothing. How we have lived, part of the time on nothing but bread and water, and half eaten up with mosquitoes. I called them the inhabitants of Nebraska; but it is all in the work of the Lord, so that it is all right. Br. Brigham calls them the squatters of Nebraska; there are plenty of them; they are innumerable: and as the kingdom of God increases, I can see their influence also; for the traders on the road told me they never saw them so thick upon the lands of Nebraska.
It is expected that as the kingdom of God increases in knowledge, wisdom, power, and righteousness, that the devils will increase—if they come in the shape of the mosquitoes, or in whatever shape, we expect they will increase. If we do not increase also, we shall be overcome by them. This is certain: if we stand still, and do not live so before God as to increase in our faith and righteousness before him, we shall be trodden under foot by them. It is for us to keep the commandments of God, so as to keep our heads above water, and see our way out of every difficulty, and overcome, and withstand every temptation we are called to pass through.
To pass over the plains is a matter that is particularly annoying to my feeling. The last time I passed over the plains, I felt as though I never wanted to cross them again; and I felt so when I was sent out last July by the Presidency. If I had spoken my own feelings, I should have said, send me anywhere else, and may God help the companies; but I said, I will go, and will not complain, murmur, or find fault with my appointment, but I will go because God requires it. By thus humbling myself, and feeling willing to go, and craving the spirit of God to rest upon me; I found I could enjoy myself, and my religion upon the plains, among the inhabitants of Nebraska.—I found God was there; his Holy Spirit was there, and the light of revelation was there; and all I had to do was to speak, and the thing was accomplished—to say the word and it was done; and all the power the devil could rally against me was in vain.
When I found that thunder and lightning would not do to bring about my purposes, I then began to try the small wedges, and kept tapping a little to-day, and a little to-morrow, and so kept working at it until the work was accomplished; and I feel to rejoice, and give all the glory to God my heavenly Father; none of it belongs to me.
The work of God is rolling on, and let us be engaged in it; let us persevere; let us be faithful, and try now to know that God is our friend—that the servants of God are our friends, and that this people are our friends. What can we desire more? It is one of the greatest blessings and consolations that can be conferred upon any man upon the face of the earth. That consoles me.—If I did not have that consolation and assurance, what could I accomplish? What could I do in the great work of the last days, if I did not know I had found favor in the eyes of God and his servants—if I did not know they backed up my doings? I should wither and die; and be tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine. It is consoling to our souls to know we are brethren, and in the priesthood of the living God, if we abide by our covenants.
While upon the plains, I have seen the Deseret News from time to time, containing some first rate discourses by the First Presidency, the Twelve, and others; it is first rate; it is good and cheering to read them. Can we abide the teachings contained in those sermons, and stand the purification of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints? It has been proclaimed from this stand, that the time is approaching when the Church of God will be sanctified. How is it with us to-day? Are we ready to be sanctified before God?
I tell you God can see us. There is nothing he does not know. It is out of date in these times for a man to hide himself—to get out of the sight of God—to do something that he will not see and know. [Voice in the stand, "to do this he must go into empty space"] Yes, but we do not believe there is any empty space; it is all filled up with particles of matter so refined that we cannot see them. If our eyes were opened to see the spiritual world, no doubt we should see that this room is filled with the spirits of just men made perfect.
Who knows? Some of these spiritual agencies or spirit knockers, give us to understand that Br. Joseph's and Br. Hyrum's spirit is about, and they profess to call up any spirit they please. We believe just as much of this as we please. We believe when these things are for the people of God they will come through the proper channel of the Holy Priesthood; and if the spirits of just men made perfect have got anything to reveal, they will reveal it through the channel God has ordained; that we may not be imposed upon by Tom, Dick, Harry, and the devil. No. I am going to sail in the old “Mormon” boat, that has carried me through safe to the present time. Br. Brigham told us in the Temple in Nauvoo, we had to sail in Snug Harbor; and we have got a boat that will sail there. The old “Mormon” boat has been kicked, and knocked about, and still she sits true and stately upon the water with a sound bottom; and she sails when it is necessary, and when it is necessary she rides at anchor; and we can take in sail or let it out according to the urgency of the case, and to suit the necessities of the passengers aboard.
I feel hoarse this morning, in consequence of hallooing to the men to yoke up in the mornings, but I feel like hallooing as loud as I can, Glory of God and the Lamb; Hallelujah to the Latter Day Saints, and our heavenly Father. I feel so on the whims, and wherever I am. When I cultivate the Good Spirit of God it is peace to my soul, and I hardly know how to express my feelings to you this morning.
I desired with all my heart to get in to the Conference. Everybody said I should not be able.—I told them I would talk to the Lord about it, for I wonted to be in the circle of my friends that I have proved from the beginning; and I will be there, and not kill the cable neither. They said, "O, you will kill all the cattle and play destruction on the train, &c."
Bro. Brigham pronounced, if we would go and do right when we started to conduct the Church train in, we should have good weather. It has been fulfilled. We are here, and the Church train is here; notwithstanding the devil got into the cattle, and half of them ran away. Neither are the goods deposited at Fort Laramie, as it was expected they would be. The goods are all here except what were consumed on the way, and what have gone to meet expenses. It is not necessary for me to tell how it could have been bettered. I do not know how it could, as far as I am concerned. I must have more wisdom and power to better it; I felt that God was by my side, and good friends were round about me, and I had no desire to do anything I would not be willing for God to see, who was with me by his power, and wisdom. I felt willing he should walk with me as far as my acts were concerned, even as he walked with Enoch of old. I feel determined to magnify my covenants with God, and strive every time I am sent out, to do better and better, and more of it; until we can control the elements, and cast out devils, and do many mighty works in the name of the Lord Jesus, and see this kingdom redeemed.
It is the business of the elders of Israel to see this gospel preached in all nations of the earth, until Israel is redeemed, and take a course to build up, and not tear down. There is a great deal more honor in building up than there is in tearing down. We are the servants of God, and I must say I am ashamed of some of them—especially those boys the Bishops sent out. They sent out some good men, but the rest were tag and bobtail. We had to threaten to knock their teeth down their throats, before they would do right.—They would play cards, and do wrong, unless a clenched fist was held continually before them.—The boys that came out from England and Wales, and from other countries, stood back in amazement at them. What is the matter? Wickedness as well as righteousness are increasing in these mountains. How do I know it? I know it because I form part of a quorum with those who are trying to build up this kingdom. I know that they not only try, but actually do the things I tell you. Captain Brown, I do not mean you; you have done the thing which is right, and lots of others. What did the captains of companies say when I went to them for cattle? I said to them, "the Church train stands on the plains—what have you to say about it?" They said, "We have nothing to say; what have you got to say? Tell the number of cattle you want, and the bill shall be filled." Did I not feel like blessing such men? I did, all the days of my life; and there is nothing too good for them.
I would go to another man and say, "what is going to be done?—The Church cattle have run away, and the train stands on the plains." "I don't know; we have got just as much as we can do; if you take away one yoke of cattle, or a yoke of cows, we cannot possibly roll." I said, "Brother, that is not the right spirit: if you do not know where the cattle are from, I will show you; drive your cattle past here; I want to teach you to look through the same magnifying glass that I do, and when you see by the same Spirit I do, you will then see where the cattle are to come from." "I want to do all things right," he said, "that I do not see where there is a yoke to come from." "Well," said I, "there's a yoke; take out that middle yoke of your own; and take out these wheel cattle from another wagon," &c.
This was the way we had to do with those who were not willing to spare any of their cattle; or the train would have been at Independence Rock this day, whereas it is here; and I feel to bless the brethren, and I feel to bless Br. Brigham, and the First Presidency. We know who they are. They are men who are toiling by day and by night to build up the work of God on earth; they fulfil the scripture, and the wise man says, "whoso walketh uprightly shall be saved, but he that is perverse in his ways shall fill at once." How can a man walk uprightly before God, and see the necessity of his brother on the plains, or anywhere else, and will not put forth his hand to help him, but shut up the bowels of his compassion in the day of his trial? But from such men as these my brethren, who have opened their hearts, and stretched forth their hands to assist the needy, and way-worn traveler, God will withhold no good thing. Is not this worth living for?
How much better I now enjoy my meals at home, since I have been away. I have not yet eaten a full meal since I have been at home. You know, just coming off the plains, I have to curtail my appetite a little, and use wisdom and judgment. My food tastes good to me all the time; it is good when I begin to eat, and it is good when I leave off. It is just the same as when you are at a good meeting.
It is our privilege in this way all the time, to live, to enjoy our food, to enjoy our families, to enjoy the society of the Saints, and every situation we are called to act in. This is my religion, and out of it I am not happy; but when I am moving in that sphere I am at home; when I am on the plains; when I am preaching the gospel, and when I am in the society of the Saints. If we all feel so, the first thing you know we shall be in the celestial kingdom of God.
The last three months to me is like a dream—and I hardly know I am at home yet, but I feel this morning I am in the society of the Saints.—We are prone to wander, as the sparks to fly upward; and we have been aliens and strangers to the commonwealth of Israel, but we are now controlled and governed according to the order of God's House. If we govern ourselves in accordance with this, all will be right, and the Lord will do his own work.
He moves in the midst of the nations, and we can see the unwise measures of the nations. God has said he will confound the wise, and bring them to nought. It is something like this,--"because I have got a big gun and a few soldiers at my command, I can go down here and slay a whole nation of Lamanites; all I want is a flask of “O be joyful” in my pocket, and I will show you how it is done."
The “Mormons” should not work upon that principle, but they should say, "if the Lord will."—This is the way they did anciently, and how it should be in modern times. A man cannot accomplish much outside of this principle. If we do not do what God requires of us according to his method, God will show us our weakness. If we have a son that is faithful, obedient, and good boy, we are willing to grant him anything that will do him good; so it is with God. I have no doubt God will give us all we desire; all we can hope for, and all we can appreciate, and that is necessary for our comfort and for the comfort of our friends.
I did not rise to preach to you, but to talk a little of my experience. I have a long experience; and if I were to tell it as the Methodists, and Baptists do. I should consume too much of your time, I have therefore told a long experience in a brief manner. I will give way, but I wanted to let you know that I feel first rate; and harbor no animosity against any person; and if any person has anything against me, they must just come to me and I will make reconciliation: but if they will not come to me, they must carry it. We do not expect all at once to be perfect, but we expect to come here and live in these valleys of the mountains, and do about right.
I have often met the Californians on the road, but did not expect to have much conversation with them. However, once we met some, and they said, "Are you from Salt Lake, friends?" I said "Yes." "are you “Mormons”?" "Yes, we would not be anything else for a dollar." "You are a singular set of men out there, if all be true we hear." "Of course, that is what we calculate to be." "We hear some strange reports about you." "We are glad of it; what do you hear?" "That you steal, and have more wives than one." "Indeed, would you please tell us some news; have you anything to say about yourselves, you poor dupes; can you say one mean thing you are not guilty of; we know you from a to izzard; I have lived among you. Why don't you try to establish your own characters, and then talk about the “Mormons”? You are more willing to give credence to a false report than a good one; you have only heard one side of the question: you are going through Salt Lake City, try and learn the other side of it; go to the Tabernacle; read the newspaper, and hear the counsels of the Presidents here, and don't judge until you have heard both sides of the story, and don't be fools by judging a matter before you have heard."
It is too much the case among this people, right here to-day. I will palm it to you, ye Elders and Latter Day Saints: you often judge a man or a woman by hearing one side of the question only. My experience has taught me different. Would I believe a false report about my brethren and sisters in this place, when I am abroad in the world? No. But I would say I have been with them; and you tell me this or that against their character, and undertake to make me believe it, and you are barking up the wrong tree.
Would I throw down my testimony and experience as a thing that is good for nothing, to believe some tattler, and mischief-maker, that has no station or character in the kingdom of God, and does not want his brethren and sisters to have any either? No.
I stand here before God and my brethren to give an account of my actions when it is called for, both as it regards my spiritual and temporal career in this world; and I am ready to be judged by them any day, any hour, or any moment; and if I am in the wrong, I will restore four fold, if it is necessary; or if an humble confession in the congregation of the saints is wanted, I am just the boy, and am on hand to do it, if there is no other way to give satisfaction to those whom I may have injured. As long as I feel so, I feel good, and feel to rejoice all the day long.
May God bless you: Amen.
By Ezra T. Benson
Beloved Brethren and Sisters:--
I deem it a great privilege this morning to stand before you, to occupy a few moments, and express my feelings in that way and manner I may be dictated by the Holy Spirit.
I feel pretty comfortable: I am just as comfortable as I know how to be; and I would be more so, I suppose, if I had more experience, more knowledge, and had cultivated more of the Holy Spirit.
I have listened with much pleasure and satisfaction to the remarks of Br. Phineas this morning; the exhortation is good and palatable to me, and what I prize above all things, whether in life or death, at home or abroad. It is for us as a people to live as we are commanded; even to live by every word that proceedeth from the mouth of God.
It has not been my lot for these last few months to preach to congregations of the Saints concerning the great and glorious cause of God on the earth, but according to my instruction, I have been on the plains, where the souls of men and women are tried to the center. My soul has been tried, so much so that I have not had time even to shave off my beard, since I have been gone.
I have been out on the plains, and I believe I have done the best I could. I started with that intention when I left home with the counsels and blessings of my brethren. I do not say but what I may have erred in many points. I concluded however, I would take my religion, priesthood, and authority along with me, believing I should have use for it before I returned and I found it so. I had use for all the priesthood, judgment, and wisdom I was in possession of, and had received from my heavenly Father, and from the counsel and instructions of my brethren; and I have arrived home again as safe and as sound as I went away. And I feel to rejoice before you this morning.
I am again in the house of my friends; for if they are not here, I know not where to find them on the face of this earth. And I pray continually by night and by day, that the blessings of God may still continue to abide with this people, and that the kingdom of God may roll forth in great power, and that the time may speedily come when the knowledge of God shall cover the earth, as the waters do the mighty deep; when wickedness and abomination shall cease from amongst this people, and they become a righteous people from one end of the kingdom of God to another, when all animosity, malice, and backbiting shall cease; and the power of God rest upon every individual. I expect to live to see that time.
We have to encounter many things on this earth that are not altogether pleasing to human nature; and we may expect to be required to do many things contrary to our own private feelings; but what is this compared to the things of the Holy Spirit and the goodness of God, which he is pouring upon his people? Where is there any real satisfaction, happiness, glory, and peace outside the kingdom of God? They are not to be found on earth; many have sought for them, and have never obtained them until they embraced the fullness of the everlasting gospel. Here we find them—here we find the true oracles of God; we find men here who have borne the heat and burden of the day; who have been faithful and true from the commencement of this kingdom; whose hearts have never quivered or knees trembled in danger, whether in mobs, poverty, adversity, imprisonment, death, or whatever situation they have been placed in, for the sake of the kingdom of God. Under all circumstances they have always been faithful and true.
Well then, shall we be tired this morning while listening to their words and counsels? No; their words are peace to our souls; they are like a stream of living water upon thirsty ground. We are not, at all times, in possession of wisdom enough to appreciate these blessings. This is one thing which is necessary for us to cultivate continually, if we have not already received it, that by our own faith and diligence, and by the light of the Holy Spirit, we may increase knowledge and wisdom, so as to always appreciate the blessings conferred upon us from day to day. It is time we made a commencement.
I am going on to tell my experience, how I have fared upon the plains, and what I have had to encounter; but as to what I have had to encounter, it is all nothing. How we have lived, part of the time on nothing but bread and water, and half eaten up with mosquitoes. I called them the inhabitants of Nebraska; but it is all in the work of the Lord, so that it is all right. Br. Brigham calls them the squatters of Nebraska; there are plenty of them; they are innumerable: and as the kingdom of God increases, I can see their influence also; for the traders on the road told me they never saw them so thick upon the lands of Nebraska.
It is expected that as the kingdom of God increases in knowledge, wisdom, power, and righteousness, that the devils will increase—if they come in the shape of the mosquitoes, or in whatever shape, we expect they will increase. If we do not increase also, we shall be overcome by them. This is certain: if we stand still, and do not live so before God as to increase in our faith and righteousness before him, we shall be trodden under foot by them. It is for us to keep the commandments of God, so as to keep our heads above water, and see our way out of every difficulty, and overcome, and withstand every temptation we are called to pass through.
To pass over the plains is a matter that is particularly annoying to my feeling. The last time I passed over the plains, I felt as though I never wanted to cross them again; and I felt so when I was sent out last July by the Presidency. If I had spoken my own feelings, I should have said, send me anywhere else, and may God help the companies; but I said, I will go, and will not complain, murmur, or find fault with my appointment, but I will go because God requires it. By thus humbling myself, and feeling willing to go, and craving the spirit of God to rest upon me; I found I could enjoy myself, and my religion upon the plains, among the inhabitants of Nebraska.—I found God was there; his Holy Spirit was there, and the light of revelation was there; and all I had to do was to speak, and the thing was accomplished—to say the word and it was done; and all the power the devil could rally against me was in vain.
When I found that thunder and lightning would not do to bring about my purposes, I then began to try the small wedges, and kept tapping a little to-day, and a little to-morrow, and so kept working at it until the work was accomplished; and I feel to rejoice, and give all the glory to God my heavenly Father; none of it belongs to me.
The work of God is rolling on, and let us be engaged in it; let us persevere; let us be faithful, and try now to know that God is our friend—that the servants of God are our friends, and that this people are our friends. What can we desire more? It is one of the greatest blessings and consolations that can be conferred upon any man upon the face of the earth. That consoles me.—If I did not have that consolation and assurance, what could I accomplish? What could I do in the great work of the last days, if I did not know I had found favor in the eyes of God and his servants—if I did not know they backed up my doings? I should wither and die; and be tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine. It is consoling to our souls to know we are brethren, and in the priesthood of the living God, if we abide by our covenants.
While upon the plains, I have seen the Deseret News from time to time, containing some first rate discourses by the First Presidency, the Twelve, and others; it is first rate; it is good and cheering to read them. Can we abide the teachings contained in those sermons, and stand the purification of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints? It has been proclaimed from this stand, that the time is approaching when the Church of God will be sanctified. How is it with us to-day? Are we ready to be sanctified before God?
I tell you God can see us. There is nothing he does not know. It is out of date in these times for a man to hide himself—to get out of the sight of God—to do something that he will not see and know. [Voice in the stand, "to do this he must go into empty space"] Yes, but we do not believe there is any empty space; it is all filled up with particles of matter so refined that we cannot see them. If our eyes were opened to see the spiritual world, no doubt we should see that this room is filled with the spirits of just men made perfect.
Who knows? Some of these spiritual agencies or spirit knockers, give us to understand that Br. Joseph's and Br. Hyrum's spirit is about, and they profess to call up any spirit they please. We believe just as much of this as we please. We believe when these things are for the people of God they will come through the proper channel of the Holy Priesthood; and if the spirits of just men made perfect have got anything to reveal, they will reveal it through the channel God has ordained; that we may not be imposed upon by Tom, Dick, Harry, and the devil. No. I am going to sail in the old “Mormon” boat, that has carried me through safe to the present time. Br. Brigham told us in the Temple in Nauvoo, we had to sail in Snug Harbor; and we have got a boat that will sail there. The old “Mormon” boat has been kicked, and knocked about, and still she sits true and stately upon the water with a sound bottom; and she sails when it is necessary, and when it is necessary she rides at anchor; and we can take in sail or let it out according to the urgency of the case, and to suit the necessities of the passengers aboard.
I feel hoarse this morning, in consequence of hallooing to the men to yoke up in the mornings, but I feel like hallooing as loud as I can, Glory of God and the Lamb; Hallelujah to the Latter Day Saints, and our heavenly Father. I feel so on the whims, and wherever I am. When I cultivate the Good Spirit of God it is peace to my soul, and I hardly know how to express my feelings to you this morning.
I desired with all my heart to get in to the Conference. Everybody said I should not be able.—I told them I would talk to the Lord about it, for I wonted to be in the circle of my friends that I have proved from the beginning; and I will be there, and not kill the cable neither. They said, "O, you will kill all the cattle and play destruction on the train, &c."
Bro. Brigham pronounced, if we would go and do right when we started to conduct the Church train in, we should have good weather. It has been fulfilled. We are here, and the Church train is here; notwithstanding the devil got into the cattle, and half of them ran away. Neither are the goods deposited at Fort Laramie, as it was expected they would be. The goods are all here except what were consumed on the way, and what have gone to meet expenses. It is not necessary for me to tell how it could have been bettered. I do not know how it could, as far as I am concerned. I must have more wisdom and power to better it; I felt that God was by my side, and good friends were round about me, and I had no desire to do anything I would not be willing for God to see, who was with me by his power, and wisdom. I felt willing he should walk with me as far as my acts were concerned, even as he walked with Enoch of old. I feel determined to magnify my covenants with God, and strive every time I am sent out, to do better and better, and more of it; until we can control the elements, and cast out devils, and do many mighty works in the name of the Lord Jesus, and see this kingdom redeemed.
It is the business of the elders of Israel to see this gospel preached in all nations of the earth, until Israel is redeemed, and take a course to build up, and not tear down. There is a great deal more honor in building up than there is in tearing down. We are the servants of God, and I must say I am ashamed of some of them—especially those boys the Bishops sent out. They sent out some good men, but the rest were tag and bobtail. We had to threaten to knock their teeth down their throats, before they would do right.—They would play cards, and do wrong, unless a clenched fist was held continually before them.—The boys that came out from England and Wales, and from other countries, stood back in amazement at them. What is the matter? Wickedness as well as righteousness are increasing in these mountains. How do I know it? I know it because I form part of a quorum with those who are trying to build up this kingdom. I know that they not only try, but actually do the things I tell you. Captain Brown, I do not mean you; you have done the thing which is right, and lots of others. What did the captains of companies say when I went to them for cattle? I said to them, "the Church train stands on the plains—what have you to say about it?" They said, "We have nothing to say; what have you got to say? Tell the number of cattle you want, and the bill shall be filled." Did I not feel like blessing such men? I did, all the days of my life; and there is nothing too good for them.
I would go to another man and say, "what is going to be done?—The Church cattle have run away, and the train stands on the plains." "I don't know; we have got just as much as we can do; if you take away one yoke of cattle, or a yoke of cows, we cannot possibly roll." I said, "Brother, that is not the right spirit: if you do not know where the cattle are from, I will show you; drive your cattle past here; I want to teach you to look through the same magnifying glass that I do, and when you see by the same Spirit I do, you will then see where the cattle are to come from." "I want to do all things right," he said, "that I do not see where there is a yoke to come from." "Well," said I, "there's a yoke; take out that middle yoke of your own; and take out these wheel cattle from another wagon," &c.
This was the way we had to do with those who were not willing to spare any of their cattle; or the train would have been at Independence Rock this day, whereas it is here; and I feel to bless the brethren, and I feel to bless Br. Brigham, and the First Presidency. We know who they are. They are men who are toiling by day and by night to build up the work of God on earth; they fulfil the scripture, and the wise man says, "whoso walketh uprightly shall be saved, but he that is perverse in his ways shall fill at once." How can a man walk uprightly before God, and see the necessity of his brother on the plains, or anywhere else, and will not put forth his hand to help him, but shut up the bowels of his compassion in the day of his trial? But from such men as these my brethren, who have opened their hearts, and stretched forth their hands to assist the needy, and way-worn traveler, God will withhold no good thing. Is not this worth living for?
How much better I now enjoy my meals at home, since I have been away. I have not yet eaten a full meal since I have been at home. You know, just coming off the plains, I have to curtail my appetite a little, and use wisdom and judgment. My food tastes good to me all the time; it is good when I begin to eat, and it is good when I leave off. It is just the same as when you are at a good meeting.
It is our privilege in this way all the time, to live, to enjoy our food, to enjoy our families, to enjoy the society of the Saints, and every situation we are called to act in. This is my religion, and out of it I am not happy; but when I am moving in that sphere I am at home; when I am on the plains; when I am preaching the gospel, and when I am in the society of the Saints. If we all feel so, the first thing you know we shall be in the celestial kingdom of God.
The last three months to me is like a dream—and I hardly know I am at home yet, but I feel this morning I am in the society of the Saints.—We are prone to wander, as the sparks to fly upward; and we have been aliens and strangers to the commonwealth of Israel, but we are now controlled and governed according to the order of God's House. If we govern ourselves in accordance with this, all will be right, and the Lord will do his own work.
He moves in the midst of the nations, and we can see the unwise measures of the nations. God has said he will confound the wise, and bring them to nought. It is something like this,--"because I have got a big gun and a few soldiers at my command, I can go down here and slay a whole nation of Lamanites; all I want is a flask of “O be joyful” in my pocket, and I will show you how it is done."
The “Mormons” should not work upon that principle, but they should say, "if the Lord will."—This is the way they did anciently, and how it should be in modern times. A man cannot accomplish much outside of this principle. If we do not do what God requires of us according to his method, God will show us our weakness. If we have a son that is faithful, obedient, and good boy, we are willing to grant him anything that will do him good; so it is with God. I have no doubt God will give us all we desire; all we can hope for, and all we can appreciate, and that is necessary for our comfort and for the comfort of our friends.
I did not rise to preach to you, but to talk a little of my experience. I have a long experience; and if I were to tell it as the Methodists, and Baptists do. I should consume too much of your time, I have therefore told a long experience in a brief manner. I will give way, but I wanted to let you know that I feel first rate; and harbor no animosity against any person; and if any person has anything against me, they must just come to me and I will make reconciliation: but if they will not come to me, they must carry it. We do not expect all at once to be perfect, but we expect to come here and live in these valleys of the mountains, and do about right.
I have often met the Californians on the road, but did not expect to have much conversation with them. However, once we met some, and they said, "Are you from Salt Lake, friends?" I said "Yes." "are you “Mormons”?" "Yes, we would not be anything else for a dollar." "You are a singular set of men out there, if all be true we hear." "Of course, that is what we calculate to be." "We hear some strange reports about you." "We are glad of it; what do you hear?" "That you steal, and have more wives than one." "Indeed, would you please tell us some news; have you anything to say about yourselves, you poor dupes; can you say one mean thing you are not guilty of; we know you from a to izzard; I have lived among you. Why don't you try to establish your own characters, and then talk about the “Mormons”? You are more willing to give credence to a false report than a good one; you have only heard one side of the question: you are going through Salt Lake City, try and learn the other side of it; go to the Tabernacle; read the newspaper, and hear the counsels of the Presidents here, and don't judge until you have heard both sides of the story, and don't be fools by judging a matter before you have heard."
It is too much the case among this people, right here to-day. I will palm it to you, ye Elders and Latter Day Saints: you often judge a man or a woman by hearing one side of the question only. My experience has taught me different. Would I believe a false report about my brethren and sisters in this place, when I am abroad in the world? No. But I would say I have been with them; and you tell me this or that against their character, and undertake to make me believe it, and you are barking up the wrong tree.
Would I throw down my testimony and experience as a thing that is good for nothing, to believe some tattler, and mischief-maker, that has no station or character in the kingdom of God, and does not want his brethren and sisters to have any either? No.
I stand here before God and my brethren to give an account of my actions when it is called for, both as it regards my spiritual and temporal career in this world; and I am ready to be judged by them any day, any hour, or any moment; and if I am in the wrong, I will restore four fold, if it is necessary; or if an humble confession in the congregation of the saints is wanted, I am just the boy, and am on hand to do it, if there is no other way to give satisfaction to those whom I may have injured. As long as I feel so, I feel good, and feel to rejoice all the day long.
May God bless you: Amen.
Remarks
Of Orson Hyde
I arise, brethren and sisters, to make a few remarks, not expecting to detain you long.
Br. Benson has returned from his mission and been successful. We are all glad to see him safely in our midst once more. The task he has had to perform has been a hazardous one; one that required all the skill, judgment, wisdom, perseverance, and patience that a man can possess, or obtain.
It seems he has accomplished that he went to do, and the trains are mostly in; there are some two or three exceptions; they will be in soon.—It is a matter of great gratification to me, and to all the saints, and a matter for which we all feel grateful to God, or at least should do, that the weather has been so temperate, and has continued so mild, seemingly for the very purpose of favoring … favor from the hand of God; I so regard it.
There is one thing however, that I wish to say a word upon; which is this; concerning our brethren that went out to meet the trains. Now all Br. Benson has said is unquestionably true, and correct. We have some pretty rough boys.—Well, there is one redeeming trail in their character, and I wanted to mention it; and that is, they actually did volunteer, as bad as they are, to go and carry food to the hungry; and I say, God bless them; they did volunteer to do this, as rough and as sinful, and as wicked as they are, and they were perhaps the only ones that would do it. And it shall be said unto them at the great day, "When I was an hungered, ye gave me meat; when I was thirsty, ye gave me drink; when I was in distress and trouble, ye visited me; and your hand brought to me relief."
It does not say anything there whether they did or did not play cards a little. I do not however, mention this to justify any of these improprieties; no, I repudiate them, and am very sorry that these boys condescended to such things: but while we acknowledge all their sins and their follies, and their vanities, let us not overlook the one redeeming trait; and it rises high above all the rest: they went and carried food to the hungry; and I say God bless them.
Now brethren, be encouraged by these remarks—and be improved by Br. Benson's, which are just and true. Leave the one course, and cleave to the other, and God will make you mighty and powerful rulers in his kingdom, and instrumental in building it up: which may he grant for Christ's sake: Amen.
Of Orson Hyde
I arise, brethren and sisters, to make a few remarks, not expecting to detain you long.
Br. Benson has returned from his mission and been successful. We are all glad to see him safely in our midst once more. The task he has had to perform has been a hazardous one; one that required all the skill, judgment, wisdom, perseverance, and patience that a man can possess, or obtain.
It seems he has accomplished that he went to do, and the trains are mostly in; there are some two or three exceptions; they will be in soon.—It is a matter of great gratification to me, and to all the saints, and a matter for which we all feel grateful to God, or at least should do, that the weather has been so temperate, and has continued so mild, seemingly for the very purpose of favoring … favor from the hand of God; I so regard it.
There is one thing however, that I wish to say a word upon; which is this; concerning our brethren that went out to meet the trains. Now all Br. Benson has said is unquestionably true, and correct. We have some pretty rough boys.—Well, there is one redeeming trail in their character, and I wanted to mention it; and that is, they actually did volunteer, as bad as they are, to go and carry food to the hungry; and I say, God bless them; they did volunteer to do this, as rough and as sinful, and as wicked as they are, and they were perhaps the only ones that would do it. And it shall be said unto them at the great day, "When I was an hungered, ye gave me meat; when I was thirsty, ye gave me drink; when I was in distress and trouble, ye visited me; and your hand brought to me relief."
It does not say anything there whether they did or did not play cards a little. I do not however, mention this to justify any of these improprieties; no, I repudiate them, and am very sorry that these boys condescended to such things: but while we acknowledge all their sins and their follies, and their vanities, let us not overlook the one redeeming trait; and it rises high above all the rest: they went and carried food to the hungry; and I say God bless them.
Now brethren, be encouraged by these remarks—and be improved by Br. Benson's, which are just and true. Leave the one course, and cleave to the other, and God will make you mighty and powerful rulers in his kingdom, and instrumental in building it up: which may he grant for Christ's sake: Amen.
Debtors to the Perpetual Emigrating Fund
An Address by President Brigham Young, Delivered in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, October 6, 1854.
Reported by G. D. Watt.
It is rather late in the morning to offer a lengthy discourse upon any particular subject; but I will give a text for others.
Unless we continue our Conference after the first day of the week, we shall not have time to instruct the people as fully as we should like to; but we will endeavor to do what we feel to be our duty in this matter.
I more particularly wish those who have lately come into this place, to consider the teachings that may be given upon the text. The greater part of those who have come across the plains this season, will no doubt attend this Conference; though, perhaps, a few of them may be necessarily absent, and a few have gone to other settlements.
I will comprise the text in a few words, though not exactly as it reads in the Bible, and will put it in the form of a question. My brethren, you who have been helped to this place by the Perpetual Emigration Fund--Will you do to your brethren as you would have, or wish, them to do by you in like circumstances?
Can you call to mind the time, when you have seen others emigrating to America—being helped away from poverty and distress? Can you recollect the days and weeks when at work, when walking abroad, and when at meetings, that your hearts have been full, and lifted to the Lord, in earnest supplication, to incline the hearts of your brethren in Zion to put forth their hands, and help you away from that country where hundreds and thousands are turned out of employment, in consequence of their embracing the Gospel—thus depriving them of labor, and consequently the necessary food for themselves and families?
Can you who have arrived here this fall, or who arrived one, two, and three years ago, think how you felt when you heard that a company was established, and means were being provided, to help the poor to this place? If you can, call to mind now the feelings you had then, and ask yourselves if you are willing to do to your brethren who are now in that country, as you wished to be done unto by those who emigrated before you; or whether you will do as many have done after they have arrived here.
Many brought here in former years by the Perpetual Emigrating Fund have wanted the highest wages for their labor, when they could not do half the amount of work that a man can do who has been here a few years. They have wanted to make themselves rich, or at least very comfortable, before they could think of paying their passage here. They must have a good house, and a fine garden; and by the time they have got that, they think they really need a farm.
They will say to themselves, “I must raise grain, for it is becoming dear, and there will be a high-priced market opened here for it by and by; grain is going to be in good demand, and I must have a farm; I must get poles to fence it; I must have my oxen; and I shall not pay what I owe the Perpetual Emigrating Fund yet. I want, at least, time to fence my farm, and I want so many cows that I can have a carriage to ride to my farm to see how my servants are getting on; and I must have horses,” &c., &c.
With a very few exceptions, no man has put forth his hand to pay the debts he owes the P. E. Fund.
I now ask you if you are willing to do what you have wanted others to do by you? Let the first thing you attend to be to pay the debt you owe the Fund. Do you say, “Well, shall we not get us a house?” No; live in your tents, or go into the woods, and bring down bushes and make bough houses as the Indians do, and say you will be satisfied with that until you have paid the debt you owe the poor. You do not owe it to me, nor to these my brethren; we have plenty. We have houses; we have enough to sustain ourselves. You do not owe it to any individual here, but you owe it to the poor who wish to come here; the debt is due to them alone. If you refuse to do this, would you not shut up the bowels of your compassion against the poor?
Be careful, brethren, that your eyes follow not after the riches of this world, to lust after them; I say, be careful, that you do not want a carriage, and then another, and so on, before paying your debt to the Fund. And if you are not careful, you will never be satisfied with earthly possessions, worlds without end.
I would like about six discourses preached upon this text, each about six hours long, if we had time, to see if we could remove the scales from the eyes of the people, and stir them up to faithfulness in keeping their covenants, and doing to others as they would have others do to them.
If any of the brethren are disposed, they can go into mathematical demonstrations on this subject; and can show to the congregation what the Fund would probably be another year, if all were faithful in paying back what they have received from it. If I were to guess, without entering into an examination of the books, I should judge that we would have between one and two hundred thousand dollars, with which to bring the poor to this place next season.
The Perpetual Emigrating Fund is a business transaction that increases; it is bound to increase, if men and women will be faithful to pay what they owe. The question may be asked, “Do you want the people to pay when they are suffering?” There is no such thing as suffering here. Is there a man, woman or child in this territory who cannot get what is necessary for them to eat without being forced to the necessity of stealing it? Is there a house in this city, or territory, that will refuse a hungry person a meal of victuals, when he has not been here long enough to earn his food? Every person acquainted with the circumstances and disposition of the people here will say. “No, there is not a family that would not impart to their brethren and sisters, to the passing stranger, and even to an enemy, to feed them.”
Again, how many invalids can you find here, or people who cannot do enough to maintain themselves? Very few.
Four years ago we commenced to lay our plans to sustain the poor, and take care of those who could not take care of themselves. We provided sixteen houses on one farm which we purchased, and had men selected to take care of those who could not sustain themselves; but there has not been a man or woman, a widowed lady or an orphan child who was old enough to speak for himself, that has been willing to occupy one of these houses, go to a farm, or live in a house that we purchased for them. They say, “We do not want to live there, for it was purchased for the poor.” We have never found a family that would acknowledge themselves so destitute as to live in a house we bought for the accommodation of the poor. “But,” say they, “if you will purchase a house for us close to the Tabernacle, we will live in it.”
For the last four years, we have fed, on an average, six hundred people, who come to the Tithing Office, and who never give us a dime for it: and yet they will not acknowledge themselves poor. There are also hundreds of persons in this city, and in other cities in the territory, who require the Bishops to help them, when at the same time they are able to drive a pretty good team, and occupy as good a house as I live in, and are able to have a good garden, and quite a farm. Yet they will go to the Bishops, and say, “Will you let me have a yoke of oxen?” or, “I wish, Bishop, you would let me have those horses; I do not know when I can pay you for them; I am poor;” or, “Will you let me have that carriage that has been put in on tithing? I do not know when I shall pay you for it; I have raised considerable wheat, but I want to get a quantity of clothing with that for my family this year; let me have the carriage anyhow, and I do not want you to ask me for the pay, or say anything about it.” Still we cannot find one family to acknowledge they are sustained by the Church, and own the name of being poor—who cannot sustain themselves. We have the proof on hand for this.
There is much said in the Bible with regard to the rich. In one place it is said, “It is hard for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of heaven;” but “blessed are the poor, for they shall inherit,” &c. Can you understand what the Lord means by these sayings, and others, by His Prophets and Apostles, touching the poor? He means simply this, “Those who have the good things of this world, and will put them to use in building up the kingdom of God on earth; will feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and do good with them; they are my people, saith the Lord.”
But let me tell you, poor men, or poor women, who have nothing, and covet that which is not their own, are just as wicked in their hearts, as the miserly man who hoards up his gold and silver, and will not put it out to use. I wish the poor to understand, and act as they would wish others to act towards them in like circumstances.
Let the brethren and sisters who have come in this season, as quick as the Lord puts anything in their possession, first pay the debts they owe the poor in foreign countries. They do not owe it here; it is merely paid into the treasury here, from which it is appropriated to bring the poor Saints of other countries to this place. You owe it to people that cannot help themselves; to those who may travel hundreds of miles, and apply to every mechanic's shop or factory for employment, to get a penny to buy a loaf of bread, and to no avail.
The Americans do not understand this; they have seen hard times it is true, but they never saw people as poor as they are in Europe. In the eastern countries of America, there are thousands who have hard fare, but they can get food in a way the poor of the old countries cannot. You who have come from there, know what it is; it has been before your eyes all your lifetime.
If the poor there are found asking for a meal of victuals, or soliciting the least help in the streets as vagrants, they are reported to the police; and what is next? They are taken and put into the house of correction, and made to work on the treadmill, and there, by their own weight, made to turn machinery constructed to grind sand and other substances. In these circumstances thousands of them die yearly. It is against the law in that country for them to be found begging, and in some places, if they are found begging a third time, they are put in the stocks.
As many of you may not know what the stocks are, I will try to describe them. You will see, by the side of the most public thoroughfares, or in the public market-places, two posts sunk firmly in the ground; from post to post there is a thick block of wood let into them and pinned fast; there is also another block above the first one, that is made to slide down upon it, where it can be made fast; there is a half circle made in each block, which, when they come together, form a round hole. In this hole the vagrant is made fast by the neck. The upper block is raised, he is made to put his neck between, it is then slid down, and made fast; and there they leave him, where he is obliged to stay as long as the officer is disposed to keep him.
Do you see any such things in any part of America? The brethren and sisters who have come from the old country will tell you that they have seen hundreds and thousands of men, women, and children, passing through the streets in that country, bowed down with hunger, and their faces pale as death, leaning perhaps upon a little stick they use for a walking cane, and passing slowly along to see if any person would give them something without asking for it.
Are any of our brethren there, in that situation? Yes; there are hundreds of them today who have not a morsel of food to put into their stomachs to sustain nature. Are any of them dying with want there? Yes; scores of them will die there before next March, for want of something to eat. Suppose they were here, they would only need to glean in your fields to obtain bread enough, and dig over your gardens again to get the potatoes you have left in the ground, which they would be glad to eat. You may as well abuse your own flesh, as to refuse to put forth your hands to assist the brethren who are thus situated in the old countries.
This text I want preached upon in this Conference, and how many more will be preached upon I do not know. I want the brethren who have come here this season, to do their duty.
Little occurrences may be told with regard to the gathering of the Saints. For instance, men or women put in a few pounds to bring them to these valleys, and the Perpetual Emigrating Fund pays the rest. When they get on the plains, the wagons break down. They begin to weigh up, and find a few hundred pounds over weight; they destroy their large boxes, or leave them on the plains; and in the operation find silks and satins that would twice pay their passage. After they arrive here, boxes of English goods are taken away from the camping ground, which have been smuggled here in the Fund train.
Woe to those who profess to be Saints and are not honest. Only be honest with yourselves, and you will be honest to the brethren. I want the brethren preached to upon this subject, and if they do not remember the instructions given, the sin will be at their doors, and not at ours.
It is not for men to rise in this stand and tell what will be in the Millennium, and what will be after the Millennium. That which pertains to everyday life and action, is what pertains to us; that the Saints here may know how to order their course before each other, and before the Lord; that they may be justified, and have the Spirit of the Lord with them continually. This is our Gospel, it is our salvation. You need to be instructed with regard to these items of everyday duty one towards another; and when you know how to be a Saint today, you are in a fair way to know how to be a Saint tomorrow. And if you can continue to be a Saint today, you can through the week, and through the year, and you can fill up your whole life in performing the duty and labor of a Saint.
This is our religion, and the Gospel of salvation, and is the salvation held out in the discourses we have been blessed with this morning; and I wish you to treasure them up, and profit by them.
I now request the Presidents of every Branch, and the Bishops and their Counselors throughout Utah, to hunt up those who are indebted to the Perpetual Emigrating Fund, and as fast as possible, collect their dues in available means, and forward the same to my office, even should you have to plan for them, or set them to work, that the Fund may increase, and the poor be delivered from oppression.
And I pray the Lord to bless our efforts for the accomplishment of this and every other good work, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Choir sung a hymn.
Elder Hyde gave out an appointment for a lecture this evening on our marriage relations, and for the bishops to meet in general conference to-morrow evening, and pronounced the benediction.
An Address by President Brigham Young, Delivered in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, October 6, 1854.
Reported by G. D. Watt.
It is rather late in the morning to offer a lengthy discourse upon any particular subject; but I will give a text for others.
Unless we continue our Conference after the first day of the week, we shall not have time to instruct the people as fully as we should like to; but we will endeavor to do what we feel to be our duty in this matter.
I more particularly wish those who have lately come into this place, to consider the teachings that may be given upon the text. The greater part of those who have come across the plains this season, will no doubt attend this Conference; though, perhaps, a few of them may be necessarily absent, and a few have gone to other settlements.
I will comprise the text in a few words, though not exactly as it reads in the Bible, and will put it in the form of a question. My brethren, you who have been helped to this place by the Perpetual Emigration Fund--Will you do to your brethren as you would have, or wish, them to do by you in like circumstances?
Can you call to mind the time, when you have seen others emigrating to America—being helped away from poverty and distress? Can you recollect the days and weeks when at work, when walking abroad, and when at meetings, that your hearts have been full, and lifted to the Lord, in earnest supplication, to incline the hearts of your brethren in Zion to put forth their hands, and help you away from that country where hundreds and thousands are turned out of employment, in consequence of their embracing the Gospel—thus depriving them of labor, and consequently the necessary food for themselves and families?
Can you who have arrived here this fall, or who arrived one, two, and three years ago, think how you felt when you heard that a company was established, and means were being provided, to help the poor to this place? If you can, call to mind now the feelings you had then, and ask yourselves if you are willing to do to your brethren who are now in that country, as you wished to be done unto by those who emigrated before you; or whether you will do as many have done after they have arrived here.
Many brought here in former years by the Perpetual Emigrating Fund have wanted the highest wages for their labor, when they could not do half the amount of work that a man can do who has been here a few years. They have wanted to make themselves rich, or at least very comfortable, before they could think of paying their passage here. They must have a good house, and a fine garden; and by the time they have got that, they think they really need a farm.
They will say to themselves, “I must raise grain, for it is becoming dear, and there will be a high-priced market opened here for it by and by; grain is going to be in good demand, and I must have a farm; I must get poles to fence it; I must have my oxen; and I shall not pay what I owe the Perpetual Emigrating Fund yet. I want, at least, time to fence my farm, and I want so many cows that I can have a carriage to ride to my farm to see how my servants are getting on; and I must have horses,” &c., &c.
With a very few exceptions, no man has put forth his hand to pay the debts he owes the P. E. Fund.
I now ask you if you are willing to do what you have wanted others to do by you? Let the first thing you attend to be to pay the debt you owe the Fund. Do you say, “Well, shall we not get us a house?” No; live in your tents, or go into the woods, and bring down bushes and make bough houses as the Indians do, and say you will be satisfied with that until you have paid the debt you owe the poor. You do not owe it to me, nor to these my brethren; we have plenty. We have houses; we have enough to sustain ourselves. You do not owe it to any individual here, but you owe it to the poor who wish to come here; the debt is due to them alone. If you refuse to do this, would you not shut up the bowels of your compassion against the poor?
Be careful, brethren, that your eyes follow not after the riches of this world, to lust after them; I say, be careful, that you do not want a carriage, and then another, and so on, before paying your debt to the Fund. And if you are not careful, you will never be satisfied with earthly possessions, worlds without end.
I would like about six discourses preached upon this text, each about six hours long, if we had time, to see if we could remove the scales from the eyes of the people, and stir them up to faithfulness in keeping their covenants, and doing to others as they would have others do to them.
If any of the brethren are disposed, they can go into mathematical demonstrations on this subject; and can show to the congregation what the Fund would probably be another year, if all were faithful in paying back what they have received from it. If I were to guess, without entering into an examination of the books, I should judge that we would have between one and two hundred thousand dollars, with which to bring the poor to this place next season.
The Perpetual Emigrating Fund is a business transaction that increases; it is bound to increase, if men and women will be faithful to pay what they owe. The question may be asked, “Do you want the people to pay when they are suffering?” There is no such thing as suffering here. Is there a man, woman or child in this territory who cannot get what is necessary for them to eat without being forced to the necessity of stealing it? Is there a house in this city, or territory, that will refuse a hungry person a meal of victuals, when he has not been here long enough to earn his food? Every person acquainted with the circumstances and disposition of the people here will say. “No, there is not a family that would not impart to their brethren and sisters, to the passing stranger, and even to an enemy, to feed them.”
Again, how many invalids can you find here, or people who cannot do enough to maintain themselves? Very few.
Four years ago we commenced to lay our plans to sustain the poor, and take care of those who could not take care of themselves. We provided sixteen houses on one farm which we purchased, and had men selected to take care of those who could not sustain themselves; but there has not been a man or woman, a widowed lady or an orphan child who was old enough to speak for himself, that has been willing to occupy one of these houses, go to a farm, or live in a house that we purchased for them. They say, “We do not want to live there, for it was purchased for the poor.” We have never found a family that would acknowledge themselves so destitute as to live in a house we bought for the accommodation of the poor. “But,” say they, “if you will purchase a house for us close to the Tabernacle, we will live in it.”
For the last four years, we have fed, on an average, six hundred people, who come to the Tithing Office, and who never give us a dime for it: and yet they will not acknowledge themselves poor. There are also hundreds of persons in this city, and in other cities in the territory, who require the Bishops to help them, when at the same time they are able to drive a pretty good team, and occupy as good a house as I live in, and are able to have a good garden, and quite a farm. Yet they will go to the Bishops, and say, “Will you let me have a yoke of oxen?” or, “I wish, Bishop, you would let me have those horses; I do not know when I can pay you for them; I am poor;” or, “Will you let me have that carriage that has been put in on tithing? I do not know when I shall pay you for it; I have raised considerable wheat, but I want to get a quantity of clothing with that for my family this year; let me have the carriage anyhow, and I do not want you to ask me for the pay, or say anything about it.” Still we cannot find one family to acknowledge they are sustained by the Church, and own the name of being poor—who cannot sustain themselves. We have the proof on hand for this.
There is much said in the Bible with regard to the rich. In one place it is said, “It is hard for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of heaven;” but “blessed are the poor, for they shall inherit,” &c. Can you understand what the Lord means by these sayings, and others, by His Prophets and Apostles, touching the poor? He means simply this, “Those who have the good things of this world, and will put them to use in building up the kingdom of God on earth; will feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and do good with them; they are my people, saith the Lord.”
But let me tell you, poor men, or poor women, who have nothing, and covet that which is not their own, are just as wicked in their hearts, as the miserly man who hoards up his gold and silver, and will not put it out to use. I wish the poor to understand, and act as they would wish others to act towards them in like circumstances.
Let the brethren and sisters who have come in this season, as quick as the Lord puts anything in their possession, first pay the debts they owe the poor in foreign countries. They do not owe it here; it is merely paid into the treasury here, from which it is appropriated to bring the poor Saints of other countries to this place. You owe it to people that cannot help themselves; to those who may travel hundreds of miles, and apply to every mechanic's shop or factory for employment, to get a penny to buy a loaf of bread, and to no avail.
The Americans do not understand this; they have seen hard times it is true, but they never saw people as poor as they are in Europe. In the eastern countries of America, there are thousands who have hard fare, but they can get food in a way the poor of the old countries cannot. You who have come from there, know what it is; it has been before your eyes all your lifetime.
If the poor there are found asking for a meal of victuals, or soliciting the least help in the streets as vagrants, they are reported to the police; and what is next? They are taken and put into the house of correction, and made to work on the treadmill, and there, by their own weight, made to turn machinery constructed to grind sand and other substances. In these circumstances thousands of them die yearly. It is against the law in that country for them to be found begging, and in some places, if they are found begging a third time, they are put in the stocks.
As many of you may not know what the stocks are, I will try to describe them. You will see, by the side of the most public thoroughfares, or in the public market-places, two posts sunk firmly in the ground; from post to post there is a thick block of wood let into them and pinned fast; there is also another block above the first one, that is made to slide down upon it, where it can be made fast; there is a half circle made in each block, which, when they come together, form a round hole. In this hole the vagrant is made fast by the neck. The upper block is raised, he is made to put his neck between, it is then slid down, and made fast; and there they leave him, where he is obliged to stay as long as the officer is disposed to keep him.
Do you see any such things in any part of America? The brethren and sisters who have come from the old country will tell you that they have seen hundreds and thousands of men, women, and children, passing through the streets in that country, bowed down with hunger, and their faces pale as death, leaning perhaps upon a little stick they use for a walking cane, and passing slowly along to see if any person would give them something without asking for it.
Are any of our brethren there, in that situation? Yes; there are hundreds of them today who have not a morsel of food to put into their stomachs to sustain nature. Are any of them dying with want there? Yes; scores of them will die there before next March, for want of something to eat. Suppose they were here, they would only need to glean in your fields to obtain bread enough, and dig over your gardens again to get the potatoes you have left in the ground, which they would be glad to eat. You may as well abuse your own flesh, as to refuse to put forth your hands to assist the brethren who are thus situated in the old countries.
This text I want preached upon in this Conference, and how many more will be preached upon I do not know. I want the brethren who have come here this season, to do their duty.
Little occurrences may be told with regard to the gathering of the Saints. For instance, men or women put in a few pounds to bring them to these valleys, and the Perpetual Emigrating Fund pays the rest. When they get on the plains, the wagons break down. They begin to weigh up, and find a few hundred pounds over weight; they destroy their large boxes, or leave them on the plains; and in the operation find silks and satins that would twice pay their passage. After they arrive here, boxes of English goods are taken away from the camping ground, which have been smuggled here in the Fund train.
Woe to those who profess to be Saints and are not honest. Only be honest with yourselves, and you will be honest to the brethren. I want the brethren preached to upon this subject, and if they do not remember the instructions given, the sin will be at their doors, and not at ours.
It is not for men to rise in this stand and tell what will be in the Millennium, and what will be after the Millennium. That which pertains to everyday life and action, is what pertains to us; that the Saints here may know how to order their course before each other, and before the Lord; that they may be justified, and have the Spirit of the Lord with them continually. This is our Gospel, it is our salvation. You need to be instructed with regard to these items of everyday duty one towards another; and when you know how to be a Saint today, you are in a fair way to know how to be a Saint tomorrow. And if you can continue to be a Saint today, you can through the week, and through the year, and you can fill up your whole life in performing the duty and labor of a Saint.
This is our religion, and the Gospel of salvation, and is the salvation held out in the discourses we have been blessed with this morning; and I wish you to treasure them up, and profit by them.
I now request the Presidents of every Branch, and the Bishops and their Counselors throughout Utah, to hunt up those who are indebted to the Perpetual Emigrating Fund, and as fast as possible, collect their dues in available means, and forward the same to my office, even should you have to plan for them, or set them to work, that the Fund may increase, and the poor be delivered from oppression.
And I pray the Lord to bless our efforts for the accomplishment of this and every other good work, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Choir sung a hymn.
Elder Hyde gave out an appointment for a lecture this evening on our marriage relations, and for the bishops to meet in general conference to-morrow evening, and pronounced the benediction.
Two p.m.
Choir chanted a piece of sacred music and sung a hymn. Prayer by Elder G. A. Smith. Singing.
Elders G. A. Smith,
T. D. Brown, and
President H. C. Kimball
addressed the congregation.
Choir chanted a piece of sacred music and sung a hymn. Prayer by Elder G. A. Smith. Singing.
Elders G. A. Smith,
T. D. Brown, and
President H. C. Kimball
addressed the congregation.
Perpetual Emigrating Fund, Etc.
An Address by Elder George A. Smith, Delivered in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, October 6, 1854.
Reported by Unknown.
I can say, in connection with brethren who have addressed you in the former part of the day, that it is with the greatest pleasure I arise at the present Conference to cast in my mite, and offer a few reflections upon the things of the kingdom as they are rolling before us.
Our beloved President, at the close of the forenoon service, gave us a text he wished to have considered.
It has been my lot to be somewhat conversant with the Saints who dwell in the Valleys of the Mountains, or especially those who reside south of this city. My acquaintance with them has been very great for the last five years. There is no doubt but that a feeling of carelessness and indifference has been manifested by many in these valleys in relation to bequeathing their debts to the Perpetual Emigrating Fund for the assistance they have received. It is not only an indifference which has been felt towards the Perpetual Emigrating Fund, but also to individuals who have expended their means to help their friends, neighbors, or brethren to this valley. They have frequently been treated with indifference and neglect, and I may say almost with cruelty, by some persons who have thus been helped. They are unwilling, until they can be very comfortable themselves, to assist those who have helped them. I have had my feelings hurt by instances of this kind which have been laid before me.
Now, then, if I understand the text, it amounts to about this—namely, our Savior's golden rule—“Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do you even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.” Or, to use this expression of the Savior's, in connection with that of our President, which would be, “Whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them, under like circumstances; for this is the law of the Prophets.”
There is no object on the face of the earth more to be desired, than to bring the poor and honest Saints from the condition in which they are placed in the Old World, and set them down here in the midst of these mountains, where, by their own industry, economy, and prudence, they can provide for their wants and for the wants of their children. The difficulties which surround the Saints in the Old World are increasing. The great wars are involving the principal nations of the earth at this time in very serious expenses, which are taking from the laboring masses millions and millions of dollars to supply the fighting hosts with weapons of death, and engines for the destruction of their enemies and the prosecution of their ambitious designs. While the Allied Powers are thus engaged, they are consuming the very source upon which the millions of the poor and needy are depending for their bread—for their existence.
If, during the time of peace that has prevailed in Europe for the last ten years, it was necessary to help the poor and the needy away, it becomes tenfold more so under the present circumstances, when the nations are involving themselves in very expensive and disastrous wars.
It may be supposed that I am a little partial to some particular parties that are connected in this war. I am referring more particularly to the Allied Powers; but really I feel very little interest in the matter, any further than wherever Britain carries her sway the Gospel can follow in her liberal wake. To be sure, when a boy, my playmates used to say, “Two upon one is one too many;” and consequently, if there is any sympathy, it would be in favor of Russia, as they are the weaker party, and are likely to have the worst of it. Then, as far as the contest is concerned, there may be a very great feeling of indifference in the minds of many whether Turkey is actually devoured by the Russian bear, or carved up by the lion of the west of Europe. The event is precisely the same, let it turn which way it may, as far as it affects us in our emigration movements: it serves to stop the channel of trade, and consequently affects the interests of the laboring classes of Great Britain, and a great proportion of the members of our Church are of this class.
I would say to those who are in arrears to the Perpetual Emigrating Fund, who know themselves to be such—If you have got houses, lands, cows, sheep, farms, or property of any description, come forward like honest men and settle up to the uttermost farthing, and begin again to amass property; and if you have been owing to this institution for one year; or from the first of its operations, give a liberal interest for the capital you have held, and which could not be used or increased by the operations of the Fund. That would be my advice upon this subject; and then, if you are able to subscribe enough in addition to bring one or two families, do that also. My advice to those who have just arrived is that they fall not in the rear, as it has been this day complained of; but let them make it their first business to square off with the Fund that brought them here—to furnish this means as soon as it is in their power, to bring somebody else out from distant countries; and then you can take a fresh start in this mountain world. Even if you are a little behind when you have done this, scramble until you catch up again; for the facilities are a thousand to one in these valleys to what they were seven years ago.
When the Pioneers came here, it looked a hard chance. There was not a single house to rent; and as to there being any prospect of having any, it looked very slim. But there have been slight changes since, and a very great change in relation to breadstuff. We have bread in abundance now; but then the only prospect of supply we had was millions of black crickets. The change has been effected, and persons who land here with nothing but their hands, their bone and sinew, if they are indebted to the Fund or to persons for bringing them, they can soon pay these debts; and not only that, but they can soon establish themselves comfortably, and be prepared to help others.
I have noticed, in the course of my travels, an occasional individual, which, I presume, had lost by some of those who have not been willing to pay up. Be that as it may, I have come across individuals who would lurk among the Saints. “Why,” say they, “what can be the matter? Something is dreadfully wrong: this is not ancient ‘Mormonism’—this is not the old religion we used to have years ago in the days of Joseph: something is entirely wrong. I do not see things as I used to; I do not understand them.” And they finally begin to complain, and find fault, and murmur; and so it goes on from one time to another, until they wonder if they could not get a better location in California. I have heard men murmur when they were surrounded with plenty, with peace, and the blessings of heaven. What is the cause of this? The cause is in themselves. Do you who have crossed the Plains this season expect to find the inhabitants of these valleys perfect? I think, from all accounts, you were ill prepared to associate with them, if you had found them perfect: there would have been room, at least, for a doubt whether you could have been admitted at all. The great fault lies in individuals not doing right themselves, but undertaking to make others do right, or to find fault with others for not doing right.
It is some time since I read the New Testament; but I believe, if I recollect rightly, there is a passage, somewhere in the Gospel according to St. Mark, which says, “So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed in the ground; And should sleep, and rise night and day, and the seed should spring and grow up, he knoweth not how. For the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear. But when the fruit is brought forth, immediately he putteth in the sickle, because the harvest is come.” Well, I met a man that in the days of Joseph Smith used to be a very great man, in his own eyes at least—very spirited in the Church—tremendously so; and he tells me that things are going wrong. “Why,” says he, “things are not now as they used to be.” We will admit it: things are entirely different to what they were twenty years ago. Did any of you ever raise Indian corn in your lives? If so, you remember, when it is six inches high, it is very beautiful to the eye; it looks green and lovely; and it will grow very rapidly, if you will only keep the weeds out of it: it will grow so rapidly that you can almost see it growing from day to day, and it is a pleasure to cultivate it. Suppose a man should go into a cornfield when the corn is six, eight, or ten inches high, who had not been raised in a country where it was cultivated, but in some corner of the earth where it did not grow, and he had never seen such a plant before, and let him employ himself a few days in hoeing it and admiring its beauty—suppose by some means he becomes perfectly blind for two or three months, and then goes into the field after he has received his sight, he now beholds corn seven, eight, and ten feet high, with large ears upon it—he would exclaim, “What is this? Who has destroyed the beautiful plants that were here two months ago? What has become of them?” He is told it is the same corn. “Oh, it cannot be, for the corn is little stuff, and only grows eight or ten inches high, and very unlike this awkward stuff.”
This compares well with some of our “Mormons,” who are a little afflicted with the grunts: they do not know that the work of the Lord has been spreading rapidly, and growing stronger, and become more formidable than it was twenty years ago. There has been considerable advance since we used to gather around Joseph and Hyrum, in Kirtland, to keep the mob from killing them.
I remember on a certain occasion the brethren were called together to prepare to defend Joseph against the mob, who were coming to destroy him, if possible. Brother Cahoon was appointed captain of one of the largest companies, and it had ten men in it: it was the biggest company we could raise but one, and that contained fourteen men. Brother Cahoon gave us some advice: he advised us, if the mob came, and we were obliged to fire, to shoot at their legs. But, should they advance upon us now, we would shoot higher than that: so, if anybody will look at it candidly, they will see that we have grown and improved considerably in our ideas. To shoot at the legs of a mob is now altogether behind the times in “Mormonism.” After brother Cahoon had advised us, brother Brigham rose and said that if the mob tackled him, he would shoot at their hearts; and some of the company nearly apostatized. We must remember that we are in the advance; for the Lord has said, in these days, he has commenced to do a great work, and called upon his servants to lay the foundation of it. The foundation being laid, then the work has to be done. In order to be participators in this, we must be honest with ourselves, with our brethren, and with the poor among the Lord's people. If we are, the blessings of God will flow upon us, and our knowledge will increase, and all the light and intelligence that we desire from God will be poured out upon us, and our means will increase, and our substance will be blessed unto us. But if we adopt the other principle, although men do it from covetousness, it is the identical way to become poor. The Prophet said, The liberal deviseth liberal things, and by his liberality he shall stand. This is the truth: it has been so among all generations, and with this people from the beginning.
It was customary, before we entered this Church, to hear a great deal of text preaching. The learned ministers would select a text or passage of Scripture, measure it by a theological rule, divide it into heads, and then preach from it, preaching about everything in the world but the thing in the text. After they had gone through this kind of maneuvering long enough, they would then appeal to the congregation to know if they had not preached to them the doctrine laid down in the text. Well, if I have preached from the text, excuse me.
I will close my remarks with the old-fashioned appeal; and if I have not preached the doctrines contained in the text, let me advise my friends to give heed to those doctrines anyhow.
An Address by Elder George A. Smith, Delivered in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, October 6, 1854.
Reported by Unknown.
I can say, in connection with brethren who have addressed you in the former part of the day, that it is with the greatest pleasure I arise at the present Conference to cast in my mite, and offer a few reflections upon the things of the kingdom as they are rolling before us.
Our beloved President, at the close of the forenoon service, gave us a text he wished to have considered.
It has been my lot to be somewhat conversant with the Saints who dwell in the Valleys of the Mountains, or especially those who reside south of this city. My acquaintance with them has been very great for the last five years. There is no doubt but that a feeling of carelessness and indifference has been manifested by many in these valleys in relation to bequeathing their debts to the Perpetual Emigrating Fund for the assistance they have received. It is not only an indifference which has been felt towards the Perpetual Emigrating Fund, but also to individuals who have expended their means to help their friends, neighbors, or brethren to this valley. They have frequently been treated with indifference and neglect, and I may say almost with cruelty, by some persons who have thus been helped. They are unwilling, until they can be very comfortable themselves, to assist those who have helped them. I have had my feelings hurt by instances of this kind which have been laid before me.
Now, then, if I understand the text, it amounts to about this—namely, our Savior's golden rule—“Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do you even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.” Or, to use this expression of the Savior's, in connection with that of our President, which would be, “Whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them, under like circumstances; for this is the law of the Prophets.”
There is no object on the face of the earth more to be desired, than to bring the poor and honest Saints from the condition in which they are placed in the Old World, and set them down here in the midst of these mountains, where, by their own industry, economy, and prudence, they can provide for their wants and for the wants of their children. The difficulties which surround the Saints in the Old World are increasing. The great wars are involving the principal nations of the earth at this time in very serious expenses, which are taking from the laboring masses millions and millions of dollars to supply the fighting hosts with weapons of death, and engines for the destruction of their enemies and the prosecution of their ambitious designs. While the Allied Powers are thus engaged, they are consuming the very source upon which the millions of the poor and needy are depending for their bread—for their existence.
If, during the time of peace that has prevailed in Europe for the last ten years, it was necessary to help the poor and the needy away, it becomes tenfold more so under the present circumstances, when the nations are involving themselves in very expensive and disastrous wars.
It may be supposed that I am a little partial to some particular parties that are connected in this war. I am referring more particularly to the Allied Powers; but really I feel very little interest in the matter, any further than wherever Britain carries her sway the Gospel can follow in her liberal wake. To be sure, when a boy, my playmates used to say, “Two upon one is one too many;” and consequently, if there is any sympathy, it would be in favor of Russia, as they are the weaker party, and are likely to have the worst of it. Then, as far as the contest is concerned, there may be a very great feeling of indifference in the minds of many whether Turkey is actually devoured by the Russian bear, or carved up by the lion of the west of Europe. The event is precisely the same, let it turn which way it may, as far as it affects us in our emigration movements: it serves to stop the channel of trade, and consequently affects the interests of the laboring classes of Great Britain, and a great proportion of the members of our Church are of this class.
I would say to those who are in arrears to the Perpetual Emigrating Fund, who know themselves to be such—If you have got houses, lands, cows, sheep, farms, or property of any description, come forward like honest men and settle up to the uttermost farthing, and begin again to amass property; and if you have been owing to this institution for one year; or from the first of its operations, give a liberal interest for the capital you have held, and which could not be used or increased by the operations of the Fund. That would be my advice upon this subject; and then, if you are able to subscribe enough in addition to bring one or two families, do that also. My advice to those who have just arrived is that they fall not in the rear, as it has been this day complained of; but let them make it their first business to square off with the Fund that brought them here—to furnish this means as soon as it is in their power, to bring somebody else out from distant countries; and then you can take a fresh start in this mountain world. Even if you are a little behind when you have done this, scramble until you catch up again; for the facilities are a thousand to one in these valleys to what they were seven years ago.
When the Pioneers came here, it looked a hard chance. There was not a single house to rent; and as to there being any prospect of having any, it looked very slim. But there have been slight changes since, and a very great change in relation to breadstuff. We have bread in abundance now; but then the only prospect of supply we had was millions of black crickets. The change has been effected, and persons who land here with nothing but their hands, their bone and sinew, if they are indebted to the Fund or to persons for bringing them, they can soon pay these debts; and not only that, but they can soon establish themselves comfortably, and be prepared to help others.
I have noticed, in the course of my travels, an occasional individual, which, I presume, had lost by some of those who have not been willing to pay up. Be that as it may, I have come across individuals who would lurk among the Saints. “Why,” say they, “what can be the matter? Something is dreadfully wrong: this is not ancient ‘Mormonism’—this is not the old religion we used to have years ago in the days of Joseph: something is entirely wrong. I do not see things as I used to; I do not understand them.” And they finally begin to complain, and find fault, and murmur; and so it goes on from one time to another, until they wonder if they could not get a better location in California. I have heard men murmur when they were surrounded with plenty, with peace, and the blessings of heaven. What is the cause of this? The cause is in themselves. Do you who have crossed the Plains this season expect to find the inhabitants of these valleys perfect? I think, from all accounts, you were ill prepared to associate with them, if you had found them perfect: there would have been room, at least, for a doubt whether you could have been admitted at all. The great fault lies in individuals not doing right themselves, but undertaking to make others do right, or to find fault with others for not doing right.
It is some time since I read the New Testament; but I believe, if I recollect rightly, there is a passage, somewhere in the Gospel according to St. Mark, which says, “So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed in the ground; And should sleep, and rise night and day, and the seed should spring and grow up, he knoweth not how. For the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear. But when the fruit is brought forth, immediately he putteth in the sickle, because the harvest is come.” Well, I met a man that in the days of Joseph Smith used to be a very great man, in his own eyes at least—very spirited in the Church—tremendously so; and he tells me that things are going wrong. “Why,” says he, “things are not now as they used to be.” We will admit it: things are entirely different to what they were twenty years ago. Did any of you ever raise Indian corn in your lives? If so, you remember, when it is six inches high, it is very beautiful to the eye; it looks green and lovely; and it will grow very rapidly, if you will only keep the weeds out of it: it will grow so rapidly that you can almost see it growing from day to day, and it is a pleasure to cultivate it. Suppose a man should go into a cornfield when the corn is six, eight, or ten inches high, who had not been raised in a country where it was cultivated, but in some corner of the earth where it did not grow, and he had never seen such a plant before, and let him employ himself a few days in hoeing it and admiring its beauty—suppose by some means he becomes perfectly blind for two or three months, and then goes into the field after he has received his sight, he now beholds corn seven, eight, and ten feet high, with large ears upon it—he would exclaim, “What is this? Who has destroyed the beautiful plants that were here two months ago? What has become of them?” He is told it is the same corn. “Oh, it cannot be, for the corn is little stuff, and only grows eight or ten inches high, and very unlike this awkward stuff.”
This compares well with some of our “Mormons,” who are a little afflicted with the grunts: they do not know that the work of the Lord has been spreading rapidly, and growing stronger, and become more formidable than it was twenty years ago. There has been considerable advance since we used to gather around Joseph and Hyrum, in Kirtland, to keep the mob from killing them.
I remember on a certain occasion the brethren were called together to prepare to defend Joseph against the mob, who were coming to destroy him, if possible. Brother Cahoon was appointed captain of one of the largest companies, and it had ten men in it: it was the biggest company we could raise but one, and that contained fourteen men. Brother Cahoon gave us some advice: he advised us, if the mob came, and we were obliged to fire, to shoot at their legs. But, should they advance upon us now, we would shoot higher than that: so, if anybody will look at it candidly, they will see that we have grown and improved considerably in our ideas. To shoot at the legs of a mob is now altogether behind the times in “Mormonism.” After brother Cahoon had advised us, brother Brigham rose and said that if the mob tackled him, he would shoot at their hearts; and some of the company nearly apostatized. We must remember that we are in the advance; for the Lord has said, in these days, he has commenced to do a great work, and called upon his servants to lay the foundation of it. The foundation being laid, then the work has to be done. In order to be participators in this, we must be honest with ourselves, with our brethren, and with the poor among the Lord's people. If we are, the blessings of God will flow upon us, and our knowledge will increase, and all the light and intelligence that we desire from God will be poured out upon us, and our means will increase, and our substance will be blessed unto us. But if we adopt the other principle, although men do it from covetousness, it is the identical way to become poor. The Prophet said, The liberal deviseth liberal things, and by his liberality he shall stand. This is the truth: it has been so among all generations, and with this people from the beginning.
It was customary, before we entered this Church, to hear a great deal of text preaching. The learned ministers would select a text or passage of Scripture, measure it by a theological rule, divide it into heads, and then preach from it, preaching about everything in the world but the thing in the text. After they had gone through this kind of maneuvering long enough, they would then appeal to the congregation to know if they had not preached to them the doctrine laid down in the text. Well, if I have preached from the text, excuse me.
I will close my remarks with the old-fashioned appeal; and if I have not preached the doctrines contained in the text, let me advise my friends to give heed to those doctrines anyhow.
Adherence to “Mormonism”—Perpetual Emigration Fund
An Address by President Heber C. Kimball, Delivered at the General Conference, in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, October 6, 1854.
Reported by Unknown.
We have heard a very beautiful relation from Elder T. D. Brown, of the mission at the South. It seems that everything we undertake in righteousness prospers, and the Devil and his agents cannot help themselves, if we are faithful.
The Zion's ship that was spoken of today, which runs in Snag harbor, has prospered from the first day it was launched, and every man and woman who stick firmly to that ship will prosper from this time henceforth and forever. That I know, for I have been on board that ship, and am now sailing upon it.
The first time I went to England, I was on board of Zion's ship, and Joseph came to me while I was sailing, and put into my hand a rod; and I presume, if I have dreamed once of being aboard of that ship, I have dreamed it a hundred times. I have been in it in the midst of dangers and in the most dangerous places. I have seen trees and stumps, mountains and rocks, and everything else that could be placed in her course thrown before her to stop her in her course; but she can sail through a mountain or on dry land as well as upon the water. I have this in dreams; and I will say to the brethren, Just so long as you keep aboard of that ship you will prosper. I do not care whether it is in the midst of the Lamanites or among the Jews—whether it is in Italy or in Denmark, in Europe or in America, we will prosper, and I know it. That is my testimony.
As brother George A. Smith was saying, there are some who want to enjoy ancient “Mormonism”—that is, as “Mormonism” used to be when it was a small sapling. But it is now becoming a lofty tree, and its branches are beginning to shoot forth all over the nations of the earth; ancient “Mormonism” has grown to such a degree. Many have been in the background, and have left the tree, and it has grown to that extent, they do not know it. That is the trouble with them: they don't know what “Mormonism” is. But this is “Mormonism,” and this is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and President Young is the true and legal administrator and delegate sent from God, and we are his brethren, and he is on board of Zion's ship, and he is the captain; and if we will stick to it, we shall never run foul of the rocks; and whoever he tells to take hold of the helm, he will tell them in what direction to steer; and she is such a good sailor, and so true to the helm, she will run right between or over all snags.
Do you believe it, you old “Mormons?” [“Yes.”] Well, then, why don't you grow with the tree, and with the branches thereof? Brother Brown would grow faster living on bread and water, and water and bread, with a little milk. Gentlemen, if you don't look out, the ship will get out of reach, and the tree will grow out of your knowledge, so that you will forget what manner of a tree it was; because, as the tree grows, it changes in size and appearance, just the same as a child as it grows to manhood; and if you had not been with him all the time, you would not know him, although he were your own son.
The text that President Young gave us bears upon my mind considerably, and it is a thing we ought to take into consideration; not me alone, but every man and woman that belongs to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; not only those who are indebted to the Perpetual Emigrating Fund, but all ought to throw in their mites and enlarge this Fund. The means can be paid in here, and the poor can be brought out from the nations. Hundreds have come on this year on the strength of this Fund. It is the duty of those who have been brought out by it to go and work forthwith for means to pay their indebtedness. It does not belong to you, but it belongs to those who have made the Fund: it belongs to that Company, and to every individual, if they have not placed in it any more than a picayune or a halfpenny.
Look at the poor in old England. I have heard that some have feelings against me, because I have spoken of the poverty of the people in that country. I know more about its poverty than the natives of the country do. Those who come from there don't know as well about it as we do. In the last letter that came from my son William, he wrote that, “I feel to weep and mourn and lament, when I behold the poverty of the people: they are starving to death, and there are scores and hundreds of my brethren in the poorhouses of the country: the husband is put in one poorhouse, the wife in another, and the children in another.”
That is the case with our brethren there; and while you are here in the midst of luxuries—while you are enjoying these blessings of the Lord, can you see your own brethren afflicted? It is not only so in England, but in Ireland, in Scotland, in Denmark, and in Sweden, and in all the nations of the earth. Do they enjoy what we enjoy? No. Although there are some who want to return to their native country, to enjoy their own habits and customs, yet there is no rational man or woman who wants to return.
Brethren, did you ever reflect upon these things, and try to find out what you could do? Supposing there were not any more Saints than what are in this room today, if we were to put forth our hand as one man, what could we accomplish? There are people enough in this congregation to accomplish more than the whole Church has, if they would only believe and act upon the instructions given them. Solomon says, “The liberal man deviseth liberal things; and by his liberality shall he live.” I have proved the truth of this saying to my fullest satisfaction and to my astonishment, time and time again. When I have been poor and penniless, and could not raise five dollars, I have gone to work, by the counsel of my President, and built me a good house, and furnished it; and says brother Brigham, “You shall build that house, and you shall have your fit-out.” I did it according to his word, and it was clear of debt, and I had a good fit-out.
I have done the same here upon the same principle; and said the President, “Brother Kimball, take one load of rock, and a load of sand, and a load of clay, and say to the masons and joiners, Go ahead; for I never built a house yet, but I was better off when I had done it than when I began.” And brethren and sisters, that is the reason I keep on building. [Voice; in the stand: “You will get poor if you stop.”] Therefore I go ahead. Many will sit down and count the costs—how much it will cost to put a potato in the ground, and then how much it will take to raise a hill around it; and they find out the expense is so great, they will never plant a potato nor make a hill, and they never will accomplish anything. Do you know that is true?
Let us go to work now and enlarge this Fund, and let us do it at this Conference; and let those who are indebted to it go to work immediately and pay up. We shall probably hold this meeting for a time, and your hearts shall be enlarged; and if you could only go home while they are enlarged, and all the puckering strings loosened, and back the thing right up, the Perpetual Fund would be rich. I know that men and women have consciences that want to screw this way, and twist that way, and every way under God's heavens, before they can come to the right thing. If you want to grow and thrive, and want to have the Spirit of the Lord, and the Holy Ghost to be with you, and have dreams and visions, and gold and silver, and herds and flocks, wives and children, and every other good thing, go ahead in every duty, and never falter one moment, and tell the Devil to kiss your foot.
The Devil is on the puckering line, and he will pucker every Saint and every man there is upon the earth, so that they would let their fellow beings lie down in a furrow of the field and starve to death; and these are your brethren and sisters, if you only but knew it, just as much as your brethren and sisters are according to what you call the flesh. This is the feeling of many—“Well, if I could only get dad, and mammy, and granddad, and uncle John, and aunt Nancy, and Sally here, I would not care a damn for all the rest.” Who cares about having only Nancy and Sally? Let us have Susan and Polly and Timothy and Andrew out, too. What do you say? [Voice in the stand: “Let us bring them all out.”] Yes, let us bring them all out. The wars, distress, and confusion among the nations are increasing the value of provisions. It was just as much as you could do to live, when you were there.
What do you say, brethren and sisters? I do not want you to say anything, unless you go ahead and do what you say. Shall we go ahead and enlarge these funds, and pay up our debts? [Voice in the stand: “Aye.”] Well, all who are in favor of paying up your debts to the Fund, to the Church, and everybody else, I want you to signify it by raising your right hands, and then say, “Aye.” [“Aye.”] And when you come tomorrow, bring along your pennies, and let us keep gathering and enlarging the pile, and keep enlarging it, and gather the Saints together from the four quarters of the earth. We are the persons to do that business; and when we have accomplished our part as servants in the flesh, God will send angels he has had in reserve to accomplish what we cannot accomplish. But he will make us buckle up to the work; and if we should happen to lie down and sleep before we have done all we might do here, he will tell us to awake and go about our business, and accomplish that we might have done while we were in the flesh. You have got to do it, as sure as the sun ever rose and set; you may wait as long as you have a mind to before you begin.
My feelings are for us all to concentrate our energies with the head of this Church, and put the wheel in operation, that, when another year comes, we may see a hundred times more come out by the Perpetual Emigrating Fund than we have ever seen.
I believe I have stuck to the text pretty well. May God bless you, and help you to be faithful and fulfil your covenants, from this time henceforth and forever. Amen.
Chanting by the choir.
Benediction by Elder Hyde.
An Address by President Heber C. Kimball, Delivered at the General Conference, in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, October 6, 1854.
Reported by Unknown.
We have heard a very beautiful relation from Elder T. D. Brown, of the mission at the South. It seems that everything we undertake in righteousness prospers, and the Devil and his agents cannot help themselves, if we are faithful.
The Zion's ship that was spoken of today, which runs in Snag harbor, has prospered from the first day it was launched, and every man and woman who stick firmly to that ship will prosper from this time henceforth and forever. That I know, for I have been on board that ship, and am now sailing upon it.
The first time I went to England, I was on board of Zion's ship, and Joseph came to me while I was sailing, and put into my hand a rod; and I presume, if I have dreamed once of being aboard of that ship, I have dreamed it a hundred times. I have been in it in the midst of dangers and in the most dangerous places. I have seen trees and stumps, mountains and rocks, and everything else that could be placed in her course thrown before her to stop her in her course; but she can sail through a mountain or on dry land as well as upon the water. I have this in dreams; and I will say to the brethren, Just so long as you keep aboard of that ship you will prosper. I do not care whether it is in the midst of the Lamanites or among the Jews—whether it is in Italy or in Denmark, in Europe or in America, we will prosper, and I know it. That is my testimony.
As brother George A. Smith was saying, there are some who want to enjoy ancient “Mormonism”—that is, as “Mormonism” used to be when it was a small sapling. But it is now becoming a lofty tree, and its branches are beginning to shoot forth all over the nations of the earth; ancient “Mormonism” has grown to such a degree. Many have been in the background, and have left the tree, and it has grown to that extent, they do not know it. That is the trouble with them: they don't know what “Mormonism” is. But this is “Mormonism,” and this is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and President Young is the true and legal administrator and delegate sent from God, and we are his brethren, and he is on board of Zion's ship, and he is the captain; and if we will stick to it, we shall never run foul of the rocks; and whoever he tells to take hold of the helm, he will tell them in what direction to steer; and she is such a good sailor, and so true to the helm, she will run right between or over all snags.
Do you believe it, you old “Mormons?” [“Yes.”] Well, then, why don't you grow with the tree, and with the branches thereof? Brother Brown would grow faster living on bread and water, and water and bread, with a little milk. Gentlemen, if you don't look out, the ship will get out of reach, and the tree will grow out of your knowledge, so that you will forget what manner of a tree it was; because, as the tree grows, it changes in size and appearance, just the same as a child as it grows to manhood; and if you had not been with him all the time, you would not know him, although he were your own son.
The text that President Young gave us bears upon my mind considerably, and it is a thing we ought to take into consideration; not me alone, but every man and woman that belongs to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; not only those who are indebted to the Perpetual Emigrating Fund, but all ought to throw in their mites and enlarge this Fund. The means can be paid in here, and the poor can be brought out from the nations. Hundreds have come on this year on the strength of this Fund. It is the duty of those who have been brought out by it to go and work forthwith for means to pay their indebtedness. It does not belong to you, but it belongs to those who have made the Fund: it belongs to that Company, and to every individual, if they have not placed in it any more than a picayune or a halfpenny.
Look at the poor in old England. I have heard that some have feelings against me, because I have spoken of the poverty of the people in that country. I know more about its poverty than the natives of the country do. Those who come from there don't know as well about it as we do. In the last letter that came from my son William, he wrote that, “I feel to weep and mourn and lament, when I behold the poverty of the people: they are starving to death, and there are scores and hundreds of my brethren in the poorhouses of the country: the husband is put in one poorhouse, the wife in another, and the children in another.”
That is the case with our brethren there; and while you are here in the midst of luxuries—while you are enjoying these blessings of the Lord, can you see your own brethren afflicted? It is not only so in England, but in Ireland, in Scotland, in Denmark, and in Sweden, and in all the nations of the earth. Do they enjoy what we enjoy? No. Although there are some who want to return to their native country, to enjoy their own habits and customs, yet there is no rational man or woman who wants to return.
Brethren, did you ever reflect upon these things, and try to find out what you could do? Supposing there were not any more Saints than what are in this room today, if we were to put forth our hand as one man, what could we accomplish? There are people enough in this congregation to accomplish more than the whole Church has, if they would only believe and act upon the instructions given them. Solomon says, “The liberal man deviseth liberal things; and by his liberality shall he live.” I have proved the truth of this saying to my fullest satisfaction and to my astonishment, time and time again. When I have been poor and penniless, and could not raise five dollars, I have gone to work, by the counsel of my President, and built me a good house, and furnished it; and says brother Brigham, “You shall build that house, and you shall have your fit-out.” I did it according to his word, and it was clear of debt, and I had a good fit-out.
I have done the same here upon the same principle; and said the President, “Brother Kimball, take one load of rock, and a load of sand, and a load of clay, and say to the masons and joiners, Go ahead; for I never built a house yet, but I was better off when I had done it than when I began.” And brethren and sisters, that is the reason I keep on building. [Voice; in the stand: “You will get poor if you stop.”] Therefore I go ahead. Many will sit down and count the costs—how much it will cost to put a potato in the ground, and then how much it will take to raise a hill around it; and they find out the expense is so great, they will never plant a potato nor make a hill, and they never will accomplish anything. Do you know that is true?
Let us go to work now and enlarge this Fund, and let us do it at this Conference; and let those who are indebted to it go to work immediately and pay up. We shall probably hold this meeting for a time, and your hearts shall be enlarged; and if you could only go home while they are enlarged, and all the puckering strings loosened, and back the thing right up, the Perpetual Fund would be rich. I know that men and women have consciences that want to screw this way, and twist that way, and every way under God's heavens, before they can come to the right thing. If you want to grow and thrive, and want to have the Spirit of the Lord, and the Holy Ghost to be with you, and have dreams and visions, and gold and silver, and herds and flocks, wives and children, and every other good thing, go ahead in every duty, and never falter one moment, and tell the Devil to kiss your foot.
The Devil is on the puckering line, and he will pucker every Saint and every man there is upon the earth, so that they would let their fellow beings lie down in a furrow of the field and starve to death; and these are your brethren and sisters, if you only but knew it, just as much as your brethren and sisters are according to what you call the flesh. This is the feeling of many—“Well, if I could only get dad, and mammy, and granddad, and uncle John, and aunt Nancy, and Sally here, I would not care a damn for all the rest.” Who cares about having only Nancy and Sally? Let us have Susan and Polly and Timothy and Andrew out, too. What do you say? [Voice in the stand: “Let us bring them all out.”] Yes, let us bring them all out. The wars, distress, and confusion among the nations are increasing the value of provisions. It was just as much as you could do to live, when you were there.
What do you say, brethren and sisters? I do not want you to say anything, unless you go ahead and do what you say. Shall we go ahead and enlarge these funds, and pay up our debts? [Voice in the stand: “Aye.”] Well, all who are in favor of paying up your debts to the Fund, to the Church, and everybody else, I want you to signify it by raising your right hands, and then say, “Aye.” [“Aye.”] And when you come tomorrow, bring along your pennies, and let us keep gathering and enlarging the pile, and keep enlarging it, and gather the Saints together from the four quarters of the earth. We are the persons to do that business; and when we have accomplished our part as servants in the flesh, God will send angels he has had in reserve to accomplish what we cannot accomplish. But he will make us buckle up to the work; and if we should happen to lie down and sleep before we have done all we might do here, he will tell us to awake and go about our business, and accomplish that we might have done while we were in the flesh. You have got to do it, as sure as the sun ever rose and set; you may wait as long as you have a mind to before you begin.
My feelings are for us all to concentrate our energies with the head of this Church, and put the wheel in operation, that, when another year comes, we may see a hundred times more come out by the Perpetual Emigrating Fund than we have ever seen.
I believe I have stuck to the text pretty well. May God bless you, and help you to be faithful and fulfil your covenants, from this time henceforth and forever. Amen.
Chanting by the choir.
Benediction by Elder Hyde.
Six p.m.
Singing.
Prayer by Elder O. Pratt.
Singing.
Singing.
Prayer by Elder O. Pratt.
Singing.
Elder Hyde
spoke on marriage relations,
The Marriage Relations
A Lecture by President Orson Hyde, Delivered at the General Conference, in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, October 6, 1854.
Reported by G. D. Watt.
Beloved Friends and Brethren—It appears to have fallen to my lot to be your speaker at this time, and to call your attention to a subject that was proposed in the former part of the day.
At the time I gave out the appointment for this evening's meeting, my eye was fixed upon another person to deliver the lecture. I shall try to do the subject as good justice as my abilities, aided by the faith of the Saints and the Spirit of God, may enable me to do. I desire not only your candid and undivided attention, but I trust I shall also have your prayers, that the Lord may inspire me with those arguments and reasons that are well pleasing in His sight, that I may acquit myself before Him, if it may not be my good fortune to acquit myself so amply before you as my heart would desire.
While reflecting upon the subject of this evening's lecture, those words occurred to my mind, which our Savior spake to the Jews, who considered themselves righteous, and looked upon others with distrust and disdain—in short, who looked upon others as sinners; to reprove them, he said, “Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God.”
I do not know that I shall confine myself to this text particularly. Although I have repeated these words for the text, yet the text is not a guide at all times for the servant of God. It is the letter that killeth, we read, but it is the Spirit that giveth life. The Spirit of the Almighty is the agent by which His servants should ever be led.
The words contained in this Bible are merely a history of what is gone by; it was never given to guide the servant of God in the course he should pursue, any more than the words and commandments of God, given to a generation under one set of circumstances, would serve for another generation under another set of circumstances. There must be something to suggest or to draw forth the command to answer the circumstance under which we are placed at the time.
It is so with the servants of God. There is a Spirit that is ever ready, and points out, under varied and conflicting circumstances, the very course which the servants of God should pursue. The Bible is not a sufficient guide; it is only the history of the people who lived 1,800 years ago. The history of our Church in this day, presents the scenes and transactions of this people—the revelations and words of God to them; but if an individual living an hundred, or eighteen hundred, years hence, under different circumstances, were to adopt the history of this people for his guide in all things, he would not find it sufficient to answer the circumstances surrounding him.
Hence, it is the letter that killeth, and the Spirit giveth life. In the light of that celestial agent I ever hope to walk. I hope that it may be not only my helm and guide, but yours also, through all the labyrinths and windings of this mortal life, until we attain a standing upon ground celestial.
I have heard it remarked sometimes, by individuals who were not identified or connected with our Church, that if they could only be convinced that polygamy was true, they would become “Mormons” at once.
Do you believe the Bible? “Certainly I do,” says the inquirer. Did father Abraham and the ancient Patriarchs live in this relation, and practice this doctrine? You say they did. Then if what they practiced is true, you are bound to become a “Mormon,” upon your own hypothesis and reasons. But, gentlemen, if I knew that that was the all-convincing argument, and if that was the principal doctrine that alone influenced you to become a “Mormon,” I should at once say, let me never baptize such a person, let me never be the agent to bring such a person into the Church and kingdom of God.
God despises every character who would enter His Church for no other purpose than to criminally indulge his natural propensities. Then, gentlemen, do not indulge the expectation, if you should be convinced by the arguments. I may adduce in favor of the doctrine of polygamy, as it is called, that that will prove a sufficient groundwork for your faith. But where is the ground upon which to base your faith? Where shall you go to find out “Mormonism” from the foundation to the topstone, from the root to the uttermost branch in the tree? Begin at the beginning. If men wish to accomplish any work, they must begin at the beginning of that work, not in the middle of it, or at the end. I must begin at the beginning, and if I know that the first stone is laid upon a permanent foundation, I can then with safety add another to that already laid; but if I cannot lay the first stone upon ground that is solid—if I cannot lay it upon a rock, I may despair of ever rearing a fabric or superstructure that will resist the rain and winds that may be hurled against it by the power of nature. We must begin at the beginning, and not content ourselves by grasping at that which may be beautiful in illustration and enlist our attention, and begin to build upon it as a foundation. In such a case we may have branches, but we do not bear the root.
I know that this doctrine is made the subject of a great deal of ridicule. I know that the world at large who profess to be pious, or, if not pious, morally upright, look upon it as a damning sin, as a stain upon the bright escutcheon of their country, here in the very heart of the United States territory, surrounded by tall mountains; they consider it a dark spot in the country's history. Many of the great politicians of the day view it in this point of light. Religionists are still more scrupulous—they regard it as a heinous and damning sin.
I always consider it my duty, under proper circumstances, to give a reason of the hope that is in me, with meekness and fear; and if I have imbibed a principle, and am unable to defend it upon the principles of truth, justice, equity, and true philosophy, I should consider I was walking in the dark.
Whenever truth is manifested by revelation to the servants of God, it never comes without a reason for it. When the light of revelation bursts upon the mind, it not only unfolds one principle, but many. For instance, to illustrate this idea, suppose this room were in total darkness, and we were seated as we now are, if a brilliant light were introduced in the midst of the room, it would enable us to see not only one person, but the whole multitude.
So it is with the light of revelation. When it bursts into the human mind, it not only reveals one principle, but casts a halo of light upon all connected with it. An individual thus favored, walks in the light of Jehovah's countenance. I have a desire that in this light we may walk; and he whose eye is single, says the Savior, his whole body shall be full of light, and there is no darkness in him, nor occasion of stumbling.
What is the condition of the world at large, both religious and political, who regard us as being in the depths of sin, iniquity, and transgression? What are their customs? Go, if you please, to the large cities of every nation and clime. I have visited many of them in the four quarters of the earth, and in the islands of the sea. I have had some little experience in relation to these things, so far as common observation could give it to me, and I pretty well understand the manner of life of the world at large.
A man, for instance, who has the most riches, the man who can command the most wealth, I do not say this is the case with all, but it is the case with the majority—they not only have their wives and families with whom they publicly live and associate, but they also have in secret places their mistresses, whom they maintain not honorably, but under a cloak as it were. When by their illegitimate connections they are likely to increase their race, what means do they resort to, to save their credit, to keep their honor unsullied in the eyes of the multitude, to cover up their iniquity, hide their crimes, and smother their shame? A skillful practitioner is employed to destroy the embryo offspring. This is murder.
Nor is this the only means used to hide their shame, and save themselves from reproach. They may be successful in hiding their iniquity from the eye of man, but they cannot hide it from the eye of the Omnipotent Jehovah. Is there not a day coming when these acts will be searched out, and proclaimed abroad, and that, too, by a mind that penetrates the secret thoughts and intents of the hearts of the children of men? “What! Is there indeed such a day approaching?” Yes. It may be hid for a little season from the view of the wicked, but it is steadily approaching, and will come as a thief in the night; and those very persons, both male and female, who often throw out their anathemas against the “Mormons,” against their course, and manner of life, will be overwhelmed with it.
Then how will apply the words of our text—“Ye are they that justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is well pleasing in the sight of men is an abomination to God.” What is well pleasing in the eyes of worldly men—men devoid of principle, and destitute of the righteousness of God? It is pleasing to them to hide and smother up anything that would tend to cast reproach and infamy upon their name. The blackness of their character they seek to conceal from the public gaze, and appear good Christians, and honorable men in society, men of principle, virtue, and integrity. If they can hide their shame, no matter what the expense or suffering caused in destroying the embryo coming into being. They care not to risk the life of her who would become a mother. All this is well pleasing in the eyes of unprincipled men, and that their iniquity should not come to light.
But that that is well pleasing in the sight of men, is an abomination in the sight of God. I will venture to say, that you may go into the most populous cities of the world, and you will find a considerable part of those who give tone to Christianity as it is in the world, standing in these miserable relations, under cover, and in secret. These things are true, and it is enough to pain the heart of the philanthropist, and wound the feelings of any man who is the friend of suffering humanity, to read their history, and observe their course. I would not follow them in all their filthy windings, were I able. Had I the discerning eye of an angel, or of a God, I would not wish to follow them up, and disclose to you the corruptions that are practiced in the world, and all under the cloak of popularity, shrouded by high standing, and worldly authority; and thus they are protected in their unlawful relations.
I am not disposed to charge home upon the lawgivers of our country things of this kind; I will not presume to do it; yet at the same time, if I can credit their own statements in relation to the acts of one another touching these matters, it is enough to make the nations blush and hide their heads in shame, from such miserable, MISERABLE, corrupt proceedings.
But we do not wish to sustain our own position upon the corruptions of others—our own position, as it is in the mind and revelations of God. God forbid that our faith should be founded upon the corruptions of the world. Our faith is founded upon the purity of the word of life, and there let it be grounded.
Well, now, friends and brethren, will you listen to me for a short time, and let me conduct you as far as I shall be able this evening, through the volume of inspiration that is universally acknowledged by all Christendom to be the word of God, the truth of heaven? Will you listen to some of the sayings contained in that book? And then say whether we possess the same spirit now that inspired the breasts of the ancients, whose history is penned upon these pages. Judge for yourselves whether it be so or not.
In the first place, then, we will look unto Abraham our father, and to Sarah who bore us, for if we are Christ's, then we are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise. Let any story be told of my father whereby dishonor is laid to his charge, or let any reproach be cast upon my mother, and if the feelings of the loyalty of a son towards his parents dwell in my bosom I will resist all such reproach. No matter how sinful they might have been, their sins must not be portrayed before me. I look then unto Abraham as my father, and unto Sarah as my mother who bore me. How was it, then, with Abraham? He is said to be the father of the faithful, and the great head of the Church in the days of the Patriarchs, and the head of those who have been adopted into the covenant of Jehovah through the blood of His only begotten; for if we are Christ's then we are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise. If, by the virtue of the Savior's blood, our sins are washed away, we are the children of Abraham; we hail him as our father, and Sarah as our mother; he is the father of the faithful, he is the father of many nations. How was it with Abraham? Did he please God, walk before Him uprightly, and obtain this testimony that he pleased God, and obtain promises that no other man has obtained since the days of Abraham, the Son of God excepted? Jehovah promised that in him and in his seed all the nations of the earth should be blessed, as a pattern of piety, and as the great head of the Church. Because of his faithfulness in keeping the commandments of Jehovah on earth, he drew from on high this great promise. Who has lived since that time who has been thus blessed? I will venture to say not one. Then if we are his children, will we not do the works of faithful Abraham? So said the Savior, whoever spoke the truth, whoever declared the mind and will of his Father in heaven. Are we Abraham's seed, or are we bastards and not sons? That is the question.
Let us see what Abraham's works were. Abraham obtained promises. What promise have you obtained? What promise has the Christian world obtained? “Why,” says one, “the Bible is all full of promises made to the people of God long ago.” But what have the promises to the people of God long ago to do with us? Have we obtained promises to ourselves? There is the point. If our fathers obtained promises that they should be fed, and were fed, their eating and drinking does not satisfy my appetite. It satisfied them, but that has nothing to do with me, I want the same kind of substantial food myself. If Abraham obtained promises, I want to obtain promises also. “What! A man that has more than one wife obtain promises from God?” I tell you there were but few in olden times whoever did obtain promises from God, that had not more than one wife, if the Bible be true. There was David, and there was Solomon; there were the whole line of the kings of Israel. Says one, “That Old Bible was for the Jews, and has nothing to do with us; that is the Old Testament; and having more wives was according to their law, and according to their custom, but it does not apply to us; the Savior of the world is our great pattern, he is our great lawgiver.”
And how is it with him? Let us inquire. Did the Savior of the world consider it to be his duty to fulfil all righteousness? You answer, yes. Even the simple ordinance of baptism he would not pass by, for the Lord commanded it, and therefore it was righteousness to obey what the Lord had commanded, and he would fulfil all righteousness. Upon this hypothesis I will go back to the beginning, and notice the commandment that was given to our first parents in the garden of Eden. The Lord said unto them, “Multiply and replenish the earth.” I will digress here for a moment from the thread of the subject, and bring an idea that may perhaps have a bearing upon it.
The earth, you remember, was void and empty, until our first parents began at the garden of Eden. What does the term replenish mean? This word is derived from the Latin; “re” and “plenus;” “re” denotes repetition, iteration; and “plenus” signifies full, complete; then the meaning of the word replenish is to refill, recomplete. If I were to go into a merchant's store, and find he had got a new stock of goods, I should say—“You have replenished your stock, that is, filled up your establishment, for it looks as it did before.” “Now go forth,” says the Lord, “and replenish the earth;” for it was covered with gloomy clouds of darkness, excluded from the light of heaven, and darkness brooded upon the face of the deep. The world was peopled before the days of Adam, as much so as it was before the days of Noah. It was said that Noah became the father of a new world, but it was the same old world still, and will continue to be, though it may pass through many changes.
When God said, Go forth and replenish the earth; it was to replenish the inhabitants of the human species, and make it as it was before. Our first parents, then, were commanded to multiply and replenish the earth; and if the Savior found it his duty to be baptized to fulfil all righteousness, a command of far less importance than that of multiplying his race (if indeed there is any difference in the commandments of Jehovah, for they are all important, and all essential), would he not find it his duty to join in with the rest of the faithful ones in replenishing the earth? “Mr. Hyde, do you really wish to imply that the immaculate Savior begat children? It is a blasphemous assertion against the purity of the Savior's life, to say the least of it. The holy aspirations that ever ascended from him to his Father would never allow him to have any such fleshly and carnal connections, never, no never.” This is the general idea; but the Savior never thought it beneath him to obey the mandate of his Father; he never thought this stooping beneath his dignity; he never despised what God had made; for they are bone of his bone, and flesh of his flesh; kindred spirits, that once basked in rays of immortality and eternal life. When he found them clothed upon and surrounded with the weaknesses of mortal flesh, would he despise them? No. It is this, I have seen men who became poor and miserable all at once, and then those who were their friends in the days of their prosperity turn from them, and scarcely deign to bestow them a look, it being too humiliating to associate with them in their poverty. But it was not so with the Savior; he associated with them in other spheres, and when they came here, descending below all things, he did not despise to associate with these same kindred spirits. “Then you really mean to hold to the doctrine that the Savior of the world was married; do you mean to be understood so? And if so, do you mean to be understood that he had more than one wife?”
The Christian world by their prejudices have driven us away from the Old Bible, so we must now appeal to the New Testament, for that seems to suit the prejudice of the people; though to me it is all alike, both the Old and New Testaments; for the scribe that is well instructed, brings out of his treasury things both new and old. This is my treasury, or rather, it is one of my treasuries, and what I cannot find there, I trust will come down from on high, and lodge in my heart. The gift of God is also my treasury, even the Holy Spirit.
Now suppose I should set out myself, and travel through the cities of the nation as a celebrated reformer, preaching revelations and sentiments as lofty as the skies, and rolling out ideas strange and new, to which the multitude were entirely unaccustomed; and wherever I went, suppose I had with me three or four women—one combing my head, another washing my feet, and another shedding tears upon them, and wiping them with the hair of her head. Suppose I should lean upon them, and they upon me, would it not appear monstrous in the eyes of the world? Would they ride me into Jerusalem upon our ass's colt, and cast branches of the palm tree beneath my feet, shouting, “Hosannah, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosannah in the highest?” I guess they would give me a coat of tar and feathers, and ride me on a rail; and it is my opinion they would serve the Savior the same, did he go about now as he did eighteen hundred years ago.
There is an old prophecy of Isaiah, which I cannot stop to read, but you will find it in the 53rd chapter of his prophecies; read the whole of the chapter. This particular prophecy speaks of Christ all the way through. It is there said, “When thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed.” What constitutes the soul? The spirit and body of man united; for you know it is said in one place that so many souls were slain in the night by the angel of God. The immortal part was not slain, but a disunion of the mortal and immortal parts took place. When they shall make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed. If he has no seed, how could he see them? “When they make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, and prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.” By and by the Prophet goes on to say, “And who shall declare his generation,” for his life is taken from the earth. If he had no generation, who could declare it? I told you there was an agent who would bring out every subject in bold relief, which is the Holy Ghost, who searcheth all things, even the deep things of God, and until that celestial agent should fire some man's heart to declare his generation, it could never be made known. Who shall declare it? He could not, for he was cut off from the earth. I have noticed the prophecy of Isaiah, that portion of it which was fulfilled in the person of the Savior, for the Lord divided him a portion with the great, “and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.” Upon him was laid the iniquity of us all; he was numbered with thieves, and in his expiring moments he said, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.” “He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth. He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken.” Now if one portion of this prophecy has been fulfilled, the other portion has, or will be.
How was it with Mary and Martha, and other women that followed him? In old times, and it is common in this day, the women, even as Sarah, called their husbands Lord; the word Lord is tantamount to husband in some languages, master, lord, husband, are about synonymous. In England we frequently hear the wife say, “Where is my master?” She does not mean a tyrant, but as Sarah called her husband Lord, she designates hers by the word master. When Mary of old came to the sepulchre on the first day of the week, instead of finding Jesus she saw two angels in white, “And they say unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? She said unto them, Because they have taken away my Lord,” or husband, “and I know not where they have laid him. And when she had thus said, she turned herself back, and saw Jesus standing, and knew not that it was Jesus. Jesus saith unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? whom seekest thou? She, supposing him to be the gardener, saith unto him, Sir, if thou have borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away. Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turned herself, and saith unto him, Rabboni; which is to say, Master.” Is there not here manifested the affections of a wife. These words speak the kindred ties and sympathies that are common to that relation of husband and wife. Where will you find a family so nearly allied by the ties of common religion? “Well,” you say, “that appears rather plausible, but I want a little more evidence, I want you to find where it says the Savior was actually married.”
Have you ever read your Bibles? I must confess I have not read it for some time, but looked more to Him who rules on high, and to those who hold the words of life in the inspiration of the Holy Ghost; I look to them more frequently than to it. I have once memorized the Bible, and when anyone quoted one verse, I could quote the next. I have memorized it in English, German, and Hebrew, still I do not profess to be very familiar with it now, yet the sentiments and spirit of it are in my heart, and will be as long as I live, and still remain when I am gone to another sphere. When does it say the Savior was married? I believe I will read it for your accommodation, or you might not believe my words were I to say that there is indeed such a Scripture.
We will turn over to the account of the marriage in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Yes, and somebody else too. You will find it in the 2nd chapter of John's Gospel; remember it and read it when you go home. “And the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee; and the mother of Jesus was there: And both Jesus was called, and his disciples, to the marriage. And when they wanted wine, the mother of Jesus saith unto him, They have no wine. Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee? mine hour is not yet come. His mother saith unto the servants, Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it. And there were set there six water pots of stone, after the manner of the purifying of the Jews, containing two or three firkins apiece. Jesus saith unto them, Fill the water pots with water. And they filled them up to the brim. And he saith unto them, Draw out now, and bear unto the governor of the feast. And they bare it. When the ruler of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and knew not whence it was: (but the servants which drew the water knew;) the governor of the feast called the bridegroom, And saith unto him”—that is, the ruler of the feast saith unto the bridegroom, “Every man at the beginning doth set forth good wine; and when men have well drunk, then that which is worse: but thou hast kept the good wine until now.”
Gentlemen, that is as plain as the translators, or different councils over this Scripture, dare allow it to go to the world, but the thing is there; it is told; Jesus was the bridegroom at the marriage of Cana of Galilee, and he told them what to do.
Now there was actually a marriage; and if Jesus was not the bridegroom on that occasion, please tell who was. If any man can show this, and prove that it was not the Savior of the world, then I will acknowledge I am in error. We say it was Jesus Christ who was married, to be brought into the relation whereby he could see his seed, before he was crucified. “Has he indeed passed by the nature of angels, and taken upon himself the seed of Abraham, to die without leaving a seed to bear his name on the earth?” No. But when the secret is fully out, the seed of the blessed shall be gathered in, in the last days; and he who has not the blood of Abraham flowing in his veins, who has not one particle of the Savior's in him, I am afraid is a stereotyped Gentile, who will be left out and not be gathered in the last days; for I tell you it is the chosen of God, the seed of the blessed, that shall be gathered. I do not despise to be called a son of Abraham, if he had a dozen wives; or to be called a brother, a son, a child of the Savior, if he had Mary, and Martha, and several others, as wives; and though he did cast seven devils out of one of them, it is all the same to me.
Well, then, he shall see his seed, and who shall declare his generation, for he was cut off from the earth? I shall say here, that before the Savior died, he looked upon his own natural children, as we look upon ours; he saw his seed, and immediately afterwards he was cut off from the earth; but who shall declare his generation? They had no father to hold them in honorable remembrance; they passed into the shades of obscurity, never to be exposed to mortal eye as the seed of the blessed one. For no doubt had they been exposed to the eye of the world, those infants might have shared the same fate as the children in Jerusalem in the days of Herod, when all the children were ordered to be slain under such an age, with the hopes of slaying the infant Savior. They might have suffered by the hand of the assassin, as the sons of many kings have done who were heirs apparent to the thrones of their fathers.
History is replete with circumstances of neck-or-nothing politicians dyeing their hands in the blood of those who stood in their way to the throne or to power.
That seed has had its influence upon the chosen of God in the last days. The same spirit inspires them that inspires their father, who bled and died upon the cross after the manner of the flesh.
“Well, but,” says one, “there was certainly an injunction laid upon the Bishops in New Testament times, that they should have but one wife.” This is brought up as a great argument against the position the Latter-day Saints have taken. In olden times they might have passed through the same circumstances as some of the Latter-day Saints had to in Illinois. What would it have done for us, if they had known that many of us had more than one wife when we lived in Illinois? They would have broken us up, doubtless, worse than they did. They may break us up, and rout us from place to another, but by and by we shall come to a point where we shall have all the women, and they will have none. You may think I am joking about this, but I can bring you the truth of God to demonstrate it to you. I have not advanced anything I have not got an abundance of backing for. There is more truth than poetry in this as sure as you live.
The Bishops anciently, in their office and callings, had a great deal to do with temporal matters—serving tables, attending to the poor, &c. And inasmuch as so much trust was reposed in them of a temporal character, they were required to have a fair reputation, and must not stand in any relation that would in the least prejudice their reputation with the world of mankind.
In certain countries, plurality of wives is legal. Christendom think they are about everybody, and the “rest of mankind” are few and far between. I have traveled among nations and countries where this doctrine was tolerated by law, and I will venture to say, if we were to take a walk through the world tonight and find out those who are in favor of, or against, this doctrine, the majority would be in its favor. Could the whole world be assembled here before me, and a vote taken upon this subject, they would give us the right of conscience in this matter.
Has not the Muhammadan a right to be in favor of it? Did not God make him? And is not his right as dear to him as ours? Why should we set ourselves up as a little family of nations in Christendom, and say to the rest of the great family of the world, “You shall not do so and so, and you shall do this or that?” Why should we be restricted in this matter, while the great majority of the world decide in its favor?
Take this question up upon political principles, and what do the majority of the world say about it? They establish our right. Then take it upon the principles of natural philosophy, and the truth of our position is made still more apparent. Had I language to portray to the most delicate ear the principles of our existence, and the laws of our nature, the most stubborn skeptic would be obliged to yield to the power of truth. I might take up the subject in this point of light, but I will forbear, I will spare you. If I had a congregation of men, I would not spare them one whit.
The Bishop is to be the husband of one wife. And as for old Paul, everybody says he lived and died a bachelor; but he said all things were lawful for him, and that he had power to lead about a sister, a wife, as well as other Apostles, and as the brethren of the Lord, and Cephas. Paul did not make known all things, for all things were not lawful to tell. He said himself, he knew a man that was caught up to the third heavens, and heard things unlawful to utter. If he did not take a wife, and multiply, and replenish the earth, he did not fulfil the first great fundamental law of nature.
There are many living now who are bachelors. I do not complain of the very old men, for they cannot help themselves at all times, but I am going to complain of the old bachelors; and I tell you what it is, if you do not step forward and marry, and try to carry on the great work of Jehovah, it will be left for a better man to do than you. [Voice in the stand, “There is but one old bachelor in the Territory, and he has gone to the States.“] O! I beg your pardon; President Young says he does not know of but one old bachelor in all the Territory of Utah, and he has gone to the States; therefore I have nothing more to say on this particular point. Look abroad, upon the world at large, and how many are there who are too niggardly to take a wife, and support her and her offspring honorably, and rear up a family that will reflect honor upon them in their old age! No—they cannot afford to do this, but they go where they can gratify their fleshly desires, leaving the consequences altogether with the confiding females whom they dishonor, and who in that state despair of ever being reinstated in society with a good character, give themselves to prostitution, and in rottenness go down to a premature grave with ten thousand curses on the heads of their deceivers.
Do you suppose these things are going to escape the all-seeing eye of the Great Jehovah? And will He not visit the guilty sensualist with a dreadful punishment? He will. Why not in honorable wedlock raise up offspring to glorify God? Why this niggardly disposition? No wonder the Lord Almighty sends the pestilence to lay them waste, and reduce nations and cities to ruins.
Brethren and sisters, it is for us to have the light of truth shining in our eyes, and honor that truth in all our intercourse with one another.
The Bishop shall have but one wife. If you were in a country where only one wife is allowed by law, then you would be obliged to have but one. What shall I say? A Bishop in England, where he knew polygamy to be contrary to law, must have but one wife; if you want another, and the law will not allow it, you must go where it is allowed by law. It was the case with the Bishops in olden times. We must submit to the laws of man until he shall reign whose right it is to reign.
This is the cord that shall revolutionize the whole world, and it will make the United States tremble from the very head to the foot; it is like leaven hid in three measures of meal until the whole is leavened. There is such a tide of irresistible arguments that, like the grand Mississippi, it bears on its bold current everything that dares to oppose its course.
Says one, “Why is it that men in your society may have more than one wife? What is the policy of it?” The men of God who hold the priesthood of heaven, and imbibe the light of the Holy Ghost, have the privilege and right. Now let me illustrate one thing, and let me bring it home to you. There may be some under the sound of my voice that the case will fit. Some man will perhaps marry a wife of his youth. She dies—he loved her as he loves himself, and her memory ever lingers about his heart. He marries another, and she dies, and he loved her equally as well. He marries a third, and so on, and he loved them all. By and by he dies, and he dies with devoted affection and love to them all.
Now in the resurrection, which of those wives will he claim? There is no difference in his love to any of them, and they have all perhaps borne children to him. He loves the children of one mother as well as the children of another. What say you? Which shall he have in the resurrection? Why, let him have the whole of them. To whom are they nearer allied?
There is a case opposite to this, where a woman married a husband, and he died, and so on, until she was married to seven husbands, and then she died. The question was asked the Savior, “Whose wife will she be in the resurrection!” for they all had her. The Savior gave a curious answer. Says he, “In the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God.” Now tell me how the angels are in heaven, and then we shall have the secret.
It is said, “In the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your old men shall see visions, and your men shall dream dreams: And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my spirit; and they shall prophesy.” You are praying every day, “Thy kingdom come, and thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” You never can know how it is done in heaven, unless you can see it by vision; or the kingdom, when it does come, unless it is revealed to you by the spirit of prophecy, or in dreams and visions; then you know it.
This is the benefit of dreams and visions, although this power is lightly spoken of, and repudiated in the Christian world. The revelation of the Almighty from God to a man who holds the Priesthood, and is enlightened by the Holy Ghost, whom God designs to make a ruler and a governor in His eternal kingdom is, that he may have many wives, that when he goes yonder to another sphere he may still continue to perpetuate his species, and of the increase of his kingdom and government there shall be no end, says Daniel. How does the kingdom of God increase, but by the increase of its subjects? Everything increases, everything multiplies. As brother Benson said this morning, even the mosquitoes of Nebraska increase and multiply. If they do, why not high orders of the creation have a better right? These mosquitoes and insects are the result of a fallen world, but by and by there will be nothing to hurt or destroy in all God's holy mountain.
These men of God who are married here by the authority of heaven are sealed on earth and in heaven. The good old book says, that which is sealed on earth is sealed in heaven; and whosoever sins ye remit on earth shall be remitted in heaven, and whatsoever ye bind on earth shall be bound in heaven. That Priesthood that has not this power is no better than a rope of sand. The true Priesthood alone possesses it. The Priesthood that has not this power is a mock Priesthood, and not the Priesthood of the Almighty. Little did the world know when they treated the Savior as they did, that he held their destiny in his hands; the world knew him not; he came to his own and they received him not; but the time will come that they will know him, and the power of his Priesthood.
When the servants of God and their wives go to heaven there is an eternal union, and they will multiply and replenish the world to which they are going.
It is not every man in the United States that can be the president, or that can be a governor, or a judge, but all are within the pale of the government of the United States, though they do not all bear rule; many are called, and few are chosen. But in yonder world those who bear the Priesthood, and by their faith and obedience obtain the sanction of the Almighty, they are sealed on earth and in heaven, and will be exalted to rule and govern forever; while those who would not listen to the holy commandments, and died without having a wife sealed to them, are angels; they are lower spirits, and servants to them that rule. Therefore, this family of old, which the Savior spoke of, saying, “In the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage,” are not Gods, but angels, who neither marry nor are given in marriage, while the men that magnify their callings are they that bear rule, and hold dominion, and receive their crown, and are one with the Savior, as he is one with the Father. Hence, he that is faithful over a few things shall be made ruler over many things.
I have a few words more to say, and a great deal more can be said; for I have only just dipped into the subject a little. I want to say a few things more, and perhaps this is the most fitting occasion on which they could be said. You never see a “Mormon” man who bears the Priesthood, unless it is some characters that only bear it in form, who are devoid of principle, who have transgressed, and have escaped being dealt with—I say you never see a true-hearted “Mormon” man running after a lewd woman; but there are women among the Latter-day Saints who are loose in their conduct, notwithstanding they have embraced the Gospel. We only wish to apply this where it belongs; do not any of you have your feelings hurt, for God knows I would hold the virtuous and good as sacred as I would my own life. At the same time I am bound to speak in plainness, and I feel that the Spirit is on me now, I am warmed with it, and it presses me to speak on this subject, and to speak it out. There are families in this town that have bowed externally to the yoke of Christ, but they are as corrupt as hell, and I can point where they are, in what direction they dwell. When I approach their habitations, I feel that they are an abomination in my sight. “Have you any tangible evidence of this?” Yes, I have, and more than I want, which I shall keep to myself, but the day will come when it will all come out. Do you see “Mormon” men running there? No. Wherever you find a house among the Latter-day Saints where no “Mormon” men go, you may know it is not all sound in Denmark. I will tell you whom you see there in particular—men who fear not God nor regard man. What have I got to say concerning women that will come into the Church and kingdom of God, and bring dishonor upon themselves, and endeavor to bring it upon the whole Church, by cohabiting with those cursed scapegraces who are passing through here to California, who make their boast of what they did in Great Salt Lake City? I know their secret talk in their chambers, for the Spirit of God searcheth all things. It may not be with me to the same extent all the time, but sometimes the whole vision of my mind is lit up, and I see and understand it all.
I am going to say something upon those who dishonor the Church and kingdom of God in this way. I will tell you what shall happen to those men and women who commit lewdness, and go and boast of it, and laugh in the face of heaven. The day shall come when their flesh shall rot upon their bones, and as they are walking it shall drop, and become a nauseous stink upon the highway. Now go and boast that you can get all you want for a dress pattern, or a yard of ribbon; go and boast of it, and the Lord Almighty shall curse you all the day long. [Voice in the stand, “Amen.“] And when you step, chunks of your flesh shall drop off your bones, and stink enough to sicken a dog.
I speak this to both men and women that practice this iniquity in the midst of this people; and if you do not refrain from such intercourse, this prediction shall begin to take effect, and by this you shall know whether I have spoken in the name of the Lord, or in the name of Orson Hyde. For such abominable practices to come in our midst under the robes of sanctity, because there are liberal, holy, and righteous principles practiced by the Saints, I say, curse their habitation and their persons; and if this is your mind, let all Israel say amen. [The whole of the congregation at the top of their voices said, “Amen!“] And let these contemptible wretches feel the “Mormon” spirit, not by “Mormon” hands, but by the power of God on high.
I feel charged with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven, and it burns in my heart like a flame, and this is the testimony I bear. If I do mingle in the streets with the crowd to engage in business as any other man, I am not always asleep, and insensible to what is passing around me. I do not profess to know a great deal, but some things I do know, and some things I do not know.
I have endeavored to illustrate this subject for the benefit of the honest inquirer. I have only just touched it, endeavoring to throw out a few hints for your consideration, that you may know we are not without some reason for our faith and practice touching the subject of polygamy. I wish you to mind the admonition I have given. I have given it to you in faith; I have given it to you regardless of consequences, for I ask no odds of anybody, except of my Father in heaven, and of my brethren whose hearts I know to be pure; and I want to be identified with them in time and in all eternity, and with my sisters too; and wish to be exalted with them, and they with me, where the Saints may join hands after passing through much tribulation, and gaining crowns, to rejoice together forever and ever.
I feel as though I had borne a faithful testimony, and I now say, in the presence of God and angels, that I have given the guilty persons warning, and my garments are clean from your blood. Take warning, and never do a thing that will throw dishonor upon the Saints of the Most High.
May God add His blessing, and preserve us to His heavenly kingdom, which may He grant. Amen.
spoke on marriage relations,
The Marriage Relations
A Lecture by President Orson Hyde, Delivered at the General Conference, in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, October 6, 1854.
Reported by G. D. Watt.
Beloved Friends and Brethren—It appears to have fallen to my lot to be your speaker at this time, and to call your attention to a subject that was proposed in the former part of the day.
At the time I gave out the appointment for this evening's meeting, my eye was fixed upon another person to deliver the lecture. I shall try to do the subject as good justice as my abilities, aided by the faith of the Saints and the Spirit of God, may enable me to do. I desire not only your candid and undivided attention, but I trust I shall also have your prayers, that the Lord may inspire me with those arguments and reasons that are well pleasing in His sight, that I may acquit myself before Him, if it may not be my good fortune to acquit myself so amply before you as my heart would desire.
While reflecting upon the subject of this evening's lecture, those words occurred to my mind, which our Savior spake to the Jews, who considered themselves righteous, and looked upon others with distrust and disdain—in short, who looked upon others as sinners; to reprove them, he said, “Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God.”
I do not know that I shall confine myself to this text particularly. Although I have repeated these words for the text, yet the text is not a guide at all times for the servant of God. It is the letter that killeth, we read, but it is the Spirit that giveth life. The Spirit of the Almighty is the agent by which His servants should ever be led.
The words contained in this Bible are merely a history of what is gone by; it was never given to guide the servant of God in the course he should pursue, any more than the words and commandments of God, given to a generation under one set of circumstances, would serve for another generation under another set of circumstances. There must be something to suggest or to draw forth the command to answer the circumstance under which we are placed at the time.
It is so with the servants of God. There is a Spirit that is ever ready, and points out, under varied and conflicting circumstances, the very course which the servants of God should pursue. The Bible is not a sufficient guide; it is only the history of the people who lived 1,800 years ago. The history of our Church in this day, presents the scenes and transactions of this people—the revelations and words of God to them; but if an individual living an hundred, or eighteen hundred, years hence, under different circumstances, were to adopt the history of this people for his guide in all things, he would not find it sufficient to answer the circumstances surrounding him.
Hence, it is the letter that killeth, and the Spirit giveth life. In the light of that celestial agent I ever hope to walk. I hope that it may be not only my helm and guide, but yours also, through all the labyrinths and windings of this mortal life, until we attain a standing upon ground celestial.
I have heard it remarked sometimes, by individuals who were not identified or connected with our Church, that if they could only be convinced that polygamy was true, they would become “Mormons” at once.
Do you believe the Bible? “Certainly I do,” says the inquirer. Did father Abraham and the ancient Patriarchs live in this relation, and practice this doctrine? You say they did. Then if what they practiced is true, you are bound to become a “Mormon,” upon your own hypothesis and reasons. But, gentlemen, if I knew that that was the all-convincing argument, and if that was the principal doctrine that alone influenced you to become a “Mormon,” I should at once say, let me never baptize such a person, let me never be the agent to bring such a person into the Church and kingdom of God.
God despises every character who would enter His Church for no other purpose than to criminally indulge his natural propensities. Then, gentlemen, do not indulge the expectation, if you should be convinced by the arguments. I may adduce in favor of the doctrine of polygamy, as it is called, that that will prove a sufficient groundwork for your faith. But where is the ground upon which to base your faith? Where shall you go to find out “Mormonism” from the foundation to the topstone, from the root to the uttermost branch in the tree? Begin at the beginning. If men wish to accomplish any work, they must begin at the beginning of that work, not in the middle of it, or at the end. I must begin at the beginning, and if I know that the first stone is laid upon a permanent foundation, I can then with safety add another to that already laid; but if I cannot lay the first stone upon ground that is solid—if I cannot lay it upon a rock, I may despair of ever rearing a fabric or superstructure that will resist the rain and winds that may be hurled against it by the power of nature. We must begin at the beginning, and not content ourselves by grasping at that which may be beautiful in illustration and enlist our attention, and begin to build upon it as a foundation. In such a case we may have branches, but we do not bear the root.
I know that this doctrine is made the subject of a great deal of ridicule. I know that the world at large who profess to be pious, or, if not pious, morally upright, look upon it as a damning sin, as a stain upon the bright escutcheon of their country, here in the very heart of the United States territory, surrounded by tall mountains; they consider it a dark spot in the country's history. Many of the great politicians of the day view it in this point of light. Religionists are still more scrupulous—they regard it as a heinous and damning sin.
I always consider it my duty, under proper circumstances, to give a reason of the hope that is in me, with meekness and fear; and if I have imbibed a principle, and am unable to defend it upon the principles of truth, justice, equity, and true philosophy, I should consider I was walking in the dark.
Whenever truth is manifested by revelation to the servants of God, it never comes without a reason for it. When the light of revelation bursts upon the mind, it not only unfolds one principle, but many. For instance, to illustrate this idea, suppose this room were in total darkness, and we were seated as we now are, if a brilliant light were introduced in the midst of the room, it would enable us to see not only one person, but the whole multitude.
So it is with the light of revelation. When it bursts into the human mind, it not only reveals one principle, but casts a halo of light upon all connected with it. An individual thus favored, walks in the light of Jehovah's countenance. I have a desire that in this light we may walk; and he whose eye is single, says the Savior, his whole body shall be full of light, and there is no darkness in him, nor occasion of stumbling.
What is the condition of the world at large, both religious and political, who regard us as being in the depths of sin, iniquity, and transgression? What are their customs? Go, if you please, to the large cities of every nation and clime. I have visited many of them in the four quarters of the earth, and in the islands of the sea. I have had some little experience in relation to these things, so far as common observation could give it to me, and I pretty well understand the manner of life of the world at large.
A man, for instance, who has the most riches, the man who can command the most wealth, I do not say this is the case with all, but it is the case with the majority—they not only have their wives and families with whom they publicly live and associate, but they also have in secret places their mistresses, whom they maintain not honorably, but under a cloak as it were. When by their illegitimate connections they are likely to increase their race, what means do they resort to, to save their credit, to keep their honor unsullied in the eyes of the multitude, to cover up their iniquity, hide their crimes, and smother their shame? A skillful practitioner is employed to destroy the embryo offspring. This is murder.
Nor is this the only means used to hide their shame, and save themselves from reproach. They may be successful in hiding their iniquity from the eye of man, but they cannot hide it from the eye of the Omnipotent Jehovah. Is there not a day coming when these acts will be searched out, and proclaimed abroad, and that, too, by a mind that penetrates the secret thoughts and intents of the hearts of the children of men? “What! Is there indeed such a day approaching?” Yes. It may be hid for a little season from the view of the wicked, but it is steadily approaching, and will come as a thief in the night; and those very persons, both male and female, who often throw out their anathemas against the “Mormons,” against their course, and manner of life, will be overwhelmed with it.
Then how will apply the words of our text—“Ye are they that justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is well pleasing in the sight of men is an abomination to God.” What is well pleasing in the eyes of worldly men—men devoid of principle, and destitute of the righteousness of God? It is pleasing to them to hide and smother up anything that would tend to cast reproach and infamy upon their name. The blackness of their character they seek to conceal from the public gaze, and appear good Christians, and honorable men in society, men of principle, virtue, and integrity. If they can hide their shame, no matter what the expense or suffering caused in destroying the embryo coming into being. They care not to risk the life of her who would become a mother. All this is well pleasing in the eyes of unprincipled men, and that their iniquity should not come to light.
But that that is well pleasing in the sight of men, is an abomination in the sight of God. I will venture to say, that you may go into the most populous cities of the world, and you will find a considerable part of those who give tone to Christianity as it is in the world, standing in these miserable relations, under cover, and in secret. These things are true, and it is enough to pain the heart of the philanthropist, and wound the feelings of any man who is the friend of suffering humanity, to read their history, and observe their course. I would not follow them in all their filthy windings, were I able. Had I the discerning eye of an angel, or of a God, I would not wish to follow them up, and disclose to you the corruptions that are practiced in the world, and all under the cloak of popularity, shrouded by high standing, and worldly authority; and thus they are protected in their unlawful relations.
I am not disposed to charge home upon the lawgivers of our country things of this kind; I will not presume to do it; yet at the same time, if I can credit their own statements in relation to the acts of one another touching these matters, it is enough to make the nations blush and hide their heads in shame, from such miserable, MISERABLE, corrupt proceedings.
But we do not wish to sustain our own position upon the corruptions of others—our own position, as it is in the mind and revelations of God. God forbid that our faith should be founded upon the corruptions of the world. Our faith is founded upon the purity of the word of life, and there let it be grounded.
Well, now, friends and brethren, will you listen to me for a short time, and let me conduct you as far as I shall be able this evening, through the volume of inspiration that is universally acknowledged by all Christendom to be the word of God, the truth of heaven? Will you listen to some of the sayings contained in that book? And then say whether we possess the same spirit now that inspired the breasts of the ancients, whose history is penned upon these pages. Judge for yourselves whether it be so or not.
In the first place, then, we will look unto Abraham our father, and to Sarah who bore us, for if we are Christ's, then we are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise. Let any story be told of my father whereby dishonor is laid to his charge, or let any reproach be cast upon my mother, and if the feelings of the loyalty of a son towards his parents dwell in my bosom I will resist all such reproach. No matter how sinful they might have been, their sins must not be portrayed before me. I look then unto Abraham as my father, and unto Sarah as my mother who bore me. How was it, then, with Abraham? He is said to be the father of the faithful, and the great head of the Church in the days of the Patriarchs, and the head of those who have been adopted into the covenant of Jehovah through the blood of His only begotten; for if we are Christ's then we are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise. If, by the virtue of the Savior's blood, our sins are washed away, we are the children of Abraham; we hail him as our father, and Sarah as our mother; he is the father of the faithful, he is the father of many nations. How was it with Abraham? Did he please God, walk before Him uprightly, and obtain this testimony that he pleased God, and obtain promises that no other man has obtained since the days of Abraham, the Son of God excepted? Jehovah promised that in him and in his seed all the nations of the earth should be blessed, as a pattern of piety, and as the great head of the Church. Because of his faithfulness in keeping the commandments of Jehovah on earth, he drew from on high this great promise. Who has lived since that time who has been thus blessed? I will venture to say not one. Then if we are his children, will we not do the works of faithful Abraham? So said the Savior, whoever spoke the truth, whoever declared the mind and will of his Father in heaven. Are we Abraham's seed, or are we bastards and not sons? That is the question.
Let us see what Abraham's works were. Abraham obtained promises. What promise have you obtained? What promise has the Christian world obtained? “Why,” says one, “the Bible is all full of promises made to the people of God long ago.” But what have the promises to the people of God long ago to do with us? Have we obtained promises to ourselves? There is the point. If our fathers obtained promises that they should be fed, and were fed, their eating and drinking does not satisfy my appetite. It satisfied them, but that has nothing to do with me, I want the same kind of substantial food myself. If Abraham obtained promises, I want to obtain promises also. “What! A man that has more than one wife obtain promises from God?” I tell you there were but few in olden times whoever did obtain promises from God, that had not more than one wife, if the Bible be true. There was David, and there was Solomon; there were the whole line of the kings of Israel. Says one, “That Old Bible was for the Jews, and has nothing to do with us; that is the Old Testament; and having more wives was according to their law, and according to their custom, but it does not apply to us; the Savior of the world is our great pattern, he is our great lawgiver.”
And how is it with him? Let us inquire. Did the Savior of the world consider it to be his duty to fulfil all righteousness? You answer, yes. Even the simple ordinance of baptism he would not pass by, for the Lord commanded it, and therefore it was righteousness to obey what the Lord had commanded, and he would fulfil all righteousness. Upon this hypothesis I will go back to the beginning, and notice the commandment that was given to our first parents in the garden of Eden. The Lord said unto them, “Multiply and replenish the earth.” I will digress here for a moment from the thread of the subject, and bring an idea that may perhaps have a bearing upon it.
The earth, you remember, was void and empty, until our first parents began at the garden of Eden. What does the term replenish mean? This word is derived from the Latin; “re” and “plenus;” “re” denotes repetition, iteration; and “plenus” signifies full, complete; then the meaning of the word replenish is to refill, recomplete. If I were to go into a merchant's store, and find he had got a new stock of goods, I should say—“You have replenished your stock, that is, filled up your establishment, for it looks as it did before.” “Now go forth,” says the Lord, “and replenish the earth;” for it was covered with gloomy clouds of darkness, excluded from the light of heaven, and darkness brooded upon the face of the deep. The world was peopled before the days of Adam, as much so as it was before the days of Noah. It was said that Noah became the father of a new world, but it was the same old world still, and will continue to be, though it may pass through many changes.
When God said, Go forth and replenish the earth; it was to replenish the inhabitants of the human species, and make it as it was before. Our first parents, then, were commanded to multiply and replenish the earth; and if the Savior found it his duty to be baptized to fulfil all righteousness, a command of far less importance than that of multiplying his race (if indeed there is any difference in the commandments of Jehovah, for they are all important, and all essential), would he not find it his duty to join in with the rest of the faithful ones in replenishing the earth? “Mr. Hyde, do you really wish to imply that the immaculate Savior begat children? It is a blasphemous assertion against the purity of the Savior's life, to say the least of it. The holy aspirations that ever ascended from him to his Father would never allow him to have any such fleshly and carnal connections, never, no never.” This is the general idea; but the Savior never thought it beneath him to obey the mandate of his Father; he never thought this stooping beneath his dignity; he never despised what God had made; for they are bone of his bone, and flesh of his flesh; kindred spirits, that once basked in rays of immortality and eternal life. When he found them clothed upon and surrounded with the weaknesses of mortal flesh, would he despise them? No. It is this, I have seen men who became poor and miserable all at once, and then those who were their friends in the days of their prosperity turn from them, and scarcely deign to bestow them a look, it being too humiliating to associate with them in their poverty. But it was not so with the Savior; he associated with them in other spheres, and when they came here, descending below all things, he did not despise to associate with these same kindred spirits. “Then you really mean to hold to the doctrine that the Savior of the world was married; do you mean to be understood so? And if so, do you mean to be understood that he had more than one wife?”
The Christian world by their prejudices have driven us away from the Old Bible, so we must now appeal to the New Testament, for that seems to suit the prejudice of the people; though to me it is all alike, both the Old and New Testaments; for the scribe that is well instructed, brings out of his treasury things both new and old. This is my treasury, or rather, it is one of my treasuries, and what I cannot find there, I trust will come down from on high, and lodge in my heart. The gift of God is also my treasury, even the Holy Spirit.
Now suppose I should set out myself, and travel through the cities of the nation as a celebrated reformer, preaching revelations and sentiments as lofty as the skies, and rolling out ideas strange and new, to which the multitude were entirely unaccustomed; and wherever I went, suppose I had with me three or four women—one combing my head, another washing my feet, and another shedding tears upon them, and wiping them with the hair of her head. Suppose I should lean upon them, and they upon me, would it not appear monstrous in the eyes of the world? Would they ride me into Jerusalem upon our ass's colt, and cast branches of the palm tree beneath my feet, shouting, “Hosannah, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosannah in the highest?” I guess they would give me a coat of tar and feathers, and ride me on a rail; and it is my opinion they would serve the Savior the same, did he go about now as he did eighteen hundred years ago.
There is an old prophecy of Isaiah, which I cannot stop to read, but you will find it in the 53rd chapter of his prophecies; read the whole of the chapter. This particular prophecy speaks of Christ all the way through. It is there said, “When thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed.” What constitutes the soul? The spirit and body of man united; for you know it is said in one place that so many souls were slain in the night by the angel of God. The immortal part was not slain, but a disunion of the mortal and immortal parts took place. When they shall make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed. If he has no seed, how could he see them? “When they make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, and prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.” By and by the Prophet goes on to say, “And who shall declare his generation,” for his life is taken from the earth. If he had no generation, who could declare it? I told you there was an agent who would bring out every subject in bold relief, which is the Holy Ghost, who searcheth all things, even the deep things of God, and until that celestial agent should fire some man's heart to declare his generation, it could never be made known. Who shall declare it? He could not, for he was cut off from the earth. I have noticed the prophecy of Isaiah, that portion of it which was fulfilled in the person of the Savior, for the Lord divided him a portion with the great, “and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.” Upon him was laid the iniquity of us all; he was numbered with thieves, and in his expiring moments he said, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.” “He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth. He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken.” Now if one portion of this prophecy has been fulfilled, the other portion has, or will be.
How was it with Mary and Martha, and other women that followed him? In old times, and it is common in this day, the women, even as Sarah, called their husbands Lord; the word Lord is tantamount to husband in some languages, master, lord, husband, are about synonymous. In England we frequently hear the wife say, “Where is my master?” She does not mean a tyrant, but as Sarah called her husband Lord, she designates hers by the word master. When Mary of old came to the sepulchre on the first day of the week, instead of finding Jesus she saw two angels in white, “And they say unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? She said unto them, Because they have taken away my Lord,” or husband, “and I know not where they have laid him. And when she had thus said, she turned herself back, and saw Jesus standing, and knew not that it was Jesus. Jesus saith unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? whom seekest thou? She, supposing him to be the gardener, saith unto him, Sir, if thou have borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away. Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turned herself, and saith unto him, Rabboni; which is to say, Master.” Is there not here manifested the affections of a wife. These words speak the kindred ties and sympathies that are common to that relation of husband and wife. Where will you find a family so nearly allied by the ties of common religion? “Well,” you say, “that appears rather plausible, but I want a little more evidence, I want you to find where it says the Savior was actually married.”
Have you ever read your Bibles? I must confess I have not read it for some time, but looked more to Him who rules on high, and to those who hold the words of life in the inspiration of the Holy Ghost; I look to them more frequently than to it. I have once memorized the Bible, and when anyone quoted one verse, I could quote the next. I have memorized it in English, German, and Hebrew, still I do not profess to be very familiar with it now, yet the sentiments and spirit of it are in my heart, and will be as long as I live, and still remain when I am gone to another sphere. When does it say the Savior was married? I believe I will read it for your accommodation, or you might not believe my words were I to say that there is indeed such a Scripture.
We will turn over to the account of the marriage in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Yes, and somebody else too. You will find it in the 2nd chapter of John's Gospel; remember it and read it when you go home. “And the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee; and the mother of Jesus was there: And both Jesus was called, and his disciples, to the marriage. And when they wanted wine, the mother of Jesus saith unto him, They have no wine. Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee? mine hour is not yet come. His mother saith unto the servants, Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it. And there were set there six water pots of stone, after the manner of the purifying of the Jews, containing two or three firkins apiece. Jesus saith unto them, Fill the water pots with water. And they filled them up to the brim. And he saith unto them, Draw out now, and bear unto the governor of the feast. And they bare it. When the ruler of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and knew not whence it was: (but the servants which drew the water knew;) the governor of the feast called the bridegroom, And saith unto him”—that is, the ruler of the feast saith unto the bridegroom, “Every man at the beginning doth set forth good wine; and when men have well drunk, then that which is worse: but thou hast kept the good wine until now.”
Gentlemen, that is as plain as the translators, or different councils over this Scripture, dare allow it to go to the world, but the thing is there; it is told; Jesus was the bridegroom at the marriage of Cana of Galilee, and he told them what to do.
Now there was actually a marriage; and if Jesus was not the bridegroom on that occasion, please tell who was. If any man can show this, and prove that it was not the Savior of the world, then I will acknowledge I am in error. We say it was Jesus Christ who was married, to be brought into the relation whereby he could see his seed, before he was crucified. “Has he indeed passed by the nature of angels, and taken upon himself the seed of Abraham, to die without leaving a seed to bear his name on the earth?” No. But when the secret is fully out, the seed of the blessed shall be gathered in, in the last days; and he who has not the blood of Abraham flowing in his veins, who has not one particle of the Savior's in him, I am afraid is a stereotyped Gentile, who will be left out and not be gathered in the last days; for I tell you it is the chosen of God, the seed of the blessed, that shall be gathered. I do not despise to be called a son of Abraham, if he had a dozen wives; or to be called a brother, a son, a child of the Savior, if he had Mary, and Martha, and several others, as wives; and though he did cast seven devils out of one of them, it is all the same to me.
Well, then, he shall see his seed, and who shall declare his generation, for he was cut off from the earth? I shall say here, that before the Savior died, he looked upon his own natural children, as we look upon ours; he saw his seed, and immediately afterwards he was cut off from the earth; but who shall declare his generation? They had no father to hold them in honorable remembrance; they passed into the shades of obscurity, never to be exposed to mortal eye as the seed of the blessed one. For no doubt had they been exposed to the eye of the world, those infants might have shared the same fate as the children in Jerusalem in the days of Herod, when all the children were ordered to be slain under such an age, with the hopes of slaying the infant Savior. They might have suffered by the hand of the assassin, as the sons of many kings have done who were heirs apparent to the thrones of their fathers.
History is replete with circumstances of neck-or-nothing politicians dyeing their hands in the blood of those who stood in their way to the throne or to power.
That seed has had its influence upon the chosen of God in the last days. The same spirit inspires them that inspires their father, who bled and died upon the cross after the manner of the flesh.
“Well, but,” says one, “there was certainly an injunction laid upon the Bishops in New Testament times, that they should have but one wife.” This is brought up as a great argument against the position the Latter-day Saints have taken. In olden times they might have passed through the same circumstances as some of the Latter-day Saints had to in Illinois. What would it have done for us, if they had known that many of us had more than one wife when we lived in Illinois? They would have broken us up, doubtless, worse than they did. They may break us up, and rout us from place to another, but by and by we shall come to a point where we shall have all the women, and they will have none. You may think I am joking about this, but I can bring you the truth of God to demonstrate it to you. I have not advanced anything I have not got an abundance of backing for. There is more truth than poetry in this as sure as you live.
The Bishops anciently, in their office and callings, had a great deal to do with temporal matters—serving tables, attending to the poor, &c. And inasmuch as so much trust was reposed in them of a temporal character, they were required to have a fair reputation, and must not stand in any relation that would in the least prejudice their reputation with the world of mankind.
In certain countries, plurality of wives is legal. Christendom think they are about everybody, and the “rest of mankind” are few and far between. I have traveled among nations and countries where this doctrine was tolerated by law, and I will venture to say, if we were to take a walk through the world tonight and find out those who are in favor of, or against, this doctrine, the majority would be in its favor. Could the whole world be assembled here before me, and a vote taken upon this subject, they would give us the right of conscience in this matter.
Has not the Muhammadan a right to be in favor of it? Did not God make him? And is not his right as dear to him as ours? Why should we set ourselves up as a little family of nations in Christendom, and say to the rest of the great family of the world, “You shall not do so and so, and you shall do this or that?” Why should we be restricted in this matter, while the great majority of the world decide in its favor?
Take this question up upon political principles, and what do the majority of the world say about it? They establish our right. Then take it upon the principles of natural philosophy, and the truth of our position is made still more apparent. Had I language to portray to the most delicate ear the principles of our existence, and the laws of our nature, the most stubborn skeptic would be obliged to yield to the power of truth. I might take up the subject in this point of light, but I will forbear, I will spare you. If I had a congregation of men, I would not spare them one whit.
The Bishop is to be the husband of one wife. And as for old Paul, everybody says he lived and died a bachelor; but he said all things were lawful for him, and that he had power to lead about a sister, a wife, as well as other Apostles, and as the brethren of the Lord, and Cephas. Paul did not make known all things, for all things were not lawful to tell. He said himself, he knew a man that was caught up to the third heavens, and heard things unlawful to utter. If he did not take a wife, and multiply, and replenish the earth, he did not fulfil the first great fundamental law of nature.
There are many living now who are bachelors. I do not complain of the very old men, for they cannot help themselves at all times, but I am going to complain of the old bachelors; and I tell you what it is, if you do not step forward and marry, and try to carry on the great work of Jehovah, it will be left for a better man to do than you. [Voice in the stand, “There is but one old bachelor in the Territory, and he has gone to the States.“] O! I beg your pardon; President Young says he does not know of but one old bachelor in all the Territory of Utah, and he has gone to the States; therefore I have nothing more to say on this particular point. Look abroad, upon the world at large, and how many are there who are too niggardly to take a wife, and support her and her offspring honorably, and rear up a family that will reflect honor upon them in their old age! No—they cannot afford to do this, but they go where they can gratify their fleshly desires, leaving the consequences altogether with the confiding females whom they dishonor, and who in that state despair of ever being reinstated in society with a good character, give themselves to prostitution, and in rottenness go down to a premature grave with ten thousand curses on the heads of their deceivers.
Do you suppose these things are going to escape the all-seeing eye of the Great Jehovah? And will He not visit the guilty sensualist with a dreadful punishment? He will. Why not in honorable wedlock raise up offspring to glorify God? Why this niggardly disposition? No wonder the Lord Almighty sends the pestilence to lay them waste, and reduce nations and cities to ruins.
Brethren and sisters, it is for us to have the light of truth shining in our eyes, and honor that truth in all our intercourse with one another.
The Bishop shall have but one wife. If you were in a country where only one wife is allowed by law, then you would be obliged to have but one. What shall I say? A Bishop in England, where he knew polygamy to be contrary to law, must have but one wife; if you want another, and the law will not allow it, you must go where it is allowed by law. It was the case with the Bishops in olden times. We must submit to the laws of man until he shall reign whose right it is to reign.
This is the cord that shall revolutionize the whole world, and it will make the United States tremble from the very head to the foot; it is like leaven hid in three measures of meal until the whole is leavened. There is such a tide of irresistible arguments that, like the grand Mississippi, it bears on its bold current everything that dares to oppose its course.
Says one, “Why is it that men in your society may have more than one wife? What is the policy of it?” The men of God who hold the priesthood of heaven, and imbibe the light of the Holy Ghost, have the privilege and right. Now let me illustrate one thing, and let me bring it home to you. There may be some under the sound of my voice that the case will fit. Some man will perhaps marry a wife of his youth. She dies—he loved her as he loves himself, and her memory ever lingers about his heart. He marries another, and she dies, and he loved her equally as well. He marries a third, and so on, and he loved them all. By and by he dies, and he dies with devoted affection and love to them all.
Now in the resurrection, which of those wives will he claim? There is no difference in his love to any of them, and they have all perhaps borne children to him. He loves the children of one mother as well as the children of another. What say you? Which shall he have in the resurrection? Why, let him have the whole of them. To whom are they nearer allied?
There is a case opposite to this, where a woman married a husband, and he died, and so on, until she was married to seven husbands, and then she died. The question was asked the Savior, “Whose wife will she be in the resurrection!” for they all had her. The Savior gave a curious answer. Says he, “In the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God.” Now tell me how the angels are in heaven, and then we shall have the secret.
It is said, “In the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your old men shall see visions, and your men shall dream dreams: And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my spirit; and they shall prophesy.” You are praying every day, “Thy kingdom come, and thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” You never can know how it is done in heaven, unless you can see it by vision; or the kingdom, when it does come, unless it is revealed to you by the spirit of prophecy, or in dreams and visions; then you know it.
This is the benefit of dreams and visions, although this power is lightly spoken of, and repudiated in the Christian world. The revelation of the Almighty from God to a man who holds the Priesthood, and is enlightened by the Holy Ghost, whom God designs to make a ruler and a governor in His eternal kingdom is, that he may have many wives, that when he goes yonder to another sphere he may still continue to perpetuate his species, and of the increase of his kingdom and government there shall be no end, says Daniel. How does the kingdom of God increase, but by the increase of its subjects? Everything increases, everything multiplies. As brother Benson said this morning, even the mosquitoes of Nebraska increase and multiply. If they do, why not high orders of the creation have a better right? These mosquitoes and insects are the result of a fallen world, but by and by there will be nothing to hurt or destroy in all God's holy mountain.
These men of God who are married here by the authority of heaven are sealed on earth and in heaven. The good old book says, that which is sealed on earth is sealed in heaven; and whosoever sins ye remit on earth shall be remitted in heaven, and whatsoever ye bind on earth shall be bound in heaven. That Priesthood that has not this power is no better than a rope of sand. The true Priesthood alone possesses it. The Priesthood that has not this power is a mock Priesthood, and not the Priesthood of the Almighty. Little did the world know when they treated the Savior as they did, that he held their destiny in his hands; the world knew him not; he came to his own and they received him not; but the time will come that they will know him, and the power of his Priesthood.
When the servants of God and their wives go to heaven there is an eternal union, and they will multiply and replenish the world to which they are going.
It is not every man in the United States that can be the president, or that can be a governor, or a judge, but all are within the pale of the government of the United States, though they do not all bear rule; many are called, and few are chosen. But in yonder world those who bear the Priesthood, and by their faith and obedience obtain the sanction of the Almighty, they are sealed on earth and in heaven, and will be exalted to rule and govern forever; while those who would not listen to the holy commandments, and died without having a wife sealed to them, are angels; they are lower spirits, and servants to them that rule. Therefore, this family of old, which the Savior spoke of, saying, “In the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage,” are not Gods, but angels, who neither marry nor are given in marriage, while the men that magnify their callings are they that bear rule, and hold dominion, and receive their crown, and are one with the Savior, as he is one with the Father. Hence, he that is faithful over a few things shall be made ruler over many things.
I have a few words more to say, and a great deal more can be said; for I have only just dipped into the subject a little. I want to say a few things more, and perhaps this is the most fitting occasion on which they could be said. You never see a “Mormon” man who bears the Priesthood, unless it is some characters that only bear it in form, who are devoid of principle, who have transgressed, and have escaped being dealt with—I say you never see a true-hearted “Mormon” man running after a lewd woman; but there are women among the Latter-day Saints who are loose in their conduct, notwithstanding they have embraced the Gospel. We only wish to apply this where it belongs; do not any of you have your feelings hurt, for God knows I would hold the virtuous and good as sacred as I would my own life. At the same time I am bound to speak in plainness, and I feel that the Spirit is on me now, I am warmed with it, and it presses me to speak on this subject, and to speak it out. There are families in this town that have bowed externally to the yoke of Christ, but they are as corrupt as hell, and I can point where they are, in what direction they dwell. When I approach their habitations, I feel that they are an abomination in my sight. “Have you any tangible evidence of this?” Yes, I have, and more than I want, which I shall keep to myself, but the day will come when it will all come out. Do you see “Mormon” men running there? No. Wherever you find a house among the Latter-day Saints where no “Mormon” men go, you may know it is not all sound in Denmark. I will tell you whom you see there in particular—men who fear not God nor regard man. What have I got to say concerning women that will come into the Church and kingdom of God, and bring dishonor upon themselves, and endeavor to bring it upon the whole Church, by cohabiting with those cursed scapegraces who are passing through here to California, who make their boast of what they did in Great Salt Lake City? I know their secret talk in their chambers, for the Spirit of God searcheth all things. It may not be with me to the same extent all the time, but sometimes the whole vision of my mind is lit up, and I see and understand it all.
I am going to say something upon those who dishonor the Church and kingdom of God in this way. I will tell you what shall happen to those men and women who commit lewdness, and go and boast of it, and laugh in the face of heaven. The day shall come when their flesh shall rot upon their bones, and as they are walking it shall drop, and become a nauseous stink upon the highway. Now go and boast that you can get all you want for a dress pattern, or a yard of ribbon; go and boast of it, and the Lord Almighty shall curse you all the day long. [Voice in the stand, “Amen.“] And when you step, chunks of your flesh shall drop off your bones, and stink enough to sicken a dog.
I speak this to both men and women that practice this iniquity in the midst of this people; and if you do not refrain from such intercourse, this prediction shall begin to take effect, and by this you shall know whether I have spoken in the name of the Lord, or in the name of Orson Hyde. For such abominable practices to come in our midst under the robes of sanctity, because there are liberal, holy, and righteous principles practiced by the Saints, I say, curse their habitation and their persons; and if this is your mind, let all Israel say amen. [The whole of the congregation at the top of their voices said, “Amen!“] And let these contemptible wretches feel the “Mormon” spirit, not by “Mormon” hands, but by the power of God on high.
I feel charged with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven, and it burns in my heart like a flame, and this is the testimony I bear. If I do mingle in the streets with the crowd to engage in business as any other man, I am not always asleep, and insensible to what is passing around me. I do not profess to know a great deal, but some things I do know, and some things I do not know.
I have endeavored to illustrate this subject for the benefit of the honest inquirer. I have only just touched it, endeavoring to throw out a few hints for your consideration, that you may know we are not without some reason for our faith and practice touching the subject of polygamy. I wish you to mind the admonition I have given. I have given it to you in faith; I have given it to you regardless of consequences, for I ask no odds of anybody, except of my Father in heaven, and of my brethren whose hearts I know to be pure; and I want to be identified with them in time and in all eternity, and with my sisters too; and wish to be exalted with them, and they with me, where the Saints may join hands after passing through much tribulation, and gaining crowns, to rejoice together forever and ever.
I feel as though I had borne a faithful testimony, and I now say, in the presence of God and angels, that I have given the guilty persons warning, and my garments are clean from your blood. Take warning, and never do a thing that will throw dishonor upon the Saints of the Most High.
May God add His blessing, and preserve us to His heavenly kingdom, which may He grant. Amen.
followed by President Brigham Young
with remarks on the first eight verses of the 3rd chapter of Timothy.
Marriage Relations of Bishops and Deacons
An Address by President Brigham Young, Delivered at the General Conference, in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, October 6, 1854.
Reported by G. D. Watt.
I do not wish to eradicate any items from the lecture Elder Hyde has given us this evening, but simply to give you my views, in a few words, on the portion touching Bishops and Deacons.
In Paul's first epistle to Timothy, third chapter, he writes as follows--
“This is a true saying, If a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work. A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behavior, given to hospitality, apt to teach; not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre; but patient, not a brawler, not covetous; One that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity; (For if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the Church of God?) Not a novice, lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the devil. Moreover he must have a good report of them which are without; lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil. Likewise must the deacons be grave, not double-tongued, not given to much wine, not greedy of filthy lucre; Holding the mystery of the faith in a pure conscience. And let these also first be proved; then let them use the office of a deacon, being found blameless. Even so must their wives be grave, not slanderers, sober, faithful in all things. Let the deacons be the husbands of one wife, ruling their children and their own houses well.”
I have read this that your minds may be refreshed, and that you may know how it does read.
Instead of my believing for a moment that Paul wished to signify to Timothy that he must select a man to fill the office of a Bishop that would have but one wife, I believe directly the reverse; but his advice to Timothy amounts simply to this—It would not be wise for you to ordain a man to the office of a Bishop unless he has a wife; you must not ordain a single or unmarried man to that calling.
If you will read this chapter carefully, you will learn the qualifications necessary for Deacons and Bishops, and also for their wives.
I will simply give my views with regard to this matter, and then leave it.
I have no testimony from the Bible, neither have I from any history that I have any knowledge of, that a man was ever prohibited in the Church in the days of Paul from taking more than one wife. If any historian has knowledge to the contrary, let him make it known at a suitable time; but if such was the case it has not come to my knowledge.
I will now give you my reasons why it is necessary that a Bishop should have a wife, not but that he may have more than one wife. In the first place he is (or should be) like a father to his ward, or to the people over whom he presides, and a good portion of his time is occupied among them. Still he does not wish to be bound up, or flooded with cares of this world, so but that he can officiate in his office, and magnify it to acceptance.
The office of a Bishop is in his ward; and when he finds a man who is doing a good business as a farmer or a tradesman, and who has plenty around him, and is faithfully paying his tithing, he has no business there only to receive the tithing that man has to pay for the benefit of the kingdom of God; his business is more particularly in the houses of widows and orphans, and he is called to administer to them in righteousness, like a father.
Paul, knowing by observation and his own experience the temptations that were continually thrown before the Elders, gave instructions paramount to this—Before you ordain a person to be a Bishop, to take the charge of a Branch in any one district or place, see that he has a wife to begin with; he did not say, “but one wife;” it does not read so; but he must have one to begin with, in order that he may not be continually drawn into temptation while he is in the line of his duty, visiting the houses of widows and orphans, the poor, the afflicted, and the sick in his ward. He is to converse with families, sometimes upon family matters, and care for them, but if he has no wife, he is not so capable of taking care of a family as he otherwise would be, and perhaps he is not capable of taking care of himself. Now select a young man who has preserved himself in purity and holiness, one who has carried himself circumspectly before the people, and before God: it would not do to ordain him to the office of a Bishop, for he may be drawn into temptation, and he lacks experience in family matters; but take a man who has one wife at least, a man of experience, like thousands of our Elders, men of strength of mind, who have determination in them to preserve themselves pure under all circumstances, at all times, and in all places in their wards. Now, Timothy, select such a man to be a Bishop.
A Bishop in his calling and duty is with the Church all the time; he is not called to travel abroad to preach, but is at home; he is not abroad in the world, but is with the Saints.
When you have got your Bishop, he needs assistants, and he ordains Counselors, Priests, Teachers, and Deacons, and calls them to help him; and he wishes men of his own heart and hand to do this. Says he, “I dare not even call a man to be a Deacon, to assist me in my calling, unless he has a family.” It is not the business of an ignorant young man, of no experience in family matters, to inquire into the circumstances of families, and know the wants of every person. Some may want medicine and nourishment, and to be looked after, and it is not the business of boys to do this; but select a man who has got a family to be a Deacon, whose wife can go with him, and assist him in administering to the needy in the ward.
These are simply my views in a few words on this subject, and always have been since I have reflected upon the doctrine that the fathers teach us in the Holy Scriptures. I will venture to say the view I take of the matter is not to be disputed or disproved by Scripture or reason.
I have no reasonable grounds upon which to say it was not the custom in ancient times for a man to have more than one wife, but every reason to believe that it was the custom among the Jews, from the days of Abraham to the days of the Apostles, for they were lineal descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, all of whom taught and practiced the doctrine of plurality of wives, and were revered by the whole Jewish nation, and it is but natural that they should have respected and followed their teachings and example.
So much I wished to say to my brethren and sisters. We have had a splendid address from brother Hyde, for which I am grateful. I feel in my heart to bless the people all the time, and can say amen to brother Hyde's last remarks. I know just as much about those matters as I want to know, and if I do not know more, it is because there is no more of it in the city. It is a hard matter for a man to hide himself from me in this Territory; the birds of the air, they say, carry news, and if they do not, I have plenty of sources for information.
I say to the congregation, treasure up in your hearts what you have heard tonight, and at other times. You will hear more with regard to the doctrine, that is, our “Marriage Relations.” Elder Hyde says he has only just dipped into it, but, if it will not be displeasing to him, I will say he has not dipped into it yet; he has only run round the edge of the field. He has done so beautifully, and it will have its desired effect. But the whole subject of the marriage relation is not in my reach, nor in any other man's reach on this earth. It is without beginning of days or end of years; it is a hard matter to reach. We can tell some things with regard to it; it lays the foundation for worlds, for angels, and for the Gods; for intelligent beings to be crowned with glory, immortality, and eternal lives. In fact, it is the thread which runs from the beginning to the end of the holy Gospel of salvation—of the Gospel of the Son of God; it is from eternity to eternity. When the vision of the mind is opened, you can see a great portion of it, but you see it comparatively as a speaker sees the faces of a congregation. To look at, and talk to, each individual separately, and thinking to become fully acquainted with them, only to spend five minutes with each would consume too much time, it could not easily be done. So it is with the visions of eternity; we can see and understand, but it is difficult to tell. May God bless you. Amen.
Singing. Benediction by President Brigham Young.
with remarks on the first eight verses of the 3rd chapter of Timothy.
Marriage Relations of Bishops and Deacons
An Address by President Brigham Young, Delivered at the General Conference, in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, October 6, 1854.
Reported by G. D. Watt.
I do not wish to eradicate any items from the lecture Elder Hyde has given us this evening, but simply to give you my views, in a few words, on the portion touching Bishops and Deacons.
In Paul's first epistle to Timothy, third chapter, he writes as follows--
“This is a true saying, If a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work. A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behavior, given to hospitality, apt to teach; not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre; but patient, not a brawler, not covetous; One that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity; (For if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the Church of God?) Not a novice, lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the devil. Moreover he must have a good report of them which are without; lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil. Likewise must the deacons be grave, not double-tongued, not given to much wine, not greedy of filthy lucre; Holding the mystery of the faith in a pure conscience. And let these also first be proved; then let them use the office of a deacon, being found blameless. Even so must their wives be grave, not slanderers, sober, faithful in all things. Let the deacons be the husbands of one wife, ruling their children and their own houses well.”
I have read this that your minds may be refreshed, and that you may know how it does read.
Instead of my believing for a moment that Paul wished to signify to Timothy that he must select a man to fill the office of a Bishop that would have but one wife, I believe directly the reverse; but his advice to Timothy amounts simply to this—It would not be wise for you to ordain a man to the office of a Bishop unless he has a wife; you must not ordain a single or unmarried man to that calling.
If you will read this chapter carefully, you will learn the qualifications necessary for Deacons and Bishops, and also for their wives.
I will simply give my views with regard to this matter, and then leave it.
I have no testimony from the Bible, neither have I from any history that I have any knowledge of, that a man was ever prohibited in the Church in the days of Paul from taking more than one wife. If any historian has knowledge to the contrary, let him make it known at a suitable time; but if such was the case it has not come to my knowledge.
I will now give you my reasons why it is necessary that a Bishop should have a wife, not but that he may have more than one wife. In the first place he is (or should be) like a father to his ward, or to the people over whom he presides, and a good portion of his time is occupied among them. Still he does not wish to be bound up, or flooded with cares of this world, so but that he can officiate in his office, and magnify it to acceptance.
The office of a Bishop is in his ward; and when he finds a man who is doing a good business as a farmer or a tradesman, and who has plenty around him, and is faithfully paying his tithing, he has no business there only to receive the tithing that man has to pay for the benefit of the kingdom of God; his business is more particularly in the houses of widows and orphans, and he is called to administer to them in righteousness, like a father.
Paul, knowing by observation and his own experience the temptations that were continually thrown before the Elders, gave instructions paramount to this—Before you ordain a person to be a Bishop, to take the charge of a Branch in any one district or place, see that he has a wife to begin with; he did not say, “but one wife;” it does not read so; but he must have one to begin with, in order that he may not be continually drawn into temptation while he is in the line of his duty, visiting the houses of widows and orphans, the poor, the afflicted, and the sick in his ward. He is to converse with families, sometimes upon family matters, and care for them, but if he has no wife, he is not so capable of taking care of a family as he otherwise would be, and perhaps he is not capable of taking care of himself. Now select a young man who has preserved himself in purity and holiness, one who has carried himself circumspectly before the people, and before God: it would not do to ordain him to the office of a Bishop, for he may be drawn into temptation, and he lacks experience in family matters; but take a man who has one wife at least, a man of experience, like thousands of our Elders, men of strength of mind, who have determination in them to preserve themselves pure under all circumstances, at all times, and in all places in their wards. Now, Timothy, select such a man to be a Bishop.
A Bishop in his calling and duty is with the Church all the time; he is not called to travel abroad to preach, but is at home; he is not abroad in the world, but is with the Saints.
When you have got your Bishop, he needs assistants, and he ordains Counselors, Priests, Teachers, and Deacons, and calls them to help him; and he wishes men of his own heart and hand to do this. Says he, “I dare not even call a man to be a Deacon, to assist me in my calling, unless he has a family.” It is not the business of an ignorant young man, of no experience in family matters, to inquire into the circumstances of families, and know the wants of every person. Some may want medicine and nourishment, and to be looked after, and it is not the business of boys to do this; but select a man who has got a family to be a Deacon, whose wife can go with him, and assist him in administering to the needy in the ward.
These are simply my views in a few words on this subject, and always have been since I have reflected upon the doctrine that the fathers teach us in the Holy Scriptures. I will venture to say the view I take of the matter is not to be disputed or disproved by Scripture or reason.
I have no reasonable grounds upon which to say it was not the custom in ancient times for a man to have more than one wife, but every reason to believe that it was the custom among the Jews, from the days of Abraham to the days of the Apostles, for they were lineal descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, all of whom taught and practiced the doctrine of plurality of wives, and were revered by the whole Jewish nation, and it is but natural that they should have respected and followed their teachings and example.
So much I wished to say to my brethren and sisters. We have had a splendid address from brother Hyde, for which I am grateful. I feel in my heart to bless the people all the time, and can say amen to brother Hyde's last remarks. I know just as much about those matters as I want to know, and if I do not know more, it is because there is no more of it in the city. It is a hard matter for a man to hide himself from me in this Territory; the birds of the air, they say, carry news, and if they do not, I have plenty of sources for information.
I say to the congregation, treasure up in your hearts what you have heard tonight, and at other times. You will hear more with regard to the doctrine, that is, our “Marriage Relations.” Elder Hyde says he has only just dipped into it, but, if it will not be displeasing to him, I will say he has not dipped into it yet; he has only run round the edge of the field. He has done so beautifully, and it will have its desired effect. But the whole subject of the marriage relation is not in my reach, nor in any other man's reach on this earth. It is without beginning of days or end of years; it is a hard matter to reach. We can tell some things with regard to it; it lays the foundation for worlds, for angels, and for the Gods; for intelligent beings to be crowned with glory, immortality, and eternal lives. In fact, it is the thread which runs from the beginning to the end of the holy Gospel of salvation—of the Gospel of the Son of God; it is from eternity to eternity. When the vision of the mind is opened, you can see a great portion of it, but you see it comparatively as a speaker sees the faces of a congregation. To look at, and talk to, each individual separately, and thinking to become fully acquainted with them, only to spend five minutes with each would consume too much time, it could not easily be done. So it is with the visions of eternity; we can see and understand, but it is difficult to tell. May God bless you. Amen.
Singing. Benediction by President Brigham Young.
Saturday, Oct. 7, Ten a.m.
Singing by the choir.
Prayer by Elder James Brown.
Singing.
Singing by the choir.
Prayer by Elder James Brown.
Singing.
Elder James Brown
gave a brief account of his mission, after which
gave a brief account of his mission, after which
President Brigham Young took up the business of the conference, and asked the congregation if they were satisfied with him as President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, if so, to signify it by raising their right hands, which was done unanimously.
He then presented Heber C. Kimball as his first counselor, and Jedediah M. Grant as his second counselor;
Orson Hyde as president of the quorum of the twelve apostles, and Parley P. Pratt, Orson Pratt, Wilford Woodruff, John Taylor, George A. Smith, Amasa Lyman, Ezra T. Benson, Charles C. Rich, Lorenzo Snow, Erastus Snow, and Franklin D. Richards, as members of said quorum;
John Smith, eldest son of Hyrum, as presiding patriarch in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints;
David Pettigrew, as president of the high priests' quorum, and Reynolds Cahoon and G. B. Wallace as his counselors;
Joseph Young, Levi W. Hancock, Henry Herriman, Zera Pulsipher, Albert P. Rockwood, and Benjamin L. Clapp, as presidents of the seventies, and they were all unanimously sustained.
He then nominated Horace S. Eldredge to take the place of Jedediah M. Grant, as one of the seven presidents of the seventies, which was unanimously voted.
He then presented John Nebeker as president of the elders' quorum, and James H. Smith and Aaron Sceva as his counselors;
Edward Hunter as presiding bishop of the church;
Lewis Wight as president of the priests' quorum, and George Dockstader and Wm. Whiting as his counselors;
McGee Harris as president of the teachers' quorum, and Adam Spiers and Reuben Perkins as his counselors;
Brigham Young as trustee in trust for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints;
Daniel H. Wells, as superintendent of public works, and Truman O. Angell as architect for the church; and they were all unanimously sustained.
He then presented Brigham Young as president of the perpetual emigrating fund to gather the poor, and H. C. Kimball, W. Woodruff, O. Hyde, G. A. Smith, E. T. Benson, J. M. Grant, D. H. Wells, Edward Hunter, Daniel Spencer, Thomas Bullock, John Brown, William Crosby, A. Lyman, C. C. Rich, Lorenzo D. Young, P. P. Pratt, O. Pratt, F. D. Richards, and Daniel McIntosh, as his assistants, and agents for said fund, and asked if any of the brethren knew of any objection to the men just named; if so, to signify it; no objection being manifested, they were unanimously sustained.
He then presented David Fullmer as the president of this stake of Zion, and Thos. Rhoades and P. H. Young as his counselors;
Heman Hyde, Eleazer Miller, Phinehas Richards, Levi Jackman, Ira Eldridge, Jno. Vance, Edwin D. Woolley, John Parry, Winslow Farr, William Snow, as members of the high council, and they were all unanimously sustained.
He then nominated Daniel Carn and Ira Ames to be members of the high council in place of Nathaniel H. Felt and Seth M. Blair, who are absent on missions, which was voted unanimously.
He then presented George A. Smith as the church historian and general church recorder, who was unanimously sustained.
He then called for a negative vote, saying, if any of you have any objection to any man I have now named, signify it by raising the left hand, and then you can have the privilege of speaking, and making known your objections.
No left hands were raised.
He then presented Heber C. Kimball as his first counselor, and Jedediah M. Grant as his second counselor;
Orson Hyde as president of the quorum of the twelve apostles, and Parley P. Pratt, Orson Pratt, Wilford Woodruff, John Taylor, George A. Smith, Amasa Lyman, Ezra T. Benson, Charles C. Rich, Lorenzo Snow, Erastus Snow, and Franklin D. Richards, as members of said quorum;
John Smith, eldest son of Hyrum, as presiding patriarch in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints;
David Pettigrew, as president of the high priests' quorum, and Reynolds Cahoon and G. B. Wallace as his counselors;
Joseph Young, Levi W. Hancock, Henry Herriman, Zera Pulsipher, Albert P. Rockwood, and Benjamin L. Clapp, as presidents of the seventies, and they were all unanimously sustained.
He then nominated Horace S. Eldredge to take the place of Jedediah M. Grant, as one of the seven presidents of the seventies, which was unanimously voted.
He then presented John Nebeker as president of the elders' quorum, and James H. Smith and Aaron Sceva as his counselors;
Edward Hunter as presiding bishop of the church;
Lewis Wight as president of the priests' quorum, and George Dockstader and Wm. Whiting as his counselors;
McGee Harris as president of the teachers' quorum, and Adam Spiers and Reuben Perkins as his counselors;
Brigham Young as trustee in trust for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints;
Daniel H. Wells, as superintendent of public works, and Truman O. Angell as architect for the church; and they were all unanimously sustained.
He then presented Brigham Young as president of the perpetual emigrating fund to gather the poor, and H. C. Kimball, W. Woodruff, O. Hyde, G. A. Smith, E. T. Benson, J. M. Grant, D. H. Wells, Edward Hunter, Daniel Spencer, Thomas Bullock, John Brown, William Crosby, A. Lyman, C. C. Rich, Lorenzo D. Young, P. P. Pratt, O. Pratt, F. D. Richards, and Daniel McIntosh, as his assistants, and agents for said fund, and asked if any of the brethren knew of any objection to the men just named; if so, to signify it; no objection being manifested, they were unanimously sustained.
He then presented David Fullmer as the president of this stake of Zion, and Thos. Rhoades and P. H. Young as his counselors;
Heman Hyde, Eleazer Miller, Phinehas Richards, Levi Jackman, Ira Eldridge, Jno. Vance, Edwin D. Woolley, John Parry, Winslow Farr, William Snow, as members of the high council, and they were all unanimously sustained.
He then nominated Daniel Carn and Ira Ames to be members of the high council in place of Nathaniel H. Felt and Seth M. Blair, who are absent on missions, which was voted unanimously.
He then presented George A. Smith as the church historian and general church recorder, who was unanimously sustained.
He then called for a negative vote, saying, if any of you have any objection to any man I have now named, signify it by raising the left hand, and then you can have the privilege of speaking, and making known your objections.
No left hands were raised.
Voting for the authorities was followed by instructions from
President Brigham Young, and
Daniel Carn's account of his mission.
Chanting by the choir.
Benediction by President Grant.
President Brigham Young, and
Daniel Carn's account of his mission.
Chanting by the choir.
Benediction by President Grant.
Two p.m.
Singing by the choir.
Prayer by President Fullmer.
Singing.
Elder Orson Pratt and
President Grant
addressed the congregation.
Singing by the choir.
Prayer by President Fullmer.
Singing.
Elder Orson Pratt and
President Grant
addressed the congregation.
The Perpetual Emigrating Fund—Emigration of the Saints and the Nations
A Discourse by Elder Orson Pratt, Delivered in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, October 7, 1854.
Reported by G. D. Watt.
We will bring up the subject upon which others have spoken, and that which more immediately concerns us, viz.: the Perpetual Emigrating Fund. What is it? For what was it established? What are your duties in regard to this Fund, and in relation to your fellow beings, your brethren and sisters, and their families that are scattered abroad in the midst of those wretched, wicked, and abominable governments?
We have already been informed, and taught from this stand, by those who are filled with the Holy Ghost, by those who are filled with the inspiration of the Almighty, setting forth the necessity and importance of being awake in regard to the condition of the Saints that are scattered abroad. We are apt to forget the things we ought to do, though they are told to us in plainness. We think in our hearts—“Well, we will go and do as we have been told; it looks beautiful and very consistent; it seems to be the very law by which we should be governed; and when we go from this Conference, we will make all the necessary arrangements to fulfill and comply with this law, and hearken to the counsels and instructions that have been given;” but straightway, as you go out of the Tabernacle, and get out of the voice of the servants of God, the devil comes along, and begins to whisper in your ears, and tells you to be a little selfish, saying, “Look out more for yourselves, for your wives, and for your children; they may go hungry, they may want food, and houses, and ten thousand other things, and unless you put forth your hands, and exert your energies to provide for them, they may be brought into great suffering; and again, perhaps there may be some great trials ahead of the Saints, there may be pinching times; it would be well for you to look out a little, and be prepared against these times of trial,” &c. And thus the good word that is sown in your hearts by the Holy Spirit begins to be caught away, one principle after another, until finally selfishness has full control over your movements, and it is the last thing you think of to do unto others as you would have others do unto you under the same circumstances.
The Lord is going to gather His Saints, and we are already gathered, a great host of us, into this territory; but let me tell you this is hardly a beginning; many nations are yet to be gathered unto the name of the Lord of Hosts, unto Mount Zion, where they can be taught in the ways of the Lord, and be instructed to walk in His paths, and understand the principles of true government, and their duties towards one another, and towards the God whom they profess to worship and serve. Nations, not a few, are to be gathered, and to go up for that purpose.
This is just laying the foundation; it is a little nucleus, and a few thousands are gathering to it year after year; but the work that is now commenced will increase, and continue to increase; like the stone that was hewn out of the mountain. In the first place, the stone taken out of the mountain is much smaller than the mountain, but finally it increases to that magnitude that it begins to be a great mountain, not merely to fill one small territory, but as Daniel said, “it became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.”
Very well, then, the Saints are to be gathered, and they are to come not only by thousands, but tens of thousands, scores of thousands, and hundreds of thousands are to be assembled from among the nations. How is this to be brought about? Through the servants of the living God. This is what the Lord told us before one Saint was gathered. In a revelation, given in the presence of six Elders, in Sept. 1830, the Lord says, “Ye are called to bring to pass the gathering of mine elect; for mine elect hear my voice and harden not their hearts; Wherefore the decree hath gone forth from the Father that they shall be gathered in unto one place upon the face of this land.”
That is the decree that has gone forth; it is ordained in the heavens, and it will come to pass. As the Saints have already been gathered here unto this territory, even so will it continue to be fulfilled until the last of the elect of God are assembled from the four corners of the earth.
The servants of God are the ones that are called to bring to pass this work, says the revelation. In obedience to this declaration, and in fulfillment of this prophecy, the Holy Ghost wrought upon the heart of our President, to establish a fund—a Perpetual Emigrating Fund, to bring about this great work; he laid the foundation of it; he proposed it to the people, and explained the nature of it—how it was to be used, how it was to be controlled, and how it should be made lasting and perpetual in its nature, to accomplish the design of the Almighty in gathering His elect from the four winds of heaven. Shall we, then, as Saints of the Most High, come here and sit down in our fine habitations, and upon our farms and inheritances, and let this great work of the last days come to naught through our carelessness and indifference? No, brethren; let it not be recorded in the archives of the eternal world that we will thus do, when our brethren have stretched out their hands to help us to this place. Let not the news fly to eternal worlds that we are not willing to do to our brethren scattered abroad, as they have been willing to do to us, when we were in a scattered condition.
I do not know what more can be said, than what other speakers have already said upon this subject. Our President said he would be glad to have some six discourses, each six hours long, preached to the people upon the subject of doing their duty unto others in regard to this Fund. And I have no doubt he included every other duty between man and man, so far as it could be done in that short period of time, for thirty-six hours would not begin to be time enough for a man to tell the people all their duties. Many people think that all the duties of man are recorded in the Bible; that idea is held by many of the sectarian world; they think this book contains all the duties in regard to the relationships between man and man, and that it is a sufficient rule of faith and practice, and enough to govern them in all their dealings with each other, and in their duties towards their God.
Let me tell you, if any one man's duties (if he lived to be an old man) were clearly written, and foretold before he was born, it would take a larger volume than the Bible to contain them all; and when we consider the thousands and millions of human beings that are on the earth now, and the millions that have dropped into their graves in ages past, it is absurd to suppose that one such volume could point out all their duties, even if they all could have been foretold by the spirit of prophecy.
For instance, the duties of today, if written, would require something like one page; and as every day's duties would be different the one from the other, it would require three hundred and sixty-five pages in one year, which in seventy years would amount to upwards of twenty-five thousand pages, which would have to be recorded to point out the duties of one individual towards his fellow man. Think not, then, that six discourses each, only six hours long, could make known to you the whole of your duties towards each other through life.
This is reason why the Lord has appointed a living Priesthood on the earth; why He has sent down the Holy Ghost from heaven, why it enters the heart of man, and inspires him with knowledge and information concerning his own duties, and the duties of others also, that he may impart to them, week after week, and from one meeting to another, in public and in private, before large assemblies and in the family circle, every principle and duty that is necessary to be known; that his family, his wives and his children, and the Church of God at large may be taught by the Holy Ghost—the Comforter that guides into all truth; it is that power that instructs men in regard to all their duties.
Then let not the immigrants—the Saints that have come into this territory in former years, as well as those who have come here the present year, be asleep upon this subject, but awake from a deep sleep. You know what the parable says, on the subject of the kingdom of God in the last days, comparing it to ten virgins, that took their lamps and went forth to meet the bridegroom. They did not stay abroad among the nations. “Then,” says Jesus, “the kingdom of heaven shall be likened unto ten virgins.” Not the kingdom he built up in his own day, and in the days of his Apostles, who were with him in the flesh; but “then;” having reference to what was previously spoken in the foregoing verses, concerning his second coming in the clouds of heaven in power and great glory. Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, who took their lamps, and went forth from among the nations; some took oil in their lamps, and some did not, but let their lamps go out, only having barely lighted up their wicks a little, which contained no oil to feed the flame; and they all slumbered and slept; but by and by, about midnight, when they were all in a sound slumber, a cry is heard, “Behold the bridegroom cometh, go ye out to meet him.” That waked them all up.
Now it would be much better for us to wake up before the midnight cry is sounded in our ears. We gathered here and brought lamps with us, have we got oil in them? Are we doing the things God requires at our hands? Are we doing unto others that we would have others do to us under the same circumstances? If you want to know just precisely your duties towards your fellow man, always ask yourselves this question—“If I were placed in that man's or in that woman's condition, how should I desire that they should do unto me?” And whatsoever you would have men do to you, do you even the same to them. We can always tell what we should do by changing circumstances and places; by placing ourselves in other's circumstances, we can see what we would wish them to do to us under those circumstances, and thus find out what we should do for those in that condition.
What does the Lord intend to do? He is introducing a new dispensation, yet it is the Gospel dispensation, the same as all other dispensations; the Gospel is included in this new dispensation. The Lord intends to do a great many things in this dispensation He never did in former ones; and a great many things that were in former ones will eventually be done away in this new one. What is to be done away? A great many things Jesus taught on the Mount will actually have to be done away in this new dispensation. A great many things were given to meet the circumstances of the people, that when they all become righteous many of those laws and regulations that were given to them in an imperfect state will vanish away; they will be of no use; they are like the platform erected around an edifice, which serves a good purpose for the time being, but when the edifice is completed, the platform is taken away.
We are told a great deal about the poor in former dispensations; how to deal with them, and the laws that were given to regulate mankind in dealing their alms to them. Will this always be the case? No, but the time will come when there will be no poor. The object of this last dispensation is to make the people one as the Father and the Son are one, or as the Book of Doctrine and Covenants says, to make them “equal in earthly things, that they may be made equal in heavenly things.”
To bring about this object, and do away with poverty, and make all the people rich, the Lord has introduced laws, and rulers, and governors, to teach us our duty while poverty reigns in the world. If you think it hard to pay back a just and honest debt to the Perpetual Emigrating Fund, what will you think when the pure laws of God are introduced, and you are required by His law to pay over every farthing you have in the world! Not only to pay your just and honest dues to the Perpetual Emigrating Fund, but to pay everything in your possession. If you cannot deal justly in relation to these small accounts, how is it to be expected you will perform the pure law of God—the law of consecration? I tell you, we have got to begin and attend faithfully to these small things. But when we are first born into His kingdom we cannot run alone; we are not able to prance, and trot, and caper about. He has therefore ordained certain helps, and governments, and laws to govern us while we are in the creeping state, and trying to advance into a more perfect order of things. This Perpetual Emigrating Fund is one of those helps, ordained to assist us in our imperfect and weak state: by and by, when the full law of God comes in force, these helps can then be dispensed with. When that will be, I do not know, but I have an idea that it will not be until we get back to Jackson County, for the Lord has told us, in one revelation, in substance as follows—“Let these laws I have given concerning my people in Jackson County be fulfilled after the redemption of Zion.”
The Lord is beginning to redeem Zion. You must not suppose, because you are away here in Utah, that you are out of the reach of the Lord's working for the redemption of Zion; for He has been working, ever since we were scattered from that land, to bring it about, and we are becoming more and more of one heart and mind, more and more willing to hearken to counsel. You see among this people a very different spirit manifested, from what was manifested some ten, fifteen, and twenty years ago. How ready and willing they generally are to receive the instructions and counsel of those God has ordained to teach them.
We can see how the Lord has prospered us as a people since we came to this territory, and how everything has worked for our good through obeying the counsel of those God has appointed for our consolation, happiness, and benefit, both temporally and spiritually. All this has a tendency to the redemption of Zion; it is all making to that great point. Whenever the properties of this Church shall be consecrated to it, and the Saints receive their stewardship, it will all be tending to bring about that which is so often spoken of in ancient and modern revelations.
The Perpetual Emigrating Fund is one of the helps that is introduced to lead us previous to our getting into that more perfect state; and when we get into that, it will all be Perpetual Fund, or any other kind of funds we please to name, for the property will all be consecrated unto the Lord, with a deed and covenant that cannot be broken; then the servants of God can take the whole of the property and use it according to the mind and will of God, and it will be all Perpetual Fund, and all tithing funds, and all public building funds; for it will be just the kind of funds the Lord shall direct to accomplish whatever is designed in His wise purposes through His servants.
Let us step forward, and build up this Fund, and take hold of simple things, if we ever expect to receive the greater ones. We had excellent preaching this forenoon, as to practical duties; this has been my manner of preaching when abroad upon the earth, except on my last mission; on that, I was sent to preach the doctrine of plurality of wives. In all my preaching on other missions, I have endeavored to be just as practical as possible among the people, showing them their everyday duties. I have published many pamphlets and works, and in the most of them, I have published the simple, plain, easy principles of the Gospel. It is true, in answering some queries that have been put forth by the world, I have been obliged to deviate, in some of my publications, from the plain and simple course I have generally pursued in my works.
For instance, the world read in the revelations we have received, that there are more Gods than one. This is something that does not immediately concern us; but yet opposers get up and contend against us, and prejudice the minds of congregations against the people of God, because they profess to believe, not only in a plurality of wives, but also in a plurality of Gods; it is necessary to show them the reasons for our belief—the whys and the wherefores; and this I endeavored to do in some of my last publications; not because I had more light upon this subject than many others, but I endeavored to do it for the benefit of the people—to show them wherein we believe in the plurality of Gods, and yet acknowledge only one God. I believe both of these principles with all my heart. I believe there is one only wise God, and I believe there is an immense number of Gods. The people know we believe these doctrines, and they publish against us on this ground; and if we should not take up any arguments to explain the matter, it would only serve to rivet down their prejudices on their hearts. Notwithstanding this, it was always more delightful to me in all my preachings abroad, and in any publications I have sent forth, to dwell upon faith, repentance, baptism for the remission of sins, and the gift of the Holy Ghost, by the laying on of hands, and upon the plain, simple, everyday duties of the Saints, showing them what to do in order to obtain eternal life in the kingdom of God.
So far as I have ever preached abroad in the world, and published, one thing is certain, I have not published anything but what I verily believed to be true, however much I may have been mistaken, and I have generally endeavored to show the people, from the written word of God, as well as reason, wherein it was true. This has been my general course. I may have erred in some principles; I do not profess to be wise, or to have more understanding than many others. I am not called with the same calling as those who preside over all the Church. I may not have as great a degree of the spirit of revelation; but I have always tried, in my teachings, and in my proclamations, and publications, where I could not get light by the Spirit of the Lord (or did not get light; I will not say could not, for I believe it is the privilege of all Elders, authorities, and members of the Church of God to get light by the Spirit of the Lord), but where I did not get light by the Spirit of the Lord, I have generally been careful to back up all the doctrines and principles I set forth by reason, or by, Thus saith the Lord, in some revelation either ancient or modern. Previous to declaring a doctrine, I have always inquired in my own mind, “Can this doctrine be proved by revelation given, or by reason, or can it not?” If I found it could be proved, I set forth the doctrine; but if I found there was no evidence to substantiate it, I laid it aside; in all this, however, I may have erred, for to err is human.
I feel thankful to God this day that I stand in the midst of a great and good people, that are willing to practice the principles of eternal truth and righteousness; and those mysteries about the plurality of Gods, and the plurality of worlds also are good in their places; God has revealed them, and they are intended for our good and instruction, or He never would have revealed them.
But to go back to the words of our text; that is the thing that most concerns us at present. It should be laid before the minds of the people and instilled into their hearts week after week; they should be taught and instructed in such a way and manner that these mysteries, when we get the true light upon them, may do us good. When the Lord sees fit to pour out wisdom and knowledge, and mysteries, and understanding from the heavens, may we, by practical works, faith, and diligence in doing our duties one towards another, and towards our God, be able to receive them, and have them do us good. The time will come when the Lord will reveal all these things; everything in the heavens, on the earth, and under the earth; and everything pertaining to the soul of man will be proclaimed by the sounding of trumpets in the ears of all living.
I will adopt the old saying—“I feel first-rate.” It does me good to get back into Utah Territory, after having been gone two years, to behold the faces of the Saints again, and rejoice in their midst, and to bear my weak and humble testimony of the truth of this great and glorious work. It is now over twenty-four years since I was baptized into this Church; it was twenty-four years on the 19th of last month since I was baptized, and became a member of this Church. I have seen it rise to its present greatness from a very few individuals that composed the whole Church in 1830. There were then, perhaps, not fifty Latter-day Saints in the whole world; and every year brings to pass the fulfillment of the sayings, and predictions, and revelations of Joseph, the Prophet.
The work is rolling on as rapidly as the wheels of time will permit. I well recollect a revelation given upwards of twenty-three years ago. What did the Lord say when we were only a little handful? Said He, “It is necessary that my Elders should go forth into all the regions round about, and preach my Gospel, and many shall be converted; and ye shalt have power to organize yourselves according to the laws of man.” This was spoken before we began to gather. What was the use of organizing ourselves according to the laws of man? “That you may break every band wherewith the enemy seeketh to destroy, and that you may keep my laws.” Has not this been fulfilled? Look at the time that prophecy was given, away back nearly twenty-four years ago. Has it come to pass? Are we not organized according to the laws of man? Are not many converted just as the revelation predicted? And are we not in a position, by being organized here in Utah territory according to the laws of man, to break the bands of the enemy, that they may not destroy us as a people? If mobs undertake to afflict us here, they will find it very difficult, because we are organized according to the laws of man. If they use any exertion or any influence to bring about the destruction of this people, we are organized according to the laws of man, and can fight them with their own weapons.
Not only was this for the purpose of our being secure from the hands of our enemies, but, “that ye may be able to keep my laws.” That was another reason the Lord gave in the same revelation. Are there not some laws of God that we could keep if we were scattered over the other states and territories, unorganized according to the laws of man? Yes. There are laws of the greatest moment, that have a bearing upon the present and future destiny of this people; that have a bearing upon their eternal glory, exaltation, and everlasting happiness. These laws never could have been kept had we not been organized according to the laws of man. The Lord has fulfilled this revelation thus far; how much more complete this organization may become hereafter, I know not, neither do I care.
It was not the invention of man, nor the power and wisdom of man, that organized this kingdom, but the God we worship and serve, who made the heavens and the earth. He made this kingdom and organized it, and established it; it is all His, and He holds it in His own hands; and the same great Being rules and governs the wicked; He controls them, and He will fulfill every word that has been given through the mouths of His servants, as He tells us in the preface of the Book of Doctrine and Covenants—These commandments and prophecies shall be fulfilled; though the heavens and the earth shall pass away, not one jot or tittle of the commandments of that book shall pass away.
Everything will roll round, roll round, roll round in its times and seasons until this kingdom shall spread forth, and the dominion and the greatness of it will cover the whole face of the earth, and there will not be a dog to move his tongue from the Rocky Mountains to the uttermost parts of the earth, but all be in subjection to the kingdom of Christ; all must become subject to her laws; and the great nations of the earth—mighty nations not a few, ere long will come up to Zion to seek wisdom and knowledge from the counselors in Zion. They will read her laws, and say, “Our laws are as nothing, our wisdom as foolishness, our words like the tow that is exposed to the devouring flame; we are broken asunder, torn into fragments, and ready to crush under our own weight; but your laws, government, and officers are all good, righteous, just, and true; surely the God of Israel is in your midst. Come, let us go up to Zion, let us hear from the wise legislators of Zion, and let us hear the laws proclaimed therein; let us learn of the wisdom that dwells in the servants of the Most High.” And they will come up with their armies, and their mighty men, and their judges, and their rulers, and kings will come to the brightness of her rising; and the Gentiles will come like a flowing stream, and the gates of Zion will be open day and night, and never be shut, to admit the forces that will come rushing in from all nations, to learn the wisdom, knowledge, and instruction that are poured out from the heavens upon the servants of the Most High.
If we are looking forward to such a glorious time—to such a happy period, let us endeavor to prepare ourselves, and awake from our slumber, and do the duties required at our hands. Pay up your debts, pay them up to the Perpetual Emigrating Fund; let the means be sent back immediately, that those who are starving to death, and are ground down with tyranny, may enjoy the same privileges as you. Remember them, and God will remember you. But if you turn your back upon these principles, and will not seek to do unto others as you would have them do to you; if you will not listen to the instructions of our Prophet, and to the instructions of others who have spoken on this stand, you will wither away like a dried reed, and you will bear no authority, and that you have will be taken from you, and you will be left poor and miserable, and become the offscouring of the earth, under the curse of the Almighty for your disobedience.
A Discourse by Elder Orson Pratt, Delivered in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, October 7, 1854.
Reported by G. D. Watt.
We will bring up the subject upon which others have spoken, and that which more immediately concerns us, viz.: the Perpetual Emigrating Fund. What is it? For what was it established? What are your duties in regard to this Fund, and in relation to your fellow beings, your brethren and sisters, and their families that are scattered abroad in the midst of those wretched, wicked, and abominable governments?
We have already been informed, and taught from this stand, by those who are filled with the Holy Ghost, by those who are filled with the inspiration of the Almighty, setting forth the necessity and importance of being awake in regard to the condition of the Saints that are scattered abroad. We are apt to forget the things we ought to do, though they are told to us in plainness. We think in our hearts—“Well, we will go and do as we have been told; it looks beautiful and very consistent; it seems to be the very law by which we should be governed; and when we go from this Conference, we will make all the necessary arrangements to fulfill and comply with this law, and hearken to the counsels and instructions that have been given;” but straightway, as you go out of the Tabernacle, and get out of the voice of the servants of God, the devil comes along, and begins to whisper in your ears, and tells you to be a little selfish, saying, “Look out more for yourselves, for your wives, and for your children; they may go hungry, they may want food, and houses, and ten thousand other things, and unless you put forth your hands, and exert your energies to provide for them, they may be brought into great suffering; and again, perhaps there may be some great trials ahead of the Saints, there may be pinching times; it would be well for you to look out a little, and be prepared against these times of trial,” &c. And thus the good word that is sown in your hearts by the Holy Spirit begins to be caught away, one principle after another, until finally selfishness has full control over your movements, and it is the last thing you think of to do unto others as you would have others do unto you under the same circumstances.
The Lord is going to gather His Saints, and we are already gathered, a great host of us, into this territory; but let me tell you this is hardly a beginning; many nations are yet to be gathered unto the name of the Lord of Hosts, unto Mount Zion, where they can be taught in the ways of the Lord, and be instructed to walk in His paths, and understand the principles of true government, and their duties towards one another, and towards the God whom they profess to worship and serve. Nations, not a few, are to be gathered, and to go up for that purpose.
This is just laying the foundation; it is a little nucleus, and a few thousands are gathering to it year after year; but the work that is now commenced will increase, and continue to increase; like the stone that was hewn out of the mountain. In the first place, the stone taken out of the mountain is much smaller than the mountain, but finally it increases to that magnitude that it begins to be a great mountain, not merely to fill one small territory, but as Daniel said, “it became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.”
Very well, then, the Saints are to be gathered, and they are to come not only by thousands, but tens of thousands, scores of thousands, and hundreds of thousands are to be assembled from among the nations. How is this to be brought about? Through the servants of the living God. This is what the Lord told us before one Saint was gathered. In a revelation, given in the presence of six Elders, in Sept. 1830, the Lord says, “Ye are called to bring to pass the gathering of mine elect; for mine elect hear my voice and harden not their hearts; Wherefore the decree hath gone forth from the Father that they shall be gathered in unto one place upon the face of this land.”
That is the decree that has gone forth; it is ordained in the heavens, and it will come to pass. As the Saints have already been gathered here unto this territory, even so will it continue to be fulfilled until the last of the elect of God are assembled from the four corners of the earth.
The servants of God are the ones that are called to bring to pass this work, says the revelation. In obedience to this declaration, and in fulfillment of this prophecy, the Holy Ghost wrought upon the heart of our President, to establish a fund—a Perpetual Emigrating Fund, to bring about this great work; he laid the foundation of it; he proposed it to the people, and explained the nature of it—how it was to be used, how it was to be controlled, and how it should be made lasting and perpetual in its nature, to accomplish the design of the Almighty in gathering His elect from the four winds of heaven. Shall we, then, as Saints of the Most High, come here and sit down in our fine habitations, and upon our farms and inheritances, and let this great work of the last days come to naught through our carelessness and indifference? No, brethren; let it not be recorded in the archives of the eternal world that we will thus do, when our brethren have stretched out their hands to help us to this place. Let not the news fly to eternal worlds that we are not willing to do to our brethren scattered abroad, as they have been willing to do to us, when we were in a scattered condition.
I do not know what more can be said, than what other speakers have already said upon this subject. Our President said he would be glad to have some six discourses, each six hours long, preached to the people upon the subject of doing their duty unto others in regard to this Fund. And I have no doubt he included every other duty between man and man, so far as it could be done in that short period of time, for thirty-six hours would not begin to be time enough for a man to tell the people all their duties. Many people think that all the duties of man are recorded in the Bible; that idea is held by many of the sectarian world; they think this book contains all the duties in regard to the relationships between man and man, and that it is a sufficient rule of faith and practice, and enough to govern them in all their dealings with each other, and in their duties towards their God.
Let me tell you, if any one man's duties (if he lived to be an old man) were clearly written, and foretold before he was born, it would take a larger volume than the Bible to contain them all; and when we consider the thousands and millions of human beings that are on the earth now, and the millions that have dropped into their graves in ages past, it is absurd to suppose that one such volume could point out all their duties, even if they all could have been foretold by the spirit of prophecy.
For instance, the duties of today, if written, would require something like one page; and as every day's duties would be different the one from the other, it would require three hundred and sixty-five pages in one year, which in seventy years would amount to upwards of twenty-five thousand pages, which would have to be recorded to point out the duties of one individual towards his fellow man. Think not, then, that six discourses each, only six hours long, could make known to you the whole of your duties towards each other through life.
This is reason why the Lord has appointed a living Priesthood on the earth; why He has sent down the Holy Ghost from heaven, why it enters the heart of man, and inspires him with knowledge and information concerning his own duties, and the duties of others also, that he may impart to them, week after week, and from one meeting to another, in public and in private, before large assemblies and in the family circle, every principle and duty that is necessary to be known; that his family, his wives and his children, and the Church of God at large may be taught by the Holy Ghost—the Comforter that guides into all truth; it is that power that instructs men in regard to all their duties.
Then let not the immigrants—the Saints that have come into this territory in former years, as well as those who have come here the present year, be asleep upon this subject, but awake from a deep sleep. You know what the parable says, on the subject of the kingdom of God in the last days, comparing it to ten virgins, that took their lamps and went forth to meet the bridegroom. They did not stay abroad among the nations. “Then,” says Jesus, “the kingdom of heaven shall be likened unto ten virgins.” Not the kingdom he built up in his own day, and in the days of his Apostles, who were with him in the flesh; but “then;” having reference to what was previously spoken in the foregoing verses, concerning his second coming in the clouds of heaven in power and great glory. Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, who took their lamps, and went forth from among the nations; some took oil in their lamps, and some did not, but let their lamps go out, only having barely lighted up their wicks a little, which contained no oil to feed the flame; and they all slumbered and slept; but by and by, about midnight, when they were all in a sound slumber, a cry is heard, “Behold the bridegroom cometh, go ye out to meet him.” That waked them all up.
Now it would be much better for us to wake up before the midnight cry is sounded in our ears. We gathered here and brought lamps with us, have we got oil in them? Are we doing the things God requires at our hands? Are we doing unto others that we would have others do to us under the same circumstances? If you want to know just precisely your duties towards your fellow man, always ask yourselves this question—“If I were placed in that man's or in that woman's condition, how should I desire that they should do unto me?” And whatsoever you would have men do to you, do you even the same to them. We can always tell what we should do by changing circumstances and places; by placing ourselves in other's circumstances, we can see what we would wish them to do to us under those circumstances, and thus find out what we should do for those in that condition.
What does the Lord intend to do? He is introducing a new dispensation, yet it is the Gospel dispensation, the same as all other dispensations; the Gospel is included in this new dispensation. The Lord intends to do a great many things in this dispensation He never did in former ones; and a great many things that were in former ones will eventually be done away in this new one. What is to be done away? A great many things Jesus taught on the Mount will actually have to be done away in this new dispensation. A great many things were given to meet the circumstances of the people, that when they all become righteous many of those laws and regulations that were given to them in an imperfect state will vanish away; they will be of no use; they are like the platform erected around an edifice, which serves a good purpose for the time being, but when the edifice is completed, the platform is taken away.
We are told a great deal about the poor in former dispensations; how to deal with them, and the laws that were given to regulate mankind in dealing their alms to them. Will this always be the case? No, but the time will come when there will be no poor. The object of this last dispensation is to make the people one as the Father and the Son are one, or as the Book of Doctrine and Covenants says, to make them “equal in earthly things, that they may be made equal in heavenly things.”
To bring about this object, and do away with poverty, and make all the people rich, the Lord has introduced laws, and rulers, and governors, to teach us our duty while poverty reigns in the world. If you think it hard to pay back a just and honest debt to the Perpetual Emigrating Fund, what will you think when the pure laws of God are introduced, and you are required by His law to pay over every farthing you have in the world! Not only to pay your just and honest dues to the Perpetual Emigrating Fund, but to pay everything in your possession. If you cannot deal justly in relation to these small accounts, how is it to be expected you will perform the pure law of God—the law of consecration? I tell you, we have got to begin and attend faithfully to these small things. But when we are first born into His kingdom we cannot run alone; we are not able to prance, and trot, and caper about. He has therefore ordained certain helps, and governments, and laws to govern us while we are in the creeping state, and trying to advance into a more perfect order of things. This Perpetual Emigrating Fund is one of those helps, ordained to assist us in our imperfect and weak state: by and by, when the full law of God comes in force, these helps can then be dispensed with. When that will be, I do not know, but I have an idea that it will not be until we get back to Jackson County, for the Lord has told us, in one revelation, in substance as follows—“Let these laws I have given concerning my people in Jackson County be fulfilled after the redemption of Zion.”
The Lord is beginning to redeem Zion. You must not suppose, because you are away here in Utah, that you are out of the reach of the Lord's working for the redemption of Zion; for He has been working, ever since we were scattered from that land, to bring it about, and we are becoming more and more of one heart and mind, more and more willing to hearken to counsel. You see among this people a very different spirit manifested, from what was manifested some ten, fifteen, and twenty years ago. How ready and willing they generally are to receive the instructions and counsel of those God has ordained to teach them.
We can see how the Lord has prospered us as a people since we came to this territory, and how everything has worked for our good through obeying the counsel of those God has appointed for our consolation, happiness, and benefit, both temporally and spiritually. All this has a tendency to the redemption of Zion; it is all making to that great point. Whenever the properties of this Church shall be consecrated to it, and the Saints receive their stewardship, it will all be tending to bring about that which is so often spoken of in ancient and modern revelations.
The Perpetual Emigrating Fund is one of the helps that is introduced to lead us previous to our getting into that more perfect state; and when we get into that, it will all be Perpetual Fund, or any other kind of funds we please to name, for the property will all be consecrated unto the Lord, with a deed and covenant that cannot be broken; then the servants of God can take the whole of the property and use it according to the mind and will of God, and it will be all Perpetual Fund, and all tithing funds, and all public building funds; for it will be just the kind of funds the Lord shall direct to accomplish whatever is designed in His wise purposes through His servants.
Let us step forward, and build up this Fund, and take hold of simple things, if we ever expect to receive the greater ones. We had excellent preaching this forenoon, as to practical duties; this has been my manner of preaching when abroad upon the earth, except on my last mission; on that, I was sent to preach the doctrine of plurality of wives. In all my preaching on other missions, I have endeavored to be just as practical as possible among the people, showing them their everyday duties. I have published many pamphlets and works, and in the most of them, I have published the simple, plain, easy principles of the Gospel. It is true, in answering some queries that have been put forth by the world, I have been obliged to deviate, in some of my publications, from the plain and simple course I have generally pursued in my works.
For instance, the world read in the revelations we have received, that there are more Gods than one. This is something that does not immediately concern us; but yet opposers get up and contend against us, and prejudice the minds of congregations against the people of God, because they profess to believe, not only in a plurality of wives, but also in a plurality of Gods; it is necessary to show them the reasons for our belief—the whys and the wherefores; and this I endeavored to do in some of my last publications; not because I had more light upon this subject than many others, but I endeavored to do it for the benefit of the people—to show them wherein we believe in the plurality of Gods, and yet acknowledge only one God. I believe both of these principles with all my heart. I believe there is one only wise God, and I believe there is an immense number of Gods. The people know we believe these doctrines, and they publish against us on this ground; and if we should not take up any arguments to explain the matter, it would only serve to rivet down their prejudices on their hearts. Notwithstanding this, it was always more delightful to me in all my preachings abroad, and in any publications I have sent forth, to dwell upon faith, repentance, baptism for the remission of sins, and the gift of the Holy Ghost, by the laying on of hands, and upon the plain, simple, everyday duties of the Saints, showing them what to do in order to obtain eternal life in the kingdom of God.
So far as I have ever preached abroad in the world, and published, one thing is certain, I have not published anything but what I verily believed to be true, however much I may have been mistaken, and I have generally endeavored to show the people, from the written word of God, as well as reason, wherein it was true. This has been my general course. I may have erred in some principles; I do not profess to be wise, or to have more understanding than many others. I am not called with the same calling as those who preside over all the Church. I may not have as great a degree of the spirit of revelation; but I have always tried, in my teachings, and in my proclamations, and publications, where I could not get light by the Spirit of the Lord (or did not get light; I will not say could not, for I believe it is the privilege of all Elders, authorities, and members of the Church of God to get light by the Spirit of the Lord), but where I did not get light by the Spirit of the Lord, I have generally been careful to back up all the doctrines and principles I set forth by reason, or by, Thus saith the Lord, in some revelation either ancient or modern. Previous to declaring a doctrine, I have always inquired in my own mind, “Can this doctrine be proved by revelation given, or by reason, or can it not?” If I found it could be proved, I set forth the doctrine; but if I found there was no evidence to substantiate it, I laid it aside; in all this, however, I may have erred, for to err is human.
I feel thankful to God this day that I stand in the midst of a great and good people, that are willing to practice the principles of eternal truth and righteousness; and those mysteries about the plurality of Gods, and the plurality of worlds also are good in their places; God has revealed them, and they are intended for our good and instruction, or He never would have revealed them.
But to go back to the words of our text; that is the thing that most concerns us at present. It should be laid before the minds of the people and instilled into their hearts week after week; they should be taught and instructed in such a way and manner that these mysteries, when we get the true light upon them, may do us good. When the Lord sees fit to pour out wisdom and knowledge, and mysteries, and understanding from the heavens, may we, by practical works, faith, and diligence in doing our duties one towards another, and towards our God, be able to receive them, and have them do us good. The time will come when the Lord will reveal all these things; everything in the heavens, on the earth, and under the earth; and everything pertaining to the soul of man will be proclaimed by the sounding of trumpets in the ears of all living.
I will adopt the old saying—“I feel first-rate.” It does me good to get back into Utah Territory, after having been gone two years, to behold the faces of the Saints again, and rejoice in their midst, and to bear my weak and humble testimony of the truth of this great and glorious work. It is now over twenty-four years since I was baptized into this Church; it was twenty-four years on the 19th of last month since I was baptized, and became a member of this Church. I have seen it rise to its present greatness from a very few individuals that composed the whole Church in 1830. There were then, perhaps, not fifty Latter-day Saints in the whole world; and every year brings to pass the fulfillment of the sayings, and predictions, and revelations of Joseph, the Prophet.
The work is rolling on as rapidly as the wheels of time will permit. I well recollect a revelation given upwards of twenty-three years ago. What did the Lord say when we were only a little handful? Said He, “It is necessary that my Elders should go forth into all the regions round about, and preach my Gospel, and many shall be converted; and ye shalt have power to organize yourselves according to the laws of man.” This was spoken before we began to gather. What was the use of organizing ourselves according to the laws of man? “That you may break every band wherewith the enemy seeketh to destroy, and that you may keep my laws.” Has not this been fulfilled? Look at the time that prophecy was given, away back nearly twenty-four years ago. Has it come to pass? Are we not organized according to the laws of man? Are not many converted just as the revelation predicted? And are we not in a position, by being organized here in Utah territory according to the laws of man, to break the bands of the enemy, that they may not destroy us as a people? If mobs undertake to afflict us here, they will find it very difficult, because we are organized according to the laws of man. If they use any exertion or any influence to bring about the destruction of this people, we are organized according to the laws of man, and can fight them with their own weapons.
Not only was this for the purpose of our being secure from the hands of our enemies, but, “that ye may be able to keep my laws.” That was another reason the Lord gave in the same revelation. Are there not some laws of God that we could keep if we were scattered over the other states and territories, unorganized according to the laws of man? Yes. There are laws of the greatest moment, that have a bearing upon the present and future destiny of this people; that have a bearing upon their eternal glory, exaltation, and everlasting happiness. These laws never could have been kept had we not been organized according to the laws of man. The Lord has fulfilled this revelation thus far; how much more complete this organization may become hereafter, I know not, neither do I care.
It was not the invention of man, nor the power and wisdom of man, that organized this kingdom, but the God we worship and serve, who made the heavens and the earth. He made this kingdom and organized it, and established it; it is all His, and He holds it in His own hands; and the same great Being rules and governs the wicked; He controls them, and He will fulfill every word that has been given through the mouths of His servants, as He tells us in the preface of the Book of Doctrine and Covenants—These commandments and prophecies shall be fulfilled; though the heavens and the earth shall pass away, not one jot or tittle of the commandments of that book shall pass away.
Everything will roll round, roll round, roll round in its times and seasons until this kingdom shall spread forth, and the dominion and the greatness of it will cover the whole face of the earth, and there will not be a dog to move his tongue from the Rocky Mountains to the uttermost parts of the earth, but all be in subjection to the kingdom of Christ; all must become subject to her laws; and the great nations of the earth—mighty nations not a few, ere long will come up to Zion to seek wisdom and knowledge from the counselors in Zion. They will read her laws, and say, “Our laws are as nothing, our wisdom as foolishness, our words like the tow that is exposed to the devouring flame; we are broken asunder, torn into fragments, and ready to crush under our own weight; but your laws, government, and officers are all good, righteous, just, and true; surely the God of Israel is in your midst. Come, let us go up to Zion, let us hear from the wise legislators of Zion, and let us hear the laws proclaimed therein; let us learn of the wisdom that dwells in the servants of the Most High.” And they will come up with their armies, and their mighty men, and their judges, and their rulers, and kings will come to the brightness of her rising; and the Gentiles will come like a flowing stream, and the gates of Zion will be open day and night, and never be shut, to admit the forces that will come rushing in from all nations, to learn the wisdom, knowledge, and instruction that are poured out from the heavens upon the servants of the Most High.
If we are looking forward to such a glorious time—to such a happy period, let us endeavor to prepare ourselves, and awake from our slumber, and do the duties required at our hands. Pay up your debts, pay them up to the Perpetual Emigrating Fund; let the means be sent back immediately, that those who are starving to death, and are ground down with tyranny, may enjoy the same privileges as you. Remember them, and God will remember you. But if you turn your back upon these principles, and will not seek to do unto others as you would have them do to you; if you will not listen to the instructions of our Prophet, and to the instructions of others who have spoken on this stand, you will wither away like a dried reed, and you will bear no authority, and that you have will be taken from you, and you will be left poor and miserable, and become the offscouring of the earth, under the curse of the Almighty for your disobedience.
The Immigration—The Perpetual Emigrating Fund—Scoffers
An Address by President Jedediah M. Grant, Delivered at the General Conference, in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, October 7, 1854.
Reported by G. D. Watt.
This afternoon I have very little disposition to detain you long. My health is such, I would prefer hearing others rather than speak myself.
We have received much good instruction, and I feel that our spirits are refreshed, and cheered up. We have been edified during the Conference.
I like the remarks of Elder Orson Pratt this afternoon. I hope they will be listened to and obeyed.
I regret very much that our immigration this season are so few; though I rejoice on the other hand that the Elders abroad, and the general instructions of the Church, have been able to gather so many. We believe we have brethren here from different settlements, and lots of persons in this city, who are on hand to take into their employment three or four times as many people as have come in this season from the nations of the earth.
The first year we were located in the Valley we wanted a few teams sent out to help the emigration, and we had to use considerable exertion to get those few teams; but this year, all the servants of the Lord had to do was to make a call upon the people, through their Bishops, and all the teams we wanted were forthcoming, with flour and all necessary food, to send forth to help in our emigration.
I have seen the time, in Kirtland, Ohio, the first gathering place I went to, when you could have crowded the whole congregation into one room sixteen feet by eighteen; and these comprised all the Saints that were there. If we had sent up to Jackson County, and brought them all down, and had a house like this, there would have been just a little belt of people in front of the stand, and reaching part way up towards the opposite side of the room.
In the mountains, though it is difficult to gather the people here, though they come from the nations, and have the Atlantic to cross, and have to come from the different parts of the United States, we have got together a considerable body of people. However, there are as yet but few, comparatively. We are looked upon as feeble in the world, of but small height; but it is a very easy thing to bring in an emigration of four or five thousand; and we can bring wagons from different settlements, and the people who have come in are swallowed right up, as it were, so that in three or four weeks we cannot tell what has become of our immigration. They can come by thousands, and be dispersed throughout the Territory among the Saints, and find comfortable homes, and it is scarcely known and felt.
As to the Perpetual Emigrating Fund, to make it perpetual, you must replenish it, and not take from it—that would make it a short-lived thing. If you are aided by that Fund, throw the aid you have received back into the treasury, that it may be full, that we may be able to send for others. I have heard the President speaking that he designed to call upon individuals who are pretty well off here, who have friends in England, Scotland, Wales, Denmark, Germany, Italy, and I don't know where, to operate with the Fund, and become a stay and a staff to it, and associate with it. For instance, here is such a man as father Russell, that has given his thousands; perhaps he knows of some family there he would like to bring here. He can send through the P. E. Fund for that family; and they shall be brought on this condition—that they labor for him, and assist him until they pay for their being brought here.
In Yankee land they make the boys pay for their bringing up; so they can pay for their bringing here, if I have spent the money for them. Some of you who want a gardener, or a farmer, launch out your gold, your cattle, your horses, your food, and your raiment, and deposit the means, and we will send over, and get the family, and that family will aid and assist you in your financial operations, and pay up the debt. I reckon that six or eight thousand in Utah could act upon this principle.
You who have been brought in here, labor, and throw back into the great purse what you have received, that we may bring double the number another year.
Our brethren in Pottawatomie County, four or five years ago, had a notion that they were going to get up a machine that would bring fifteen thousand at a load.
The idea of becoming a State in two or three years, when we have only got four or five thousand of an emigration! I do not wonder that the Latter-day Saints believe in the plurality of wives. Launch out your means to help us to bring the poor; if you do not, we will raise up the mountain boys ourselves. This piecemeal business of gathering Saints! We want it upon the wholesale principle. That's the doctrine. I tell you, a few more boys breaking the crust of nations, like Brother Carn, after a while, by driving their little wedges, will bring them over by nations.
A great many people who come here, when they do not find everything right handy—plenty of food, houses, and all other conveniences, are discouraged, and lose their energies. If you want to know something about the “Mormon” grit, remember what Brother Carn said this morning; if he is whipped, he don't stay whipped. You cannot discourage a real “Mormon.” It is necessary to raise up a certain stripe in the Valley, of the real “Mormon” grit, that those who come over here, and who have the whines and the grunts, may have the “Mormon” leaven among them to leaven the whole lump.
I do not know but the President will be calling for volunteers to operate with the Fund to bring more families here.
There are one or two more little items I wanted to speak about.
I have had one or two cases reported to me. For instance, some of our brethren who cross the plains, when they get here, are a little peevish, snappish, vexed, and quarrelsome. When the wind blowed the other day, a man got the servant girl to hold the tent pole, to keep it from failing, but she not being strong enough, down went the tent. The man then made a scourge out of a rope, and began to beat the girl, and beat her most unmercifully. I do not know whether that man is converted or not; but it makes me think of an old Baptist preacher in Virginia. He came and preached in a certain place; the next time he came round, a drunken man came staggering up to him and said, “Brother Jones, when you was last in our settlement, you converted my soul.” “Well,” said brother Jones, “I should think I did, for I do not believe the Lord had anything to do with it.” I am rather inclined to think it is possible that the girl whipper is yet unconverted. We like men here to learn how to treat their families, their cattle, and their homes, &c.
I am entirely of a lively disposition; I know not how to be low-spirited; I never knew what it was to be lonesome in my life. Some talk about being lonesome when they are alone; I know nothing about it. I never misuse a beast, and I am not inclined to misuse people; but when they are right mean, I like to work them up with my tongue once in a while. But the idea of people going to work to beat, and kick, and pound their cattle, horses, children, and everything around them, is nonsense. Good-natured feelings and good-natured conduct are worth a thousand of the opposite character. Do right, be kind and gentle. You have come in the midst of the people of God; you have come to unite with us in serving the mighty God of Jacob, and endeavor to do right.
When brethren start to come here, they are anxious to be in this place, but many of them, when they get here, see no charms in Zion. You can learn their spirits directly, for they are known by their associates. We have some High Priests, &c., who have been among us for years, and others who have come in lately, who like to associate with our enemies, those who have a sneering and malicious spirit. Talk about such persons having the “Mormon” spirit in them, and the light of the Holy Ghost, and yet love the world and the things of the world, and the spirit of the world, and the glory of the world, and the wickedness of the world! Some people can associate with those who laugh at the institutions of heaven, at the principles of eternity, and laugh to scorn the ministry of the people of God; they like to converse with them, and they love to be in their society; they love to have them around them. I would rather dig thistle roots and sego roots to live upon, and eat boiled hides, and drink the broth from them, than to take such enemies into my house, and board them; and rather than rent my house to such persons to live in, I would burn it up if they had lived in it, and have a new one. That is my grit. The filthy old building should never hold my family. I wish all the “Mormons” felt as I do, there would be a flame in Zion, and a fire in Jerusalem. I say, if all the “Mormons” felt as I do about those who laugh at our distresses, and when calamities come upon us, wag their heads and say, “Ha, ha! so would we have it,” they would think there was a furnace in Zion, and a flame in Jerusalem.
I want “Mormons” to feel like “Mormons,” to feel like Saints. I want a man of God to feel fired up with the Holy Ghost, and not place his affections upon the world, and the things of the world; but love your God, and your brethren that are poor and in distress, and who love God. Those high-minded hypocrites, who bow and scrape to get your dimes, let them go to where they belong, they and their dimes; that is the way I feel about them. I like to see the Saints of God fired up to help the poor, and bring them in here to strengthen the reins of Israel. I like to see them exert themselves to send forth the Gospel, and bring from the nations those who are humble, contrite, pure, and holy, and who are uncontaminated by the vices of the world. Go into the circles of high life, if you please; I know about the high and the low in the United States. Talk about high life! About converting many of that class and bringing them here! What will you bring? Those who believe the truth with difficulty. But the poor and needy, who are looked upon as the dross and offscouring of all things, are the best of all creation, and we want the best, the purest, and those that are the most holy, brought to Zion. But the breath of that person who rejects my God is like the upas tree to me—it is poisonous; I do not like it. I admit that I occasionally find some who have not been baptized, in whom there is a stripe of honor and goodwill which I like; but I speak generally of those who knowingly persecute the people of God, who reject the truth; I do not love them. I am like the old Indian, “Though I will forgive and forget, I always remember.” It is bred in my bones; I was raised up in the “Mormon” Church from my childhood; it is sweet to me, sweeter than the honey or the honeycomb; it is life and breath to me; it is eternal life, and I love it.
I do not like the person who sneers at “Mormonism,” and I do not like those who associate with such; they are no brothers, no sisters, nor friends to me. I fellowship those who love the institutions of God—who love the servants of God, and the truth of God and the principles of righteousness. But that class that sneer at the principles of the Gospel, and the institutions of the kingdom of God, who like to associate with the wicked and ungodly, are not my brothers, they are not my sisters, nor friends, nor the friends of God. But the person who seeks to convert the sinner, and bring him to the truth; I like that disposition. What I am at is this—not that I feel any different towards those out of the Church than the rest of you; there are a great many of the brethren and sisters who are poor devils. All Gentiles, in their eyes, are so good, so kind, so loving, so gentle, and so full of sympathy, that they cannot tell that there is any difference between them and the Latter-day Saints. Give me the man and the woman that can tell the difference between the devil and a Saint. Says one, “Most all of us can.” I tell you, you cannot. I see people on my right and on my left who can dwell and associate with the ungodly, drink into their spirit, and fall into the same condemnation as they do. Take a man who is pure, he sees the corruption of the ungodly. I do not like it; it has no spirit of Zion in it.
Newcomers, you will find men called Saints who are “land-sharks of Utah.” We have all kinds of men here, and we expect to have them; and if some of you who have been brought here by the Fund this year, are no better than many of those who were brought last season, you will whine; but for God's sake, when you feel like whining, bite your tongue; and if you do not like to do that, use Brother H. Kimball's remedy—chew a piece of India rubber, and keep chewing it until you get the grunt out of you.
I do not wish to detain you. May the God of heaven bless you, and bless the Saints in every land and nation, that Israel may be gathered, and the Saints saved, which may God grant. Amen.
Chanting by the choir.
Benediction by President Joseph Young.
An Address by President Jedediah M. Grant, Delivered at the General Conference, in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, October 7, 1854.
Reported by G. D. Watt.
This afternoon I have very little disposition to detain you long. My health is such, I would prefer hearing others rather than speak myself.
We have received much good instruction, and I feel that our spirits are refreshed, and cheered up. We have been edified during the Conference.
I like the remarks of Elder Orson Pratt this afternoon. I hope they will be listened to and obeyed.
I regret very much that our immigration this season are so few; though I rejoice on the other hand that the Elders abroad, and the general instructions of the Church, have been able to gather so many. We believe we have brethren here from different settlements, and lots of persons in this city, who are on hand to take into their employment three or four times as many people as have come in this season from the nations of the earth.
The first year we were located in the Valley we wanted a few teams sent out to help the emigration, and we had to use considerable exertion to get those few teams; but this year, all the servants of the Lord had to do was to make a call upon the people, through their Bishops, and all the teams we wanted were forthcoming, with flour and all necessary food, to send forth to help in our emigration.
I have seen the time, in Kirtland, Ohio, the first gathering place I went to, when you could have crowded the whole congregation into one room sixteen feet by eighteen; and these comprised all the Saints that were there. If we had sent up to Jackson County, and brought them all down, and had a house like this, there would have been just a little belt of people in front of the stand, and reaching part way up towards the opposite side of the room.
In the mountains, though it is difficult to gather the people here, though they come from the nations, and have the Atlantic to cross, and have to come from the different parts of the United States, we have got together a considerable body of people. However, there are as yet but few, comparatively. We are looked upon as feeble in the world, of but small height; but it is a very easy thing to bring in an emigration of four or five thousand; and we can bring wagons from different settlements, and the people who have come in are swallowed right up, as it were, so that in three or four weeks we cannot tell what has become of our immigration. They can come by thousands, and be dispersed throughout the Territory among the Saints, and find comfortable homes, and it is scarcely known and felt.
As to the Perpetual Emigrating Fund, to make it perpetual, you must replenish it, and not take from it—that would make it a short-lived thing. If you are aided by that Fund, throw the aid you have received back into the treasury, that it may be full, that we may be able to send for others. I have heard the President speaking that he designed to call upon individuals who are pretty well off here, who have friends in England, Scotland, Wales, Denmark, Germany, Italy, and I don't know where, to operate with the Fund, and become a stay and a staff to it, and associate with it. For instance, here is such a man as father Russell, that has given his thousands; perhaps he knows of some family there he would like to bring here. He can send through the P. E. Fund for that family; and they shall be brought on this condition—that they labor for him, and assist him until they pay for their being brought here.
In Yankee land they make the boys pay for their bringing up; so they can pay for their bringing here, if I have spent the money for them. Some of you who want a gardener, or a farmer, launch out your gold, your cattle, your horses, your food, and your raiment, and deposit the means, and we will send over, and get the family, and that family will aid and assist you in your financial operations, and pay up the debt. I reckon that six or eight thousand in Utah could act upon this principle.
You who have been brought in here, labor, and throw back into the great purse what you have received, that we may bring double the number another year.
Our brethren in Pottawatomie County, four or five years ago, had a notion that they were going to get up a machine that would bring fifteen thousand at a load.
The idea of becoming a State in two or three years, when we have only got four or five thousand of an emigration! I do not wonder that the Latter-day Saints believe in the plurality of wives. Launch out your means to help us to bring the poor; if you do not, we will raise up the mountain boys ourselves. This piecemeal business of gathering Saints! We want it upon the wholesale principle. That's the doctrine. I tell you, a few more boys breaking the crust of nations, like Brother Carn, after a while, by driving their little wedges, will bring them over by nations.
A great many people who come here, when they do not find everything right handy—plenty of food, houses, and all other conveniences, are discouraged, and lose their energies. If you want to know something about the “Mormon” grit, remember what Brother Carn said this morning; if he is whipped, he don't stay whipped. You cannot discourage a real “Mormon.” It is necessary to raise up a certain stripe in the Valley, of the real “Mormon” grit, that those who come over here, and who have the whines and the grunts, may have the “Mormon” leaven among them to leaven the whole lump.
I do not know but the President will be calling for volunteers to operate with the Fund to bring more families here.
There are one or two more little items I wanted to speak about.
I have had one or two cases reported to me. For instance, some of our brethren who cross the plains, when they get here, are a little peevish, snappish, vexed, and quarrelsome. When the wind blowed the other day, a man got the servant girl to hold the tent pole, to keep it from failing, but she not being strong enough, down went the tent. The man then made a scourge out of a rope, and began to beat the girl, and beat her most unmercifully. I do not know whether that man is converted or not; but it makes me think of an old Baptist preacher in Virginia. He came and preached in a certain place; the next time he came round, a drunken man came staggering up to him and said, “Brother Jones, when you was last in our settlement, you converted my soul.” “Well,” said brother Jones, “I should think I did, for I do not believe the Lord had anything to do with it.” I am rather inclined to think it is possible that the girl whipper is yet unconverted. We like men here to learn how to treat their families, their cattle, and their homes, &c.
I am entirely of a lively disposition; I know not how to be low-spirited; I never knew what it was to be lonesome in my life. Some talk about being lonesome when they are alone; I know nothing about it. I never misuse a beast, and I am not inclined to misuse people; but when they are right mean, I like to work them up with my tongue once in a while. But the idea of people going to work to beat, and kick, and pound their cattle, horses, children, and everything around them, is nonsense. Good-natured feelings and good-natured conduct are worth a thousand of the opposite character. Do right, be kind and gentle. You have come in the midst of the people of God; you have come to unite with us in serving the mighty God of Jacob, and endeavor to do right.
When brethren start to come here, they are anxious to be in this place, but many of them, when they get here, see no charms in Zion. You can learn their spirits directly, for they are known by their associates. We have some High Priests, &c., who have been among us for years, and others who have come in lately, who like to associate with our enemies, those who have a sneering and malicious spirit. Talk about such persons having the “Mormon” spirit in them, and the light of the Holy Ghost, and yet love the world and the things of the world, and the spirit of the world, and the glory of the world, and the wickedness of the world! Some people can associate with those who laugh at the institutions of heaven, at the principles of eternity, and laugh to scorn the ministry of the people of God; they like to converse with them, and they love to be in their society; they love to have them around them. I would rather dig thistle roots and sego roots to live upon, and eat boiled hides, and drink the broth from them, than to take such enemies into my house, and board them; and rather than rent my house to such persons to live in, I would burn it up if they had lived in it, and have a new one. That is my grit. The filthy old building should never hold my family. I wish all the “Mormons” felt as I do, there would be a flame in Zion, and a fire in Jerusalem. I say, if all the “Mormons” felt as I do about those who laugh at our distresses, and when calamities come upon us, wag their heads and say, “Ha, ha! so would we have it,” they would think there was a furnace in Zion, and a flame in Jerusalem.
I want “Mormons” to feel like “Mormons,” to feel like Saints. I want a man of God to feel fired up with the Holy Ghost, and not place his affections upon the world, and the things of the world; but love your God, and your brethren that are poor and in distress, and who love God. Those high-minded hypocrites, who bow and scrape to get your dimes, let them go to where they belong, they and their dimes; that is the way I feel about them. I like to see the Saints of God fired up to help the poor, and bring them in here to strengthen the reins of Israel. I like to see them exert themselves to send forth the Gospel, and bring from the nations those who are humble, contrite, pure, and holy, and who are uncontaminated by the vices of the world. Go into the circles of high life, if you please; I know about the high and the low in the United States. Talk about high life! About converting many of that class and bringing them here! What will you bring? Those who believe the truth with difficulty. But the poor and needy, who are looked upon as the dross and offscouring of all things, are the best of all creation, and we want the best, the purest, and those that are the most holy, brought to Zion. But the breath of that person who rejects my God is like the upas tree to me—it is poisonous; I do not like it. I admit that I occasionally find some who have not been baptized, in whom there is a stripe of honor and goodwill which I like; but I speak generally of those who knowingly persecute the people of God, who reject the truth; I do not love them. I am like the old Indian, “Though I will forgive and forget, I always remember.” It is bred in my bones; I was raised up in the “Mormon” Church from my childhood; it is sweet to me, sweeter than the honey or the honeycomb; it is life and breath to me; it is eternal life, and I love it.
I do not like the person who sneers at “Mormonism,” and I do not like those who associate with such; they are no brothers, no sisters, nor friends to me. I fellowship those who love the institutions of God—who love the servants of God, and the truth of God and the principles of righteousness. But that class that sneer at the principles of the Gospel, and the institutions of the kingdom of God, who like to associate with the wicked and ungodly, are not my brothers, they are not my sisters, nor friends, nor the friends of God. But the person who seeks to convert the sinner, and bring him to the truth; I like that disposition. What I am at is this—not that I feel any different towards those out of the Church than the rest of you; there are a great many of the brethren and sisters who are poor devils. All Gentiles, in their eyes, are so good, so kind, so loving, so gentle, and so full of sympathy, that they cannot tell that there is any difference between them and the Latter-day Saints. Give me the man and the woman that can tell the difference between the devil and a Saint. Says one, “Most all of us can.” I tell you, you cannot. I see people on my right and on my left who can dwell and associate with the ungodly, drink into their spirit, and fall into the same condemnation as they do. Take a man who is pure, he sees the corruption of the ungodly. I do not like it; it has no spirit of Zion in it.
Newcomers, you will find men called Saints who are “land-sharks of Utah.” We have all kinds of men here, and we expect to have them; and if some of you who have been brought here by the Fund this year, are no better than many of those who were brought last season, you will whine; but for God's sake, when you feel like whining, bite your tongue; and if you do not like to do that, use Brother H. Kimball's remedy—chew a piece of India rubber, and keep chewing it until you get the grunt out of you.
I do not wish to detain you. May the God of heaven bless you, and bless the Saints in every land and nation, that Israel may be gathered, and the Saints saved, which may God grant. Amen.
Chanting by the choir.
Benediction by President Joseph Young.
Six p.m.
Prayer by Bishop Woolley.
President Brigham Young
instructed the bishops and their counselors, and the elders of Israel, followed by
Bishop Hunter,
Elder Hyde,
President Grant, and
Bishop Woolley.
Benediction by Bishop Woolley.
Prayer by Bishop Woolley.
President Brigham Young
instructed the bishops and their counselors, and the elders of Israel, followed by
Bishop Hunter,
Elder Hyde,
President Grant, and
Bishop Woolley.
Benediction by Bishop Woolley.
Sunday, Oct. 8, Seven a.m.
The Seventies met to consult upon finishing the hall, for the benefit of the quorum, and to hear the report of President Joseph Young.
The Seventies met to consult upon finishing the hall, for the benefit of the quorum, and to hear the report of President Joseph Young.
Ten a.m.
Tabernacle crowded.
Choir sung a hymn.
Prayer by Elder Lorenzo Snow.
Chanting by the choir.
Tabernacle crowded.
Choir sung a hymn.
Prayer by Elder Lorenzo Snow.
Chanting by the choir.
Elder Hyde
spoke inside the Tabernacle,
Gathering the Saints—Perpetual Emigrating Fund
A Discourse by President Orson Hyde, Delivered in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, October 8, 1854.
Reported by G. D. Watt.
I am called upon this morning, beloved brethren and sisters, to make a few remarks, and speak unto you concerning the way and manner of gathering the people of God. In the first place, to show unto you that there is no religion with which we are acquainted, except that of the Latter-day Saints, that can, in its exercise and in its operations, bring to pass the fulfillment of the predictions of the Prophets. All the types and figures presented to our Lord and Savior to illustrate truths, weighty and important, show that in the last days there is to be a gathering together of the people. They will be gathered by the peculiar attraction that will prevail at the time when they are not weighed down with mortal tabernacles, but released from this cumbrous clay, their immortal spirits will be gathered around the throne of God, there to receive a welcome into the everlasting glory prepared for the righteous; or to hear the dreadful sentence—Depart, ye cursed, into outer darkness, where there is weeping, and wailing, and gnashing of teeth!
But, my friends, there is to be a gathering of the people here on earth. The husbandman, when he sows his seed in the soil, watches it, and cultivates it with care; he does not wait to reap his harvest in some other region, but he reaps it on the ground where he sowed his seed, and there he realizes the benefits and returns of his labor; not in some other country, but here.
The Savior says, the kingdom of heaven is like a fish net that is cast into the sea, which took of every kind, both good and bad, and by and by they brought the net to the shore, and gathered the good into vessels, and cast the bad away. So shall it be in the last days, in the end, when the gathering dispensation shall be introduced, and the Gospel net be drawn to shore; not in some foreign clime or mountain, beyond the bounds of time and space; but on the shore that skirts the margin of the water, as testified by this figure; so on earth, the gathering of the people will be.
We are also told the manner in which they shall come. They shall come upon swift beasts—upon dromedaries and camels; and the ships of Tarshish shall bear them home, and a highway shall be cast up for the ransomed of the Lord to walk in. That highway is not an immaterial one, that leads to mansions in the sky, but it is a highway that has to be cast up on earth; and it may be that the very railroads that are being cast up are one means by which this operation of the gathering will be greatly facilitated. This may be the subject which the Prophet had his eye upon when he said, The lion's whelps have not trod there, and the vulture's eye hath not seen it. At that time it was not cast up; but was reserved to be cast up in the last days. The lion's whelp had never trodden there; but, by and by, it might when it was cast up.
The old Prophet had his eye upon the increased speed of ships; but our translators have made him to say that swift messengers shall be sent to the nations afar off in vessels of bulrushes. What do we understand by vessels of bulrushes? Do we ever see such vessels, or hear tell of such, except the cradle that was made for Moses to float in on the Nile? Have we ever read of men, swift messengers going in vessels of bulrushes?
It is nonsense; such a vessel could not withstand the buffetings of the winds and the waves, nor ride in safety through the elements contending with each other, as it were, for empire; or as if the winds and waves were both armed with eager vengeance, to see which should first grasp the little speck struggling for life upon the surface of the boiling element. Who believes anything of this sort? The idea is inconsistent. But when we come to look at it in another point of view it is not so inconsistent and obscure. Brother Carn who is present knows how the German Bible reads. I believe it calls them Pipe ships. The bulrush is hollow, resembling a pipe, and the old Prophet had nothing else to represent his idea by, but the bulrush; though he saw ships in which hollow tubes and pipes were running in every direction, and he was at a loss for the name “Steamship” to apply to them. Now, says he, swift messengers shall be sent in Pipe ships, looking at the time when steam should be used as a propelling power. What is this steam power for? Is it merely for the accommodation of mankind? Or has God made this an important agent to perform His work—to facilitate His purposes in the last days? The matter is unquestionably the design of the Great Creator; not only so, but there is another thing in connection with this—the Savior says, in speaking of his coming, it shall be like the light of the morning, or like lightning that shineth from one end of heaven to the other, even so shall the coming of the Son of Man be. What do we behold being constructed on earth to bring about the designs of heaven? We behold the electric wire running from one country to another, and already it is in contemplation to carry it across the Atlantic, to bring all nations in immediate communication. Does this look like the lightning that spreads from east to west? Even so shall the coming of the Son of Man be! The electric telegraph takes it from eastern climes to western. It is so quick that a speech made in Washington city at twelve o'clock is delivered in St. Louis at half past eleven the same day. Electricity flies with so much greater velocity than the earth, that it is half an hour before the times between Washington and St. Louis; even so shall the coming of the Son of Man be; or in other words, in the last days intelligence shall fly with such rapidity, so quick shall it be in the day of his coming. We conclude that we are approximating very near that time. We are getting, as it were, in the neighborhood of it. Now, says he, watch! When you see the fig tree and all the trees beginning to bud, and put forth their leaves, know that summer is nigh: and when you begin to see these things come to pass, lift up your heads and rejoice, for your redemption draweth nigh.
I may have begun at the wrong end of my discourse, but if I have, I will get at the other end of it before I have done; so that you shall have all the parts of it, if the Lord will give me strength through your prayers; you shall have the sum and substance of what I was required to make known to you, but I must have my own way of telling it.
The gathering of the Saints together is to take place. “But,” says one, “we do not believe that the gathering of the people will take place in the last days literally; we do not believe that angels will minister any more to us.” The old-fashioned religion is, “We have got all that heaven was pleased to give, and that can be proven by the good Old Bible. Let the angels stay in glory, and we will stay on our farms, and go to church from one year to another, and follow up the same routine over and over again until we go down to our graves, and that is the end of our service in the flesh.” Do you not see that all of the Christian world reject the administration of angels, the Latter-day Saints excepted, and some few others that believe in these things?
There are many in the last days, who believe in Spirit Rapping, and in such kind of angels that have no mouth to speak. The angels that visited the servants of God had mouths, and they spoke! Suppose you were to ask me a question, and I have intelligence and a mouth to communicate but, instead of speaking to you, I set the table to jumping, or kick over the chairs and the bureaus, &c. What would you know about it? You would know the devil was to pay; you would know there was a total absence of good feeling and intelligence. Man was created in the image of God, and the holy angels that surround His throne, the flaming messengers to bear His will to man, are in His image and likeness. Even the servants of God in the days of old, when they saw one of those celestial spirits, began to bow down and worship him, as though he were the God who created the heavens and the earth; but they were commanded to worship God. There he was, standing in the image of his Maker, and the Prophet mistook him for the Lord. These angels are in the likeness and image of God, and men are also in His image. I believe, if God gave me a message to deliver to the people, and I did not deliver it in the legitimate way, He would close my mouth because I would not give it in the way he gave it to me. Spirit Rappers, below par!
“What is the matter?” “There has some dreadful thing taken place.” “What is it?” “We cannot tell you any thing about it, only there is a wonderful ado—a wonderful thing has happened in the land of Ham.” I tell you, those who reject the truth borne to them by the servants of God, who speak to them in plainness, will be acquainted with muttering spirits that know nothing for their good: for, “for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believe not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.” When people reject the truth they become the plaything of wild delusive spirits, and are tossed to and fro by them like a bubble on the wave. True messengers of God do not come in this way; but says the world—“Angels came in olden times, but do not come now to earth any more; they have gone to heaven, and there is nothing more for them to do here.” I can speak to the servant of a king when I cannot speak to the king himself. I could approach the lower orders of his subjects when I might not approach the higher circle. If men reject the administration of angels, and will not believe in their existence, nor regard their words, I do not know how they will ever obtain access to the king. If they will not acknowledge his ministers, I do not know how they are going to speak to the king himself.
Have angels anything to do with what will take place in the last days? He makes His angels ministering spirits, and they are sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation. The Lord is everywhere present by His ministering angels, just like any other ruler, monarch or king, who has ministers everywhere throughout His dominions; and God's ministers are everywhere; He has servants tabernacled in flesh on earth, and they are going through the land in every direction, and God is present everywhere with them; and He knows everything. How? When His angels and ministers tell Him of it, like any other ruler. I have been at some of the prayer circles and meetings in the sectarian world, and heard their pious minister say, “Come, sinner, bow to the yoke of Christ; behold the guardian angel standing waiting to be the honored agent to carry the news to heaven, that one more soul is converted.” If God knows it already, what is the use of angels to carry the intelligence? God knows everything through His agents, or servants, and that is the way He is everywhere present. But if you were to see Him in propria persona, you would see a person like yourself. How was it with Stephen? Was God scattered to the four winds everywhere? If He was in particles smaller than any mathematical calculation could define, you could not see Him. But Stephen, “being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God, And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God.” If God was without body, parts, and passions, how could Stephen know whether He stood on the right hand, or the left, or whether He stood upon either side?
However we will pass this by for the present. Angels will have a part in the work of the last days. What are they to do? Says the Savior—“The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field: But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way.” He let them grow together until the time of harvest; then He “will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles and burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.” The field is the world. Who are the reapers? The angels are the reapers; and still, angels, you say, are coming to earth no more. This won't do, for the reapers are the angels, the good seed are the children of the kingdom, and the tares are the children of the wicked one, and the enemy that sowed them is the devil. In another place it is said, “And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.” And yet the present Christian world say that angels have no more to do; of course, then, they do not look for anything of this kind; their faith does not embrace the sayings of the Savior and His Apostles, touching the winding up scene: and without faith, it is impossible to please God; consequently they cannot share in the blessings of the gathering dispensation of the last days, their unbelief excludes them.
It is said that God helps them that help themselves. I have been showing you what will be done for His elect in the last days; but will He do it for them who will do nothing for themselves? I say no; God helps those who help themselves. I recollect when I was in Pottawatomie I was determined to raise a crop if I could. I commenced and plowed up the land, and went into the woods when it was hot enough in the summer season almost to unsolder a skillet, and hauled out my rails, and fenced and sowed the land. When snow came, there was a fleece of wheat over the land like wool on a sheep's back. President Young saw it, and he said it pleased him; and he said, “I know that God helps those who help themselves.” We may sit down and persuade ourselves that it is God's will we should do nothing for ourselves, and we may go to beggary; but if we help ourselves, and bestow the labor for nature to bring forth, we shall have an abundance, and God will be faithful in blessing our labors.
We are looking for these things to transpire in the last days, to bring about the gathering of the Saints preparatory to the coming of the Son of Man. We can see the electric wires extending through the earth; and ships are constructed to bear forth swiftly the messengers of salvation, to bring home the Saints under the indulgent hand of our heavenly Father. What does He require us to do? Says He, “I commit to you, my servants, the keys of the kingdom of heaven, the authority of the Priesthood, light and intelligence, and knowledge to make you acquainted with all these things; now I want to see if you will put forth a helping hand, knowing, as you do, your Master's will, and understanding His whole plan of operation, and work according to the ability I have given you; I will put you to the test.” What is to be done? “Go forth and preach the Gospel among the nations, and baptize them in my name for the remission of sins, and confirm them by the laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost, and teach them to gather; for it is the gathering dispensation, and if they have not means to gather, it is for you to advance means to bring them.” “Now,” says the Almighty, “I want to try you and prove you, and see if you will act in small things that you may render yourselves worthy of being blessed with the means which I will prepare, and which I have ordained. I want to see if you are worthy.” What have we done here for the purpose of carrying into effect this desirable object? We have commenced to gather the people, and we have also commenced to raise a Fund by which the poor Saints are to be gathered; and this is based upon principles that are applicable to us in the days of our childhood; but we suppose, when the Almighty begins to put forth His own hand to accomplish His own work, and sustain the operations of His servants on this small scale, which we shall know it is small when we see the mighty engine of God at work, for when we were children we spake as children, and understood as children, and thought as children; but when we become men, we shall put away childish things. We now have to do with small things, that we may advance from one point to another. What are the small things? Here is a Perpetual Emigrating Fund, for instance, for the purpose of gathering the Saints of God. How is this Fund raised? It is raised by voluntary contributions from everyone who is able to help and who has a heart and a spirit to engage in the work of God in the last days. It is raised by the hard earnings of the brethren and sisters. It is the little mites, and large mites, little sums and big sums, all thrown together into one purse.
Now go and take this, ye swift messengers, you faithful agents, in vessels of bulrushes, pipe ships, or, in other words, steamships, and be messengers of glad tidings to the poor, and wretched, and oppressed, and meek of the earth. It is an honor to be a messenger, bearing to them the means of taking them out of their poverty, wretchedness, and oppression. He says to them, “I have come to bring you to the family of God; to rescue you from the land of your oppression and poverty, and put you in a position where you may be blessed temporally and spiritually.” Is not he who hears these tidings blessed? “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth!” This messenger goes and brings them to his place by the means that is put into his hands.
Now I know some, when they are brought here by this agency, think they have got to their desired haven. They say, “Now I am secure in a haven of peace, I am among the people of God, and this is all I care for. Now I will make myself as happy as I can, and I will forget my fellows that I have left in bondage; I will not remember them who are oppressed beneath the galling yoke, I am free, let them take care of themselves.” That is the feeling that pervades the breast of many after they are borne here by means that were produced by other hands than their own; and say they—“If we can manage any way to postpone the payment of this debt we owe to the institution that brought us here, until we can gather around us the comforts of life, then peradventure we will pay our obligation.” But let me here observe, when it is in the power to pay a debt, or do a good deed, the longer we postpone it, the greater will be the detraction from the merits of that act; now is the accepted time, now is the day of salvation, when the hungry, the poor, wretched, and oppressed call for redemption. While the power of redeeming them is in our hands, and we will not extend it to them, how can we expect God to hear our prayers to roll on His great work for the final redemption of the scattered remnants of His people? And let me here say, I very much doubt whether God will hear the prayers of any man that owes a just debt, and has means to pay it, but refuses to do it: or withholds a blessing from his fellow when it is in his power to extend it. What is his prayer? “Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors,” or in other words—“Do towards us, as we do towards others;” if we withhold benefits due to others, how can God bestow blessings upon us that are not our due, but are the acts of His mercy and kindness? When we have shared the benefit of any charitable bequest, more especially when we hold a portion of it in our own hands, that ought to be benefiting others, how can we expect God, or any other philanthropist, to extend to us blessings?
What is the duty of the Saints who have come here by the aid and benefit of the Perpetual Emigrating Fund? It is their duty to pay back the debt they owe immediately. “But,” says one, “we cannot pay, we have no means.” Very well, we will not oppress you; but you can give your note, and you can file your obligation with the agent, or such authorities of the Fund that it concerns, that they may have some voucher to act upon, or that they can tell at least where the funds are—in whose hands they are lodged; but do not go to the east and to the west, to the north and to the south, from the city, without making it a matter of record in some shape; and when God puts the means in your hands, by your own perseverance and economy, pay it over and liquidate the debt, and these means are sent again to relieve someone else; and the same means that brought you, may perhaps bring out a thousand persons, if they are faithful and active in restoring it to the channel of its usefulness. For instance, I take half a dollar, and it is a debt I owe; I pay it, and that man owes it to another; and by the time it has passed round it has paid a hundred debts, and relieved a hundred wants; whereas, if I keep it in my pocket, I prevent it from being circulated, and doing so much good. Do I get any credit by doing so? I have the satisfaction of saying I am not out of money; while at the same time, I have the disgrace, before God and every intelligent being, which is my due.
Well, then, this money that has been appropriated to bring the Saints here, let it be refunded with all speed, let it be a matter of conscience. If you should see your neighbor suspended from a tower, and hanging by a brittle cord, and by any little struggle he might break the cord, and be dashed in pieces, whatever you might be engaged in, you would leave it and run to his rescue, and try your utmost to save the man who is ready to plunge into this vortex, a gulf beneath his feet. Look, then, at your brethren in a similar position; and perhaps if they were struggling to gain life, they would be plunged into wretchedness forever. This is a debt, a sacred obligation which you owe, not only to the authorities of this Church and kingdom, but you owe it to your brethren whose cries and prayers are ascending up to God; and if you withhold that which belongs to them—that which they should enjoy, their prayers will recoil on your heads, not in blessings, but in curses.
We all say here, that we are blessed; we say our labor and toil have been blessed; I am sure of it. Can we work out our salvation? Can we witness to God and angels and to our brethren, that we are willing to put forth our hands and contribute to swell the sum total of this Perpetual Emigrating Fund, according to the ability God has given us? Are we willing to put forth our hand and aid in rolling forth this work, by collecting the people together from wretchedness and want? What shall we gain by doing this? We shall gain numbers that will look up to us as their friends and benefactors, and hail us as their saviors. It is said, that “Saviors shall come up on mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau; and the kingdom shall be the Lord's.” Some men think the way they are going to be saviors is to get as many wives as they can, and save them; now, they may slip up on that, if that is their view, and their feelings extend no further. I will tell you what a savior is; if I see a family who are starving for want of bread; and are thirsting and fainting for water, and an individual should give them bread and water, he has saved them; that is the kind of savior I would give the most for, under some circumstances that I have been placed in, and I would prize that savior more precious than gold. If I were in danger of falling from a precipice, or from a building, as I have said before, and had no means of saving myself, if some kind friend would come along, and put forth his hand and help to save me, he is my savior; so if a man rescues me from a galling yoke of oppression, under which I must faint and die, he is my savior. Saviors shall come upon Mount Zion, and they shall judge the Mount of Esau. This is the kind of savior that will judge the ungodly, and give them their due. “What! Are you going to judge the ungodly?” Yes, judge the Mount of Esau. You know the Lord has said, “Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.” Where is the Mount of Esau? It is the world at large, the wickedness of which God hates. Then saviors shall come upon Mount Zion and judge the Mount of Esau. And says Paul, know ye not, brethren, that the Saints shall judge the world?
We will hand out our money, for that is almighty in the eyes of this world. God has put this means in our hands, and it is for us to advance it to this good purpose according to our ability, and so we shall become saviors to rescue the oppressed from every land; and when we have gone to the extent of our power, and done all we can, will there be any more efficient operations entered into to effect the purposes of God? There will; He will say—“Now, my servants, you have done all you can, I will stretch out my own arm!” Says one, “I really wish I knew how soon it will be when the angels are sent from heaven to gather up the elect at the winding up scene.” I can tell you how soon it will be.
“Have you got the word of the Lord upon this subject?” I do not claim that I have, but when I tell you, you will say it is true; and if it is true, it is just as good as the word of the Lord, and as any other revelation already given. When will it be that the angels are sent to gather in the remnant? It will be just at the time when the Saints have done all that is in their power to do, and can do no more, and have been worn out in the service of their God: then the Lord will send the armies of heaven to aid them. He has had an army under His training from the beginning, and when He gives the word of command they will collect the balance of the Saints from the four winds; and not only so, but they will open the graves, and raise the Saints from the dead. An angel showed a little example of this at the time the Savior ascended from the tomb. He rolled the stone from the door of the sepulchre, and the keepers fell as dead men, and the Son of God arose. There is the work of an angel, of one who was reserved for this purpose, and there are convoys of angels who are schooled and trained to this work, and they can open a grave much quicker than an Irishman can with a spade. At the presence of one of these angels, the earth trembles, and throws out its dead. The angels will do this, but not until we have done our best. I have frequently said to my son, “You take this bag and carry it to a certain place.” “I cannot, father.” “Well, take hold of it and try.” He takes hold of it, and it is a pretty good lift for him, and he begins to labor and lift with all his might; at the moment he begins to try, the father's hand helps him to balance the load. It is just so in this work. “Now,” says the Lord, “I have tried you, and you have done as I have told you, and my hand is ever ready to help you. If I were hungry, I would not ask you for food; if I were naked, I would not ask you for clothing.” I do not know how many spirits of the condemned are at work making white robes for the just and pure; I do not know how much they are spinning, and how many white robes they are making, for the Saints and the redeemed; but they have to work out all their indebtedness in prison; and if God is hungry or naked, He will not call upon you; for He has millions of resources in another quarter. He can get along without us doing the work, but He gives us a privilege of doing it if we will; and if we will, He will bless us; and if we will not, He don't care.
There are some men in this kingdom who have an idea it cannot roll on without them—“I must be there, I am of so much consequence and importance, that if I should happen to set up my will in opposition to any measure, the wheels would be retarded in their onward course.” “But,” says the Lord, “if you do not wish to serve me, go your own way; I have plenty at my command, and when you are out of the way I will let you see that my kingdom will roll on faster without you than with you; still, if you desire to take a part among the multitude of my servants in rolling it on, I will make you an honored instrument in doing so.”
I think I have spoken about as long as is necessary. Brother Kimball wished me to speak upon this subject. Brother Young will be in soon, and probably there are other matters to be attended to. I might continue to address you, but I esteem it unnecessary. I believe I have fulfilled the charge laid upon me—to show the necessity of putting forth our own hands to pave the way for the exhibition of the great power of the Almighty in accomplishing His purposes on the earth. I wish to say a word or two more, and then I am done. It is the desire of my heart that we may all live, before God, and before one another, in the way and manner that shall reflect honor upon the cause of the Latter-day Saints—upon “Mormonism,” as it is termed. They may publish their squibs in the newspapers, and tell all about our wickedness and corruptions, but if we only live to reflect honor on the cause of God, it matters little what our enemies say.
In a communication from an editor to me, he quotes from the 17th chapter of Jeremiah, where it says, “Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord. For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh; but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land and not inhabited.” “Now,” says he, “how exactly is this fulfilled in the followers of Joe Smith, that have gone to Utah Territory; there they are in a salt and barren land, and they do not know when good comes.” In my communication, I have told him he is mistaken: for we have no more salt here than is necessary; but the quotation made me think of Long Island, for the early settlers were surrounded with salt, and it must allude to Long Island; and if it would not suit there he might apply it to the early settlers of Syracuse: it is all in that country.
But to turn the scale: where shall be the habitation of the righteous? The old Prophet says, “He that walketh righteously, and speaketh uprightly; he that despiseth the gain of oppressions, that shaketh his hands from holding of bribes, that stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood, and shutteth his eyes from seeing evil; He shall dwell on high: his place of defense shall be the munitions of rocks: bread shall be given him; his waters shall be sure.” Where is the people who have got more rocks than we have? Do we have bread, and plenty of it? Yes! We have had fine crops of wheat since the cricket and grasshopper war was over, and our waters are sure, for here we have them flowing down every street, in the midst of summer, and they are not salt waters either, but they are fresh and good. How applicable are these sayings of the Prophet to the Latter-day Saints in Salt Lake Valley. Their habitation is the “munitions of rocks,” and they ask no odds of the world, but they are subject to God, who has redeemed this Basin, and put salt enough in it to save us. It is not a dry and barren ground, for we can make it rain when we please, and they cannot in Long Island. The Bible says, “Have salt in yourselves;” we have it here, and if there comes along a villain who is worthy of it, we can salt him up in Salt Lake too. [Laughter.]
There is another thing I want to say. We should live before God and one another so as to reflect honor upon the cause we have espoused, and never let Satan gain an advantage over it, but like the true American soldier, let us keep our colors unfolded, and flying free, in the hour of battle; and let us all the time be right side up with care in the eyes of everybody. If you light a candle and set it on a table, everybody in the house can see; so let your good works shine before men on earth and angels in heaven.
I spoke in relation to some things on Friday evening, about which I merely wish to say the sentiments I advanced, with regard to certain doings here, are unalterable in my heart; I care not whether it is Gentile or “Mormon” that defiles the land in which we dwell. Judgment begins at the House of God, and the “Mormon” will be the first to feel the chastening of the Almighty, because we looked for better things of him: he has light and knowledge, and knows better than to be guilty of such acts. If we always think of God, and maintain our integrity to Him, to ourselves, and towards our neighbors, the unvirtuous and wicked cannot find access into our society. If the gate of the citadel of virtue is never opened to our enemy, he may strive in vain. He cannot find access unless the way is voluntarily opened, and he invited and encouraged. Let every man and woman be on their guard, and situate themselves so that strangers and bogus “Mormons” can neither rob you of your virtue nor of your money or goods, that they cannot do a wrong that will bring a stain upon the fair name of the Saints, or damn themselves forever. I say, then, let the standard of our integrity and virtue be erect, and let it never lean to the right hand or to the left.
I have no blessings upon them that will do these things, even as I have said, whether they be Jew or Gentile, bond or free; but the men or women that observe the common laws of propriety, and walk uprightly, I do not care whether they be black or white, if they mind their own business, I say, God bless them, and guide them in the way of life everlasting. But the villain who seeks to lay the axe at the root of truth, and to bring dishonor upon the Saint, I say, curses be upon that individual, let him die the death of the ungodly. I do not wish anybody to apply this to themselves unless they are worthy of it; and if I am met in the streets and assailed with having spoken rashly, I say, you are the man, the saddle fits you; but those who are not guilty, but are secure in the possession of their virtue and good intentions, may the blessings of the Lord be upon you forever. Amen.
spoke inside the Tabernacle,
Gathering the Saints—Perpetual Emigrating Fund
A Discourse by President Orson Hyde, Delivered in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, October 8, 1854.
Reported by G. D. Watt.
I am called upon this morning, beloved brethren and sisters, to make a few remarks, and speak unto you concerning the way and manner of gathering the people of God. In the first place, to show unto you that there is no religion with which we are acquainted, except that of the Latter-day Saints, that can, in its exercise and in its operations, bring to pass the fulfillment of the predictions of the Prophets. All the types and figures presented to our Lord and Savior to illustrate truths, weighty and important, show that in the last days there is to be a gathering together of the people. They will be gathered by the peculiar attraction that will prevail at the time when they are not weighed down with mortal tabernacles, but released from this cumbrous clay, their immortal spirits will be gathered around the throne of God, there to receive a welcome into the everlasting glory prepared for the righteous; or to hear the dreadful sentence—Depart, ye cursed, into outer darkness, where there is weeping, and wailing, and gnashing of teeth!
But, my friends, there is to be a gathering of the people here on earth. The husbandman, when he sows his seed in the soil, watches it, and cultivates it with care; he does not wait to reap his harvest in some other region, but he reaps it on the ground where he sowed his seed, and there he realizes the benefits and returns of his labor; not in some other country, but here.
The Savior says, the kingdom of heaven is like a fish net that is cast into the sea, which took of every kind, both good and bad, and by and by they brought the net to the shore, and gathered the good into vessels, and cast the bad away. So shall it be in the last days, in the end, when the gathering dispensation shall be introduced, and the Gospel net be drawn to shore; not in some foreign clime or mountain, beyond the bounds of time and space; but on the shore that skirts the margin of the water, as testified by this figure; so on earth, the gathering of the people will be.
We are also told the manner in which they shall come. They shall come upon swift beasts—upon dromedaries and camels; and the ships of Tarshish shall bear them home, and a highway shall be cast up for the ransomed of the Lord to walk in. That highway is not an immaterial one, that leads to mansions in the sky, but it is a highway that has to be cast up on earth; and it may be that the very railroads that are being cast up are one means by which this operation of the gathering will be greatly facilitated. This may be the subject which the Prophet had his eye upon when he said, The lion's whelps have not trod there, and the vulture's eye hath not seen it. At that time it was not cast up; but was reserved to be cast up in the last days. The lion's whelp had never trodden there; but, by and by, it might when it was cast up.
The old Prophet had his eye upon the increased speed of ships; but our translators have made him to say that swift messengers shall be sent to the nations afar off in vessels of bulrushes. What do we understand by vessels of bulrushes? Do we ever see such vessels, or hear tell of such, except the cradle that was made for Moses to float in on the Nile? Have we ever read of men, swift messengers going in vessels of bulrushes?
It is nonsense; such a vessel could not withstand the buffetings of the winds and the waves, nor ride in safety through the elements contending with each other, as it were, for empire; or as if the winds and waves were both armed with eager vengeance, to see which should first grasp the little speck struggling for life upon the surface of the boiling element. Who believes anything of this sort? The idea is inconsistent. But when we come to look at it in another point of view it is not so inconsistent and obscure. Brother Carn who is present knows how the German Bible reads. I believe it calls them Pipe ships. The bulrush is hollow, resembling a pipe, and the old Prophet had nothing else to represent his idea by, but the bulrush; though he saw ships in which hollow tubes and pipes were running in every direction, and he was at a loss for the name “Steamship” to apply to them. Now, says he, swift messengers shall be sent in Pipe ships, looking at the time when steam should be used as a propelling power. What is this steam power for? Is it merely for the accommodation of mankind? Or has God made this an important agent to perform His work—to facilitate His purposes in the last days? The matter is unquestionably the design of the Great Creator; not only so, but there is another thing in connection with this—the Savior says, in speaking of his coming, it shall be like the light of the morning, or like lightning that shineth from one end of heaven to the other, even so shall the coming of the Son of Man be. What do we behold being constructed on earth to bring about the designs of heaven? We behold the electric wire running from one country to another, and already it is in contemplation to carry it across the Atlantic, to bring all nations in immediate communication. Does this look like the lightning that spreads from east to west? Even so shall the coming of the Son of Man be! The electric telegraph takes it from eastern climes to western. It is so quick that a speech made in Washington city at twelve o'clock is delivered in St. Louis at half past eleven the same day. Electricity flies with so much greater velocity than the earth, that it is half an hour before the times between Washington and St. Louis; even so shall the coming of the Son of Man be; or in other words, in the last days intelligence shall fly with such rapidity, so quick shall it be in the day of his coming. We conclude that we are approximating very near that time. We are getting, as it were, in the neighborhood of it. Now, says he, watch! When you see the fig tree and all the trees beginning to bud, and put forth their leaves, know that summer is nigh: and when you begin to see these things come to pass, lift up your heads and rejoice, for your redemption draweth nigh.
I may have begun at the wrong end of my discourse, but if I have, I will get at the other end of it before I have done; so that you shall have all the parts of it, if the Lord will give me strength through your prayers; you shall have the sum and substance of what I was required to make known to you, but I must have my own way of telling it.
The gathering of the Saints together is to take place. “But,” says one, “we do not believe that the gathering of the people will take place in the last days literally; we do not believe that angels will minister any more to us.” The old-fashioned religion is, “We have got all that heaven was pleased to give, and that can be proven by the good Old Bible. Let the angels stay in glory, and we will stay on our farms, and go to church from one year to another, and follow up the same routine over and over again until we go down to our graves, and that is the end of our service in the flesh.” Do you not see that all of the Christian world reject the administration of angels, the Latter-day Saints excepted, and some few others that believe in these things?
There are many in the last days, who believe in Spirit Rapping, and in such kind of angels that have no mouth to speak. The angels that visited the servants of God had mouths, and they spoke! Suppose you were to ask me a question, and I have intelligence and a mouth to communicate but, instead of speaking to you, I set the table to jumping, or kick over the chairs and the bureaus, &c. What would you know about it? You would know the devil was to pay; you would know there was a total absence of good feeling and intelligence. Man was created in the image of God, and the holy angels that surround His throne, the flaming messengers to bear His will to man, are in His image and likeness. Even the servants of God in the days of old, when they saw one of those celestial spirits, began to bow down and worship him, as though he were the God who created the heavens and the earth; but they were commanded to worship God. There he was, standing in the image of his Maker, and the Prophet mistook him for the Lord. These angels are in the likeness and image of God, and men are also in His image. I believe, if God gave me a message to deliver to the people, and I did not deliver it in the legitimate way, He would close my mouth because I would not give it in the way he gave it to me. Spirit Rappers, below par!
“What is the matter?” “There has some dreadful thing taken place.” “What is it?” “We cannot tell you any thing about it, only there is a wonderful ado—a wonderful thing has happened in the land of Ham.” I tell you, those who reject the truth borne to them by the servants of God, who speak to them in plainness, will be acquainted with muttering spirits that know nothing for their good: for, “for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believe not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.” When people reject the truth they become the plaything of wild delusive spirits, and are tossed to and fro by them like a bubble on the wave. True messengers of God do not come in this way; but says the world—“Angels came in olden times, but do not come now to earth any more; they have gone to heaven, and there is nothing more for them to do here.” I can speak to the servant of a king when I cannot speak to the king himself. I could approach the lower orders of his subjects when I might not approach the higher circle. If men reject the administration of angels, and will not believe in their existence, nor regard their words, I do not know how they will ever obtain access to the king. If they will not acknowledge his ministers, I do not know how they are going to speak to the king himself.
Have angels anything to do with what will take place in the last days? He makes His angels ministering spirits, and they are sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation. The Lord is everywhere present by His ministering angels, just like any other ruler, monarch or king, who has ministers everywhere throughout His dominions; and God's ministers are everywhere; He has servants tabernacled in flesh on earth, and they are going through the land in every direction, and God is present everywhere with them; and He knows everything. How? When His angels and ministers tell Him of it, like any other ruler. I have been at some of the prayer circles and meetings in the sectarian world, and heard their pious minister say, “Come, sinner, bow to the yoke of Christ; behold the guardian angel standing waiting to be the honored agent to carry the news to heaven, that one more soul is converted.” If God knows it already, what is the use of angels to carry the intelligence? God knows everything through His agents, or servants, and that is the way He is everywhere present. But if you were to see Him in propria persona, you would see a person like yourself. How was it with Stephen? Was God scattered to the four winds everywhere? If He was in particles smaller than any mathematical calculation could define, you could not see Him. But Stephen, “being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God, And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God.” If God was without body, parts, and passions, how could Stephen know whether He stood on the right hand, or the left, or whether He stood upon either side?
However we will pass this by for the present. Angels will have a part in the work of the last days. What are they to do? Says the Savior—“The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field: But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way.” He let them grow together until the time of harvest; then He “will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles and burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.” The field is the world. Who are the reapers? The angels are the reapers; and still, angels, you say, are coming to earth no more. This won't do, for the reapers are the angels, the good seed are the children of the kingdom, and the tares are the children of the wicked one, and the enemy that sowed them is the devil. In another place it is said, “And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.” And yet the present Christian world say that angels have no more to do; of course, then, they do not look for anything of this kind; their faith does not embrace the sayings of the Savior and His Apostles, touching the winding up scene: and without faith, it is impossible to please God; consequently they cannot share in the blessings of the gathering dispensation of the last days, their unbelief excludes them.
It is said that God helps them that help themselves. I have been showing you what will be done for His elect in the last days; but will He do it for them who will do nothing for themselves? I say no; God helps those who help themselves. I recollect when I was in Pottawatomie I was determined to raise a crop if I could. I commenced and plowed up the land, and went into the woods when it was hot enough in the summer season almost to unsolder a skillet, and hauled out my rails, and fenced and sowed the land. When snow came, there was a fleece of wheat over the land like wool on a sheep's back. President Young saw it, and he said it pleased him; and he said, “I know that God helps those who help themselves.” We may sit down and persuade ourselves that it is God's will we should do nothing for ourselves, and we may go to beggary; but if we help ourselves, and bestow the labor for nature to bring forth, we shall have an abundance, and God will be faithful in blessing our labors.
We are looking for these things to transpire in the last days, to bring about the gathering of the Saints preparatory to the coming of the Son of Man. We can see the electric wires extending through the earth; and ships are constructed to bear forth swiftly the messengers of salvation, to bring home the Saints under the indulgent hand of our heavenly Father. What does He require us to do? Says He, “I commit to you, my servants, the keys of the kingdom of heaven, the authority of the Priesthood, light and intelligence, and knowledge to make you acquainted with all these things; now I want to see if you will put forth a helping hand, knowing, as you do, your Master's will, and understanding His whole plan of operation, and work according to the ability I have given you; I will put you to the test.” What is to be done? “Go forth and preach the Gospel among the nations, and baptize them in my name for the remission of sins, and confirm them by the laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost, and teach them to gather; for it is the gathering dispensation, and if they have not means to gather, it is for you to advance means to bring them.” “Now,” says the Almighty, “I want to try you and prove you, and see if you will act in small things that you may render yourselves worthy of being blessed with the means which I will prepare, and which I have ordained. I want to see if you are worthy.” What have we done here for the purpose of carrying into effect this desirable object? We have commenced to gather the people, and we have also commenced to raise a Fund by which the poor Saints are to be gathered; and this is based upon principles that are applicable to us in the days of our childhood; but we suppose, when the Almighty begins to put forth His own hand to accomplish His own work, and sustain the operations of His servants on this small scale, which we shall know it is small when we see the mighty engine of God at work, for when we were children we spake as children, and understood as children, and thought as children; but when we become men, we shall put away childish things. We now have to do with small things, that we may advance from one point to another. What are the small things? Here is a Perpetual Emigrating Fund, for instance, for the purpose of gathering the Saints of God. How is this Fund raised? It is raised by voluntary contributions from everyone who is able to help and who has a heart and a spirit to engage in the work of God in the last days. It is raised by the hard earnings of the brethren and sisters. It is the little mites, and large mites, little sums and big sums, all thrown together into one purse.
Now go and take this, ye swift messengers, you faithful agents, in vessels of bulrushes, pipe ships, or, in other words, steamships, and be messengers of glad tidings to the poor, and wretched, and oppressed, and meek of the earth. It is an honor to be a messenger, bearing to them the means of taking them out of their poverty, wretchedness, and oppression. He says to them, “I have come to bring you to the family of God; to rescue you from the land of your oppression and poverty, and put you in a position where you may be blessed temporally and spiritually.” Is not he who hears these tidings blessed? “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth!” This messenger goes and brings them to his place by the means that is put into his hands.
Now I know some, when they are brought here by this agency, think they have got to their desired haven. They say, “Now I am secure in a haven of peace, I am among the people of God, and this is all I care for. Now I will make myself as happy as I can, and I will forget my fellows that I have left in bondage; I will not remember them who are oppressed beneath the galling yoke, I am free, let them take care of themselves.” That is the feeling that pervades the breast of many after they are borne here by means that were produced by other hands than their own; and say they—“If we can manage any way to postpone the payment of this debt we owe to the institution that brought us here, until we can gather around us the comforts of life, then peradventure we will pay our obligation.” But let me here observe, when it is in the power to pay a debt, or do a good deed, the longer we postpone it, the greater will be the detraction from the merits of that act; now is the accepted time, now is the day of salvation, when the hungry, the poor, wretched, and oppressed call for redemption. While the power of redeeming them is in our hands, and we will not extend it to them, how can we expect God to hear our prayers to roll on His great work for the final redemption of the scattered remnants of His people? And let me here say, I very much doubt whether God will hear the prayers of any man that owes a just debt, and has means to pay it, but refuses to do it: or withholds a blessing from his fellow when it is in his power to extend it. What is his prayer? “Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors,” or in other words—“Do towards us, as we do towards others;” if we withhold benefits due to others, how can God bestow blessings upon us that are not our due, but are the acts of His mercy and kindness? When we have shared the benefit of any charitable bequest, more especially when we hold a portion of it in our own hands, that ought to be benefiting others, how can we expect God, or any other philanthropist, to extend to us blessings?
What is the duty of the Saints who have come here by the aid and benefit of the Perpetual Emigrating Fund? It is their duty to pay back the debt they owe immediately. “But,” says one, “we cannot pay, we have no means.” Very well, we will not oppress you; but you can give your note, and you can file your obligation with the agent, or such authorities of the Fund that it concerns, that they may have some voucher to act upon, or that they can tell at least where the funds are—in whose hands they are lodged; but do not go to the east and to the west, to the north and to the south, from the city, without making it a matter of record in some shape; and when God puts the means in your hands, by your own perseverance and economy, pay it over and liquidate the debt, and these means are sent again to relieve someone else; and the same means that brought you, may perhaps bring out a thousand persons, if they are faithful and active in restoring it to the channel of its usefulness. For instance, I take half a dollar, and it is a debt I owe; I pay it, and that man owes it to another; and by the time it has passed round it has paid a hundred debts, and relieved a hundred wants; whereas, if I keep it in my pocket, I prevent it from being circulated, and doing so much good. Do I get any credit by doing so? I have the satisfaction of saying I am not out of money; while at the same time, I have the disgrace, before God and every intelligent being, which is my due.
Well, then, this money that has been appropriated to bring the Saints here, let it be refunded with all speed, let it be a matter of conscience. If you should see your neighbor suspended from a tower, and hanging by a brittle cord, and by any little struggle he might break the cord, and be dashed in pieces, whatever you might be engaged in, you would leave it and run to his rescue, and try your utmost to save the man who is ready to plunge into this vortex, a gulf beneath his feet. Look, then, at your brethren in a similar position; and perhaps if they were struggling to gain life, they would be plunged into wretchedness forever. This is a debt, a sacred obligation which you owe, not only to the authorities of this Church and kingdom, but you owe it to your brethren whose cries and prayers are ascending up to God; and if you withhold that which belongs to them—that which they should enjoy, their prayers will recoil on your heads, not in blessings, but in curses.
We all say here, that we are blessed; we say our labor and toil have been blessed; I am sure of it. Can we work out our salvation? Can we witness to God and angels and to our brethren, that we are willing to put forth our hands and contribute to swell the sum total of this Perpetual Emigrating Fund, according to the ability God has given us? Are we willing to put forth our hand and aid in rolling forth this work, by collecting the people together from wretchedness and want? What shall we gain by doing this? We shall gain numbers that will look up to us as their friends and benefactors, and hail us as their saviors. It is said, that “Saviors shall come up on mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau; and the kingdom shall be the Lord's.” Some men think the way they are going to be saviors is to get as many wives as they can, and save them; now, they may slip up on that, if that is their view, and their feelings extend no further. I will tell you what a savior is; if I see a family who are starving for want of bread; and are thirsting and fainting for water, and an individual should give them bread and water, he has saved them; that is the kind of savior I would give the most for, under some circumstances that I have been placed in, and I would prize that savior more precious than gold. If I were in danger of falling from a precipice, or from a building, as I have said before, and had no means of saving myself, if some kind friend would come along, and put forth his hand and help to save me, he is my savior; so if a man rescues me from a galling yoke of oppression, under which I must faint and die, he is my savior. Saviors shall come upon Mount Zion, and they shall judge the Mount of Esau. This is the kind of savior that will judge the ungodly, and give them their due. “What! Are you going to judge the ungodly?” Yes, judge the Mount of Esau. You know the Lord has said, “Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.” Where is the Mount of Esau? It is the world at large, the wickedness of which God hates. Then saviors shall come upon Mount Zion and judge the Mount of Esau. And says Paul, know ye not, brethren, that the Saints shall judge the world?
We will hand out our money, for that is almighty in the eyes of this world. God has put this means in our hands, and it is for us to advance it to this good purpose according to our ability, and so we shall become saviors to rescue the oppressed from every land; and when we have gone to the extent of our power, and done all we can, will there be any more efficient operations entered into to effect the purposes of God? There will; He will say—“Now, my servants, you have done all you can, I will stretch out my own arm!” Says one, “I really wish I knew how soon it will be when the angels are sent from heaven to gather up the elect at the winding up scene.” I can tell you how soon it will be.
“Have you got the word of the Lord upon this subject?” I do not claim that I have, but when I tell you, you will say it is true; and if it is true, it is just as good as the word of the Lord, and as any other revelation already given. When will it be that the angels are sent to gather in the remnant? It will be just at the time when the Saints have done all that is in their power to do, and can do no more, and have been worn out in the service of their God: then the Lord will send the armies of heaven to aid them. He has had an army under His training from the beginning, and when He gives the word of command they will collect the balance of the Saints from the four winds; and not only so, but they will open the graves, and raise the Saints from the dead. An angel showed a little example of this at the time the Savior ascended from the tomb. He rolled the stone from the door of the sepulchre, and the keepers fell as dead men, and the Son of God arose. There is the work of an angel, of one who was reserved for this purpose, and there are convoys of angels who are schooled and trained to this work, and they can open a grave much quicker than an Irishman can with a spade. At the presence of one of these angels, the earth trembles, and throws out its dead. The angels will do this, but not until we have done our best. I have frequently said to my son, “You take this bag and carry it to a certain place.” “I cannot, father.” “Well, take hold of it and try.” He takes hold of it, and it is a pretty good lift for him, and he begins to labor and lift with all his might; at the moment he begins to try, the father's hand helps him to balance the load. It is just so in this work. “Now,” says the Lord, “I have tried you, and you have done as I have told you, and my hand is ever ready to help you. If I were hungry, I would not ask you for food; if I were naked, I would not ask you for clothing.” I do not know how many spirits of the condemned are at work making white robes for the just and pure; I do not know how much they are spinning, and how many white robes they are making, for the Saints and the redeemed; but they have to work out all their indebtedness in prison; and if God is hungry or naked, He will not call upon you; for He has millions of resources in another quarter. He can get along without us doing the work, but He gives us a privilege of doing it if we will; and if we will, He will bless us; and if we will not, He don't care.
There are some men in this kingdom who have an idea it cannot roll on without them—“I must be there, I am of so much consequence and importance, that if I should happen to set up my will in opposition to any measure, the wheels would be retarded in their onward course.” “But,” says the Lord, “if you do not wish to serve me, go your own way; I have plenty at my command, and when you are out of the way I will let you see that my kingdom will roll on faster without you than with you; still, if you desire to take a part among the multitude of my servants in rolling it on, I will make you an honored instrument in doing so.”
I think I have spoken about as long as is necessary. Brother Kimball wished me to speak upon this subject. Brother Young will be in soon, and probably there are other matters to be attended to. I might continue to address you, but I esteem it unnecessary. I believe I have fulfilled the charge laid upon me—to show the necessity of putting forth our own hands to pave the way for the exhibition of the great power of the Almighty in accomplishing His purposes on the earth. I wish to say a word or two more, and then I am done. It is the desire of my heart that we may all live, before God, and before one another, in the way and manner that shall reflect honor upon the cause of the Latter-day Saints—upon “Mormonism,” as it is termed. They may publish their squibs in the newspapers, and tell all about our wickedness and corruptions, but if we only live to reflect honor on the cause of God, it matters little what our enemies say.
In a communication from an editor to me, he quotes from the 17th chapter of Jeremiah, where it says, “Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord. For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh; but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land and not inhabited.” “Now,” says he, “how exactly is this fulfilled in the followers of Joe Smith, that have gone to Utah Territory; there they are in a salt and barren land, and they do not know when good comes.” In my communication, I have told him he is mistaken: for we have no more salt here than is necessary; but the quotation made me think of Long Island, for the early settlers were surrounded with salt, and it must allude to Long Island; and if it would not suit there he might apply it to the early settlers of Syracuse: it is all in that country.
But to turn the scale: where shall be the habitation of the righteous? The old Prophet says, “He that walketh righteously, and speaketh uprightly; he that despiseth the gain of oppressions, that shaketh his hands from holding of bribes, that stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood, and shutteth his eyes from seeing evil; He shall dwell on high: his place of defense shall be the munitions of rocks: bread shall be given him; his waters shall be sure.” Where is the people who have got more rocks than we have? Do we have bread, and plenty of it? Yes! We have had fine crops of wheat since the cricket and grasshopper war was over, and our waters are sure, for here we have them flowing down every street, in the midst of summer, and they are not salt waters either, but they are fresh and good. How applicable are these sayings of the Prophet to the Latter-day Saints in Salt Lake Valley. Their habitation is the “munitions of rocks,” and they ask no odds of the world, but they are subject to God, who has redeemed this Basin, and put salt enough in it to save us. It is not a dry and barren ground, for we can make it rain when we please, and they cannot in Long Island. The Bible says, “Have salt in yourselves;” we have it here, and if there comes along a villain who is worthy of it, we can salt him up in Salt Lake too. [Laughter.]
There is another thing I want to say. We should live before God and one another so as to reflect honor upon the cause we have espoused, and never let Satan gain an advantage over it, but like the true American soldier, let us keep our colors unfolded, and flying free, in the hour of battle; and let us all the time be right side up with care in the eyes of everybody. If you light a candle and set it on a table, everybody in the house can see; so let your good works shine before men on earth and angels in heaven.
I spoke in relation to some things on Friday evening, about which I merely wish to say the sentiments I advanced, with regard to certain doings here, are unalterable in my heart; I care not whether it is Gentile or “Mormon” that defiles the land in which we dwell. Judgment begins at the House of God, and the “Mormon” will be the first to feel the chastening of the Almighty, because we looked for better things of him: he has light and knowledge, and knows better than to be guilty of such acts. If we always think of God, and maintain our integrity to Him, to ourselves, and towards our neighbors, the unvirtuous and wicked cannot find access into our society. If the gate of the citadel of virtue is never opened to our enemy, he may strive in vain. He cannot find access unless the way is voluntarily opened, and he invited and encouraged. Let every man and woman be on their guard, and situate themselves so that strangers and bogus “Mormons” can neither rob you of your virtue nor of your money or goods, that they cannot do a wrong that will bring a stain upon the fair name of the Saints, or damn themselves forever. I say, then, let the standard of our integrity and virtue be erect, and let it never lean to the right hand or to the left.
I have no blessings upon them that will do these things, even as I have said, whether they be Jew or Gentile, bond or free; but the men or women that observe the common laws of propriety, and walk uprightly, I do not care whether they be black or white, if they mind their own business, I say, God bless them, and guide them in the way of life everlasting. But the villain who seeks to lay the axe at the root of truth, and to bring dishonor upon the Saint, I say, curses be upon that individual, let him die the death of the ungodly. I do not wish anybody to apply this to themselves unless they are worthy of it; and if I am met in the streets and assailed with having spoken rashly, I say, you are the man, the saddle fits you; but those who are not guilty, but are secure in the possession of their virtue and good intentions, may the blessings of the Lord be upon you forever. Amen.
followed by Elder W. W. Phelps;
and at the same time a much larger congregation assembled on the north end of the building, were addressed by
Elder G. A. Smith and
Bishop Woolley.
Upon proposition from President Brigham Young, the congregation adjourned to meet in the afternoon at the north end of the Tabernacle where seats had been prepared.
Choir chanted, “We praise thee, O God.”
Benediction by Elder Woodruff.
and at the same time a much larger congregation assembled on the north end of the building, were addressed by
Elder G. A. Smith and
Bishop Woolley.
Upon proposition from President Brigham Young, the congregation adjourned to meet in the afternoon at the north end of the Tabernacle where seats had been prepared.
Choir chanted, “We praise thee, O God.”
Benediction by Elder Woodruff.
Two p.m.
An immense congregation were comfortably seated in the open air.
Singing.
Prayer by Elder G. A. Smith.
Elder O. Pratt read the 68th Psalm, which the choir chanted.
An immense congregation were comfortably seated in the open air.
Singing.
Prayer by Elder G. A. Smith.
Elder O. Pratt read the 68th Psalm, which the choir chanted.
It being the recurring time for administering the sacrament,
Bishop L. D. Young
asked a blessing upon the bread, and
Bishop Isaac Hill
asked a blessing upon the water. While the emblems were being passed,
Bishop L. D. Young
asked a blessing upon the bread, and
Bishop Isaac Hill
asked a blessing upon the water. While the emblems were being passed,
President Brigham Young
delivered a highly interesting discourse, which held the vast audience as it were spell bound.
Elder Lyman Curtis was appointed, and voted to go on a mission in connection with Elder Rufus Allen, and to be under the direction of Elder Parley P. Pratt.
On motion of Elder Hyde, it was unanimously voted that all members of this church who go out on the roads to trade, or who go to California, or any other place outside of this Territory, without being sent, or counseled to do, be cut off from the church.
On motion, conference adjourned to meet in the Tabernacle, at ten a.m. on the 6th of April 1855.
The choir sung, “The spirit of God like a fire is burning.”
Benediction by President H. C. Kimball.
The sermons, exhortations, and remarks delivered during the conference, will appear in the News as fast as the reporter is able to furnish them.
delivered a highly interesting discourse, which held the vast audience as it were spell bound.
Elder Lyman Curtis was appointed, and voted to go on a mission in connection with Elder Rufus Allen, and to be under the direction of Elder Parley P. Pratt.
On motion of Elder Hyde, it was unanimously voted that all members of this church who go out on the roads to trade, or who go to California, or any other place outside of this Territory, without being sent, or counseled to do, be cut off from the church.
On motion, conference adjourned to meet in the Tabernacle, at ten a.m. on the 6th of April 1855.
The choir sung, “The spirit of God like a fire is burning.”
Benediction by President H. C. Kimball.
The sermons, exhortations, and remarks delivered during the conference, will appear in the News as fast as the reporter is able to furnish them.