October 1869
THIRTY-NINTH SEMI-ANNUAL CONFERENCE
The Thirty-ninth Semi-Annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints convened this morning at ten o-clock, in the New Tabernacle.
On and around the stand we noticed President Brigham Young, President Geo. A. Smith and President Daniel H. Wells, of the First Presidency.
Apostles: Orson Hyde, Orson Pratt, Wilford Woodruff, Lorenzo Snow, Erastus Snow, Franklin D. Richards, George Q. Cannon, Brigham Young, Junr., and Joseph F. Smith.
Patriarch: John Smith.
John Young, Edwin D. Woolley and Samuel W. Richards, the Presidency of the High Priests' Quorum.
John W. Young, George B. Wallace and John T. Caine, of the Presidency of this Stake of Zion.
Joseph Young, Albert P. Rockwood, Horace S. Eldredge and John Van Cott, of the First Seven Presidents of the Seventies.
Edward Hunter, Leonard W. Hardy and Jesse C. Little, the Presidency of the Bishopric.
There were also Bishops, Elders and leading men from every settlement in the Territory.
The meeting was called to order by President Brigham Young,
and the Tabernacle Choir, led by Bro. Geo. Careless, sung the first hymn, "The Morning Breaks the Shadows Flee."
Prayer was offered by Elder Orson Hyde.
The hymn on page 288 was sung by the Tabernacle Choir.
The Thirty-ninth Semi-Annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints convened this morning at ten o-clock, in the New Tabernacle.
On and around the stand we noticed President Brigham Young, President Geo. A. Smith and President Daniel H. Wells, of the First Presidency.
Apostles: Orson Hyde, Orson Pratt, Wilford Woodruff, Lorenzo Snow, Erastus Snow, Franklin D. Richards, George Q. Cannon, Brigham Young, Junr., and Joseph F. Smith.
Patriarch: John Smith.
John Young, Edwin D. Woolley and Samuel W. Richards, the Presidency of the High Priests' Quorum.
John W. Young, George B. Wallace and John T. Caine, of the Presidency of this Stake of Zion.
Joseph Young, Albert P. Rockwood, Horace S. Eldredge and John Van Cott, of the First Seven Presidents of the Seventies.
Edward Hunter, Leonard W. Hardy and Jesse C. Little, the Presidency of the Bishopric.
There were also Bishops, Elders and leading men from every settlement in the Territory.
The meeting was called to order by President Brigham Young,
and the Tabernacle Choir, led by Bro. Geo. Careless, sung the first hymn, "The Morning Breaks the Shadows Flee."
Prayer was offered by Elder Orson Hyde.
The hymn on page 288 was sung by the Tabernacle Choir.
President Daniel H. Wells
addressed the Conference. He was pleased at having the privilege of meeting with so many of the people who had come from distant parts of the Territory to be instructed in the ways of the Lord. He was pleased that we had a Territory teeming with Saints. Whether Saints of God are willing to become self-sustaining is an important point for their consideration. There is a warfare in existence betwixt the powers of good and evil, the latter striving continually to overthrow the authority and power of the holy priesthood. We may expect to have this power to contend against continually. We have the inestimable privilege of living under the best and most benign Government on the face of the earth. It is a government that has come down from heaven. The Lord could not have instituted His government among the nations of the earth in their scattered condition, hence those willing to obey His laws have gathered together. The Almighty uses agencies for the accomplishment of His purposes. We cannot sustain to the glorious blessings of the celestial kingdom unless we obey the laws of that kingdom. Every kingdom has a law. To attain to the blessings of the celestial kingdom, to go into the presence of the Father and of the Son, is worth living for. We must, in order to attain those things, obey the counsels of the servants of God. There is not that amount of unity among the Saints that there ought to be. We are still somewhat divided in temporal matters. If we are approximating to unity in temporal things, we are traveling towards the condition which the Lord desires, that is the Order of Enoch. It is desirable that the Latter-day Saints should patronize each other, and not any store, unless compelled by necessity to do so; if there is anything that they cannot possibly do without, then they can go to the co-operative stores and obtain it. At our Territorial Fair there have been just as good and useful articles of home-manufacture exhibited as can be manufactured elsewhere. This shows we have the power to sustain ourselves if we have but the will. To be self-sustaining is one of the most important principles of political economy and is acknowledged to be such in every community.
Our exports should exceed our imports. If we attain to this point instead of the means of the Latter-day Saints being drained out of the Territory they would be increased. We can make as good fabrics here as elsewhere, but we cannot produce them as cheap as in some other places. This brings in the labor question, which if not properly regulated, will cause others to step in from a distance and do the labor which ought to be done by the Saints. The high price of labor will bring them here. It is to provide against this contingency that so much has been said upon this matter. If the powers that are in opposition to this kingdom had the majority here, they would trample us under foot. It rests with the Latter-day Saints to say whether this shall be so or not; it depends on the unity of the people here, and their producing what they need to supply their wants, and not sustain those who are opposed to the work of God. Who can reasonably find fault with people for pursuing this course? It is necessary for the preservation of our existence. The Almighty is at the head of His work and He has never told us to do anything but what would be for our benefit. If anyone thinks the Lord does not know his own business and has not placed the right man at the head of the Church, let them produce a better if they can; if they cannot, let them forever hold their peace. Many of the faithful servants of God have been taken away from the earth because the inhabitants of the earth were unworthy of them. If we live consistently with the counsels of the servants of God, by doing all in our power to bring about the Order of Enoch, we shall be preparing to associate with them. A short time since, a gentleman who was here on a visit, asked him whether a citizen residing here could sell a house and lot if he had one to dispose of to an outsider. He told him certainly he could if he wanted to; but said the speaker, if I had a house to sell, I would prefer to sell it to a friend rather than an enemy. The stranger agreed with that, saying that he had a house and lot where he lived, and he would see some men in a warm place before he would sell his house to them.
May the Lord prosper and bless us all, Amen.
Brigham City Choir, under Bro. Fishburn, sang "When there's love at home."
addressed the Conference. He was pleased at having the privilege of meeting with so many of the people who had come from distant parts of the Territory to be instructed in the ways of the Lord. He was pleased that we had a Territory teeming with Saints. Whether Saints of God are willing to become self-sustaining is an important point for their consideration. There is a warfare in existence betwixt the powers of good and evil, the latter striving continually to overthrow the authority and power of the holy priesthood. We may expect to have this power to contend against continually. We have the inestimable privilege of living under the best and most benign Government on the face of the earth. It is a government that has come down from heaven. The Lord could not have instituted His government among the nations of the earth in their scattered condition, hence those willing to obey His laws have gathered together. The Almighty uses agencies for the accomplishment of His purposes. We cannot sustain to the glorious blessings of the celestial kingdom unless we obey the laws of that kingdom. Every kingdom has a law. To attain to the blessings of the celestial kingdom, to go into the presence of the Father and of the Son, is worth living for. We must, in order to attain those things, obey the counsels of the servants of God. There is not that amount of unity among the Saints that there ought to be. We are still somewhat divided in temporal matters. If we are approximating to unity in temporal things, we are traveling towards the condition which the Lord desires, that is the Order of Enoch. It is desirable that the Latter-day Saints should patronize each other, and not any store, unless compelled by necessity to do so; if there is anything that they cannot possibly do without, then they can go to the co-operative stores and obtain it. At our Territorial Fair there have been just as good and useful articles of home-manufacture exhibited as can be manufactured elsewhere. This shows we have the power to sustain ourselves if we have but the will. To be self-sustaining is one of the most important principles of political economy and is acknowledged to be such in every community.
Our exports should exceed our imports. If we attain to this point instead of the means of the Latter-day Saints being drained out of the Territory they would be increased. We can make as good fabrics here as elsewhere, but we cannot produce them as cheap as in some other places. This brings in the labor question, which if not properly regulated, will cause others to step in from a distance and do the labor which ought to be done by the Saints. The high price of labor will bring them here. It is to provide against this contingency that so much has been said upon this matter. If the powers that are in opposition to this kingdom had the majority here, they would trample us under foot. It rests with the Latter-day Saints to say whether this shall be so or not; it depends on the unity of the people here, and their producing what they need to supply their wants, and not sustain those who are opposed to the work of God. Who can reasonably find fault with people for pursuing this course? It is necessary for the preservation of our existence. The Almighty is at the head of His work and He has never told us to do anything but what would be for our benefit. If anyone thinks the Lord does not know his own business and has not placed the right man at the head of the Church, let them produce a better if they can; if they cannot, let them forever hold their peace. Many of the faithful servants of God have been taken away from the earth because the inhabitants of the earth were unworthy of them. If we live consistently with the counsels of the servants of God, by doing all in our power to bring about the Order of Enoch, we shall be preparing to associate with them. A short time since, a gentleman who was here on a visit, asked him whether a citizen residing here could sell a house and lot if he had one to dispose of to an outsider. He told him certainly he could if he wanted to; but said the speaker, if I had a house to sell, I would prefer to sell it to a friend rather than an enemy. The stranger agreed with that, saying that he had a house and lot where he lived, and he would see some men in a warm place before he would sell his house to them.
May the Lord prosper and bless us all, Amen.
Brigham City Choir, under Bro. Fishburn, sang "When there's love at home."
President George A. Smith
next spoke. He said it is very gratifying to meet the Saints in Conference, to see so many familiar faces from all parts of the Territory, and from every part of the world. It has been my privilege to do so many times.
On the evening of the dedication of the Kirtland Temple, the priesthood numbered 416. At that time I was acquainted with nearly everyone in the Church. It is very different now.
We expect to go back to Jackson Co., from whence the Saints were expelled in 1833. Some are now living who were driven at that time. The Saints were guilty of the heinous crime, so our enemies said, of anointing the sick with holy oil, that they might be healed. For this they were driven from their homes. The losses consequent on their being driven are estimated at $500,000, the interest on which, to this date, would amount to $1,800,000. What the compound interest would be I cannot say.
He did not design to give details of the five times we have been driven. Those who drove the Saints, left them to their own resources. They came here poor and commenced to develop this barren country. In the history of nations and individuals those who have had to take the world roughly have made the mightiest men, whilst those who have been nurtured in ease have not so often become distinguished. This may in some way apply to our case. Other peoples who have settled in new countries have been favored and nurtured by the government; as in the case of the people of Oregon and other places. With the settlers of Utah it has been different. Every scribbler who has passed through this Territory has filled his sheets with misrepresentations and falsehoods. For what we have and are, we are indebted to God alone and to no other source. At one time a scapegrace who had been sent here by the government to fill an official position, after his time expired, took it into his head to resign, and to represent the Latter-day Saints as being in rebellion against the government, and although the authorities at Washington had abundant testimony that this man lied, yet they inaugurated what has been termed the "contractors' war," and the coffers of the government were robbed of $25,000,000. But thanks to the overruling hand of our Heavenly Father, they accomplished nothing to the injury of the Latter-day Saints.
The gathering together of the Saints from the nations of the earth is as wonderful as the prophecy of Jeremiah,--"It shall no longer be said the Lord liveth who brought us out of the land of Egypt, but the Lord liveth who hath brought us out of the various nations of the earth where we were scattered." The people came here in poverty. Yet at the present time there are not ten per cent of them that are not living in their own houses. Some have said why co-operate to do our merchandizing? On the same grounds it might be asked why do we co-operate to dig a water ditch, or to fence a track of land that belongs to a hundred or more persons? Simply because that is the easiest way to accomplish it. So it has been with the opening of new roads to the kanyons to get timber. It could not be done by one man. How is it that we have built this magnificent organ, which is the admiration of all visitors? It is the finest organ ever built in America. Why cannot this principle be extended to merchandizing and everything else, when the same gratifying results would follow? We ought to introduce tanneries, build factories and produce machinery on the same principle. Some feel that they have a right to go to the store of an outsider to purchase articles they want because they can obtain them a little cheaper. What has caused the reduction in price? The co-operative movement.
The Zion of God is not limited in its extent on this continent; but, as the Prophet Joseph has frequently declared it shall comprehend all North and South America. Notwithstanding the powers of the adversary, the Saints will, in due time, go back to Jackson County, and build a magnificent Temple and the most beautiful city in the world. May God grant us the righteous desires of our hearts, in the name of Jesus, Amen.
The Tabernacle Choir sang the hymn commencing "Glorious things of Thee are Spoken."
Conference adjourned till two o'clock p.m.
Prayer by President Geo. A. Smith.
next spoke. He said it is very gratifying to meet the Saints in Conference, to see so many familiar faces from all parts of the Territory, and from every part of the world. It has been my privilege to do so many times.
On the evening of the dedication of the Kirtland Temple, the priesthood numbered 416. At that time I was acquainted with nearly everyone in the Church. It is very different now.
We expect to go back to Jackson Co., from whence the Saints were expelled in 1833. Some are now living who were driven at that time. The Saints were guilty of the heinous crime, so our enemies said, of anointing the sick with holy oil, that they might be healed. For this they were driven from their homes. The losses consequent on their being driven are estimated at $500,000, the interest on which, to this date, would amount to $1,800,000. What the compound interest would be I cannot say.
He did not design to give details of the five times we have been driven. Those who drove the Saints, left them to their own resources. They came here poor and commenced to develop this barren country. In the history of nations and individuals those who have had to take the world roughly have made the mightiest men, whilst those who have been nurtured in ease have not so often become distinguished. This may in some way apply to our case. Other peoples who have settled in new countries have been favored and nurtured by the government; as in the case of the people of Oregon and other places. With the settlers of Utah it has been different. Every scribbler who has passed through this Territory has filled his sheets with misrepresentations and falsehoods. For what we have and are, we are indebted to God alone and to no other source. At one time a scapegrace who had been sent here by the government to fill an official position, after his time expired, took it into his head to resign, and to represent the Latter-day Saints as being in rebellion against the government, and although the authorities at Washington had abundant testimony that this man lied, yet they inaugurated what has been termed the "contractors' war," and the coffers of the government were robbed of $25,000,000. But thanks to the overruling hand of our Heavenly Father, they accomplished nothing to the injury of the Latter-day Saints.
The gathering together of the Saints from the nations of the earth is as wonderful as the prophecy of Jeremiah,--"It shall no longer be said the Lord liveth who brought us out of the land of Egypt, but the Lord liveth who hath brought us out of the various nations of the earth where we were scattered." The people came here in poverty. Yet at the present time there are not ten per cent of them that are not living in their own houses. Some have said why co-operate to do our merchandizing? On the same grounds it might be asked why do we co-operate to dig a water ditch, or to fence a track of land that belongs to a hundred or more persons? Simply because that is the easiest way to accomplish it. So it has been with the opening of new roads to the kanyons to get timber. It could not be done by one man. How is it that we have built this magnificent organ, which is the admiration of all visitors? It is the finest organ ever built in America. Why cannot this principle be extended to merchandizing and everything else, when the same gratifying results would follow? We ought to introduce tanneries, build factories and produce machinery on the same principle. Some feel that they have a right to go to the store of an outsider to purchase articles they want because they can obtain them a little cheaper. What has caused the reduction in price? The co-operative movement.
The Zion of God is not limited in its extent on this continent; but, as the Prophet Joseph has frequently declared it shall comprehend all North and South America. Notwithstanding the powers of the adversary, the Saints will, in due time, go back to Jackson County, and build a magnificent Temple and the most beautiful city in the world. May God grant us the righteous desires of our hearts, in the name of Jesus, Amen.
The Tabernacle Choir sang the hymn commencing "Glorious things of Thee are Spoken."
Conference adjourned till two o'clock p.m.
Prayer by President Geo. A. Smith.
Wednesday, 2 p.m.
The meeting was called to order by President Young. The Tabernacle Choir sang the Hymn on page 115, commencing "On the mountain tops appearing."
Prayer by Elder Horace S. Eldredge.
The Tabernacle Choir sang the hymn on the 199th page, beginning "The glorious day is rolling on."
The meeting was called to order by President Young. The Tabernacle Choir sang the Hymn on page 115, commencing "On the mountain tops appearing."
Prayer by Elder Horace S. Eldredge.
The Tabernacle Choir sang the hymn on the 199th page, beginning "The glorious day is rolling on."
Elder Orson Pratt
addressed the Conference. During his absence from this city he had neglected no opportunity to meet with the few Saints who live in Williamsburg, It was with the Saints that he had joy, for ever since the Church was organized God has been with us. At its commencement it only comprised six members. God gave revelations in relation to the Holy Priesthood to those few individuals. In the year 1831, He gave additional revelations concerning that Priesthood and its power, and new councils were organized. Then the Saints were inexperienced and were liable to be led astray by spirits not of God; some pretended to have manifestations and revelations for the purpose of leading the Church. The Lord declared in a revelation that the Saints were not to be led by those influences, and said that He had appointed His servant Joseph, through whom he would lead His people. He directed that the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles should be organized, whose business it would be to preach the gospel to the nations, to the Gentiles first and then to the Jews. The Priesthood were called together after the building of the Kirtland Temple, and, in speaking of the Twelve Apostles, the Prophet Joseph said they had received the Apostleship with all the powers pertaining to the same, just as the ancient Apostles; in this, God had fulfilled His word to His people—He had bestowed upon men all the power and authority necessary to carry on the building up of the kingdom of God. When Joseph was taken from the earth, all that was necessary was for the people to select one to preside over them who had already received an ordination to the apostleship, which is the highest authority ever bestowed upon man. If the people had not been satisfied with the selection that was made, I would not see before me this great congregation. There may be many people here who have never investigated the nature and authority of the Holy Priesthood. Many revelations have been given; one was given instructing the Saints to build a house to the name of the Lord, in which revelation it was stated that if His people would go to work with all their might to build that house, and that, would their enemies come upon them and drive them and prevent them from fulfilling that work, He would no longer require that work at the hands of His servants. God has permitted us to be driven many times from our homes, but He has never taken from us the priesthood and kingdom. There is every evidence that can be desired that all the authority of that priesthood has been and is now with us. It is stated in the Book of Mormon that if the people of this nation rejected the gospel, He would take it from their midst. We had to leave our homes in the east before this prophecy could be fulfilled. It is still being fulfilled. The people are coming from the nations in hundreds and thousands. He heartily endorsed those great co-operative movements that had been introduced into the midst of the Saints. Unless we manufacture and export we will be unable to keep among us a circulating medium. May God grant that His blessings may be with all his Saints. Amen.
addressed the Conference. During his absence from this city he had neglected no opportunity to meet with the few Saints who live in Williamsburg, It was with the Saints that he had joy, for ever since the Church was organized God has been with us. At its commencement it only comprised six members. God gave revelations in relation to the Holy Priesthood to those few individuals. In the year 1831, He gave additional revelations concerning that Priesthood and its power, and new councils were organized. Then the Saints were inexperienced and were liable to be led astray by spirits not of God; some pretended to have manifestations and revelations for the purpose of leading the Church. The Lord declared in a revelation that the Saints were not to be led by those influences, and said that He had appointed His servant Joseph, through whom he would lead His people. He directed that the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles should be organized, whose business it would be to preach the gospel to the nations, to the Gentiles first and then to the Jews. The Priesthood were called together after the building of the Kirtland Temple, and, in speaking of the Twelve Apostles, the Prophet Joseph said they had received the Apostleship with all the powers pertaining to the same, just as the ancient Apostles; in this, God had fulfilled His word to His people—He had bestowed upon men all the power and authority necessary to carry on the building up of the kingdom of God. When Joseph was taken from the earth, all that was necessary was for the people to select one to preside over them who had already received an ordination to the apostleship, which is the highest authority ever bestowed upon man. If the people had not been satisfied with the selection that was made, I would not see before me this great congregation. There may be many people here who have never investigated the nature and authority of the Holy Priesthood. Many revelations have been given; one was given instructing the Saints to build a house to the name of the Lord, in which revelation it was stated that if His people would go to work with all their might to build that house, and that, would their enemies come upon them and drive them and prevent them from fulfilling that work, He would no longer require that work at the hands of His servants. God has permitted us to be driven many times from our homes, but He has never taken from us the priesthood and kingdom. There is every evidence that can be desired that all the authority of that priesthood has been and is now with us. It is stated in the Book of Mormon that if the people of this nation rejected the gospel, He would take it from their midst. We had to leave our homes in the east before this prophecy could be fulfilled. It is still being fulfilled. The people are coming from the nations in hundreds and thousands. He heartily endorsed those great co-operative movements that had been introduced into the midst of the Saints. Unless we manufacture and export we will be unable to keep among us a circulating medium. May God grant that His blessings may be with all his Saints. Amen.
President Brigham Young
delivered a short, but very interesting and instructive discourse, in which he gave some interesting facts concerning the benefits arising from the system of Co-operation, and other matters of importance. His remarks were reported in full and will shortly be published.
Bro. Fishburn's choir sang a song entitled, "Our Prophet Brigham Young."
delivered a short, but very interesting and instructive discourse, in which he gave some interesting facts concerning the benefits arising from the system of Co-operation, and other matters of importance. His remarks were reported in full and will shortly be published.
Bro. Fishburn's choir sang a song entitled, "Our Prophet Brigham Young."
Elder Orson Hyde
was the next speaker. He rejoiced in everything that tends to the defense of the Kingdom of God. If the Saints take heed to the counsels of the servants of God, he did not opine that any serious inroads would be made by any power that might be arrayed against the Zion of God. There are living witnesses that lived and associated with the Prophet Joseph, and will continue to live and testify to the truth until the Kingdom can take care of itself, and till that time God will take care of it. As long as those witnesses remain, it will be difficult for inroads to be made into the work which the Lord has commenced. At one time, the Prophet Joseph said that he would shortly rest from his labors and exclaimed: "I now roll the responsibility of bearing off this kingdom on the shoulders of the Twelve Apostles." We did not think then that he was so soon to be taken from us. After he had been taken away, when the Twelve returned to Nauvoo, a meeting was appointed. President Brigham Young went to the stand, most of the rest of the Twelve dispersed themselves in the congregation to learn the feelings of the people, and when President Young arose to speak, his voice, gestures, his features, his form, and even his stature was Joseph's. There are many who can testify to this fact as well as myself. Here was evidence that required no argument to prove that President Brigham Young was the chosen of God to lead Israel, for here was Joseph in the portion of Brigham. We need have no fears as to who should lead the Church, for whatever may happen, the Lord makes manifest his choice in so plain a manner that it can be comprehended even by a child. It is the constitutional right of President Young to wield all the influence over the people of this Territory that he can obtain. Many, when they see the influence wielded by our President, are jealous; they are not willing that a man should have influence who has legitimately and honestly earned it. In relation to the Government interfering with the Latter-day Saints, he wished to know why should it do so? We have done nothing wrong. It will say that to any power who will lay a stumbling block in the way of the progress of the Latter-day Saints, God will place two stumbling blocks in their way. If the Latter-day Saints are faithful, the Lord will protect us until the kingdom can take care of itself. God bless us all. Amen.
was the next speaker. He rejoiced in everything that tends to the defense of the Kingdom of God. If the Saints take heed to the counsels of the servants of God, he did not opine that any serious inroads would be made by any power that might be arrayed against the Zion of God. There are living witnesses that lived and associated with the Prophet Joseph, and will continue to live and testify to the truth until the Kingdom can take care of itself, and till that time God will take care of it. As long as those witnesses remain, it will be difficult for inroads to be made into the work which the Lord has commenced. At one time, the Prophet Joseph said that he would shortly rest from his labors and exclaimed: "I now roll the responsibility of bearing off this kingdom on the shoulders of the Twelve Apostles." We did not think then that he was so soon to be taken from us. After he had been taken away, when the Twelve returned to Nauvoo, a meeting was appointed. President Brigham Young went to the stand, most of the rest of the Twelve dispersed themselves in the congregation to learn the feelings of the people, and when President Young arose to speak, his voice, gestures, his features, his form, and even his stature was Joseph's. There are many who can testify to this fact as well as myself. Here was evidence that required no argument to prove that President Brigham Young was the chosen of God to lead Israel, for here was Joseph in the portion of Brigham. We need have no fears as to who should lead the Church, for whatever may happen, the Lord makes manifest his choice in so plain a manner that it can be comprehended even by a child. It is the constitutional right of President Young to wield all the influence over the people of this Territory that he can obtain. Many, when they see the influence wielded by our President, are jealous; they are not willing that a man should have influence who has legitimately and honestly earned it. In relation to the Government interfering with the Latter-day Saints, he wished to know why should it do so? We have done nothing wrong. It will say that to any power who will lay a stumbling block in the way of the progress of the Latter-day Saints, God will place two stumbling blocks in their way. If the Latter-day Saints are faithful, the Lord will protect us until the kingdom can take care of itself. God bless us all. Amen.
The Right to Lead the Church, Etc.
Remarks by Elder Orson Hyde, delivered in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, October 6, 1869.
Reported by John Grimshaw.
Being requested to make a few remarks to the Saints at the present time, I have risen with cheerfulness to add my testimony to what has been said, and to speak a few words more in relation to the Church and kingdom of God, and the Gospel of Jesus Christ His Son. I rejoice in the opportunity of meeting with the Saints and seeing their friendly faces, which beam as though their hearts felt glad to associate together—to commune one with another, and to hear what the Lord may say through His servants who may be called upon to address you. Brethren and sisters, the feelings of my heart are—The Lord bless you, and pour His Spirit upon you and upon all His Saints everywhere.
I have listened with interest to the remarks that have been made. I rejoice in anything that goes to advance the cause of Zion; and I know of no one thing more potent to that effect than our living by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. And I apprehend that, if the Saints will listen to the words of counsel and unto the commandments of God, no very serious inroads will ever be made upon us, either by contestants for the supremacy in this kingdom, or by Congress itself. These are my feelings.
I became connected with the Church of God on the 31st day of October 1831. I do not know how many there are now living that can date their connection with the Church to an earlier period than this. There is one, and perhaps there are two, that I know of, I know of no more; still, I cannot say in relation to this. Now, if I had only improved upon the time that has been allotted to me, and gained the experience I might have gained, perhaps I would have been further in advance than I am at the present time. But I am not discouraged; I have no feelings to linger or flag, but feel to persevere and to do all I can for the building up of the Zion of our God.
I apprehend, brethren and sisters, that there are faithful witnesses in this Church who have lived with the Prophet—who have traveled with him, who have eaten with him, who have slept with him, who have preached and prayed with him, and have been as familiar with him as a child ever was with his father. There are, I say, witnesses that lived co-temporary with him, who will continue to live and be able to bear a faithful testimony to the truth, until the kingdom can take care of itself, or God will take care of it. I tell you that light will come upon you pretty soon—the glorious light of heaven. Be patient, enduring—the sun will rise and darkness will flee away. By and by, true to the word of promise, the sun does rise, and darkness flees away; and the sun ascends to the meridian, and his rays illuminate the whole face of nature. You can then see, you can then appreciate the word of promise. Would it be any satisfaction to you if I were to continue and tell you that the sun does shine? It shines in the face of you all. You have no need of my testimony, you have no need of my assurance. It displays its light to all the world, and you behold it, and no one could convince you that the sun does not shine.
So let me say here, that there are faithful witnesses, who will testify to the truth, that lived contemporary with Joseph, the martyred prophet; and they will continue to live and testify till this kingdom can take care of itself. What do you mean by the kingdom taking care of itself? I mean that the veil which is now cast over the world will be rent asunder, and every eye will see and every heart feel. Then the kingdom can take care of itself, and have no need of witnesses to prove that the sun shines. Well, then, if the veil of the covering which has caused so great darkness is rent in twain, and the whole people, as it were, see as they are seen and know as they are known, have they any particular use for the testimony of a feeble mortal, that the power of God, in streams of light from on high, is being poured down upon the children of God on earth? Why it is a character of evidence beyond the feeble voice of mortals.
I apprehend that, so long as these witnesses remain, it will be a pretty hard matter for Congress or for apostates to make many inroads upon the truth, while the servants of the Most High, inspired by the Spirit of God, stand like a flaming sword to guard the way of the Tree of Life.
I will tell you, brethren and sisters, the Apostleship is of some importance to the Saints of God; but I will say, furthermore, that it is very satisfactory to me when I call to mind the remarks of the Prophet Joseph Smith. I will give you my testimony. In one particular place, in the presence of about sixty men, he said, “My work is about done; I am going to step aside awhile. I am going to rest from my labors; for I have borne the burden and heat of the day, and now I am going to step aside and rest a little. And I roll the burden off my shoulders on the shoulders of the Twelve Apostles. Now,” said he, “round up your shoulders and bear off this kingdom.” Has he ever said this to anyone else? I do not know; I do not care. It is enough for me to know that he said it to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. And since that time we have endeavored to do our duty and perform the work that was given us to do.
We did not consider, at the time he bore this testimony, that he was going to die or be taken from us; but we considered that as he had been borne down with excessive labors, by day and night, he was going to retire to rest and regain his health, and we should act under his direction and bear the responsibility of the work. But when the fatal news came to us, in the Eastern States, that he, with his brother Hyrum, had been massacred in Carthage jail, I will tell you it brought his words home to our minds, and we could then realize that he had spoken in sober earnest; and the twelve men upon whom he had conferred this power, then stepped forth and took their position. When the Twelve, united heart and soul, stepped forth, everything yielded before them.
Well, now, I will give it as the feelings of my heart—and if I am wrong, I can be corrected right here—that no one need be curious or anxious as to who is going to lead and guide this people. I will tell you that as long as God has a Church on the earth, He will govern it. Now I will tell you a little of my feelings in relation to it. I know that when President Young returned with the Twelve to Nauvoo, he gathered them around him, and said he, “I want you to disperse among the congregation and feel the pulse of the people, while I go upon the stand and speak.”
We went among the congregation and President Young went on the stand. Well, he spoke, and his words went through me like electricity. “Am I mistaken?” said I, “or is it really the voice of Joseph Smith?” This is my testimony; it was not only the voice of Joseph, but there were the features, the gestures and even the stature of Joseph before us in the person of Brigham. And though it may be said that President Young is a complete mimic, and can mimic anybody, I would like to see the man who can mimic another in stature who was about four or five inches higher than himself. Everyone in the congregation—everyone who was inspired by the Spirit of the Lord—felt it. They knew it. They realized it.
I sat myself down in the midst of the congregation, with my two wives, whom Joseph had given and sealed to me. When President Young began to speak, one of them said, “It is the voice of Joseph! It is Joseph Smith!” The exclamation of the other was, “I do not see him, where is he?” Well, the thought occurred to my mind respecting the Scripture which President Young has just quoted—“My sheep know my voice and follow me.” Where is the one that recognized the voice of Joseph in President Young? Where is she? She is in the line of her duty. But where is the other? Gone where I wish she were not. The sheep of the good shepherd will follow the voice they know, but they will not follow the voice of a stranger.
Now this was a manifestation of the power of the Almighty—it was the power of God resting on an individual in the eyes of all the people, not only in feature and voice, but actually in stature. This is my testimony. I might go on and add many more testimonies. I recollect reading that when our Savior was baptized by John in the Jordan, the Spirit of the Lord descended and rested upon him in the form of a dove, and a voice from heaven was heard, saying, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear ye him.”
Well, now, it did not depend upon argument, it did not depend upon reason. The voice of the Almighty—the form of a dove descending and resting upon him, were sufficient evidence to prove he was the Son of God. Argument was out of the question. Did it require argument to prove that brother Brigham Young held the position of Joseph, the martyred Prophet? Did it require proof that Joseph was there in the person of Brigham, speaking with an angel's voice? It required no argument; with those who feared God and loved truth, it required none.
Well, now, we have the consolation to know that, whatever changes may take place in the government of the Church and kingdom of God, we shall not be left in the dark nor will our destiny be suspended on the frailty of argument; but I believe that whatever changes take place will be brought about by a power that every child of God will recognize.
These are the feelings of my heart; and consequently I dismiss every anxiety in relation to it. It is for me to live my religion and honor my God, and to let Him steady His own ark. Let me do my duty and all will work for the best. This is how I feel, brethren. When I began to speak, I had quite an argument fixed up in my mind, but I cannot touch it now, and it is useless to try. I will say, however, that it is all summed up in the excellent quotation made by our President—“My sheep know my voice and will follow me; but a stranger they will not follow, for they know not the voice of strangers.”
We must learn, brethren and sisters, to be wise. We must learn to let the world alone. The Lord has brought us out from the nations. Said He, “Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins and receive not of her plagues.” Now, why should we ever have any lingering desire for any connection with the world again? Will we invite them here and scatter our means among them, and put a weapon in their hands to destroy us?
An illustrious visitor, the one only second in office in the United States, expressed a desire that we should see the necessity of inviting men of capital to our midst, to aid in developing the resources of the country, thereby making our Territory a great commercial center. The Lord knows His own business best, and He will conduct it in a manner and way that will please Him. I apprehend He will take care of His people. And if we will do His will and keep His commandments, He will provide for us; and we may yet learn, in the midst of all our reasoning and argument, that God has never yet desired us to live after the manner of the world. It is for us to keep His commandments and He will provide for His children. He will provide for His servants. Brethren and sisters, you will see the servants of God will have joy at heart; but the enemies of righteousness will have sorrow.
It is well for us to adhere to the principle of cooperation and everything else that is calculated to advance our interests as a people. It is well for us to adhere to the teachings that we receive, and let our enemies and outsiders alone. Is there anything wrong in our concentrating our time and means in a certain channel? Can we not trade where and with whom we will? Are we doing anyone any injustice in this? No. Have we the Constitutional right to invest our capital wherever we like? Yes, we have the Constitutional right. Is it my Constitutional right to get all the power and influence that I can? Yes, it is. Is there anything unlawful in it? Nothing at all. I will venture to say that the Hon. Vice President would not object, today, to have influence over all the citizens of the United States. He would not object to it at all; neither would any other politician.
We say there is nothing unlawful in Brigham Young getting all the influence that he can; but they want him out of the way. They are not willing—they cannot be willing, to see a man who has earned the position he occupies, use his influence for the welfare, elevation and advancement of the people. They want to occupy it themselves, and they are jealous.
I do not feel to detain you a great while, brethren and sisters, but there are two or three things in my mind that I wish to make known. Congress, it is said, is going to give the people “their rights!” I wonder why they never thought of giving us our rights? That is another thing; it is a horse of another color. But our rights are safe. Our rights are in the hands of God; and we will trust in Him for them; and when He does give them to us, He will give them on a large scale.
Brother George A. Smith was computing the interest and indebtedness of Missouri to us; but I tell you when the Lord pays us up, it will be a “big” reward. Be patient, live your religion, and when the Almighty does reward, it will be on a large scale.
And now let me give you my feelings in relation to the interference of the Government of the United States. What do they want to interfere with us for? Whom have we injured? Have we injured anyone? Have we done wrong to anyone, Jew or Gentile? Have we done wrong to the Indians? Have we done wrong in cultivating the soil, and in making this barren and waste desert fertile? What wrong have we done, that it is necessary for Congress to interfere? They say, “We are afraid you intend to do wrong.” Well, then you punish us in advance for the wrong we have not done. They say, “You are guilty of practicing polygamy.” Well, now, this is only one feather in the bird; only one single feather. I will tell you, everything is wrong about us in their estimation. It is wrong of us to get such an influence on the earth, both at home and abroad. And the reason why so much is said about polygamy, is because it is the only handle that they think they can get hold of; but they will discover that even this is so doubtful, in the eye of Constitutional law, that it can give them no assurance of success against us; and they will find it the very principle that will break in pieces the power that would set it aside.
I would not say that I am speaking now as a representative of the minds of the Latter-day Saints as a body; I wish merely to express my own sentiments and feelings, and if I say anything that is wrong, let me be corrected for it right here. I will tell you that, just in proportion as any power, whether the United States or any other nation, seeks to hinder or oppose the progress of the Latter-day Saints, or lay any stumbling block in their way, the Lord will lay two stumbling blocks in their way, to their laying one in ours.
We have something more potent than our own arm to defend us—we have the arm of Jehovah pledged for our protection. He will make bare His arm in the eyes of the nations, and they will feel it. It is getting too late in the day. The battle is too far advanced.
Then let us, as Latter-day Saints, be filled with reverence for the kingdom of God—for His laws and institutions; remembering our prayers, being faithful, doing our duty in all things, and the Lord will bear off His kingdom. God bless you. Amen.
The Tabernacle Choir sang, "Praise the Lord, O, Jerusalem."
Conference adjourned until ten a.m. to-morrow.
The meeting was dismissed by Elder John W. Young.
Remarks by Elder Orson Hyde, delivered in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, October 6, 1869.
Reported by John Grimshaw.
Being requested to make a few remarks to the Saints at the present time, I have risen with cheerfulness to add my testimony to what has been said, and to speak a few words more in relation to the Church and kingdom of God, and the Gospel of Jesus Christ His Son. I rejoice in the opportunity of meeting with the Saints and seeing their friendly faces, which beam as though their hearts felt glad to associate together—to commune one with another, and to hear what the Lord may say through His servants who may be called upon to address you. Brethren and sisters, the feelings of my heart are—The Lord bless you, and pour His Spirit upon you and upon all His Saints everywhere.
I have listened with interest to the remarks that have been made. I rejoice in anything that goes to advance the cause of Zion; and I know of no one thing more potent to that effect than our living by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. And I apprehend that, if the Saints will listen to the words of counsel and unto the commandments of God, no very serious inroads will ever be made upon us, either by contestants for the supremacy in this kingdom, or by Congress itself. These are my feelings.
I became connected with the Church of God on the 31st day of October 1831. I do not know how many there are now living that can date their connection with the Church to an earlier period than this. There is one, and perhaps there are two, that I know of, I know of no more; still, I cannot say in relation to this. Now, if I had only improved upon the time that has been allotted to me, and gained the experience I might have gained, perhaps I would have been further in advance than I am at the present time. But I am not discouraged; I have no feelings to linger or flag, but feel to persevere and to do all I can for the building up of the Zion of our God.
I apprehend, brethren and sisters, that there are faithful witnesses in this Church who have lived with the Prophet—who have traveled with him, who have eaten with him, who have slept with him, who have preached and prayed with him, and have been as familiar with him as a child ever was with his father. There are, I say, witnesses that lived co-temporary with him, who will continue to live and be able to bear a faithful testimony to the truth, until the kingdom can take care of itself, or God will take care of it. I tell you that light will come upon you pretty soon—the glorious light of heaven. Be patient, enduring—the sun will rise and darkness will flee away. By and by, true to the word of promise, the sun does rise, and darkness flees away; and the sun ascends to the meridian, and his rays illuminate the whole face of nature. You can then see, you can then appreciate the word of promise. Would it be any satisfaction to you if I were to continue and tell you that the sun does shine? It shines in the face of you all. You have no need of my testimony, you have no need of my assurance. It displays its light to all the world, and you behold it, and no one could convince you that the sun does not shine.
So let me say here, that there are faithful witnesses, who will testify to the truth, that lived contemporary with Joseph, the martyred prophet; and they will continue to live and testify till this kingdom can take care of itself. What do you mean by the kingdom taking care of itself? I mean that the veil which is now cast over the world will be rent asunder, and every eye will see and every heart feel. Then the kingdom can take care of itself, and have no need of witnesses to prove that the sun shines. Well, then, if the veil of the covering which has caused so great darkness is rent in twain, and the whole people, as it were, see as they are seen and know as they are known, have they any particular use for the testimony of a feeble mortal, that the power of God, in streams of light from on high, is being poured down upon the children of God on earth? Why it is a character of evidence beyond the feeble voice of mortals.
I apprehend that, so long as these witnesses remain, it will be a pretty hard matter for Congress or for apostates to make many inroads upon the truth, while the servants of the Most High, inspired by the Spirit of God, stand like a flaming sword to guard the way of the Tree of Life.
I will tell you, brethren and sisters, the Apostleship is of some importance to the Saints of God; but I will say, furthermore, that it is very satisfactory to me when I call to mind the remarks of the Prophet Joseph Smith. I will give you my testimony. In one particular place, in the presence of about sixty men, he said, “My work is about done; I am going to step aside awhile. I am going to rest from my labors; for I have borne the burden and heat of the day, and now I am going to step aside and rest a little. And I roll the burden off my shoulders on the shoulders of the Twelve Apostles. Now,” said he, “round up your shoulders and bear off this kingdom.” Has he ever said this to anyone else? I do not know; I do not care. It is enough for me to know that he said it to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. And since that time we have endeavored to do our duty and perform the work that was given us to do.
We did not consider, at the time he bore this testimony, that he was going to die or be taken from us; but we considered that as he had been borne down with excessive labors, by day and night, he was going to retire to rest and regain his health, and we should act under his direction and bear the responsibility of the work. But when the fatal news came to us, in the Eastern States, that he, with his brother Hyrum, had been massacred in Carthage jail, I will tell you it brought his words home to our minds, and we could then realize that he had spoken in sober earnest; and the twelve men upon whom he had conferred this power, then stepped forth and took their position. When the Twelve, united heart and soul, stepped forth, everything yielded before them.
Well, now, I will give it as the feelings of my heart—and if I am wrong, I can be corrected right here—that no one need be curious or anxious as to who is going to lead and guide this people. I will tell you that as long as God has a Church on the earth, He will govern it. Now I will tell you a little of my feelings in relation to it. I know that when President Young returned with the Twelve to Nauvoo, he gathered them around him, and said he, “I want you to disperse among the congregation and feel the pulse of the people, while I go upon the stand and speak.”
We went among the congregation and President Young went on the stand. Well, he spoke, and his words went through me like electricity. “Am I mistaken?” said I, “or is it really the voice of Joseph Smith?” This is my testimony; it was not only the voice of Joseph, but there were the features, the gestures and even the stature of Joseph before us in the person of Brigham. And though it may be said that President Young is a complete mimic, and can mimic anybody, I would like to see the man who can mimic another in stature who was about four or five inches higher than himself. Everyone in the congregation—everyone who was inspired by the Spirit of the Lord—felt it. They knew it. They realized it.
I sat myself down in the midst of the congregation, with my two wives, whom Joseph had given and sealed to me. When President Young began to speak, one of them said, “It is the voice of Joseph! It is Joseph Smith!” The exclamation of the other was, “I do not see him, where is he?” Well, the thought occurred to my mind respecting the Scripture which President Young has just quoted—“My sheep know my voice and follow me.” Where is the one that recognized the voice of Joseph in President Young? Where is she? She is in the line of her duty. But where is the other? Gone where I wish she were not. The sheep of the good shepherd will follow the voice they know, but they will not follow the voice of a stranger.
Now this was a manifestation of the power of the Almighty—it was the power of God resting on an individual in the eyes of all the people, not only in feature and voice, but actually in stature. This is my testimony. I might go on and add many more testimonies. I recollect reading that when our Savior was baptized by John in the Jordan, the Spirit of the Lord descended and rested upon him in the form of a dove, and a voice from heaven was heard, saying, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear ye him.”
Well, now, it did not depend upon argument, it did not depend upon reason. The voice of the Almighty—the form of a dove descending and resting upon him, were sufficient evidence to prove he was the Son of God. Argument was out of the question. Did it require argument to prove that brother Brigham Young held the position of Joseph, the martyred Prophet? Did it require proof that Joseph was there in the person of Brigham, speaking with an angel's voice? It required no argument; with those who feared God and loved truth, it required none.
Well, now, we have the consolation to know that, whatever changes may take place in the government of the Church and kingdom of God, we shall not be left in the dark nor will our destiny be suspended on the frailty of argument; but I believe that whatever changes take place will be brought about by a power that every child of God will recognize.
These are the feelings of my heart; and consequently I dismiss every anxiety in relation to it. It is for me to live my religion and honor my God, and to let Him steady His own ark. Let me do my duty and all will work for the best. This is how I feel, brethren. When I began to speak, I had quite an argument fixed up in my mind, but I cannot touch it now, and it is useless to try. I will say, however, that it is all summed up in the excellent quotation made by our President—“My sheep know my voice and will follow me; but a stranger they will not follow, for they know not the voice of strangers.”
We must learn, brethren and sisters, to be wise. We must learn to let the world alone. The Lord has brought us out from the nations. Said He, “Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins and receive not of her plagues.” Now, why should we ever have any lingering desire for any connection with the world again? Will we invite them here and scatter our means among them, and put a weapon in their hands to destroy us?
An illustrious visitor, the one only second in office in the United States, expressed a desire that we should see the necessity of inviting men of capital to our midst, to aid in developing the resources of the country, thereby making our Territory a great commercial center. The Lord knows His own business best, and He will conduct it in a manner and way that will please Him. I apprehend He will take care of His people. And if we will do His will and keep His commandments, He will provide for us; and we may yet learn, in the midst of all our reasoning and argument, that God has never yet desired us to live after the manner of the world. It is for us to keep His commandments and He will provide for His children. He will provide for His servants. Brethren and sisters, you will see the servants of God will have joy at heart; but the enemies of righteousness will have sorrow.
It is well for us to adhere to the principle of cooperation and everything else that is calculated to advance our interests as a people. It is well for us to adhere to the teachings that we receive, and let our enemies and outsiders alone. Is there anything wrong in our concentrating our time and means in a certain channel? Can we not trade where and with whom we will? Are we doing anyone any injustice in this? No. Have we the Constitutional right to invest our capital wherever we like? Yes, we have the Constitutional right. Is it my Constitutional right to get all the power and influence that I can? Yes, it is. Is there anything unlawful in it? Nothing at all. I will venture to say that the Hon. Vice President would not object, today, to have influence over all the citizens of the United States. He would not object to it at all; neither would any other politician.
We say there is nothing unlawful in Brigham Young getting all the influence that he can; but they want him out of the way. They are not willing—they cannot be willing, to see a man who has earned the position he occupies, use his influence for the welfare, elevation and advancement of the people. They want to occupy it themselves, and they are jealous.
I do not feel to detain you a great while, brethren and sisters, but there are two or three things in my mind that I wish to make known. Congress, it is said, is going to give the people “their rights!” I wonder why they never thought of giving us our rights? That is another thing; it is a horse of another color. But our rights are safe. Our rights are in the hands of God; and we will trust in Him for them; and when He does give them to us, He will give them on a large scale.
Brother George A. Smith was computing the interest and indebtedness of Missouri to us; but I tell you when the Lord pays us up, it will be a “big” reward. Be patient, live your religion, and when the Almighty does reward, it will be on a large scale.
And now let me give you my feelings in relation to the interference of the Government of the United States. What do they want to interfere with us for? Whom have we injured? Have we injured anyone? Have we done wrong to anyone, Jew or Gentile? Have we done wrong to the Indians? Have we done wrong in cultivating the soil, and in making this barren and waste desert fertile? What wrong have we done, that it is necessary for Congress to interfere? They say, “We are afraid you intend to do wrong.” Well, then you punish us in advance for the wrong we have not done. They say, “You are guilty of practicing polygamy.” Well, now, this is only one feather in the bird; only one single feather. I will tell you, everything is wrong about us in their estimation. It is wrong of us to get such an influence on the earth, both at home and abroad. And the reason why so much is said about polygamy, is because it is the only handle that they think they can get hold of; but they will discover that even this is so doubtful, in the eye of Constitutional law, that it can give them no assurance of success against us; and they will find it the very principle that will break in pieces the power that would set it aside.
I would not say that I am speaking now as a representative of the minds of the Latter-day Saints as a body; I wish merely to express my own sentiments and feelings, and if I say anything that is wrong, let me be corrected for it right here. I will tell you that, just in proportion as any power, whether the United States or any other nation, seeks to hinder or oppose the progress of the Latter-day Saints, or lay any stumbling block in their way, the Lord will lay two stumbling blocks in their way, to their laying one in ours.
We have something more potent than our own arm to defend us—we have the arm of Jehovah pledged for our protection. He will make bare His arm in the eyes of the nations, and they will feel it. It is getting too late in the day. The battle is too far advanced.
Then let us, as Latter-day Saints, be filled with reverence for the kingdom of God—for His laws and institutions; remembering our prayers, being faithful, doing our duty in all things, and the Lord will bear off His kingdom. God bless you. Amen.
The Tabernacle Choir sang, "Praise the Lord, O, Jerusalem."
Conference adjourned until ten a.m. to-morrow.
The meeting was dismissed by Elder John W. Young.
Oct. 7th, 10 a.m.
Meeting was called to order by President George A. Smith.
The Tabernacle Choir sang the hymn on page 36, commencing, "Be it my only wisdom here."
Prayer was offered by Elder Brigham Young, Jun.
The Tabernacle Choir sang "Give ear to my Words."
Meeting was called to order by President George A. Smith.
The Tabernacle Choir sang the hymn on page 36, commencing, "Be it my only wisdom here."
Prayer was offered by Elder Brigham Young, Jun.
The Tabernacle Choir sang "Give ear to my Words."
Elder Lorenzo Snow
spoke. We are peculiar and distinct from all other people. What we do, we perform in the name of the God of Israel. When Moses was selected to lead the ancient people of God, he was clothed upon with the authority of Heaven; so it is in this day. The work in which we are now engaged did not originate in the brain of any individual. The Almighty is the originator of it. The work which is called by our neighbors "Mormonism," is admired in its effects by many; they admire the prosperity of the Latter-day Saints and the peace and quiet which reigns throughout our cities and settlements which are not equaled anywhere else; but when it is said these excellent effects are produced by the Latter-day Saints performing all things in the name of the Lord, the world does not like it. If we professed to act as the world does, in our own name only, they would say all right. Probably if Jesus had come to the Jews in his own name, instead of the name of his Father, he would have been received with open arms.
The gospel has accomplished much for the temporal salvation of the Latter-day Saints. Thousands have come from the old countries who, before obeying the command to gather, were living under bondage and in poverty. They were dependent on the fluctuations of trade and the whims and caprices of their employers for their daily bread. They have come here and been able to lift themselves above that condition. Philanthropists admire this, yet they do not like the fact of it all being done in the name of the Almighty. If an individual goes to the nations and declares that he is a missionary from America, it is considered nothing surprising, but when he asserts that he has come in the name of the Lord, to deliver all who will receive his message, from their condition of bondage, and declare to them that, if they will obey the principles taught by him they will know for themselves that he is not an impostor, that there need be no deception, his message is not received.
This work is the work of the Almighty, and it is His business to sustain it, and as long as we do right, we shall be sustained in our efforts to promote His cause. If, in our labors having this end in view, we do things that are disagreeable to other people, we cannot help it; we must do as the Lord directs at all hazards, and we must worship God in the way He has appointed.
It would doubtless be agreeable to us when we go forth to declare the truth to the people, if we were received pleasantly, yet, if it be otherwise, we must nevertheless go forth in the name of the Lord. If we are faithful, the work cannot be hindered in its progress, but will surmount every obstacle and come off triumphant; which may God grant for Jesus' sake: Amen.
spoke. We are peculiar and distinct from all other people. What we do, we perform in the name of the God of Israel. When Moses was selected to lead the ancient people of God, he was clothed upon with the authority of Heaven; so it is in this day. The work in which we are now engaged did not originate in the brain of any individual. The Almighty is the originator of it. The work which is called by our neighbors "Mormonism," is admired in its effects by many; they admire the prosperity of the Latter-day Saints and the peace and quiet which reigns throughout our cities and settlements which are not equaled anywhere else; but when it is said these excellent effects are produced by the Latter-day Saints performing all things in the name of the Lord, the world does not like it. If we professed to act as the world does, in our own name only, they would say all right. Probably if Jesus had come to the Jews in his own name, instead of the name of his Father, he would have been received with open arms.
The gospel has accomplished much for the temporal salvation of the Latter-day Saints. Thousands have come from the old countries who, before obeying the command to gather, were living under bondage and in poverty. They were dependent on the fluctuations of trade and the whims and caprices of their employers for their daily bread. They have come here and been able to lift themselves above that condition. Philanthropists admire this, yet they do not like the fact of it all being done in the name of the Almighty. If an individual goes to the nations and declares that he is a missionary from America, it is considered nothing surprising, but when he asserts that he has come in the name of the Lord, to deliver all who will receive his message, from their condition of bondage, and declare to them that, if they will obey the principles taught by him they will know for themselves that he is not an impostor, that there need be no deception, his message is not received.
This work is the work of the Almighty, and it is His business to sustain it, and as long as we do right, we shall be sustained in our efforts to promote His cause. If, in our labors having this end in view, we do things that are disagreeable to other people, we cannot help it; we must do as the Lord directs at all hazards, and we must worship God in the way He has appointed.
It would doubtless be agreeable to us when we go forth to declare the truth to the people, if we were received pleasantly, yet, if it be otherwise, we must nevertheless go forth in the name of the Lord. If we are faithful, the work cannot be hindered in its progress, but will surmount every obstacle and come off triumphant; which may God grant for Jesus' sake: Amen.
Acting in the Name of the Lord
Remarks by Elder Lorenzo Snow, delivered in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Oct. 9, 1869.
Reported by John Grimshaw.
I am very much pleased in having an opportunity to make a few remarks to this Conference. The subjects that have been presented to our consideration are fraught with many very interesting reflections. Every privilege that is afforded us of meeting together in the capacity of a Conference, and taking a retrospective view of the past, gives us a chance to behold the great and marvelous success that has hitherto attended our labors, as the servants of God, in this great and glorious work of the redemption of Israel and the gathering of the Latter-day Saints from the four quarters of the world, to establish the kingdom of God on the earth in the last days.
There are many peculiarities that distinguish the order of things pertaining to the work of God in which we are engaged, from the different systems of religion that are to be met with in Christendom and throughout the various parts of the world. What we do we perform in the name of the Lord God of Israel, and are willing to acknowledge the hand of the Almighty in everything we do. When Moses stood forth as the deliverer of the children of Israel from their Egyptian bondage, he did not present himself in the manner of a common deliverer, but he went in the name of the Lord God of Israel, having been commanded to accomplish their redemption by the power and authority which he received from God. And from the moment that he appeared before them in this capacity, until he had accomplished his work, he acted in and through the name of the Lord, and not by his own wisdom or ingenuity, nor because he possessed superior intelligence to the rest of mankind. The Lord appeared to him in the burning bush, and commanded him to go forth and accomplish a certain work, which concerned the peace, happiness and salvation of a great people; and its success and prosperity depended upon the carrying out of the order of things revealed to him by the God of heaven. His success and prosperity were made perfectly sure from the fact that the work to which he was assigned was not a thing of his own invention, but it emanated from Jehovah.
A great deal of speculation might have been entertained by some in reference to his mode of procedure. There might have been some things in the working of the system he introduced that were very disagreeable to certain parties whom they concerned—to the government of Egypt and King Pharaoh, for instance; but that was a matter of very small consideration with him and with the people whom he had occasion to deliver from bondage.
It is so in reference to ourselves. The great work now being accomplished—the gathering of the people from the nations of the earth, had not its origin in the mind of any man or any set of men, but it emanated from the Lord Almighty. Joseph Smith received a revelation and commandment from the Lord, to go forth and preach the Gospel of salvation to the nations of the earth, with power and authority to baptize those who would repent of their sins and be immersed in water for the remission of them; he was also commanded to preach the gathering to them, that a people might be drawn together who would be willing to hearken to the voice of the Lord and keep His laws, that a righteous seed might thereby be preserved when the great day of His wrath should come. This Gospel was preached, and thousands of Saints have been gathered from almost all parts of the globe, who are now scattered throughout the length and breadth of this Territory, making farms, building houses, planting orchards and reclaiming the soil; creating villages, towns and cities where nothing but wild beasts and savages used to roam, and causing the desert to blossom as the rose. Yet all this has not been accomplished by human wisdom, although the enemies of the Saints would try to make the world believe so; it has been done by the wisdom and power of Almighty God, whose outstretched arm has been over His Saints, preserving them from evil of every kind.
Jesus, while traveling here on earth, fulfilling his mission, told the people he did not perform the miracles he wrought in their midst by his own power, nor by his own wisdom; but he was there in order to accomplish the will of his Father. He came not to seek the glory of men, and the honor of men; but to seek the honor and glory of his Father that sent him. Said he, “I am come in my Father's name, and ye receive me not, if another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive.”
Now, the peculiarity of his mission, and that which distinguished it from other missions, was this: he came not to seek the glory and honor of men, but to seek the honor and glory of his Father, and to accomplish the work of his Father who sent him. Herein lay the secret of his prosperity; and herein lies the secret of the prosperity of every individual who works upon the same principle.
There are many things that are admirable in what is called by our neighbors “Mormonism.” Great men admire the effects that are produced by its operations, or the work of preaching the Gospel, gathering the people from the nations of the earth and settling them in this Territory, in establishing towns, villages and settlements, in gathering the poor from their indigent circumstances, from their conditions of poverty and distress, and placing them in a position where they can sustain themselves and have an opportunity of educating their children and gathering around them the necessaries, comforts and conveniences of life.
People admire the prosperity of the Latter-day Saints, they admire the wisdom that is manifest in the perfect organization observable in their cities, towns and settlements, and the unity existing amongst them. They are struck with the peace and good order that reign in our midst, which are not found, to the same extent, in any of the cities of the United States or Europe. One hundred and fifty thousand people, who have been gathered from the poorest classes of persons and brought from the various nations and established in prosperous and happy circumstances, are admired by everyone. But all this is being done in the name of the Lord, and professedly through the commandments of the Almighty; and herein lies the difficulty. Our acknowledgement of the hand of God in what we do is something they do not approve of. If we gathered the people from the various nations, built cities, towns and villages in our own name, and in our own strength and wisdom, and gave ourselves the honor and glory, we should be a very admirable people indeed, and everybody would admire the “Mormons,” and would be pleased with our operations; and as far as the influence of politicians and members of Congress is concerned, it would be employed in obtaining our admission into the Union as a State.
It may be considered by some as unfortunate that we have a principle in the operations of “Mormonism” so disagreeable and annoying; but we cannot help it. This work is not one of our own getting up, and we have not the responsibility of its success resting upon us. Jesus says himself that he would have been received by the people if he had sought the honor of men. If he had not come in the name of his Father, but simply in his own, the people would have received him, honored him and made him King of the Jews; and all would have been agreeable, pleased and satisfied.
It was said by the Prophet that Israel should be scattered, that they should be sifted among the nations, and in the latter days they should be gathered out, two from a city and one from a family, and there should be a time when the people would be gathered from the nations when it should be said to them, “Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.”
Joseph Smith received a commandment of the Almighty similar to that which Moses received to deliver the children of Israel from Egyptian bondage. The command to the Prophet Joseph was to go forth and declare the Gospel to the children of men, to gather them from the nations of the earth and place them in a land of peace and plenty, where they could plant and reap the fruit thereof. In many instances the people who received this Gospel were in a far worse condition than the children of Israel, when found by Moses in their bondage.
There are hundreds of Elders here who have traveled through England, Scotland, Wales, Germany, Switzerland, Norway and elsewhere, who know very well that the people were found in most of those lands in circumstances of slavery—bondage far worse than the “blacks” in the South previous to their liberation. There was nothing before the people but the prospect of starvation; and they were subject to the will and caprice of their masters, and dependent upon them for their labor and daily bread; and when work was dull, they had before them nothing but the prospect of being turned from their employment and to have their only source of obtaining food for themselves and families entirely cut off. They did not own a foot of land, a plough, an ox, a wagon, a cow, a mule, a horse, in fact, nothing they saw around them could they call their own. They were, in short, entirely dependent upon the will and disposition of their employers for what they wanted, and had to look to them for their only means of gaining a living. Thousands upon thousands of these people are now located in various parts of this Territory, in a far more prosperous and independent condition than that in which they lived while abroad among the nations. Many of them are comparatively rich in this world's goods. The command of the Almighty to this people is to come out of Babylon to a land where his Saints may gather around them such things as are necessary to the well-being of his children. This is a greater work than that performed by Moses, of redeeming the children of Israel from Egyptian bondage; yet it is done on the same principle. The voice of God to Moses was to deliver His people from their bondage and he would be with him and assist him. The command is now for the people to be delivered from their bondage, poverty and distress, and come to these valleys of the mountains, where they can sustain themselves.
There are many philanthropists who admire the works that have been accomplished in this respect. They say, “The ‘Mormons’ have done a great deal more than any religious society ever did or even expected to do. They have increased the population of the nation and have extended their cities to the east, to the west, to the north and to the south.” But it has been done by the command of the Almighty, and that is where the trouble lies. As for polygamy, our enemies would not be so wrath about our practicing it, so long as we did not do so in the name of the Lord. But as these things are done in His name, they are obnoxious in the eyes of the world. The same state of feeling existed in the days of Moses, the same in the days when Jesus appeared among the Jews. Had Moses presented himself in the same way as Washington or William Tell, the deliverer of the people of Switzerland from the yoke of bondage under which they labored, or as Wallace, the hero of Scotland—had he, I say, appeared in his own name, and presented himself before the people as a person of superior powers and ability, and [not] claimed power greater than that he possessed as a man, all would have been well. But when he went before them in the name of the Lord Almighty, he experienced some difficulty in performing the work which had been assigned him.
We know well we differ very much in our religious concerns from the various denominations existing in the world. An Elder goes in the name of the Lord; he crosses the ocean, calls into an individual's house and says, “I am a missionary; I have come from America to preach the Gospel.” It is not a very unusual thing for persons to cross the ocean, as missionaries and go to Europe. This is all very natural; but when an Elder goes and says he comes in the name of the Lord to deliver them from their circumstances of poverty and distress, and to call upon them to repent of their sins and be immersed in water for the remission of them, promising them the Gift of the Holy Ghost, he creates a distinction between his mission and that of the various systems introduced by the different sects of the day. Says he, “I come to tell you that the time for the fulfillment of the predictions of the Prophets has arrived. The Lord wants His people gathered from Babylon unto the place where there shall be deliverance.” There is deliverance. There is something that can be realized and experienced, that can be seen and felt and known. There is the promise that, if any man will do the will of God, he shall know for himself that the doctrine we teach is true. There is no chance of imposition. There is an opportunity to know whether the message of this Elder is true or false.
If a sectarian minister had gone to the children of Israel and discovered them in the same condition in which Moses found them, his message would have been entirely different from that of Moses, as would also his conversation and address. Moses said to them, “In the name of the Almighty, having received authority from God, I come to deliver you from bondage and to give you a national existence; to take you to a land that the Lord God has commanded you to go to, and which He has promised you shall receive.” Had a sectarian minister gone under similar circumstances, his ideas and manner would have been entirely different. Says he, “I have come to beseech you who are now subject to your masters' will and have to recline upon straw, to be patient and long-suffering. Servants, be obedient to your masters and wait upon the providence of the Lord. Bear up, and be kind,” and so on. Anything in regard to delivering them from their bondage under which they are suffering? No, nothing of the kind.
It is the same when a sectarian minister goes to England. He knocks at a man's door and says, “I am a missionary from America.” Well, the man on whom he calls is in distress. Says he, “I am sorry I cannot take you in; but I am in distress. It is mealtime, but my family has nothing to eat. I am out of employment and have nothing to live upon. I wish I could relieve your wants, but I have nothing with which to assist you.” Oh, says the minister, you must wait upon Providence, you must have a great deal of patience and long-suffering. I am come to preach to you the Gospel, and you must pray and keep praying until you think you have got a pardon of your sins; but still remain where you are. No redemption!
Well, now, that is different from the “Mormon” Elder's manner. He presents himself in something like this way: “I have come in the name of the Almighty, in obedience to a call from God, to deliver you from your present circumstances. Repent of your sins and be baptized, and the Holy Ghost shall rest upon you, and you shall know that I have the authority to administer the ordinances of the Gospel by the power of the Almighty and the revelations of God. Gather out from this nation, for it is ripening in iniquity, there is no salvation here. Flee to a place of safety.” And as the messenger who went to Sodom said to the family whom he found there, so says the Elder of Israel, telling them, as Moses did the children of Israel, to go to the land that the Lord God has appointed for the gathering of His people.
There is a great difference between the operations of the Latter-day Saints and these of the Christian world. With us there is no deception; nor indeed is there any chance for any. People gather here in thousands on the principle that the Lord God has revealed, and they have an opportunity of knowing that the Almighty has spoken from the heavens. They are not left to the mere statement of anyone.
Jesus says that if any man will do the will of God, he shall know His doctrine. If he will repent of his sins and be immersed in water, by the laying on of the hands of these having authority, the gift of the Holy Ghost shall be given to him and he shall receive knowledge from God in regard to the divine authenticity of these ordinances. People are not left in the dark, they have a chance to know for themselves. They get this intelligence and know what they are doing.
Will we do these things in the name of the Lord God that sent us? This work is the Almighty's, and it is His business to sustain and support it. If, in keeping the laws of God we do things that are not quite so pleasant to the people around us or the Government under which we dwell, we cannot help it. We cannot act save we do so in the name of the Lord. When Nebuchadnezzar established a certain edict, and that edict was contrary to the revelations of the Almighty, it was disagreeable to many persons whom it concerned. There were three men, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who received a command from the Almighty that they should not worship any other God than the Lord God of Israel, that they should worship no images. But King Nebuchadnezzar set up an image and commanded that every nation, kindred and tongue, over whom he reigned, should bow down and worship it, when they heard the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, dulcimer, and all kinds of music.
It so happened that the King's edict concerned, among others, the three men who had received the revelation from the Lord that they should not worship any image. They were in a rather awkward fix. Either they must set aside the command of Jehovah to worship no God but Him, or, on the other hand, disobey the mandate of the King. They knew if they refused to comply with the wishes of so mighty a man as Nebuchadnezzar, their lives would not be of much value, unless they were preserved by the hand of the God of Israel. But they feared not the King and trusted in the arm of Jehovah to shield them from evil. Accordingly, when the signal was given for the people to fall down and worship the image, these three men refused to do so; and being observed, they were taken before the King, who was greatly enraged at the idea that there could be found anyone in all his dominions so fearless as to refuse to comply with his wishes. When they appeared before him he looked at them in a fierce and savage manner and said, “Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, do not ye serve my gods, nor worship the golden image which I have set up? Now if ye be ready that at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery and dulcimer, and all kinds of music, ye fall down and worship the image which I have made, well; but if ye worship not, ye shall be cast the same hour into the midst of a burning fiery furnace; and who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands?”
I often admire the answer of those men, placed as they were in such a perplexing position. A person might be brought before the Emperor of France or Russia and get along very well; but it was something awful to come in collision with a man like Nebuchadnezzar, whose will was as the word of the Almighty, and had never been disobeyed. When the King had done speaking, they answered, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter. If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us out of thine hand, O King. But if not, be it known unto thee, O King, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.” Upon hearing this, the King was extremely angry, and caused the furnace to be heated seven times hotter than usual, at the same time commanding the most mighty men of his army to bind them and thrust them into the furnace. After awhile, however, he discovered he had made a grand mistake. He had been deceived, and hastily calling his counselors together, he demanded of them whether only three men were cast into the furnace. They answered, yes. “Well,” said he, “I see four there; and one of them is like the Son of God.” He then sent forth another edict, that all those who refused to worship the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, should be cut in pieces and their houses should be made into dunghills.
Now, Nebuchadnezzar was honest, but through ignorance he was led to act in this way.
It would he very agreeable and pleasant when we carry the words of life and salvation to the various nations, if every part and operation of the work of God should be in perfect harmony with the feelings of the people to whom it is preached; if it is not so, we cannot help it. We know this, that the Almighty has given us power and authority to go forth and gather the people from the nations of the earth and establish them in the land of Zion. But strip from this operation the supernatural part, and the people of the world, members of Congress included, would be pleased; and the Vice-President would be proud of us. They would say we were very patriotic. But they do not like our doing these things in the name of the Lord our God. They are afraid that in getting power and influence, and uniting our interests as one great people, we will do something by and by.
Let us continue, brethren and sisters, to work in the name of the Lord our God; gathering wisdom and intelligence day by day, that every circumstance which transpires may minister to our good and increase our faith and intelligence. If we continue to work righteousness, being faithful to each other and to God, no power will be able to overthrow us, and as brother Hyde remarked, for every stumbling block that our enemies place in our way, to hinder and prevent the work of God from moving forward, two will be placed in the paths of those who put one in ours. If we are faithful and keep the commandments of God, His works will continue to prosper until the prophecies are fulfilled, and we become a great, a glorious and a mighty people. God bless you. Amen.
The Brigham City Choir sang "My own loved Deseret," in a very sweet and tasteful manner, reflecting great credit upon the training of their leader, Bro. Fishburn.
Remarks by Elder Lorenzo Snow, delivered in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Oct. 9, 1869.
Reported by John Grimshaw.
I am very much pleased in having an opportunity to make a few remarks to this Conference. The subjects that have been presented to our consideration are fraught with many very interesting reflections. Every privilege that is afforded us of meeting together in the capacity of a Conference, and taking a retrospective view of the past, gives us a chance to behold the great and marvelous success that has hitherto attended our labors, as the servants of God, in this great and glorious work of the redemption of Israel and the gathering of the Latter-day Saints from the four quarters of the world, to establish the kingdom of God on the earth in the last days.
There are many peculiarities that distinguish the order of things pertaining to the work of God in which we are engaged, from the different systems of religion that are to be met with in Christendom and throughout the various parts of the world. What we do we perform in the name of the Lord God of Israel, and are willing to acknowledge the hand of the Almighty in everything we do. When Moses stood forth as the deliverer of the children of Israel from their Egyptian bondage, he did not present himself in the manner of a common deliverer, but he went in the name of the Lord God of Israel, having been commanded to accomplish their redemption by the power and authority which he received from God. And from the moment that he appeared before them in this capacity, until he had accomplished his work, he acted in and through the name of the Lord, and not by his own wisdom or ingenuity, nor because he possessed superior intelligence to the rest of mankind. The Lord appeared to him in the burning bush, and commanded him to go forth and accomplish a certain work, which concerned the peace, happiness and salvation of a great people; and its success and prosperity depended upon the carrying out of the order of things revealed to him by the God of heaven. His success and prosperity were made perfectly sure from the fact that the work to which he was assigned was not a thing of his own invention, but it emanated from Jehovah.
A great deal of speculation might have been entertained by some in reference to his mode of procedure. There might have been some things in the working of the system he introduced that were very disagreeable to certain parties whom they concerned—to the government of Egypt and King Pharaoh, for instance; but that was a matter of very small consideration with him and with the people whom he had occasion to deliver from bondage.
It is so in reference to ourselves. The great work now being accomplished—the gathering of the people from the nations of the earth, had not its origin in the mind of any man or any set of men, but it emanated from the Lord Almighty. Joseph Smith received a revelation and commandment from the Lord, to go forth and preach the Gospel of salvation to the nations of the earth, with power and authority to baptize those who would repent of their sins and be immersed in water for the remission of them; he was also commanded to preach the gathering to them, that a people might be drawn together who would be willing to hearken to the voice of the Lord and keep His laws, that a righteous seed might thereby be preserved when the great day of His wrath should come. This Gospel was preached, and thousands of Saints have been gathered from almost all parts of the globe, who are now scattered throughout the length and breadth of this Territory, making farms, building houses, planting orchards and reclaiming the soil; creating villages, towns and cities where nothing but wild beasts and savages used to roam, and causing the desert to blossom as the rose. Yet all this has not been accomplished by human wisdom, although the enemies of the Saints would try to make the world believe so; it has been done by the wisdom and power of Almighty God, whose outstretched arm has been over His Saints, preserving them from evil of every kind.
Jesus, while traveling here on earth, fulfilling his mission, told the people he did not perform the miracles he wrought in their midst by his own power, nor by his own wisdom; but he was there in order to accomplish the will of his Father. He came not to seek the glory of men, and the honor of men; but to seek the honor and glory of his Father that sent him. Said he, “I am come in my Father's name, and ye receive me not, if another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive.”
Now, the peculiarity of his mission, and that which distinguished it from other missions, was this: he came not to seek the glory and honor of men, but to seek the honor and glory of his Father, and to accomplish the work of his Father who sent him. Herein lay the secret of his prosperity; and herein lies the secret of the prosperity of every individual who works upon the same principle.
There are many things that are admirable in what is called by our neighbors “Mormonism.” Great men admire the effects that are produced by its operations, or the work of preaching the Gospel, gathering the people from the nations of the earth and settling them in this Territory, in establishing towns, villages and settlements, in gathering the poor from their indigent circumstances, from their conditions of poverty and distress, and placing them in a position where they can sustain themselves and have an opportunity of educating their children and gathering around them the necessaries, comforts and conveniences of life.
People admire the prosperity of the Latter-day Saints, they admire the wisdom that is manifest in the perfect organization observable in their cities, towns and settlements, and the unity existing amongst them. They are struck with the peace and good order that reign in our midst, which are not found, to the same extent, in any of the cities of the United States or Europe. One hundred and fifty thousand people, who have been gathered from the poorest classes of persons and brought from the various nations and established in prosperous and happy circumstances, are admired by everyone. But all this is being done in the name of the Lord, and professedly through the commandments of the Almighty; and herein lies the difficulty. Our acknowledgement of the hand of God in what we do is something they do not approve of. If we gathered the people from the various nations, built cities, towns and villages in our own name, and in our own strength and wisdom, and gave ourselves the honor and glory, we should be a very admirable people indeed, and everybody would admire the “Mormons,” and would be pleased with our operations; and as far as the influence of politicians and members of Congress is concerned, it would be employed in obtaining our admission into the Union as a State.
It may be considered by some as unfortunate that we have a principle in the operations of “Mormonism” so disagreeable and annoying; but we cannot help it. This work is not one of our own getting up, and we have not the responsibility of its success resting upon us. Jesus says himself that he would have been received by the people if he had sought the honor of men. If he had not come in the name of his Father, but simply in his own, the people would have received him, honored him and made him King of the Jews; and all would have been agreeable, pleased and satisfied.
It was said by the Prophet that Israel should be scattered, that they should be sifted among the nations, and in the latter days they should be gathered out, two from a city and one from a family, and there should be a time when the people would be gathered from the nations when it should be said to them, “Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.”
Joseph Smith received a commandment of the Almighty similar to that which Moses received to deliver the children of Israel from Egyptian bondage. The command to the Prophet Joseph was to go forth and declare the Gospel to the children of men, to gather them from the nations of the earth and place them in a land of peace and plenty, where they could plant and reap the fruit thereof. In many instances the people who received this Gospel were in a far worse condition than the children of Israel, when found by Moses in their bondage.
There are hundreds of Elders here who have traveled through England, Scotland, Wales, Germany, Switzerland, Norway and elsewhere, who know very well that the people were found in most of those lands in circumstances of slavery—bondage far worse than the “blacks” in the South previous to their liberation. There was nothing before the people but the prospect of starvation; and they were subject to the will and caprice of their masters, and dependent upon them for their labor and daily bread; and when work was dull, they had before them nothing but the prospect of being turned from their employment and to have their only source of obtaining food for themselves and families entirely cut off. They did not own a foot of land, a plough, an ox, a wagon, a cow, a mule, a horse, in fact, nothing they saw around them could they call their own. They were, in short, entirely dependent upon the will and disposition of their employers for what they wanted, and had to look to them for their only means of gaining a living. Thousands upon thousands of these people are now located in various parts of this Territory, in a far more prosperous and independent condition than that in which they lived while abroad among the nations. Many of them are comparatively rich in this world's goods. The command of the Almighty to this people is to come out of Babylon to a land where his Saints may gather around them such things as are necessary to the well-being of his children. This is a greater work than that performed by Moses, of redeeming the children of Israel from Egyptian bondage; yet it is done on the same principle. The voice of God to Moses was to deliver His people from their bondage and he would be with him and assist him. The command is now for the people to be delivered from their bondage, poverty and distress, and come to these valleys of the mountains, where they can sustain themselves.
There are many philanthropists who admire the works that have been accomplished in this respect. They say, “The ‘Mormons’ have done a great deal more than any religious society ever did or even expected to do. They have increased the population of the nation and have extended their cities to the east, to the west, to the north and to the south.” But it has been done by the command of the Almighty, and that is where the trouble lies. As for polygamy, our enemies would not be so wrath about our practicing it, so long as we did not do so in the name of the Lord. But as these things are done in His name, they are obnoxious in the eyes of the world. The same state of feeling existed in the days of Moses, the same in the days when Jesus appeared among the Jews. Had Moses presented himself in the same way as Washington or William Tell, the deliverer of the people of Switzerland from the yoke of bondage under which they labored, or as Wallace, the hero of Scotland—had he, I say, appeared in his own name, and presented himself before the people as a person of superior powers and ability, and [not] claimed power greater than that he possessed as a man, all would have been well. But when he went before them in the name of the Lord Almighty, he experienced some difficulty in performing the work which had been assigned him.
We know well we differ very much in our religious concerns from the various denominations existing in the world. An Elder goes in the name of the Lord; he crosses the ocean, calls into an individual's house and says, “I am a missionary; I have come from America to preach the Gospel.” It is not a very unusual thing for persons to cross the ocean, as missionaries and go to Europe. This is all very natural; but when an Elder goes and says he comes in the name of the Lord to deliver them from their circumstances of poverty and distress, and to call upon them to repent of their sins and be immersed in water for the remission of them, promising them the Gift of the Holy Ghost, he creates a distinction between his mission and that of the various systems introduced by the different sects of the day. Says he, “I come to tell you that the time for the fulfillment of the predictions of the Prophets has arrived. The Lord wants His people gathered from Babylon unto the place where there shall be deliverance.” There is deliverance. There is something that can be realized and experienced, that can be seen and felt and known. There is the promise that, if any man will do the will of God, he shall know for himself that the doctrine we teach is true. There is no chance of imposition. There is an opportunity to know whether the message of this Elder is true or false.
If a sectarian minister had gone to the children of Israel and discovered them in the same condition in which Moses found them, his message would have been entirely different from that of Moses, as would also his conversation and address. Moses said to them, “In the name of the Almighty, having received authority from God, I come to deliver you from bondage and to give you a national existence; to take you to a land that the Lord God has commanded you to go to, and which He has promised you shall receive.” Had a sectarian minister gone under similar circumstances, his ideas and manner would have been entirely different. Says he, “I have come to beseech you who are now subject to your masters' will and have to recline upon straw, to be patient and long-suffering. Servants, be obedient to your masters and wait upon the providence of the Lord. Bear up, and be kind,” and so on. Anything in regard to delivering them from their bondage under which they are suffering? No, nothing of the kind.
It is the same when a sectarian minister goes to England. He knocks at a man's door and says, “I am a missionary from America.” Well, the man on whom he calls is in distress. Says he, “I am sorry I cannot take you in; but I am in distress. It is mealtime, but my family has nothing to eat. I am out of employment and have nothing to live upon. I wish I could relieve your wants, but I have nothing with which to assist you.” Oh, says the minister, you must wait upon Providence, you must have a great deal of patience and long-suffering. I am come to preach to you the Gospel, and you must pray and keep praying until you think you have got a pardon of your sins; but still remain where you are. No redemption!
Well, now, that is different from the “Mormon” Elder's manner. He presents himself in something like this way: “I have come in the name of the Almighty, in obedience to a call from God, to deliver you from your present circumstances. Repent of your sins and be baptized, and the Holy Ghost shall rest upon you, and you shall know that I have the authority to administer the ordinances of the Gospel by the power of the Almighty and the revelations of God. Gather out from this nation, for it is ripening in iniquity, there is no salvation here. Flee to a place of safety.” And as the messenger who went to Sodom said to the family whom he found there, so says the Elder of Israel, telling them, as Moses did the children of Israel, to go to the land that the Lord God has appointed for the gathering of His people.
There is a great difference between the operations of the Latter-day Saints and these of the Christian world. With us there is no deception; nor indeed is there any chance for any. People gather here in thousands on the principle that the Lord God has revealed, and they have an opportunity of knowing that the Almighty has spoken from the heavens. They are not left to the mere statement of anyone.
Jesus says that if any man will do the will of God, he shall know His doctrine. If he will repent of his sins and be immersed in water, by the laying on of the hands of these having authority, the gift of the Holy Ghost shall be given to him and he shall receive knowledge from God in regard to the divine authenticity of these ordinances. People are not left in the dark, they have a chance to know for themselves. They get this intelligence and know what they are doing.
Will we do these things in the name of the Lord God that sent us? This work is the Almighty's, and it is His business to sustain and support it. If, in keeping the laws of God we do things that are not quite so pleasant to the people around us or the Government under which we dwell, we cannot help it. We cannot act save we do so in the name of the Lord. When Nebuchadnezzar established a certain edict, and that edict was contrary to the revelations of the Almighty, it was disagreeable to many persons whom it concerned. There were three men, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who received a command from the Almighty that they should not worship any other God than the Lord God of Israel, that they should worship no images. But King Nebuchadnezzar set up an image and commanded that every nation, kindred and tongue, over whom he reigned, should bow down and worship it, when they heard the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, dulcimer, and all kinds of music.
It so happened that the King's edict concerned, among others, the three men who had received the revelation from the Lord that they should not worship any image. They were in a rather awkward fix. Either they must set aside the command of Jehovah to worship no God but Him, or, on the other hand, disobey the mandate of the King. They knew if they refused to comply with the wishes of so mighty a man as Nebuchadnezzar, their lives would not be of much value, unless they were preserved by the hand of the God of Israel. But they feared not the King and trusted in the arm of Jehovah to shield them from evil. Accordingly, when the signal was given for the people to fall down and worship the image, these three men refused to do so; and being observed, they were taken before the King, who was greatly enraged at the idea that there could be found anyone in all his dominions so fearless as to refuse to comply with his wishes. When they appeared before him he looked at them in a fierce and savage manner and said, “Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, do not ye serve my gods, nor worship the golden image which I have set up? Now if ye be ready that at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery and dulcimer, and all kinds of music, ye fall down and worship the image which I have made, well; but if ye worship not, ye shall be cast the same hour into the midst of a burning fiery furnace; and who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands?”
I often admire the answer of those men, placed as they were in such a perplexing position. A person might be brought before the Emperor of France or Russia and get along very well; but it was something awful to come in collision with a man like Nebuchadnezzar, whose will was as the word of the Almighty, and had never been disobeyed. When the King had done speaking, they answered, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter. If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us out of thine hand, O King. But if not, be it known unto thee, O King, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.” Upon hearing this, the King was extremely angry, and caused the furnace to be heated seven times hotter than usual, at the same time commanding the most mighty men of his army to bind them and thrust them into the furnace. After awhile, however, he discovered he had made a grand mistake. He had been deceived, and hastily calling his counselors together, he demanded of them whether only three men were cast into the furnace. They answered, yes. “Well,” said he, “I see four there; and one of them is like the Son of God.” He then sent forth another edict, that all those who refused to worship the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, should be cut in pieces and their houses should be made into dunghills.
Now, Nebuchadnezzar was honest, but through ignorance he was led to act in this way.
It would he very agreeable and pleasant when we carry the words of life and salvation to the various nations, if every part and operation of the work of God should be in perfect harmony with the feelings of the people to whom it is preached; if it is not so, we cannot help it. We know this, that the Almighty has given us power and authority to go forth and gather the people from the nations of the earth and establish them in the land of Zion. But strip from this operation the supernatural part, and the people of the world, members of Congress included, would be pleased; and the Vice-President would be proud of us. They would say we were very patriotic. But they do not like our doing these things in the name of the Lord our God. They are afraid that in getting power and influence, and uniting our interests as one great people, we will do something by and by.
Let us continue, brethren and sisters, to work in the name of the Lord our God; gathering wisdom and intelligence day by day, that every circumstance which transpires may minister to our good and increase our faith and intelligence. If we continue to work righteousness, being faithful to each other and to God, no power will be able to overthrow us, and as brother Hyde remarked, for every stumbling block that our enemies place in our way, to hinder and prevent the work of God from moving forward, two will be placed in the paths of those who put one in ours. If we are faithful and keep the commandments of God, His works will continue to prosper until the prophecies are fulfilled, and we become a great, a glorious and a mighty people. God bless you. Amen.
The Brigham City Choir sang "My own loved Deseret," in a very sweet and tasteful manner, reflecting great credit upon the training of their leader, Bro. Fishburn.
The names of the following brethren were presented to the Conference, having been called to go on short missions to the Eastern States:
Bishop A. H. Raleigh, 19th ward
Bishop C. H. Bryan, Nephi
Bishop R. T. Burton, 15th ward
Bishop Jacob Weiler, 3d ward
Bishop John W. Hess, Farmington
Bishop John Stoker, Bountiful
Bishop L. W. Hardy, 12th ward
Bishop A. K. Thurber, Spanish Fork
Bishop E. F. Sheets, 8th ward
Bishop Samuel A. Woolley, 9th ward
Bishop Reuben Miller, Mill Creek
Bishop Alex McRae, 11th ward
Bishop David Evans, Lehi
Bishop Robert D. Covington, Washington
Bishop Charles S. Peterson, Weber City
Bishop Alex F. Barron, Panacca
C. V. Spencer, 13th ward
Le Grand Young, 17th ward
Angus M. Cannon, 15th ward
Richard Maxfield, Cottonwood
Robert Maxfield, Cottonwood
Ezra Clark, Farmington
William Johnson, 15th ward
Henry McEwan, 12th ward
Millen Atwood, 13th ward
Bolivar Roberts, 13th ward
Henry Houtz, 13th ward
E. T. Browning, 7th ward
Israel Canfield, Ogden
Augustus Canfield, Ogden
Edward Stevenson, 14th ward
N. H. Felt, 17th ward
Julian Moses, Mill Creek
W. H. Folson, 14th ward
W. W. Riter, 9th ward
Roswell Hyde, Kaysville
William G. Young, North Mill Creek
Absalom Smith, Draperville
Daniel Cahoon, Cottonwood
Silas Richards, Union
Preston Thomas, Rich Co
Ben F. Stewart, Payson
Samuel L. Sprague, Sen., 13th ward
Daniel Carter, Bountiful
Elisha H. Davis, Lehi
John Nebeker, Tokerville
Lewis Robison, Pleasant Grove
David Candland
E. W. East, 14th ward
Z. Snow, 13th ward
Geo. G. Snyder, Wanship
W. I. Appleby, 14th ward
Theo McKean, 16th ward
Henry G. Boyle, Payson
Adam Paul, 8th ward
Albert Merrill, Sen., 17th ward
Albert Merrill, Jun., 17th ward
N. Groesbeck, 17th ward
Joseph C. Rich, Paris, Rich Co.
F. A. Hammond, Huntsville
John Pack, Sen., 17th ward
A. R. Wright, 14th ward
Samuel L. Serrine, 14th ward
Horace K. Whitney, 18th Ward
Burr Frost, 8th ward
Thomas Naylor, 13th ward
Nelson Empy, 12th ward
Andrew J. Pendleton, 2nd ward
E. L. T. Harrison, 13th ward
J. M. Barlow, 15th ward
Walter Conrad, 15th ward
J. D. M. Crockwell, 9th ward
Phares Wells, 12th ward
Geo. D. Grant, Bountiful
Samuel Atwood, 13th ward
Elnathan Eldredge, Sen., 16th ward
William Bringhurst, Springville
Levi Thornton, Farmington
Byron Groo, 9th ward
Daniel Corbett, 2nd ward
Charles Bird, Mendon
Charles Shumway, Mendon
Charles P. Squires, Brigham City
James May, Brigham City
Joseph Wight, Brigham City
Peter Madsen, Brigham City
Geo. Harding, Willard City
Omer Call, Willard City
John Thatcher, Logan
William H. Wright, Richmond
Matthew W. Dalton, Willard city
Henry Peck, Malad
Abel Lamb, Farmington
John S. Gleason, Farmington
Hector C. Haight, Farmington
Henry W. Brizzee, Wanship
Jacob Zundel, Willard City
Thos. E. Ricks, Logan
Oliver E. Ormsby, Brigham City
Evan M. Greene, Smithfield
Alanson Norton, Brigham City
Charles Nibley, Brigham City
Joseph Tibbits, Brigham City
Angus McDonald, Brigham City
William H. Shearman, Logan
Jesse N. Perkins, Bountiful
Lewis Perkins, Bountiful
Thos. Higgs, 17th ward
Ward E. Pack, 17th ward
Parley P. Pratt, 14th ward
Moroni Pratt, Pleasant Grove
Alma Pratt, Big Field
Henry Lee, Bountiful
Wm. Henry Lee, Bountiful
Milo Andrus, Dry Creek
William C. Neal, 19th ward
Theo. Curtis, 7th ward
Samuel W. Richards, 14th ward
Moroni Bigelow, Provo
Samuel McIntyre, St George
William McIntyre, St George
Geo. B. Wallace, 17th ward
D. B. Huntington, 16th ward
William Gibson, 20th ward
Daniel Wood, Bountiful
Andrew Galloway, Tooele
Chas. Stewart, Pleasant Grove
Orville M. Allen, Tokerville
Ira N. Spalding, East Weber
Hopkings Pender, Morgan City
Wm. Miller, Morgan City
John Thornton, Farmington
T. B. Foote, Nephi
Thos. Jackson, Payson
Thos. E. Daniels, Payson
Aaron F. Farr, Ogden
Andrew Love, Nephi.
Aaron Sceva, Grantsville
Nathan T. Porter, Centerville
Wm. C. Rydalch, Grantsville
Frederick Kesler, Jr., 16th Ward
William Tripp, 16th Ward
Jacob Gates, St. George.
The following Elders were presented by Elder Geo. Q. Cannon, having been called to go on foreign missions:
Mons Anderson, (for Norway)
Edward Schoufeld (for Switzerland)
Chauncey W. West, Jr., (for Switzerland)
It was then motioned that we sustain these brethren on their missions with our faith and prayers which motion was unanimously carried by the vast congregation.
The Brigham City Choir sang "Do they pray for me at Home?"
Bishop A. H. Raleigh, 19th ward
Bishop C. H. Bryan, Nephi
Bishop R. T. Burton, 15th ward
Bishop Jacob Weiler, 3d ward
Bishop John W. Hess, Farmington
Bishop John Stoker, Bountiful
Bishop L. W. Hardy, 12th ward
Bishop A. K. Thurber, Spanish Fork
Bishop E. F. Sheets, 8th ward
Bishop Samuel A. Woolley, 9th ward
Bishop Reuben Miller, Mill Creek
Bishop Alex McRae, 11th ward
Bishop David Evans, Lehi
Bishop Robert D. Covington, Washington
Bishop Charles S. Peterson, Weber City
Bishop Alex F. Barron, Panacca
C. V. Spencer, 13th ward
Le Grand Young, 17th ward
Angus M. Cannon, 15th ward
Richard Maxfield, Cottonwood
Robert Maxfield, Cottonwood
Ezra Clark, Farmington
William Johnson, 15th ward
Henry McEwan, 12th ward
Millen Atwood, 13th ward
Bolivar Roberts, 13th ward
Henry Houtz, 13th ward
E. T. Browning, 7th ward
Israel Canfield, Ogden
Augustus Canfield, Ogden
Edward Stevenson, 14th ward
N. H. Felt, 17th ward
Julian Moses, Mill Creek
W. H. Folson, 14th ward
W. W. Riter, 9th ward
Roswell Hyde, Kaysville
William G. Young, North Mill Creek
Absalom Smith, Draperville
Daniel Cahoon, Cottonwood
Silas Richards, Union
Preston Thomas, Rich Co
Ben F. Stewart, Payson
Samuel L. Sprague, Sen., 13th ward
Daniel Carter, Bountiful
Elisha H. Davis, Lehi
John Nebeker, Tokerville
Lewis Robison, Pleasant Grove
David Candland
E. W. East, 14th ward
Z. Snow, 13th ward
Geo. G. Snyder, Wanship
W. I. Appleby, 14th ward
Theo McKean, 16th ward
Henry G. Boyle, Payson
Adam Paul, 8th ward
Albert Merrill, Sen., 17th ward
Albert Merrill, Jun., 17th ward
N. Groesbeck, 17th ward
Joseph C. Rich, Paris, Rich Co.
F. A. Hammond, Huntsville
John Pack, Sen., 17th ward
A. R. Wright, 14th ward
Samuel L. Serrine, 14th ward
Horace K. Whitney, 18th Ward
Burr Frost, 8th ward
Thomas Naylor, 13th ward
Nelson Empy, 12th ward
Andrew J. Pendleton, 2nd ward
E. L. T. Harrison, 13th ward
J. M. Barlow, 15th ward
Walter Conrad, 15th ward
J. D. M. Crockwell, 9th ward
Phares Wells, 12th ward
Geo. D. Grant, Bountiful
Samuel Atwood, 13th ward
Elnathan Eldredge, Sen., 16th ward
William Bringhurst, Springville
Levi Thornton, Farmington
Byron Groo, 9th ward
Daniel Corbett, 2nd ward
Charles Bird, Mendon
Charles Shumway, Mendon
Charles P. Squires, Brigham City
James May, Brigham City
Joseph Wight, Brigham City
Peter Madsen, Brigham City
Geo. Harding, Willard City
Omer Call, Willard City
John Thatcher, Logan
William H. Wright, Richmond
Matthew W. Dalton, Willard city
Henry Peck, Malad
Abel Lamb, Farmington
John S. Gleason, Farmington
Hector C. Haight, Farmington
Henry W. Brizzee, Wanship
Jacob Zundel, Willard City
Thos. E. Ricks, Logan
Oliver E. Ormsby, Brigham City
Evan M. Greene, Smithfield
Alanson Norton, Brigham City
Charles Nibley, Brigham City
Joseph Tibbits, Brigham City
Angus McDonald, Brigham City
William H. Shearman, Logan
Jesse N. Perkins, Bountiful
Lewis Perkins, Bountiful
Thos. Higgs, 17th ward
Ward E. Pack, 17th ward
Parley P. Pratt, 14th ward
Moroni Pratt, Pleasant Grove
Alma Pratt, Big Field
Henry Lee, Bountiful
Wm. Henry Lee, Bountiful
Milo Andrus, Dry Creek
William C. Neal, 19th ward
Theo. Curtis, 7th ward
Samuel W. Richards, 14th ward
Moroni Bigelow, Provo
Samuel McIntyre, St George
William McIntyre, St George
Geo. B. Wallace, 17th ward
D. B. Huntington, 16th ward
William Gibson, 20th ward
Daniel Wood, Bountiful
Andrew Galloway, Tooele
Chas. Stewart, Pleasant Grove
Orville M. Allen, Tokerville
Ira N. Spalding, East Weber
Hopkings Pender, Morgan City
Wm. Miller, Morgan City
John Thornton, Farmington
T. B. Foote, Nephi
Thos. Jackson, Payson
Thos. E. Daniels, Payson
Aaron F. Farr, Ogden
Andrew Love, Nephi.
Aaron Sceva, Grantsville
Nathan T. Porter, Centerville
Wm. C. Rydalch, Grantsville
Frederick Kesler, Jr., 16th Ward
William Tripp, 16th Ward
Jacob Gates, St. George.
The following Elders were presented by Elder Geo. Q. Cannon, having been called to go on foreign missions:
Mons Anderson, (for Norway)
Edward Schoufeld (for Switzerland)
Chauncey W. West, Jr., (for Switzerland)
It was then motioned that we sustain these brethren on their missions with our faith and prayers which motion was unanimously carried by the vast congregation.
The Brigham City Choir sang "Do they pray for me at Home?"
Elder Wilford Woodruff
addressed the Conference. Previous speakers have alluded to our past history. The doings of our enemies are recorded in the heavens and on the earth. Those things are past, and we have a great future before us, for the set time to favor Zion has come. The Lord has promised that He will never forget Zion, and He never will. Men may seek to overthrow this work, but they will never prevail.
I rejoice at the host of men of God who are going forth to this nation to call on the people to repent of their sins and turn unto the Lord, before His judgments are poured out upon the inhabitants of this country. It is the future that our minds should be directed towards, for Zion is not yet what it will be. In relation to being subject to the laws, there is an important consideration, which is, whether the law is righteous or not. For instance, if a law were in existence to the effect that we should not be baptized for the remission of sins, this would be in opposition to the law of God and it would consequently be wrong to obey it. We must obey the law of God at all hazards. It is right for us to obey every righteous law, and every principle which is consonant with the glorious Constitution of our country. We are required to build temples and attend to those ordinances that will unite us with the dead who have gone behind the vail before us, without whom we cannot be perfected, neither can they be perfected without us. It is our duty to labor and to pay our tithes to build the temple. Zion is arising. We have no time to lose. We must listen to the living oracles, without which we would be as lost sheep. He felt as an individual that he would be glad if the Lord should command that this people should not buy another yard of cloth anywhere until they had used up all now in the Territory. Let us do what is right, independent of consequences. Amen.
The Tabernacle choir sang the hymn on page 118, "How Beauteous are their Feet."
Elder John T. Caine dismissed with prayer.
addressed the Conference. Previous speakers have alluded to our past history. The doings of our enemies are recorded in the heavens and on the earth. Those things are past, and we have a great future before us, for the set time to favor Zion has come. The Lord has promised that He will never forget Zion, and He never will. Men may seek to overthrow this work, but they will never prevail.
I rejoice at the host of men of God who are going forth to this nation to call on the people to repent of their sins and turn unto the Lord, before His judgments are poured out upon the inhabitants of this country. It is the future that our minds should be directed towards, for Zion is not yet what it will be. In relation to being subject to the laws, there is an important consideration, which is, whether the law is righteous or not. For instance, if a law were in existence to the effect that we should not be baptized for the remission of sins, this would be in opposition to the law of God and it would consequently be wrong to obey it. We must obey the law of God at all hazards. It is right for us to obey every righteous law, and every principle which is consonant with the glorious Constitution of our country. We are required to build temples and attend to those ordinances that will unite us with the dead who have gone behind the vail before us, without whom we cannot be perfected, neither can they be perfected without us. It is our duty to labor and to pay our tithes to build the temple. Zion is arising. We have no time to lose. We must listen to the living oracles, without which we would be as lost sheep. He felt as an individual that he would be glad if the Lord should command that this people should not buy another yard of cloth anywhere until they had used up all now in the Territory. Let us do what is right, independent of consequences. Amen.
The Tabernacle choir sang the hymn on page 118, "How Beauteous are their Feet."
Elder John T. Caine dismissed with prayer.
Thursday, 2 p.m.
Meeting was called to order by President Brigham Young.
The Tabernacle Choir sang the hymn on page 132, "Sweet is the Work, my God, my King."
Prayer by Elder Samuel W. Richards.
Sister Careless sang "Little Footsteps," the choir joining in the chorus.
Meeting was called to order by President Brigham Young.
The Tabernacle Choir sang the hymn on page 132, "Sweet is the Work, my God, my King."
Prayer by Elder Samuel W. Richards.
Sister Careless sang "Little Footsteps," the choir joining in the chorus.
Elder Orson Pratt
spoke. Our Fathers who framed the Constitution of our Country, incorporated in it that all people dwelling under this Government should have the inalienable right to worship God according to the dictates of their own conscience. In ancient times, under the Mosaic law, those who broke the Sabbath were put to death. Although the Constitution does not admit that we should inflict such a penalty, yet we have the privilege of keeping the Sabbath if we choose.
God created man and gave him laws to govern him, and gave unto him a help-meet, also, that the earth might teem with inhabitants. In men and women, God implanted the imperishable principle of love one towards the other, that this great object might be accomplished. He also gave laws to regulate that love; He gave the law of marriage. Marriage for eternity was the first kind of union of the sexes that we have any knowledge of. Adam and Eve were eternal beings, therefore, when God gave Eve unto Adam, he gave her as an eternal wife. Death, in consequence of the fall, tore asunder those two who had been united, but the Lord had provided a plan of redemption by which they would be restored to each other. That is the true order of marriage, but men have departed from that order. We never hear in the present age men speak of marriage for eternity. They marry for the brief space during which mortality lasts only. How is it in the resurrection? Does a man come forth possessing all the attributes of manhood and woman all the attributes of womanhood? If the same love existed before and since the fall, will it exist in the future? God has ordained that the highest order of beings shall swell in the capacity of families, having the power to increase and bring forth immortal intelligences. When the Saints of the Most High come forth on the morning of the resurrection, they shall possess all the attributes of love and friendship which they possess here, only more intensified, and with far greater capacity to live in the position of husband and wife. There are others who have not attained to that glorious position, and have not the privilege of increasing their posterity through all ages of eternity; such have not attained to a fullness of glory.
For the benefit of strangers I will say that God's people in all ages have generally been polygamists. This was the case with Abraham. God approbated his taking more wives than one. The Lord permitted Jacob to take four living, legal wives, and to show that He approved of his having a plurality of wives, He listened to the prayer of Jacob's second wife, just as he would have done to the first. The privileges of the first-born were conferred upon Joseph, the son of the second wife. In the days of Moses polygamy was approved of by God, for Moses, himself, had two wives. If the ideas of the people of the present age were correct, how could Moses have dared to go upon Mount Sinai and converse with the Almighty himself. The Lord not only approbates the wives of those who have obeyed polygamy, but also blesses their posterity. In ancient times the Lord provided a law for the purpose of keeping family inheritances in the family line and not allow them to go to strangers. When a man died without leaving issue, the brother of the deceased husband was required to marry the wife of his brother. The prophets and kings of Israel were polygamists; one of the latter—David, was called by God a man after His own heart. Before David was exalted to the throne of Israel the Lord gave him eight wives, and even then the Lord did not think he had a sufficient number of wives, for He afterwards gave unto him all of Saul's wives. Afterwards, David transgressed, but his crime did not consist in his being a polygamist; it was because he had taken another man's wife, thus committing adultery. This was an abomination in the sight of the Lord. If Solomon had been a bastard, as many people would have us suppose, he would not have been permitted to enter the congregation of the Lord, even unto the tenth generation; instead of that, he was exalted to be King over Israel. Many who oppose the principle of polygamy appeal to the Book of Mormon to support them in their position, but, although God said, as recorded in the Book of Jacob, that David and Solomon were guilty of abominations, those abominations did not consist in their having a number of wives whom they had obtained legally, but because they had taken some illegally. In 1832, the Prophet Joseph states to a number of the Saints that even at that early day he had enquired of the Lord concerning polygamy, and that the Lord had informed him that it was a true principle, but the proper time to practice it had not yet come. When the time arrived for the practice of that principle, it was revealed to the Prophet Joseph. The revelation was given in 1843. That revelation has long been published to the world. If the inhabitants of the earth were all righteous, and the number of males and females were exactly equal, there would be no necessity for practicing this principle. The law of compulsory celibacy and monogamy, which emanated from old Rome, has made a great inequality of the sexes. Statistics of various parts show a large preponderance of females over males. What is to be done with the surplus females? for in those places laws have been passed to the effect that they shall not be permitted to marry. They are not permitted to marry a man who already has a wife. We purpose carrying out the will of God in this and all other matters; which may God enable us to do. Amen.
spoke. Our Fathers who framed the Constitution of our Country, incorporated in it that all people dwelling under this Government should have the inalienable right to worship God according to the dictates of their own conscience. In ancient times, under the Mosaic law, those who broke the Sabbath were put to death. Although the Constitution does not admit that we should inflict such a penalty, yet we have the privilege of keeping the Sabbath if we choose.
God created man and gave him laws to govern him, and gave unto him a help-meet, also, that the earth might teem with inhabitants. In men and women, God implanted the imperishable principle of love one towards the other, that this great object might be accomplished. He also gave laws to regulate that love; He gave the law of marriage. Marriage for eternity was the first kind of union of the sexes that we have any knowledge of. Adam and Eve were eternal beings, therefore, when God gave Eve unto Adam, he gave her as an eternal wife. Death, in consequence of the fall, tore asunder those two who had been united, but the Lord had provided a plan of redemption by which they would be restored to each other. That is the true order of marriage, but men have departed from that order. We never hear in the present age men speak of marriage for eternity. They marry for the brief space during which mortality lasts only. How is it in the resurrection? Does a man come forth possessing all the attributes of manhood and woman all the attributes of womanhood? If the same love existed before and since the fall, will it exist in the future? God has ordained that the highest order of beings shall swell in the capacity of families, having the power to increase and bring forth immortal intelligences. When the Saints of the Most High come forth on the morning of the resurrection, they shall possess all the attributes of love and friendship which they possess here, only more intensified, and with far greater capacity to live in the position of husband and wife. There are others who have not attained to that glorious position, and have not the privilege of increasing their posterity through all ages of eternity; such have not attained to a fullness of glory.
For the benefit of strangers I will say that God's people in all ages have generally been polygamists. This was the case with Abraham. God approbated his taking more wives than one. The Lord permitted Jacob to take four living, legal wives, and to show that He approved of his having a plurality of wives, He listened to the prayer of Jacob's second wife, just as he would have done to the first. The privileges of the first-born were conferred upon Joseph, the son of the second wife. In the days of Moses polygamy was approved of by God, for Moses, himself, had two wives. If the ideas of the people of the present age were correct, how could Moses have dared to go upon Mount Sinai and converse with the Almighty himself. The Lord not only approbates the wives of those who have obeyed polygamy, but also blesses their posterity. In ancient times the Lord provided a law for the purpose of keeping family inheritances in the family line and not allow them to go to strangers. When a man died without leaving issue, the brother of the deceased husband was required to marry the wife of his brother. The prophets and kings of Israel were polygamists; one of the latter—David, was called by God a man after His own heart. Before David was exalted to the throne of Israel the Lord gave him eight wives, and even then the Lord did not think he had a sufficient number of wives, for He afterwards gave unto him all of Saul's wives. Afterwards, David transgressed, but his crime did not consist in his being a polygamist; it was because he had taken another man's wife, thus committing adultery. This was an abomination in the sight of the Lord. If Solomon had been a bastard, as many people would have us suppose, he would not have been permitted to enter the congregation of the Lord, even unto the tenth generation; instead of that, he was exalted to be King over Israel. Many who oppose the principle of polygamy appeal to the Book of Mormon to support them in their position, but, although God said, as recorded in the Book of Jacob, that David and Solomon were guilty of abominations, those abominations did not consist in their having a number of wives whom they had obtained legally, but because they had taken some illegally. In 1832, the Prophet Joseph states to a number of the Saints that even at that early day he had enquired of the Lord concerning polygamy, and that the Lord had informed him that it was a true principle, but the proper time to practice it had not yet come. When the time arrived for the practice of that principle, it was revealed to the Prophet Joseph. The revelation was given in 1843. That revelation has long been published to the world. If the inhabitants of the earth were all righteous, and the number of males and females were exactly equal, there would be no necessity for practicing this principle. The law of compulsory celibacy and monogamy, which emanated from old Rome, has made a great inequality of the sexes. Statistics of various parts show a large preponderance of females over males. What is to be done with the surplus females? for in those places laws have been passed to the effect that they shall not be permitted to marry. They are not permitted to marry a man who already has a wife. We purpose carrying out the will of God in this and all other matters; which may God enable us to do. Amen.
Celestial Marriage
Discourse by Elder Orson Pratt, delivered in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, October 7, 1869.
Reported by David W. Evans.
It was announced at the close of the forenoon meeting that I would address the congregation this afternoon upon the subject of Celestial Marriage; I do so with the greatest pleasure.
In the first place, let us inquire whether it is lawful and right, according to the Constitution of our country, to examine and practice this Bible doctrine? Our fathers, who framed the Constitution of our country devised it so as to give freedom of religious worship of the Almighty God; so that all people under our Government should have the inalienable right—a right by virtue of the Constitution—to believe in any Bible principle which the Almighty has revealed in any age of the world to the human family. I do not think, however, that our forefathers, in framing that instrument, intended to embrace all the religions of the world. I mean the idolatrous and Pagan religions. They say nothing about those religions in the Constitution; but they give the express privilege in that instrument to all people dwelling under this Government and under the institutions of our country, to believe in all things which the Almighty has revealed to the human family. There is no restriction nor limitation so far as Bible religion is concerned, or any principle or form of religion believed to have emanated from the Almighty; yet they would not admit idolatrous nations to come here and practice their religion, because it is not included in the Bible; it is not the religion of the Almighty. Those people worship idols, the work of their own hands, they have instituted rights and ceremonies pertaining to those idols, in the observance of which they, no doubt, suppose they are worshipping correctly and sincerely, yet some of them are of the most revolting and barbarous character. Such, for instance, as the offering up of a widow on a funeral pile, as a burnt sacrifice, in order to follow her husband into the eternal worlds.
That is no part of the religion mentioned in the Constitution of our country, it is no part of the religion of Almighty God.
But confining ourselves within the limits of the Constitution, and coming back to the religion of the Bible, we have the privilege to believe in the Patriarchal, in the Mosaic, or in the Christian order of things; for the God of the patriarchs, and the God of Moses is also the Christians' God.
It is true that many laws were given under the Patriarchal or Mosaic dispensations, against certain crimes, the penalties for violating which, religious bodies, under our Constitution, have not the right to inflict. The Government has reserved, in its own hands, the power, so far as affixing the penalties of certain crimes is concerned.
In ancient times there was a law strictly enforcing the observance of the Sabbath day, and the man or woman who violated that law was subjected to the punishment of death. Ecclesiastical bodies have the right, under our Government and Constitution, to observe the Sabbath day or to disregard it, but they have not the right to inflict corporeal punishment for its nonobservance.
The subject proposed to be investigated this afternoon is that of Celestial Marriage, as believed in by the Latter-day Saints, and which they claim is strictly a Bible doctrine and part of the revealed religion of the Almighty. It is well known by all the Latter-day Saints that we have not derived all our knowledge concerning God, heaven, angels, this life and the life to come entirely from the books of the Bible; yet we believe that all of our religious principles and notions are in accordance with and are sustained by the Bible; consequently, though we believe in new revelation, and believe that God has revealed many things pertaining to our religion, we also believe that He has revealed none that are inconsistent with the worship of Almighty God, a sacred right guaranteed to all religious denominations by the Constitution of our country.
God created man, male and female. He is the Author of our existence He placed us on this creation. He ordained laws to govern us. He gave to man, whom He created, a helpmeet—a woman, a wife to be one with him, to be a joy and a comfort to him; and also for another very great and wise purpose—namely, that the human species might be propagated on this creation, that the earth might teem with population according to the decree of God before the foundation of the world, that the intelligent spirits whom He had formed and created, before this world was rolled into existence, might have their probation, might have an existence in fleshly bodies on this planet, and be governed by laws emanating from their great Creator. In the breast of male and female He established certain qualities and attributes that never will be eradicated—namely, love towards each other. Love comes from God. The love which man possesses for the opposite sex came from God. The same God who created the two sexes implanted in the hearts of each love towards the other. What was the object of placing this passion or affection within the hearts of male and female? It was in order to carry out, so far as this world was concerned, His great and eternal purposes pertaining to the future. But He not only did establish this principle in the heart of man and woman, but gave divine laws to regulate them in relation to this passion or affection, that they might be limited and prescribed in the exercise of it towards each other.
He therefore ordained the Marriage Institution. The marriage that was instituted in the first place was between two immortal beings, hence it was marriage for eternity in the very first case which we have recorded for an example. Marriage for eternity was the order God instituted on our globe; as early as the Garden of Eden; as early as the day when our first parents were placed in the garden to keep it and till it, they, as two immortal beings, were united in the bonds of the new and everlasting covenant. This was before man fell, before the forbidden fruit was eaten, and before the penalty of death was pronounced upon the heads of our first parents and all their posterity, hence, when God gave to Adam his wife Eve, He gave her to him as an immortal wife, and there was no end contemplated of the relation they held to each other as husband and wife.
By and by, after this marriage had taken place, they transgressed the law of God, and by reason of that transgression the penalty of death came, not only upon them, but also upon all their posterity. Death, in its operations, tore asunder, as it were, these two beings who had hitherto been immortal, and if God had not, before the foundation of the world, provided a plan of redemption, they would, perhaps, have been torn asunder forever; but inasmuch as a plan of redemption had been provided, by which man could be rescued from the effects of the fall, Adam and Eve were restored to that condition of union, in respect to immortality, from which they had been separated for a short season of time by death. The Atonement reached after them and brought forth their bodies from the dust, and restored them as husband and wife, to all the privileges that were pronounced upon them before the Fall.
That was eternal marriage; that was lawful marriage ordained by God. That was the divine institution which was revealed and practiced in the early period of our globe. How has it been since that day? Mankind have strayed from that order of things, or, at least, they have done so in latter times. We hear nothing among the religious societies of the world which profess to believe in the Bible about this marriage for eternity. It is among the things that are obsolete. Now all marriages are consummated until death only; they do not believe in that great pattern and prototype established in the beginning; hence we never hear of their official characters, whether civil or religious, uniting men and women in the capacity of husband and wife as immortal beings. No, they marry as mortal beings only, and until death does them part.
What is to become of them after death? What will take place among all those nations who have been marrying for centuries for time only? Do both men and women receive a resurrection? Do they come forth with all the various affections, attributes and passions that God gave them in the beginning? Does the male come forth from the grave with all the attributes of a man? Does the female come forth from her grave with all the attributes of a woman? If so, what is their future destiny? Is there no object or purpose in this new creation, save to give them life, a state of existence? Or is there a more important object in view, in the mind of God, in thus creating them anew? Will that principle of love which exists now, and which has existed from the beginning, exist after the resurrection? I mean this sexual love. If that existed before the Fall, and if it has existed since then, will it exist in the eternal worlds after the resurrection? This is a very important question to be decided.
We read in the revelations of God that there are various classes of beings in the eternal worlds. There are some who are kings, priests, and Gods, others that are angels; and also among them are the orders denominated celestial, terrestrial, and telestial. God, however, according to the faith of the Latter-day Saints, has ordained that the highest order and class of beings that should exist in the eternal worlds should exist in the capacity of husbands and wives, and that they alone should have the privilege of propagating their species—intelligent immortal beings. Now it is wise, no doubt, in the Great Creator to thus limit this great and heavenly principle to those who have arrived or come to the highest state of exaltation, excellency, wisdom, knowledge, power, glory, and faithfulness, to dwell in His presence, that they by this means shall be prepared to bring up their spirit offspring in all pure and holy principles in the eternal worlds, in order that they may be made happy. Consequently, He does not entrust this privilege of multiplying spirits with the terrestrial or telestial, or the lower order of beings there, nor with angels. But why not? Because they have not proved themselves worthy of this great privilege. We might reason, of the eternal worlds, as some of the enemies of polygamy may reason of this state of existence, and say that there are just as many males as females there, some celestial, some terrestrial, and some telestial; and why not have all these paired off, two by two? Because God administers His gifts and His blessings to those who are most faithful, giving them more bountifully to the faithful, and taking away from the unfaithful that with which they had been entrusted, and which they had not improved upon. That is the order of God in the eternal worlds, and if such an order exists there, it may in a degree exist here.
When the sons and daughters of the Most High God come forth in the morning of the resurrection, this principle of love will exist in their bosoms just as it exists here, only intensified according to the increased knowledge and understanding which they possess; hence they will be capacitated to enjoy the relationships of husband and wife, of parents and children, in a hundred fold degree greater than they could in mortality. We are not capable, while surrounded with the weaknesses of our flesh, to enjoy these eternal principles in the same degree that will then exist. Shall these principles of conjugal and parental love and affection be thwarted in the eternal worlds? Shall they be rooted out and overcome? No, most decidedly not. According to the religious notions of the world these principles will not exist after the resurrection; but our religion teaches the fallacy of such notions. It is true that we read in the New Testament that in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels in heaven. These are the words of our Savior when he was addressing himself to a very wicked class of people, the Sadducees, a portion of the Jewish nation, who rejected Jesus, and the counsel of God against their own souls. They had not attained to the blessings and privileges of their fathers, but had apostatized; and Jesus, in speaking to them, says that in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God.
Now, how are the angels of God after the resurrection? According to the revelations which God has given, there are different classes of angels. Some angels are Gods, and still possess the lower office called angels. Adam is called an Archangel, yet he is a God. Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, no doubt, have the right to officiate in the capacity of angels if they choose, but still they have ascended to their exaltation, to a higher state than that of angels—namely, to thrones, kingdoms, principalities and powers, to reign over kingdoms and to hold the everlasting Priesthood. Then there is another order of angels who never have ascended to these powers and dignities, to this greatness and exaltation in the presence of God. Who are they? Those who never received the everlasting covenant of marriage for eternity; those who have not continued in nor received that law with all their hearts, or who, perhaps, have fought against it. They become angels. They have no power to increase and extend forth to kingdoms. They have no wives, no husbands, and they are servants to those that sit upon thrones and rule over kingdoms, and are counted worthy of a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. These, no doubt, were the kind of angels Jesus had reference to when speaking to those ungodly classes of beings called Sadducees and Pharisees, one of which denied the doctrine of the resurrection altogether.
There is a difference between the classes of angels called celestial, terrestrial and telestial. The celestial angels have not attained to all of the power and greatness and exaltation of kings and priests in the presence of God; they are blessed with glory, happiness, peace and joy; but they are not blessed with the privilege of increasing their posterity to all ages of eternity, neither have they thrones and kingdoms, but they are servants to those of the highest order. The angels of the terrestrial and telestial orders, while possessing a degree of happiness and glory, are lower than those of the celestial order. We might inquire, have angels not also these affections which belong to the higher class of beings, inasmuch as they are resurrected beings? Yes, but herein they have lost, through disobedience, the privilege of attaining to the higher glory and exaltation. They have affections and desires that never can be gratified, and in this respect their glory is not full.
I am talking, today, to Latter-day Saints; I am not reasoning with unbelievers. If I were, I should appeal more fully to the Old Testament Scriptures to bring in arguments and testimonies to prove the divine authenticity of polygamic marriages. Perhaps I may touch upon this for a few moments, for the benefit of strangers, should there be any in our midst. Let me say, then, that God's people, under every dispensation since the creation of the world, have, generally, been polygamists. I say this for the benefit of strangers. According to the good old book called the Bible, when God saw proper to call out Abraham from all the heathen nations, and made him a great man in the world, He saw proper, also, to make him a polygamist, and approbated him in taking unto himself more wives than one. Was it wrong in Abraham to do this thing? If it were, when did God reprove him for so doing? When did He ever reproach Jacob for doing the same thing? Who can find the record in the lids of the Bible of God reproving Abraham, as being a sinner, and having committed a crime, in taking to himself two living wives? No such thing is recorded.
He was just as much blessed after doing this thing as before, and more so, for God promised blessings upon the issue of Abraham by his second wife the same as that of the first wife, providing he was equally faithful. This was a proviso in every case.
When we come down to Jacob, the Lord permitted him to take four wives. They are so called in Holy Writ. They are not denominated prostitutes, neither are they called concubines, but they are called wives, legal wives; and to show that God approved of the course of Jacob in taking these wives, He blessed them abundantly, and hearkened to the prayer of the second wife just the same as the first. Rachel was the second wife of Jacob, and our great mother; for you know that many of the Latter-day Saints by revelation know themselves to be the descendants of Joseph, and he was the son of Rachel, the second wife of Jacob. God in a peculiar manner blessed the posterity of this second wife. Instead of condemning the old patriarch, He ordained that Joseph, the firstborn of this second wife, should be considered the firstborn of all the twelve tribes, and into his hands was given the double birthright, according to the laws of the ancients. And yet he was the offspring of plurality—of the second wife of Jacob. Of course, if Reuben, who was indeed the firstborn unto Jacob, had conducted himself properly, he might have retained the birthright and the greater inheritance; but he lost that through his transgression, and it was given to a polygamic child, who had the privilege of inheriting the blessing to the utmost bounds of the everlasting hills—the great continent of North and South America was conferred upon him. Another proof that God did not disapprove of a man having more wives than one, is to be found in the fact that Rachel, after she had been a long time barren, prayed to the Lord to give her seed. The Lord hearkened to her cry and granted her prayer; and when she received seed from the Lord by her polygamic husband, she exclaimed, “The Lord hath hearkened unto me and hath answered my prayer.” Now do you think the Lord would have done this if he had considered polygamy a crime? Would He have hearkened to the prayer of this woman if Jacob had been living with her in adultery? And he certainly was doing so if the ideas of this generation are correct.
Again, what says the Lord in the days of Moses, under another dispensation? We have seen that in the days of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, He approved of polygamy and blessed His servants who practiced it, and also their wives and children. Now, let us come down to the days of Moses. We read that, on a certain occasion the sister of Moses, Miriam, and certain others in the great congregation of Israel, got very jealous. What were they jealous about? About the Ethiopian woman that Moses had taken to wife, in addition to the daughter of Jethro, whom he had taken before in the land of Midian. How dare the great lawgiver, after having committed, according to the ideas of the present generation, a great crime, show his face on Mount Sinai when it was clothed with the glory of the God of Israel? But what did the Lord do in the case of Miriam, for finding fault with her brother Moses? Instead of saying, “You are right, Miriam, he has committed a great crime, and no matter how much you speak against him,” He smote her with a leprosy the very moment she began to complain, and she was considered unclean for a certain number of days. Here the Lord manifested by the display of a signal judgment, that He disapproved of anyone speaking against His servants for taking more wives than one, because it may not happen to suit their notions of things.
I make these remarks and wish to apply them to faultfinders against plural marriages in our day. Are there any Miriams in our congregation today, any of those who, professing to belong to the Israel of the latter days, sometimes find fault with the man of God standing at their head, because he not only believes in but practices this divine institution of the ancients? If there be such in our midst, I say, remember Miriam the very next time you begin to talk with your neighboring women, or anybody else against this holy principle. Remember the awful curse and judgment that fell on the sister of Moses when she did the same thing, and then fear and tremble before God, lest He, in His wrath, may swear that you shall not enjoy the blessings ordained for those who inherit the highest degree of glory.
Let us pass along to another instance under the dispensation of Moses. The Lord says, on a certain occasion, if a man have married two wives, and he should happen to hate one and love the other, is he to be punished—cast out and stoned to death as an adulterer? No; instead of the Lord denouncing him as an adulterer because of having two wives, He gave a commandment regulating the matter, so that this principle of hate in the mind of the man towards one of his wives should not control him in the important question of the division of his inheritance among his children, compelling him to give just as much to the son of the hated wife as to the son of the one beloved; and, if the son of the hated woman happened to be the firstborn, he should actually inherit the double portion.
Consequently, the Lord approved, not only the two wives, but their posterity also. Now, if the women had not been considered wives by the Lord, their children would have been bastards, and you know that He has said that bastards shall not enter into the congregation of the Lord, until the tenth generation, hence you see there is a great distinction between those whom the Lord calls legitimate or legal, and those who were bastards—begotten in adultery and whoredom. The latter, with their posterity, were shut out of the congregation of the Lord until the tenth generation, while the former were exalted to all the privileges of legitimate birthright.
Again, under that same law and dispensation, we find that the law provided for another contingency among the hosts of Israel. In order that the inheritances of the families of Israel might not run into the hands of strangers, the Lord, in the book of Deuteronomy, gives a command that if a man die, leaving a wife, but no issue, his brother shall marry his widow and take possession of the inheritance; and to prevent this inheritance going out of the family, a strict command was given that the widow should marry the brother or nearest living kinsman of her deceased husband. The law was in full force at the time of the introduction of Christianity—a great many centuries after it was given. The reasoning of the Sadducees on one occasion when conversing with Jesus proves that the law was then observed. Said they, “There were seven brethren who took a certain woman, each one taking her in succession after the death of the other,” and they inquired of Jesus which of the seven would have her for a wife in the resurrection. The Sadducees, no doubt, used this figure to prove, as they thought, the fallacy of the doctrine of the resurrection, but it also proves that this law, given by the Creator while Israel walked acceptably before Him, was acknowledged by their wicked descendants in the days of the Savior. I merely quote the passage to show that the law was not considered obsolete at that time. A case like this, when six of the brethren had died, leaving the widow without issue, the seventh, whether married or unmarried, must fulfill this law and take the widow to wife, or lay himself liable to a severe penalty. What was that penalty? According to the testimony of the law of Moses he would be cursed, for Moses says, “Cursed be he that doth not all things according as it is written in this book of the law, and let all the people say Amen.” There can be no doubt that many men in those days were compelled to be polygamists in the fulfillment of this law, for any man who would not take the childless wife of a deceased brother and marry her, would come under the tremendous curse recorded in the book of Deuteronomy, and all the people would be obliged to sanction the curse, because he would not obey the law of God and become a polygamist. They were not all Congressmen in those days, nor Presidents, nor Presbyterians, nor Methodists, nor Roman Catholics; but they were the people of God, governed by divine law, and were commanded to be polygamists; not merely suffered to be so, but actually commanded to be.
There are some Latter-day Saints who, perhaps, have not searched these things as they ought, hence we occasionally find some who will say that God suffered these things to be. I will go further, and say that He commanded them, and He pronounced a curse, to which all the people had to say amen, if they did not fulfill the commandment.
Coming down to the days of the prophets we find that they were polygamists; also to the days of the kings of Israel, whom God appointed Himself, and approbated and blessed. This was especially the case with one of them, named David, who, the Lord said, was a man after His own heart. David was called when yet a youth to reign over the whole twelve tribes of Israel; but Saul, the reigning king of Israel, persecuted him, and sought to take away his life. David fled from city to city throughout all the coasts of Judea in order to get beyond the reach of the relentless persecutions of Saul. While thus fleeing, the Lord was with him, hearing his prayers, answering his petitions, giving him line upon line, precept upon precept; permitting him to look into the Urim and Thummim and receive revelations, which enabled him to escape from his enemies.
In addition to all these blessings that God bestowed upon him in his youth, before he was exalted to the throne, the Lord gave him eight wives; and after exalting him to the throne, instead of denouncing him for having many wives, and pronouncing him worthy of fourteen or twenty-one years of imprisonment, the Lord was with His servant David, and, thinking he had not wives enough He gave to him all the wives of his master Saul, in addition to the eight he had previously given him. Was the Lord to be considered a criminal, and worthy of being tried in a court of justice and sent to prison for thus increasing the polygamic relations of David? No, certainly not; it was in accordance with His own righteous laws, and He was with His servant, David the King, and blessed him. By and by, when David transgressed, not in taking other wives, but in taking the wife of another man, the anger of the Lord was kindled against him and He chastened him and took away all the blessings He had given him. All the wives David had received from the hand of God were taken from him. Why? Because he had committed adultery. Here then is a great distinction between adultery and plurality of wives. One brings honor and blessing to those who engage in it, the other degradation and death.
After David had repented with all his heart of his crime with the wife of Uriah, he, notwithstanding the number of wives he had previously taken, took Bathsheba legally, and by that legal marriage Solomon was born; the child born of her unto David, begotten illegally, being a bastard, displeased the Lord and He struck it with death; but with Solomon, a legal issue from the same woman, the Lord was so pleased that He ordained Solomon and set him on the throne of his father David. This shows the difference between the two classes of posterity, the one begotten illegally, the other in the order of marriage. If Solomon had been a bastard, as this pious generation would have us suppose, instead of being blessed of the Lord and raised to the throne of his father, he would have been banished from the congregation of Israel and his seed after him for ten generations. But, notwithstanding that he was so highly blessed and honored of the Lord, there was room for him to transgress and fall, and in the end he did so. For a long time the Lord blessed Solomon, but eventually he violated that law which the Lord had given forbidding Israel to take wives from the idolatrous nations, and some of these wives succeeded in turning his heart from the Lord, and induced him to worship the heathen gods, and the Lord was angry with him and, as it is recorded in the Book of Mormon, considered the acts of Solomon an abomination in His sight.
Let us now come to the record in the Book of Mormon, when the Lord led forth Lehi and Nephi, and Ishmael and his two sons and five daughters out of the land of Jerusalem to the land of America, the males and females were about equal in number. There were Nephi, Sam, Laman and Lemuel, the four sons of Lehi, and Zoram, brought out of Jerusalem. How many daughters of Ishmael were unmarried? Just five. Would it have been just under these circumstances to ordain plurality among them? No. Why? Because the males and females were equal in number and they were all under the guidance of the Almighty, hence it would have been unjust, and the Lord gave a revelation—the only one on record I believe—in which a command was ever given to any branch of Israel to be confined to the monogamic system. In this case the Lord through His servant Lehi, gave a command that they should have but one wife. The Lord had a perfect right to vary His commands in this respect according to circumstances as He did in others, as recorded in the Bible. There we find that the domestic relations were governed according to the mind and will of God, and were varied according to circumstances, as he thought proper.
By and by, after the death of Lehi, some of his posterity began to disregard the strict law that God had given to their father, and took more wives than one, and the Lord put them in mind, through His servant Jacob, one of the sons of Lehi, of this law, and told them that they were transgressing it, and then referred to David and Solomon, as having committed abomination in His sight. The Bible also tells us that they sinned in the sight of God; not in taking wives legally, but only in those they took illegally, in doing which they brought wrath and condemnation upon their heads.
But because the Lord dealt thus with the small branch of the House of Israel that came to America, under their peculiar circumstances, there are those at the present day who will appeal to this passage in the Book of Mormon as something universally applicable in regard to man's domestic relations. The same God that commanded one branch of the House of Israel in America, to take but one wife when the numbers of the two sexes were about equal, gave a different command to the hosts of Israel in Palestine. But let us see the qualifying clause given in the Book of Mormon on this subject. After having reminded the people of the commandment delivered by Lehi in regard to monogamy, the Lord says, “For if I will raise up seed unto me I will command my people, otherwise they shall hearken unto these things;” that is, if I will raise up seed among my people of the House of Israel, according to the law that exists among the tribes of Israel I will give them a commandment on the subject, but if I do not give this commandment they shall hearken to the law which I gave unto their father Lehi. That is the meaning of the passage, and this very passage goes to prove that plurality was a principle God did approve under circumstances when it was authorized by Him.
In the early rise of this Church, February, 1831, God gave a commandment to its members, recorded in the Book of Covenants, wherein He says, “Thou shalt love thy wife with all thy heart, and shalt cleave unto her and to none else;” and then He gives a strict law against adultery. This you have, no doubt, all read; but let me ask whether the Lord had the privilege and the right to vary from this law. It was given in 1831, when the one-wife system alone prevailed among this people. I will tell you what the Prophet Joseph said in relation to this matter in 1831, also in 1832, the year in which the law commanding the members of this Church to cleave to one wife only was given. Joseph was then living in Portage County, in the town of Hiram, at the house of Father John Johnson. Joseph was very intimate with that family, and they were good people at that time, and enjoyed much of the Spirit of the Lord. In the forepart of the year 1832, Joseph told individuals, then in the Church, that he had inquired of the Lord concerning the principle of plurality of wives, and he received for answer that the principle of taking more wives than one is a true principle, but the time had not yet come for it to be practiced. That was before the Church was two years old. The Lord has His own time to do all things pertaining to His purposes in the last dispensation; His own time for restoring all things that have been predicted by the ancient prophets. If they have predicted that the day would come when seven women would take hold of one man, saying, “We will eat our own bread and wear our own apparel, only let us be called by thy name to take away our reproach;” and that, in that day the branch of the Lord should be beautiful and glorious and the fruits of the earth should be excellent and comely, the Lord has the right to say when that time shall be.
Now supposing the members of this Church had undertaken to vary from that law given in 1831, to love their one wife with all their hearts and to cleave to none other, they would have come under the curse and condemnation of God's holy law. Some twelve years after that time the revelation on Celestial Marriage was revealed. This is just republished at the Deseret News office, in a pamphlet entitled, “Answers to Questions,” by President George A. Smith, and heretofore has been published in pamphlet form and in the Millennial Star, and sent throughout the length and breadth of our country, being included in our works and published in the works of our enemies. Then came the Lord's time for this holy and ennobling principle to be practiced again among His people.
We have not time to read the revelation this afternoon; suffice it to say that God revealed the principle through His servant Joseph in 1843. It was known by many individuals while the Church was yet in Illinois; and though it was not then printed, it was a familiar thing through all the streets of Nauvoo, and indeed throughout all Hancock County. Did I hear about it? I verily did. Did my brethren of the Twelve know about it? They certainly did. Were there any females who knew about it? There certainly were, for some received the revelation and entered into the practice of the principle. Some may say, “Why was it not printed, and made known to the people generally, if it was of such importance?” I reply by asking another question. Why did not the revelations in the Book of Doctrine and Covenants come to us in print years before they did? Why were they shut up in Joseph's cupboard years and years without being suffered to be printed and sent broadcast throughout the land? Because the Lord had His own time again to accomplish His purposes, and He suffered the revelations to be printed just when He saw proper. He did not suffer the revelation on the great American war to be published until some time after it was given. So in regard to the revelation on plurality; it was only a short time after Joseph's death that we published it, having a copy thereof. But what became of the original? An apostate destroyed it; you have heard her name. That same woman, in destroying the original, thought she had destroyed the revelation from the face of the earth. She was embittered against Joseph, her husband, and at times fought against him with all her heart; and then again she would break down in her feelings, and humble herself before God and call upon His holy name, and would then lead forth ladies and place their hands in the hands of Joseph, and they were married to him according to the law of God. That same woman has brought up her children to believe that no such thing as plurality of wives existed in the days of Joseph, and has instilled the bitterest principles of apostasy into their minds, to fight against the Church that has come to these mountains according to the predictions of Joseph.
In the year 1844, before his death, a large company was organized to come and search out a location, west of the Rocky Mountains. We have been fulfilling and carrying out his predictions in coming here and since our arrival. The course pursued by this woman shows what apostates can do, and how wicked they can become in their hearts. When they apostatize from the truth they can come out and swear before God and the heavens that such and such things never existed, when they know, as well as they know they exist themselves, that they are swearing falsely. Why do they do this? Because they have no fear of God before their eyes; because they have apostatized from the truth; because they have taken it upon themselves to destroy the revelations of the Most High, and to banish them from the face of the earth, and the Spirit of God withdraws from them. We have come here to these mountains, and have continued to practice the principle of Celestial Marriage from the day the revelation was given until the present time; and we are a polygamic people, and a great people, comparatively speaking, considering the difficult circumstances under which we came to this land.
Let us speak for a few moments upon another point connected with this subject—that is, the reason why God has established polygamy under the present circumstances among this people. If all the inhabitants of the earth, at the present time, were righteous before God, and both males and females were faithful in keeping His commandments, and the numbers of the sexes of a marriageable age were exactly equal, there would be no necessity for any such institution. Every righteous man could have his wife and there would be no overplus of females. But what are the facts in relation to this matter? Since old Pagan Rome and Greece—worshippers of idols—passed a law confining man to one wife, there has been a great surplus of females who have had no possible chance of getting married. You may think this a strange statement, but it is a fact that those nations were the founders of what is termed monogamy. All other nations, with few exceptions, had followed the Scriptural plan of having more wives than one. These nations, however, were very powerful and when Christianity came to them, especially the Roman nation, it had to bow to their mandates and customs, hence the Christians gradually adopted the monogamic system. The consequence was that a great many marriageable ladies of those days, and of all generations from that time to the present, have not had the privilege of husbands, as the one-wife system has been established by law among the nations descended from the great Roman empire—namely, the nations of modern Europe and the American States. This law of monogamy, or the monogamic system, laid the foundation for prostitution and the evils and diseases of the most revolting nature and character under which modern Christendom groans, for as God has implanted, for a wise purpose, certain feelings in the breasts of females as well as males, the gratification of which is necessary to health and happiness, and which can only be accomplished legitimately in the married state, myriads of those who have been deprived of the privilege of entering that state, rather than be deprived of the gratification of those feelings altogether, have, in despair, given way to wickedness and licentiousness; hence the whoredoms and prostitution among the nations of the earth, where the “Mother of Harlots” has her seat.
When the religious Reformers came out, some two or three centuries ago, they neglected to reform the marriage system—a subject demanding their urgent attention. But leaving these Reformers and their doings, let us come down to our own times and see whether, as has been often said by many, the numbers of the sexes are equal; and let us take as a basis for our investigations on this part of our subject the censuses taken by several of the States in the American Union.
Many will tell us that the number of males and the number of females born are just about equal, and because they are so it is not reasonable to suppose that God ever intended the nations to practice plurality of wives. Let me say a few words on that. Supposing we should admit, for the sake of argument, that the sexes are born in equal numbers, does that prove that the same equality exists when they come to a marriageable age? By no means. There may be about equal numbers born, but what do the statistics of our country show in regard to the deaths? Do as many females as males die during the first year of their existence? If you go to the published statistics you will find, almost without exception, that in every State a greater number of males die the first year of their existence than females. The same holds good from one year to five years, from five years to ten, from ten to fifteen, and from fifteen to twenty. This shows that the number of females is greatly in excess of the males when they come to a marriageable age. Let us elucidate still further, in proof of the position here assumed. Let us take, for instance, the census of the State of Pennsylvania in the year 1860, and we shall find that there were 17,588 more females than males between the ages of twenty and thirty years, which may strictly be termed a marriageable age. Says one, “Probably the great war made that difference.” No, this was before the war. Now let us go to the statistics of the State of New York, before the war, and we find according to the official tables of the census taken in 1860, that there were 45,104 more females than males in that one State, between the ages of twenty and thirty years—a marriageable age, recollect! Now let us go to the State of Massachusetts, and look at the statistics there. In the year 1865, there were 33,452 more females than males between the age of twenty and thirty. We might go on from State to State and then to the census taken by the United States, and a vast surplus would be shown of females over males of a marriageable age. What is to be done with them? I will tell you what Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, and New York say. They say, virtually, “We will pass a law so strict, that if these females undertake to marry a man who has another wife, both they and the men they marry shall be subject to a term of imprisonment in the penitentiary.” Indeed! Then what are you going to do with these hundreds of thousands of females of a marriageable age? “We are going to make them either old maids or prostitutes, and we would a little rather have them prostitutes, then we men would have no need to marry.” That is the conclusion many of these marriageable males, between twenty and thirty years of age, have come to. They will not marry because the laws of the land have a tendency to make prostitutes, and they can purchase all the animal gratification they desire without being bound to any woman; hence many of them have mistresses, by whom they raise children, and, when they get tired of them, turn both mother and children into the street, with nothing to support them, the law allowing them to do so, because the women are not wives. Thus the poor creatures are plunged into the depths of misery, wretchedness and degradation, because at all risks they have followed the instincts implanted within them by their Creator, and not having the opportunity to do so legally have done so unlawfully. There are hundreds and thousands of [unmarried] females in this boasted land of liberty, through the narrow, contracted, bigoted State laws, preventing them from ever getting husbands. That is what the Lord is fighting against; we, also, are fighting against it, and for the reestablishment of the Bible religion and the celestial or patriarchal order of marriage.
It is no matter according to the Constitution whether we believe in the patriarchal part of the Bible, in the Mosaic or in the Christian part; whether we believe in one-half, two-thirds, or in the whole of it; that is nobody's business. The Constitution never granted power to Congress to prescribe what part of the Bible any people should believe in or reject; it never intended any such thing.
Much more might be said, but the congregation is large, and a speaker, of course, will weary. Though my voice is tolerably good, I feel weary in attempting to make a congregation of from eight to ten thousand people hear me, I have tried to do so. May God bless you, and may He pour out His Spirit upon the rising generation among us, and upon the missionaries who are about to be sent to the United States and elsewhere, that the great principles, political, religious and domestic, that God has ordained and established, may be made known to all people.
In this land of liberty in religious worship, let us boldly proclaim our rights to believe in and practice any Bible precept, command or doctrine, whether in the Old or New Testament, whether relating to ceremonies, ordinances, domestic relations, or anything else, not incompatible with the rights of others, and the great revelations of Almighty God manifested in ancient and modern times. Amen.
The congregation joined with the choir in singing the hymn on page 166, "We thank Thee, O God, for a Prophet."
Conference adjourned till ten a.m. to-morrow.
Prayer by Bishop E. D. Woolley.
Discourse by Elder Orson Pratt, delivered in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, October 7, 1869.
Reported by David W. Evans.
It was announced at the close of the forenoon meeting that I would address the congregation this afternoon upon the subject of Celestial Marriage; I do so with the greatest pleasure.
In the first place, let us inquire whether it is lawful and right, according to the Constitution of our country, to examine and practice this Bible doctrine? Our fathers, who framed the Constitution of our country devised it so as to give freedom of religious worship of the Almighty God; so that all people under our Government should have the inalienable right—a right by virtue of the Constitution—to believe in any Bible principle which the Almighty has revealed in any age of the world to the human family. I do not think, however, that our forefathers, in framing that instrument, intended to embrace all the religions of the world. I mean the idolatrous and Pagan religions. They say nothing about those religions in the Constitution; but they give the express privilege in that instrument to all people dwelling under this Government and under the institutions of our country, to believe in all things which the Almighty has revealed to the human family. There is no restriction nor limitation so far as Bible religion is concerned, or any principle or form of religion believed to have emanated from the Almighty; yet they would not admit idolatrous nations to come here and practice their religion, because it is not included in the Bible; it is not the religion of the Almighty. Those people worship idols, the work of their own hands, they have instituted rights and ceremonies pertaining to those idols, in the observance of which they, no doubt, suppose they are worshipping correctly and sincerely, yet some of them are of the most revolting and barbarous character. Such, for instance, as the offering up of a widow on a funeral pile, as a burnt sacrifice, in order to follow her husband into the eternal worlds.
That is no part of the religion mentioned in the Constitution of our country, it is no part of the religion of Almighty God.
But confining ourselves within the limits of the Constitution, and coming back to the religion of the Bible, we have the privilege to believe in the Patriarchal, in the Mosaic, or in the Christian order of things; for the God of the patriarchs, and the God of Moses is also the Christians' God.
It is true that many laws were given under the Patriarchal or Mosaic dispensations, against certain crimes, the penalties for violating which, religious bodies, under our Constitution, have not the right to inflict. The Government has reserved, in its own hands, the power, so far as affixing the penalties of certain crimes is concerned.
In ancient times there was a law strictly enforcing the observance of the Sabbath day, and the man or woman who violated that law was subjected to the punishment of death. Ecclesiastical bodies have the right, under our Government and Constitution, to observe the Sabbath day or to disregard it, but they have not the right to inflict corporeal punishment for its nonobservance.
The subject proposed to be investigated this afternoon is that of Celestial Marriage, as believed in by the Latter-day Saints, and which they claim is strictly a Bible doctrine and part of the revealed religion of the Almighty. It is well known by all the Latter-day Saints that we have not derived all our knowledge concerning God, heaven, angels, this life and the life to come entirely from the books of the Bible; yet we believe that all of our religious principles and notions are in accordance with and are sustained by the Bible; consequently, though we believe in new revelation, and believe that God has revealed many things pertaining to our religion, we also believe that He has revealed none that are inconsistent with the worship of Almighty God, a sacred right guaranteed to all religious denominations by the Constitution of our country.
God created man, male and female. He is the Author of our existence He placed us on this creation. He ordained laws to govern us. He gave to man, whom He created, a helpmeet—a woman, a wife to be one with him, to be a joy and a comfort to him; and also for another very great and wise purpose—namely, that the human species might be propagated on this creation, that the earth might teem with population according to the decree of God before the foundation of the world, that the intelligent spirits whom He had formed and created, before this world was rolled into existence, might have their probation, might have an existence in fleshly bodies on this planet, and be governed by laws emanating from their great Creator. In the breast of male and female He established certain qualities and attributes that never will be eradicated—namely, love towards each other. Love comes from God. The love which man possesses for the opposite sex came from God. The same God who created the two sexes implanted in the hearts of each love towards the other. What was the object of placing this passion or affection within the hearts of male and female? It was in order to carry out, so far as this world was concerned, His great and eternal purposes pertaining to the future. But He not only did establish this principle in the heart of man and woman, but gave divine laws to regulate them in relation to this passion or affection, that they might be limited and prescribed in the exercise of it towards each other.
He therefore ordained the Marriage Institution. The marriage that was instituted in the first place was between two immortal beings, hence it was marriage for eternity in the very first case which we have recorded for an example. Marriage for eternity was the order God instituted on our globe; as early as the Garden of Eden; as early as the day when our first parents were placed in the garden to keep it and till it, they, as two immortal beings, were united in the bonds of the new and everlasting covenant. This was before man fell, before the forbidden fruit was eaten, and before the penalty of death was pronounced upon the heads of our first parents and all their posterity, hence, when God gave to Adam his wife Eve, He gave her to him as an immortal wife, and there was no end contemplated of the relation they held to each other as husband and wife.
By and by, after this marriage had taken place, they transgressed the law of God, and by reason of that transgression the penalty of death came, not only upon them, but also upon all their posterity. Death, in its operations, tore asunder, as it were, these two beings who had hitherto been immortal, and if God had not, before the foundation of the world, provided a plan of redemption, they would, perhaps, have been torn asunder forever; but inasmuch as a plan of redemption had been provided, by which man could be rescued from the effects of the fall, Adam and Eve were restored to that condition of union, in respect to immortality, from which they had been separated for a short season of time by death. The Atonement reached after them and brought forth their bodies from the dust, and restored them as husband and wife, to all the privileges that were pronounced upon them before the Fall.
That was eternal marriage; that was lawful marriage ordained by God. That was the divine institution which was revealed and practiced in the early period of our globe. How has it been since that day? Mankind have strayed from that order of things, or, at least, they have done so in latter times. We hear nothing among the religious societies of the world which profess to believe in the Bible about this marriage for eternity. It is among the things that are obsolete. Now all marriages are consummated until death only; they do not believe in that great pattern and prototype established in the beginning; hence we never hear of their official characters, whether civil or religious, uniting men and women in the capacity of husband and wife as immortal beings. No, they marry as mortal beings only, and until death does them part.
What is to become of them after death? What will take place among all those nations who have been marrying for centuries for time only? Do both men and women receive a resurrection? Do they come forth with all the various affections, attributes and passions that God gave them in the beginning? Does the male come forth from the grave with all the attributes of a man? Does the female come forth from her grave with all the attributes of a woman? If so, what is their future destiny? Is there no object or purpose in this new creation, save to give them life, a state of existence? Or is there a more important object in view, in the mind of God, in thus creating them anew? Will that principle of love which exists now, and which has existed from the beginning, exist after the resurrection? I mean this sexual love. If that existed before the Fall, and if it has existed since then, will it exist in the eternal worlds after the resurrection? This is a very important question to be decided.
We read in the revelations of God that there are various classes of beings in the eternal worlds. There are some who are kings, priests, and Gods, others that are angels; and also among them are the orders denominated celestial, terrestrial, and telestial. God, however, according to the faith of the Latter-day Saints, has ordained that the highest order and class of beings that should exist in the eternal worlds should exist in the capacity of husbands and wives, and that they alone should have the privilege of propagating their species—intelligent immortal beings. Now it is wise, no doubt, in the Great Creator to thus limit this great and heavenly principle to those who have arrived or come to the highest state of exaltation, excellency, wisdom, knowledge, power, glory, and faithfulness, to dwell in His presence, that they by this means shall be prepared to bring up their spirit offspring in all pure and holy principles in the eternal worlds, in order that they may be made happy. Consequently, He does not entrust this privilege of multiplying spirits with the terrestrial or telestial, or the lower order of beings there, nor with angels. But why not? Because they have not proved themselves worthy of this great privilege. We might reason, of the eternal worlds, as some of the enemies of polygamy may reason of this state of existence, and say that there are just as many males as females there, some celestial, some terrestrial, and some telestial; and why not have all these paired off, two by two? Because God administers His gifts and His blessings to those who are most faithful, giving them more bountifully to the faithful, and taking away from the unfaithful that with which they had been entrusted, and which they had not improved upon. That is the order of God in the eternal worlds, and if such an order exists there, it may in a degree exist here.
When the sons and daughters of the Most High God come forth in the morning of the resurrection, this principle of love will exist in their bosoms just as it exists here, only intensified according to the increased knowledge and understanding which they possess; hence they will be capacitated to enjoy the relationships of husband and wife, of parents and children, in a hundred fold degree greater than they could in mortality. We are not capable, while surrounded with the weaknesses of our flesh, to enjoy these eternal principles in the same degree that will then exist. Shall these principles of conjugal and parental love and affection be thwarted in the eternal worlds? Shall they be rooted out and overcome? No, most decidedly not. According to the religious notions of the world these principles will not exist after the resurrection; but our religion teaches the fallacy of such notions. It is true that we read in the New Testament that in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels in heaven. These are the words of our Savior when he was addressing himself to a very wicked class of people, the Sadducees, a portion of the Jewish nation, who rejected Jesus, and the counsel of God against their own souls. They had not attained to the blessings and privileges of their fathers, but had apostatized; and Jesus, in speaking to them, says that in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God.
Now, how are the angels of God after the resurrection? According to the revelations which God has given, there are different classes of angels. Some angels are Gods, and still possess the lower office called angels. Adam is called an Archangel, yet he is a God. Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, no doubt, have the right to officiate in the capacity of angels if they choose, but still they have ascended to their exaltation, to a higher state than that of angels—namely, to thrones, kingdoms, principalities and powers, to reign over kingdoms and to hold the everlasting Priesthood. Then there is another order of angels who never have ascended to these powers and dignities, to this greatness and exaltation in the presence of God. Who are they? Those who never received the everlasting covenant of marriage for eternity; those who have not continued in nor received that law with all their hearts, or who, perhaps, have fought against it. They become angels. They have no power to increase and extend forth to kingdoms. They have no wives, no husbands, and they are servants to those that sit upon thrones and rule over kingdoms, and are counted worthy of a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. These, no doubt, were the kind of angels Jesus had reference to when speaking to those ungodly classes of beings called Sadducees and Pharisees, one of which denied the doctrine of the resurrection altogether.
There is a difference between the classes of angels called celestial, terrestrial and telestial. The celestial angels have not attained to all of the power and greatness and exaltation of kings and priests in the presence of God; they are blessed with glory, happiness, peace and joy; but they are not blessed with the privilege of increasing their posterity to all ages of eternity, neither have they thrones and kingdoms, but they are servants to those of the highest order. The angels of the terrestrial and telestial orders, while possessing a degree of happiness and glory, are lower than those of the celestial order. We might inquire, have angels not also these affections which belong to the higher class of beings, inasmuch as they are resurrected beings? Yes, but herein they have lost, through disobedience, the privilege of attaining to the higher glory and exaltation. They have affections and desires that never can be gratified, and in this respect their glory is not full.
I am talking, today, to Latter-day Saints; I am not reasoning with unbelievers. If I were, I should appeal more fully to the Old Testament Scriptures to bring in arguments and testimonies to prove the divine authenticity of polygamic marriages. Perhaps I may touch upon this for a few moments, for the benefit of strangers, should there be any in our midst. Let me say, then, that God's people, under every dispensation since the creation of the world, have, generally, been polygamists. I say this for the benefit of strangers. According to the good old book called the Bible, when God saw proper to call out Abraham from all the heathen nations, and made him a great man in the world, He saw proper, also, to make him a polygamist, and approbated him in taking unto himself more wives than one. Was it wrong in Abraham to do this thing? If it were, when did God reprove him for so doing? When did He ever reproach Jacob for doing the same thing? Who can find the record in the lids of the Bible of God reproving Abraham, as being a sinner, and having committed a crime, in taking to himself two living wives? No such thing is recorded.
He was just as much blessed after doing this thing as before, and more so, for God promised blessings upon the issue of Abraham by his second wife the same as that of the first wife, providing he was equally faithful. This was a proviso in every case.
When we come down to Jacob, the Lord permitted him to take four wives. They are so called in Holy Writ. They are not denominated prostitutes, neither are they called concubines, but they are called wives, legal wives; and to show that God approved of the course of Jacob in taking these wives, He blessed them abundantly, and hearkened to the prayer of the second wife just the same as the first. Rachel was the second wife of Jacob, and our great mother; for you know that many of the Latter-day Saints by revelation know themselves to be the descendants of Joseph, and he was the son of Rachel, the second wife of Jacob. God in a peculiar manner blessed the posterity of this second wife. Instead of condemning the old patriarch, He ordained that Joseph, the firstborn of this second wife, should be considered the firstborn of all the twelve tribes, and into his hands was given the double birthright, according to the laws of the ancients. And yet he was the offspring of plurality—of the second wife of Jacob. Of course, if Reuben, who was indeed the firstborn unto Jacob, had conducted himself properly, he might have retained the birthright and the greater inheritance; but he lost that through his transgression, and it was given to a polygamic child, who had the privilege of inheriting the blessing to the utmost bounds of the everlasting hills—the great continent of North and South America was conferred upon him. Another proof that God did not disapprove of a man having more wives than one, is to be found in the fact that Rachel, after she had been a long time barren, prayed to the Lord to give her seed. The Lord hearkened to her cry and granted her prayer; and when she received seed from the Lord by her polygamic husband, she exclaimed, “The Lord hath hearkened unto me and hath answered my prayer.” Now do you think the Lord would have done this if he had considered polygamy a crime? Would He have hearkened to the prayer of this woman if Jacob had been living with her in adultery? And he certainly was doing so if the ideas of this generation are correct.
Again, what says the Lord in the days of Moses, under another dispensation? We have seen that in the days of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, He approved of polygamy and blessed His servants who practiced it, and also their wives and children. Now, let us come down to the days of Moses. We read that, on a certain occasion the sister of Moses, Miriam, and certain others in the great congregation of Israel, got very jealous. What were they jealous about? About the Ethiopian woman that Moses had taken to wife, in addition to the daughter of Jethro, whom he had taken before in the land of Midian. How dare the great lawgiver, after having committed, according to the ideas of the present generation, a great crime, show his face on Mount Sinai when it was clothed with the glory of the God of Israel? But what did the Lord do in the case of Miriam, for finding fault with her brother Moses? Instead of saying, “You are right, Miriam, he has committed a great crime, and no matter how much you speak against him,” He smote her with a leprosy the very moment she began to complain, and she was considered unclean for a certain number of days. Here the Lord manifested by the display of a signal judgment, that He disapproved of anyone speaking against His servants for taking more wives than one, because it may not happen to suit their notions of things.
I make these remarks and wish to apply them to faultfinders against plural marriages in our day. Are there any Miriams in our congregation today, any of those who, professing to belong to the Israel of the latter days, sometimes find fault with the man of God standing at their head, because he not only believes in but practices this divine institution of the ancients? If there be such in our midst, I say, remember Miriam the very next time you begin to talk with your neighboring women, or anybody else against this holy principle. Remember the awful curse and judgment that fell on the sister of Moses when she did the same thing, and then fear and tremble before God, lest He, in His wrath, may swear that you shall not enjoy the blessings ordained for those who inherit the highest degree of glory.
Let us pass along to another instance under the dispensation of Moses. The Lord says, on a certain occasion, if a man have married two wives, and he should happen to hate one and love the other, is he to be punished—cast out and stoned to death as an adulterer? No; instead of the Lord denouncing him as an adulterer because of having two wives, He gave a commandment regulating the matter, so that this principle of hate in the mind of the man towards one of his wives should not control him in the important question of the division of his inheritance among his children, compelling him to give just as much to the son of the hated wife as to the son of the one beloved; and, if the son of the hated woman happened to be the firstborn, he should actually inherit the double portion.
Consequently, the Lord approved, not only the two wives, but their posterity also. Now, if the women had not been considered wives by the Lord, their children would have been bastards, and you know that He has said that bastards shall not enter into the congregation of the Lord, until the tenth generation, hence you see there is a great distinction between those whom the Lord calls legitimate or legal, and those who were bastards—begotten in adultery and whoredom. The latter, with their posterity, were shut out of the congregation of the Lord until the tenth generation, while the former were exalted to all the privileges of legitimate birthright.
Again, under that same law and dispensation, we find that the law provided for another contingency among the hosts of Israel. In order that the inheritances of the families of Israel might not run into the hands of strangers, the Lord, in the book of Deuteronomy, gives a command that if a man die, leaving a wife, but no issue, his brother shall marry his widow and take possession of the inheritance; and to prevent this inheritance going out of the family, a strict command was given that the widow should marry the brother or nearest living kinsman of her deceased husband. The law was in full force at the time of the introduction of Christianity—a great many centuries after it was given. The reasoning of the Sadducees on one occasion when conversing with Jesus proves that the law was then observed. Said they, “There were seven brethren who took a certain woman, each one taking her in succession after the death of the other,” and they inquired of Jesus which of the seven would have her for a wife in the resurrection. The Sadducees, no doubt, used this figure to prove, as they thought, the fallacy of the doctrine of the resurrection, but it also proves that this law, given by the Creator while Israel walked acceptably before Him, was acknowledged by their wicked descendants in the days of the Savior. I merely quote the passage to show that the law was not considered obsolete at that time. A case like this, when six of the brethren had died, leaving the widow without issue, the seventh, whether married or unmarried, must fulfill this law and take the widow to wife, or lay himself liable to a severe penalty. What was that penalty? According to the testimony of the law of Moses he would be cursed, for Moses says, “Cursed be he that doth not all things according as it is written in this book of the law, and let all the people say Amen.” There can be no doubt that many men in those days were compelled to be polygamists in the fulfillment of this law, for any man who would not take the childless wife of a deceased brother and marry her, would come under the tremendous curse recorded in the book of Deuteronomy, and all the people would be obliged to sanction the curse, because he would not obey the law of God and become a polygamist. They were not all Congressmen in those days, nor Presidents, nor Presbyterians, nor Methodists, nor Roman Catholics; but they were the people of God, governed by divine law, and were commanded to be polygamists; not merely suffered to be so, but actually commanded to be.
There are some Latter-day Saints who, perhaps, have not searched these things as they ought, hence we occasionally find some who will say that God suffered these things to be. I will go further, and say that He commanded them, and He pronounced a curse, to which all the people had to say amen, if they did not fulfill the commandment.
Coming down to the days of the prophets we find that they were polygamists; also to the days of the kings of Israel, whom God appointed Himself, and approbated and blessed. This was especially the case with one of them, named David, who, the Lord said, was a man after His own heart. David was called when yet a youth to reign over the whole twelve tribes of Israel; but Saul, the reigning king of Israel, persecuted him, and sought to take away his life. David fled from city to city throughout all the coasts of Judea in order to get beyond the reach of the relentless persecutions of Saul. While thus fleeing, the Lord was with him, hearing his prayers, answering his petitions, giving him line upon line, precept upon precept; permitting him to look into the Urim and Thummim and receive revelations, which enabled him to escape from his enemies.
In addition to all these blessings that God bestowed upon him in his youth, before he was exalted to the throne, the Lord gave him eight wives; and after exalting him to the throne, instead of denouncing him for having many wives, and pronouncing him worthy of fourteen or twenty-one years of imprisonment, the Lord was with His servant David, and, thinking he had not wives enough He gave to him all the wives of his master Saul, in addition to the eight he had previously given him. Was the Lord to be considered a criminal, and worthy of being tried in a court of justice and sent to prison for thus increasing the polygamic relations of David? No, certainly not; it was in accordance with His own righteous laws, and He was with His servant, David the King, and blessed him. By and by, when David transgressed, not in taking other wives, but in taking the wife of another man, the anger of the Lord was kindled against him and He chastened him and took away all the blessings He had given him. All the wives David had received from the hand of God were taken from him. Why? Because he had committed adultery. Here then is a great distinction between adultery and plurality of wives. One brings honor and blessing to those who engage in it, the other degradation and death.
After David had repented with all his heart of his crime with the wife of Uriah, he, notwithstanding the number of wives he had previously taken, took Bathsheba legally, and by that legal marriage Solomon was born; the child born of her unto David, begotten illegally, being a bastard, displeased the Lord and He struck it with death; but with Solomon, a legal issue from the same woman, the Lord was so pleased that He ordained Solomon and set him on the throne of his father David. This shows the difference between the two classes of posterity, the one begotten illegally, the other in the order of marriage. If Solomon had been a bastard, as this pious generation would have us suppose, instead of being blessed of the Lord and raised to the throne of his father, he would have been banished from the congregation of Israel and his seed after him for ten generations. But, notwithstanding that he was so highly blessed and honored of the Lord, there was room for him to transgress and fall, and in the end he did so. For a long time the Lord blessed Solomon, but eventually he violated that law which the Lord had given forbidding Israel to take wives from the idolatrous nations, and some of these wives succeeded in turning his heart from the Lord, and induced him to worship the heathen gods, and the Lord was angry with him and, as it is recorded in the Book of Mormon, considered the acts of Solomon an abomination in His sight.
Let us now come to the record in the Book of Mormon, when the Lord led forth Lehi and Nephi, and Ishmael and his two sons and five daughters out of the land of Jerusalem to the land of America, the males and females were about equal in number. There were Nephi, Sam, Laman and Lemuel, the four sons of Lehi, and Zoram, brought out of Jerusalem. How many daughters of Ishmael were unmarried? Just five. Would it have been just under these circumstances to ordain plurality among them? No. Why? Because the males and females were equal in number and they were all under the guidance of the Almighty, hence it would have been unjust, and the Lord gave a revelation—the only one on record I believe—in which a command was ever given to any branch of Israel to be confined to the monogamic system. In this case the Lord through His servant Lehi, gave a command that they should have but one wife. The Lord had a perfect right to vary His commands in this respect according to circumstances as He did in others, as recorded in the Bible. There we find that the domestic relations were governed according to the mind and will of God, and were varied according to circumstances, as he thought proper.
By and by, after the death of Lehi, some of his posterity began to disregard the strict law that God had given to their father, and took more wives than one, and the Lord put them in mind, through His servant Jacob, one of the sons of Lehi, of this law, and told them that they were transgressing it, and then referred to David and Solomon, as having committed abomination in His sight. The Bible also tells us that they sinned in the sight of God; not in taking wives legally, but only in those they took illegally, in doing which they brought wrath and condemnation upon their heads.
But because the Lord dealt thus with the small branch of the House of Israel that came to America, under their peculiar circumstances, there are those at the present day who will appeal to this passage in the Book of Mormon as something universally applicable in regard to man's domestic relations. The same God that commanded one branch of the House of Israel in America, to take but one wife when the numbers of the two sexes were about equal, gave a different command to the hosts of Israel in Palestine. But let us see the qualifying clause given in the Book of Mormon on this subject. After having reminded the people of the commandment delivered by Lehi in regard to monogamy, the Lord says, “For if I will raise up seed unto me I will command my people, otherwise they shall hearken unto these things;” that is, if I will raise up seed among my people of the House of Israel, according to the law that exists among the tribes of Israel I will give them a commandment on the subject, but if I do not give this commandment they shall hearken to the law which I gave unto their father Lehi. That is the meaning of the passage, and this very passage goes to prove that plurality was a principle God did approve under circumstances when it was authorized by Him.
In the early rise of this Church, February, 1831, God gave a commandment to its members, recorded in the Book of Covenants, wherein He says, “Thou shalt love thy wife with all thy heart, and shalt cleave unto her and to none else;” and then He gives a strict law against adultery. This you have, no doubt, all read; but let me ask whether the Lord had the privilege and the right to vary from this law. It was given in 1831, when the one-wife system alone prevailed among this people. I will tell you what the Prophet Joseph said in relation to this matter in 1831, also in 1832, the year in which the law commanding the members of this Church to cleave to one wife only was given. Joseph was then living in Portage County, in the town of Hiram, at the house of Father John Johnson. Joseph was very intimate with that family, and they were good people at that time, and enjoyed much of the Spirit of the Lord. In the forepart of the year 1832, Joseph told individuals, then in the Church, that he had inquired of the Lord concerning the principle of plurality of wives, and he received for answer that the principle of taking more wives than one is a true principle, but the time had not yet come for it to be practiced. That was before the Church was two years old. The Lord has His own time to do all things pertaining to His purposes in the last dispensation; His own time for restoring all things that have been predicted by the ancient prophets. If they have predicted that the day would come when seven women would take hold of one man, saying, “We will eat our own bread and wear our own apparel, only let us be called by thy name to take away our reproach;” and that, in that day the branch of the Lord should be beautiful and glorious and the fruits of the earth should be excellent and comely, the Lord has the right to say when that time shall be.
Now supposing the members of this Church had undertaken to vary from that law given in 1831, to love their one wife with all their hearts and to cleave to none other, they would have come under the curse and condemnation of God's holy law. Some twelve years after that time the revelation on Celestial Marriage was revealed. This is just republished at the Deseret News office, in a pamphlet entitled, “Answers to Questions,” by President George A. Smith, and heretofore has been published in pamphlet form and in the Millennial Star, and sent throughout the length and breadth of our country, being included in our works and published in the works of our enemies. Then came the Lord's time for this holy and ennobling principle to be practiced again among His people.
We have not time to read the revelation this afternoon; suffice it to say that God revealed the principle through His servant Joseph in 1843. It was known by many individuals while the Church was yet in Illinois; and though it was not then printed, it was a familiar thing through all the streets of Nauvoo, and indeed throughout all Hancock County. Did I hear about it? I verily did. Did my brethren of the Twelve know about it? They certainly did. Were there any females who knew about it? There certainly were, for some received the revelation and entered into the practice of the principle. Some may say, “Why was it not printed, and made known to the people generally, if it was of such importance?” I reply by asking another question. Why did not the revelations in the Book of Doctrine and Covenants come to us in print years before they did? Why were they shut up in Joseph's cupboard years and years without being suffered to be printed and sent broadcast throughout the land? Because the Lord had His own time again to accomplish His purposes, and He suffered the revelations to be printed just when He saw proper. He did not suffer the revelation on the great American war to be published until some time after it was given. So in regard to the revelation on plurality; it was only a short time after Joseph's death that we published it, having a copy thereof. But what became of the original? An apostate destroyed it; you have heard her name. That same woman, in destroying the original, thought she had destroyed the revelation from the face of the earth. She was embittered against Joseph, her husband, and at times fought against him with all her heart; and then again she would break down in her feelings, and humble herself before God and call upon His holy name, and would then lead forth ladies and place their hands in the hands of Joseph, and they were married to him according to the law of God. That same woman has brought up her children to believe that no such thing as plurality of wives existed in the days of Joseph, and has instilled the bitterest principles of apostasy into their minds, to fight against the Church that has come to these mountains according to the predictions of Joseph.
In the year 1844, before his death, a large company was organized to come and search out a location, west of the Rocky Mountains. We have been fulfilling and carrying out his predictions in coming here and since our arrival. The course pursued by this woman shows what apostates can do, and how wicked they can become in their hearts. When they apostatize from the truth they can come out and swear before God and the heavens that such and such things never existed, when they know, as well as they know they exist themselves, that they are swearing falsely. Why do they do this? Because they have no fear of God before their eyes; because they have apostatized from the truth; because they have taken it upon themselves to destroy the revelations of the Most High, and to banish them from the face of the earth, and the Spirit of God withdraws from them. We have come here to these mountains, and have continued to practice the principle of Celestial Marriage from the day the revelation was given until the present time; and we are a polygamic people, and a great people, comparatively speaking, considering the difficult circumstances under which we came to this land.
Let us speak for a few moments upon another point connected with this subject—that is, the reason why God has established polygamy under the present circumstances among this people. If all the inhabitants of the earth, at the present time, were righteous before God, and both males and females were faithful in keeping His commandments, and the numbers of the sexes of a marriageable age were exactly equal, there would be no necessity for any such institution. Every righteous man could have his wife and there would be no overplus of females. But what are the facts in relation to this matter? Since old Pagan Rome and Greece—worshippers of idols—passed a law confining man to one wife, there has been a great surplus of females who have had no possible chance of getting married. You may think this a strange statement, but it is a fact that those nations were the founders of what is termed monogamy. All other nations, with few exceptions, had followed the Scriptural plan of having more wives than one. These nations, however, were very powerful and when Christianity came to them, especially the Roman nation, it had to bow to their mandates and customs, hence the Christians gradually adopted the monogamic system. The consequence was that a great many marriageable ladies of those days, and of all generations from that time to the present, have not had the privilege of husbands, as the one-wife system has been established by law among the nations descended from the great Roman empire—namely, the nations of modern Europe and the American States. This law of monogamy, or the monogamic system, laid the foundation for prostitution and the evils and diseases of the most revolting nature and character under which modern Christendom groans, for as God has implanted, for a wise purpose, certain feelings in the breasts of females as well as males, the gratification of which is necessary to health and happiness, and which can only be accomplished legitimately in the married state, myriads of those who have been deprived of the privilege of entering that state, rather than be deprived of the gratification of those feelings altogether, have, in despair, given way to wickedness and licentiousness; hence the whoredoms and prostitution among the nations of the earth, where the “Mother of Harlots” has her seat.
When the religious Reformers came out, some two or three centuries ago, they neglected to reform the marriage system—a subject demanding their urgent attention. But leaving these Reformers and their doings, let us come down to our own times and see whether, as has been often said by many, the numbers of the sexes are equal; and let us take as a basis for our investigations on this part of our subject the censuses taken by several of the States in the American Union.
Many will tell us that the number of males and the number of females born are just about equal, and because they are so it is not reasonable to suppose that God ever intended the nations to practice plurality of wives. Let me say a few words on that. Supposing we should admit, for the sake of argument, that the sexes are born in equal numbers, does that prove that the same equality exists when they come to a marriageable age? By no means. There may be about equal numbers born, but what do the statistics of our country show in regard to the deaths? Do as many females as males die during the first year of their existence? If you go to the published statistics you will find, almost without exception, that in every State a greater number of males die the first year of their existence than females. The same holds good from one year to five years, from five years to ten, from ten to fifteen, and from fifteen to twenty. This shows that the number of females is greatly in excess of the males when they come to a marriageable age. Let us elucidate still further, in proof of the position here assumed. Let us take, for instance, the census of the State of Pennsylvania in the year 1860, and we shall find that there were 17,588 more females than males between the ages of twenty and thirty years, which may strictly be termed a marriageable age. Says one, “Probably the great war made that difference.” No, this was before the war. Now let us go to the statistics of the State of New York, before the war, and we find according to the official tables of the census taken in 1860, that there were 45,104 more females than males in that one State, between the ages of twenty and thirty years—a marriageable age, recollect! Now let us go to the State of Massachusetts, and look at the statistics there. In the year 1865, there were 33,452 more females than males between the age of twenty and thirty. We might go on from State to State and then to the census taken by the United States, and a vast surplus would be shown of females over males of a marriageable age. What is to be done with them? I will tell you what Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, and New York say. They say, virtually, “We will pass a law so strict, that if these females undertake to marry a man who has another wife, both they and the men they marry shall be subject to a term of imprisonment in the penitentiary.” Indeed! Then what are you going to do with these hundreds of thousands of females of a marriageable age? “We are going to make them either old maids or prostitutes, and we would a little rather have them prostitutes, then we men would have no need to marry.” That is the conclusion many of these marriageable males, between twenty and thirty years of age, have come to. They will not marry because the laws of the land have a tendency to make prostitutes, and they can purchase all the animal gratification they desire without being bound to any woman; hence many of them have mistresses, by whom they raise children, and, when they get tired of them, turn both mother and children into the street, with nothing to support them, the law allowing them to do so, because the women are not wives. Thus the poor creatures are plunged into the depths of misery, wretchedness and degradation, because at all risks they have followed the instincts implanted within them by their Creator, and not having the opportunity to do so legally have done so unlawfully. There are hundreds and thousands of [unmarried] females in this boasted land of liberty, through the narrow, contracted, bigoted State laws, preventing them from ever getting husbands. That is what the Lord is fighting against; we, also, are fighting against it, and for the reestablishment of the Bible religion and the celestial or patriarchal order of marriage.
It is no matter according to the Constitution whether we believe in the patriarchal part of the Bible, in the Mosaic or in the Christian part; whether we believe in one-half, two-thirds, or in the whole of it; that is nobody's business. The Constitution never granted power to Congress to prescribe what part of the Bible any people should believe in or reject; it never intended any such thing.
Much more might be said, but the congregation is large, and a speaker, of course, will weary. Though my voice is tolerably good, I feel weary in attempting to make a congregation of from eight to ten thousand people hear me, I have tried to do so. May God bless you, and may He pour out His Spirit upon the rising generation among us, and upon the missionaries who are about to be sent to the United States and elsewhere, that the great principles, political, religious and domestic, that God has ordained and established, may be made known to all people.
In this land of liberty in religious worship, let us boldly proclaim our rights to believe in and practice any Bible precept, command or doctrine, whether in the Old or New Testament, whether relating to ceremonies, ordinances, domestic relations, or anything else, not incompatible with the rights of others, and the great revelations of Almighty God manifested in ancient and modern times. Amen.
The congregation joined with the choir in singing the hymn on page 166, "We thank Thee, O God, for a Prophet."
Conference adjourned till ten a.m. to-morrow.
Prayer by Bishop E. D. Woolley.
Friday, 10 a.m.
The Conference was called to order by President Brigham Young.
The Tabernacle choir sang the hymn commencing "Come ye that Love the Lord."
Prayer was offered up by Elder Wilford Woodruff.
The Tabernacle choir sang a glee entitled, "Wake Aeolian Lyre."
The Conference was called to order by President Brigham Young.
The Tabernacle choir sang the hymn commencing "Come ye that Love the Lord."
Prayer was offered up by Elder Wilford Woodruff.
The Tabernacle choir sang a glee entitled, "Wake Aeolian Lyre."
Elder Charles C. Rich
said, It is an inestimable blessing to live under the immediate direction of the Almighty. It is a blessing that might be enjoyed by the whole world, if they were willing to receive it. The Lord has never required anything of us only what would tend to our salvation. The dispensation under which we live is different from all previous dispensations. We are required now to build up the Kingdom of God permanently upon the earth. If we were to undertake to build a house for an individual, we should expect that the person for whom the house was to be built would dictate as to how it should be constructed. So it is in regard to the Kingdom of God. There are people who are not willing that righteousness should be established on the earth. This is not our feeling; yet there is much room for us to improve and become united. We have the same opportunity of becoming so as the people of Enoch, or any other people that ever lived on the earth. We should be careful how we find fault with the servants of God or any principle that He has revealed. I feel thankful that I lived in the days of the Prophet Joseph, that I associated with him and heard the principles which he taught. I am also thankful that I live in the day of President Young. I can testify that he has carried out the principles taught by Joseph, and that God has been with the people up to the present time. Let us be dictated continually by the Spirit of inspiration. That we may do so, is my prayer, in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Brother Fishburn's Choir sang "O Zion forever."
said, It is an inestimable blessing to live under the immediate direction of the Almighty. It is a blessing that might be enjoyed by the whole world, if they were willing to receive it. The Lord has never required anything of us only what would tend to our salvation. The dispensation under which we live is different from all previous dispensations. We are required now to build up the Kingdom of God permanently upon the earth. If we were to undertake to build a house for an individual, we should expect that the person for whom the house was to be built would dictate as to how it should be constructed. So it is in regard to the Kingdom of God. There are people who are not willing that righteousness should be established on the earth. This is not our feeling; yet there is much room for us to improve and become united. We have the same opportunity of becoming so as the people of Enoch, or any other people that ever lived on the earth. We should be careful how we find fault with the servants of God or any principle that He has revealed. I feel thankful that I lived in the days of the Prophet Joseph, that I associated with him and heard the principles which he taught. I am also thankful that I live in the day of President Young. I can testify that he has carried out the principles taught by Joseph, and that God has been with the people up to the present time. Let us be dictated continually by the Spirit of inspiration. That we may do so, is my prayer, in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Brother Fishburn's Choir sang "O Zion forever."
Elder Erastus Snow
addressed the Conference. The Savior said "Seek ye first the kingdom of God and its righteousness, and all other things shall be added unto you." If we keep in mind continually the object for which we are gathered together, and not give way to sordid selfishness, we will attain the object we had in view when we first connected ourselves with the Church of Christ. If the priesthood were all determined to support the kingdom of God and defend its interests, the servants of God would have but little difficulty in leading the people; but as yet the tares continue among the wheat. Great efforts have been made to cause a combination of effort in our merchandizing, manufacturing and other interests. The results thus far have been exceedingly gratifying. Yet there are many who are foolish enough to step aside for the sake of a few dimes from the wise policy sought to be universally adopted among us. Such are blind; they allow a few dollars to stand between them and salvation in the kingdom of God. We should learn the difference between our friends and our enemies. Instead of importing manufactured goods we ought to import labor-saving machinery, and if we have not yet learned to supply ourselves with all the raw material we need, let us import what we need of that until we can produce it ourselves. Let us, however, increase the necessary raw material, let us increase the wool, the flax, the silk and other material. Instead of our wives and our daughters parading the streets, decked in the fanciful, ridiculous articles of dress that are imported from abroad, it would be much more gratifying to see them engaged in some useful occupation at home. Salt Lake City excels every other city or settlement in this Territory for those evils, and the sooner they are abolished the better. I was one of the founders of this city and one of the first two who set foot on this soil, therefore I claim the privilege of speaking my sentiments in regard to these matters. Amen.
Bro. Fishburn's choir sang the anthem entitled, "I will lift up mine eyes to the Hills."
addressed the Conference. The Savior said "Seek ye first the kingdom of God and its righteousness, and all other things shall be added unto you." If we keep in mind continually the object for which we are gathered together, and not give way to sordid selfishness, we will attain the object we had in view when we first connected ourselves with the Church of Christ. If the priesthood were all determined to support the kingdom of God and defend its interests, the servants of God would have but little difficulty in leading the people; but as yet the tares continue among the wheat. Great efforts have been made to cause a combination of effort in our merchandizing, manufacturing and other interests. The results thus far have been exceedingly gratifying. Yet there are many who are foolish enough to step aside for the sake of a few dimes from the wise policy sought to be universally adopted among us. Such are blind; they allow a few dollars to stand between them and salvation in the kingdom of God. We should learn the difference between our friends and our enemies. Instead of importing manufactured goods we ought to import labor-saving machinery, and if we have not yet learned to supply ourselves with all the raw material we need, let us import what we need of that until we can produce it ourselves. Let us, however, increase the necessary raw material, let us increase the wool, the flax, the silk and other material. Instead of our wives and our daughters parading the streets, decked in the fanciful, ridiculous articles of dress that are imported from abroad, it would be much more gratifying to see them engaged in some useful occupation at home. Salt Lake City excels every other city or settlement in this Territory for those evils, and the sooner they are abolished the better. I was one of the founders of this city and one of the first two who set foot on this soil, therefore I claim the privilege of speaking my sentiments in regard to these matters. Amen.
Bro. Fishburn's choir sang the anthem entitled, "I will lift up mine eyes to the Hills."
President Brigham Young
delivered an interesting discourse, which will shortly be published.
Remarks
By President Brigham Young
For one I shall take the rebuke of Bro. Snow; I really think it belongs to us, and the coat fits so perfectly that I cannot help wearing it. I will appeal to my brethren and sisters to see if it will fit them. I do not wish to cast any reflections on any one, but if my beloved brother from St. George will stand up beside me, you will be able to see who is the best dressed, and who has the most foreign goods on; if he does not wear as much as I do I am mistaken. I generally wear cloth of my own make, but I am not doing so to-day, I have on a coat that was given me. But I must say that the rebuke is just; it comes in good time. Let us receive and profit by it. There is a great deal in it, as you will see, if you reflect. Bro. Snow says he is one of the two first men that set their feet in this valley; and he has a right to rebuke, guide, direct and teach us, and to give that instruction which is necessary to make the people of this and the other valleys acceptable to the Lord. I am happy to hear from him and the rest of my brethren that their whole hearts are engaged, and, I may say, their hands too, for his are in trying to sanctify and purify the people and make them in reality what they profess to be,--namely, Saints of the Most High, and to make them one in building up Zion and in bringing forth salvation and deliverance to all the inhabitants of the earth.
This is a matter of reflection with a great many. Brother Snow talks about our enemies and about the wicked we have in our midst; also about our friends, neighbors and relatives. I can say that if our friends and our enemies and the world of mankind knew what we are actually doing, in the Lord, they never would raise their hands or voices against us while they lived; no, never! It is hidden from them; they do not see it. They cannot see it, unless the Spirit of the Lord reveals it to them. We are laboring for the redemption of the human family. Let anybody look at it, even our most bitter enemies, and all who have any hope of eternity or eternal life, or even a desire for life everlasting; let them examine for themselves and learn what the Latter-day Saints are doing.
We say, the ancients said, and the whole Christian world say, that Christ died for the sins of the world. All who believe in the New Testament believe that Jesus will do what His apostles said He would and what He himself promised—that is, to save all the children of men in a kingdom of glory, light, purity, happiness, peace, delight and comfort. Whom will He save? How many will He save? Every son and daughter of Adam and Eve, except those who sin against the Holy Ghost; they will become angels of the devil, this is the promise of the Savior; and this is the work we are engaged in if we are what we profess, believe and think we are,--namely the people that God has called upon to come out from Babylon and separate ourselves from sinners and from sin. We are laboring with the Savior to accomplish the work of redemption for the human family, and to bring them into glory, or else we are doing nothing. Do the people of the world see this? Can they see it? No; not unless they have eyes,--eyes to see, and then see.
Although the Latter-day Saints are called to such a high and important mission, we have many foolish customs and habits existing amongst us. While beholding this, we, on the other hand, can also behold the sincerity of the people. Look at their sacrifices! Is it not a spectacle to behold the Latter-day Saints gathering from all parts of the earth—for we have them here from almost every nation under heaven—for the sake of being with those who are building up Zion? Yet if we view ourselves as in a glass, we find that many of us indulge in foolish fashions and customs, and in feelings which are worse than the cut of a coat or the shape of a bonnet. I do not consider that the coat makes any difference in reality. I do not consider that it makes any difference with regard to the love of truth in the heart of a lady whether she has three straws and a ribbon on her head or whether she has a corn-fan as we used to call the old fashioned bonnets. But, still, when the heart clings to these things that are so perishable and unnecessary, and follows after the fashions of the world, so wanting in comfort, I consider that we are very foolish and unwise.
This people are required to come out from Babylon and from the wicked. They may say:
"Have we not done so? We have left our fathers, mothers, sisters, brothers, our uncles and aunts, our homes and comforts, or our poverty, and have gathered with the Saints to build up Zion."
This is all true; but still we are by no means free from the traditions and customs of Babylon. We hear a sister say:
"I want to send to New York to get the fashions;" or, "I want a dress or a bonnet made;" or, "I want to get a dress from New York or Paris or London, and I want to see the fashions."
"Sister, do you take the fashion magazines?"
"Yes, I take them, for I want to see how to have a skirt cut, or the waist of my dress cut, or how to have this over-garment cut, made and trimmed."
Now, instead of being influenced and controlled by the follies and fashions of the world, a sensible lady would say:
"Who cares what other folks wear? I have just as good judgment and taste as any lady who lives in New York, London or Paris. My taste suits me, my judgment will answer for me and I will have a fashion to suit myself, and I will cut and make my garment for my comfort, beauty, and excellence, and I will dress according to my own taste; I care nothing about the fashions of the world."
This would be in accordance with the dictates of good sense and consistent with the instincts of a true lady. I do not mean those female loafers Brother Snow has been talking about, who are so useless; who think of nothing but riding, or patrolling the streets, for the sake of displaying their dresses or their fine bonnets, while their children, if they have any, are perhaps at home in the dirt, uncared for, unwashed in the morning, and running the streets, with nobody to teach them their letters. I do not call such characters ladies. A real lady should possess all the refinement and good behavior necessary in good society; she should possess all the knowledge of things pertaining to the cares of life devolving upon her in her sphere as a woman:--how to take care of her children, to keep her house clean and like a little palace, how to make beds, make bread, cook, cleanse the cooking utensils,--and in addition to all this she should be virtuous, and should strive continually to serve and obtain a knowledge of God. All these qualifications are necessary for a lady, but such things are disregarded to a very great extent now-a-days, especially in fashionable life, among those who are styled ladies.
A young man thinks he would like to get married, and having selected a young lady whom he thinks he would like for a partner, he says:
"I have some idea of entering the matrimonial state, and, having observed you for some time, I think I would like to make a proposition to you with that end in view. Can you milk a cow?"
"Oh, no, I never milked in my life."
"Can you make bread?"
"Oh, no, my mother or the hired girl does that."
"Can you make your bed?"
"I never made a bed in my life."
"Can you wash dishes?"
"Well, really, my hands don't look as though they had been in the dish water."
The young man is discouraged; he looks forward to life. Says he:
"We have to eat and drink; we want a good bed to sleep on, a good house to live in, good food for our bodies and I am looking forward to know how to obtain these articles, and I say to this young lady can you do these things and help me to gain a livelihood, and gain knowledge for ourselves, bring up a family of children and give them a good education?"
When a young gentleman finds there is no prospect for these things he leaves in disgust. This is the condition of the world to-day—with a few exceptions, in the higher ranks who have means—everybody, especially the female portion of society, seems to be anxious to obtain means to spend without labor.
The Latter-day Saints are called to something else; they are called to build up the Kingdom of God, and every person who has read the Old and New Testaments, and believes them, can easily understand that the performance of that work involves a great amount of labor. Is Zion to be built up on this earth? Yes, every person who believes the Bible acknowledges that. Well, is God coming here to build our houses and temples, to make our streets, or set out our orchards and vineyards? O, no, we do not expect that. Is He going to send His angels here to perform this labor? No, I rather think not. I have not yet learned any such thing. He will build up His Zion by gathering His people together. Suppose the people believe the gospel, and, when they gather together, bring Babylon with them, are they gathered from Babylon? No, they are not; they are only gathered from one part of it to another.
There is a great work to be done in building up Zion on the earth in the latter days. I know very well that our enemies do not believe that we are building up Zion. I am really glad of it. Why? Because they are helping to establish this Zion. Shall I say they are doing all they can? No; they are doing a little, but they do not know it; they are fulfilling the prophecies, but they do not understand it. Do you suppose the enemies of God's kingdom would fulfil the prophecies if they knew they were fulfilling them? No, I think not. I know they say they are not the enemies of God or righteousness; but if they are not, why do they not practice righteousness? If they are not the enemies of God, why not obey His commands? If they are not the enemies of truth and peace, and to all the blessings that pertain to the holy gospel, which make men and women pure in heart and pure in their lives, why do they not practice the principles of that gospel? Do we not know men by their works and deeds? Is not a tree known by the fruit it bears? They say they delight in righteousness and feel to promote it, but they never do it. They say they bear beautiful fruit, but when it is plucked it is sour and bitter to the taste. All people will be judged by their works and the fruits thereof. I think that is the way that the Lord has said He will judge the people of the nations of the earth.
The Lord has spoken to the whole world of mankind through His servant Joseph Smith, the Prophet; He has sent forth the words of eternal life to the whole world so far as they would receive them. If there is a few who have hearkened to the still small voice, a few who have lent a listening ear to the whisperings of the Spirit of God, and have gathered out from the wicked, they do not want Babylon in their midst. The question may arise, How do you know you do not; have you tried it?. Yes we have, and to our sorrow. We have promoted the interests of the wicked in our midst; we have fed and clothed them; we have made ourselves poor by giving them our money, and they have used that means to destroy us. Would they do it again? Yes, they would do it again and again, if we would permit them. But, saying nothing of the past, the time has now come for us to say we will build up the kingdom of God, and build up the kingdoms of this world no more. Is there any treason in this? No. Anything contrary to the Constitution of our Government? No. Is it contrary to any of the laws of our country? No; it is not. I can go and trade with James, my friend, just as well as to go to Mr. Jones' store. I say, "Friend James, I wish to do my trading with you, and I shall send my orders to your store."
James says to Joseph, "Joseph, if thou wilt do thy trading with me, I will do well by thee."
So they mutually agree, and Joseph trades with James, and buys all his goods at James' store, and there is no harm in it. He is not obliged to go to the store of a Catholic, Presbyterian, Methodist, Baptist, Universalian, or infidel, or anywhere else; but he can trade with James only, if he pleases, because he is his friend, and there is no sin nor harm in it whatever.
Is there any evil in the Latter-day Saints trading with one another? Oh, no, not the least; but "it is impolitic" some will cry; "it is not policy for you to shut yourselves up in this manner; you should not be so isolated and exclusive in your dealings." I say we should be strictly so; we have not been so in the past. We have made scores of merchants rich in this city who never dared tell the truth about us; but when lies came along they would sanction and foster them, and they do the same to-day. There are men here in our midst to-day who tell that which is as false as false can be with regard to the character of this people. They court contention and discord and alienation of feeling. Is this righteous?
We do not want Babylon in our midst, do we? If we are the people that we say and believe we are, we never should do another deed to foster Babylon in our midst. Is there any harm in this? I cannot see that there is? I have the liberty of trading, dealing and doing just as and where I please, as far as I can, if I transgress no law and do not infringe upon the rights of any of my fellowbeings. This is the law of liberty. All things, says the Apostle, are yours: height, length, depth and breadth; every glory and every blessing and privilege; every power that you can imagine is yours, provided you do not infringe upon the rights of others. This is the liberty of the gospel. Is there any harm in living thus? There would be no harm that I can see if my sisters were called upon here to form themselves into a society and make a covenant to make their head dresses of material that grows in the country. In the fair that has just been held I saw some hats and bonnets made of straw throughout; there was no foreign or imported material used in them, and they were the handsomest and most lovely and delicate I saw there. I can recollect when straw trimming first came into fashion. They sent from England and Massachusetts, and would pay four prices for bonnets that were trimmed with straw alone. Why not wear such bonnets now? Has it become less beautiful, or has it less lustre than it had forty, fifty or sixty years ago? Then why is it not worn? It is not fashionable. That is a very silly word to say, very silly word indeed.
How short-sighted we are to say "it is not fashionable!" Why, the fashion is whatever we are disposed to make it; we can make the fashion just to please ourselves. If I am disposed to wear a hat with a brim two and a half inches wide, that is my fashion as long as I continue to wear it, and it is just as good as to call it after any other name. It is so with boots, hats, bonnets or dresses. If a dress is made, possessing some peculiarity, and is called after a queen or some fine lady, it is fashionable, and others must copy after it just on that account. What folly! Have we not minds? Has not God endowed with us with all the qualifications to think and judge what is good for ourselves, as well as anybody else in the world? He has. All the attributes that we read of Him possessing are in mankind; we see them. They are developed more or less. Why not use these attributes, and think and say that our own fashions are as good as anybody else's?
Suppose we should ask our sisters if they will covenant and agree to make their own head dresses out of material produced here! We are raising silk, and if the ladies do not know how to make ribbons, our silkweavers do; the raw material is on hand in abundance, and they can go to work and weave silk ribbons enough for the ladies to cover themselves. We are capable of making any kind we please, and we can certainly make the straw. Suppose you ask the brethren if they will wear a good, substantial home-made straw hat in warm weather. Would there be any harm in it? No. How much would it save this community if the ladies and gentlemen were to wear home-made head-dresses for twelve months to come? Have you any idea what it would save? Do you think it would be a thousand dollars? If it were no more, a thousand dollars would bring out ten, twelve or fifteen poor Saints, with what they could do for themselves. Say we save a thousand dollars, that would help to emigrate some poor Saints. If we saved ten thousand, that would emigrate a hundred perhaps, with what they could do for themselves. If we do this, it would help to relieve suffering creatures who would lick the dust off our feet to have the privilege that we have to-day. Hundreds and thousands of them would crawl on their hands and knees to this house and lick the dust where we walked to enjoy the privilege we enjoy to-day. Do we esteem it? Do we realize where and who we are? Do we realize our position before God and angels? Think of these things! Now, brethren and sisters, suppose we say that we will make our own head dresses, and save a hundred thousand dollars annually, and with that amount feed the hungry, clothe the naked and put in the possession of those poor, ignorant ones who come here the knowledge how to live, teach them from good books, what the world is, what God is; would not this be infinitely better than to waste our means for the gratification of vanity and fashion?
I may ask again, are we obliged to import? Is it the law of the land that we shall purchase our goods here in this city of those who would put a knife to our throats and cut them if they had the power? I know of no such law, do you? If there is any such a law I have never seen it. Still, some might say it is policy for us to do so. I say there is no good policy in any such a course. If we are the Saints of God, we should come out from the world and from the sins of the world, and sanctify ourselves.
It is true this is the emporium of fashion and folly for the Territory. I have often been ashamed of the people of Salt Lake City. When I travel in the country, which I do a good deal, I preach to congregations here and there, and the ladies will have on sun-bonnets, or home-made straw bonnets and hats, and the brethren will wear cloth that their wives have made. How commendable it looks! And it looks very well, although sometimes made rude and rough. It looks comely and keeps them warm and comfortable, both old and young. God delights in those who will be industrious. I am thankful to see so much of it. I have many a time said:
"Brethren and sisters, I feel to thank and bless you, I see you have got your home-made on."
We now have factories in the Territory and can make cloth just as good as imported. Do we want fine broadcloth? Then let the Elders of Israel do as they have been instructed with regard to sheep. Now is the time for us to secure to ourselves the finest wool there is in America. It is down now, it is worth comparatively nothing. Why? Because somebody or other in Paris or some other place is making coats and pantaloons out of what I call gunny cloth, and it is all the rage. It will be but a few years before they will return to the fine wool again, then you will, perhaps, have to pay five thousand dollars for an animal you can now purchase for fifty. Now is the time to procure the animals that grow the material we wish to wear. We are still building factories for its manufacture. There is one or two in progress in the south, and we calculate to have a large one in Provo; and we shall have the machinery to manufacture the finest wool and cloth, and to give it all the finish that they do in the west of England, then we can wear home-made and be dressed in fine broadcloth. We are making cloth now that is commendable and which recommends itself to the most cultivated taste in the country.
My brethren and sisters, hearken to what has been told you at this Conference. We are assembled together in order to give you good instruction. We have not half spoken to you yet, and almost three days are gone. This is the first time I have taken the liberty, this Conference, to talk to you. We want to keep you here; we would like the whole of the Latter-day Saints to be here; and that is not all when we teach the ways of life and salvation and economy to the people we would like the whole world to hear it, and we would like them to know what we practice. Our works are not in the dark, they are published to the world, and a great deal more than our acts too. I have had a great many gentlemen call upon me, who have said,
"I have been well used by your people, never treated better in my life, just as well as if I had been in my own house or my father's house. Governor Young, I am going to such a place, what can I do for you?"
I have answered, universally, "I have but one request, and that is that you will speak the truth about us, nothing else; that is all I ask."
But who will do it? Scarcely one, they who do are the very few exceptions. I smiled the other day in reading a communication from George Francis Train, who took the liberty to correct a mistake which he saw published in a paper about the people of Utah. Afterwards, there was another notice of him which, in alluding to his defense of us said "were it not that we consider him a lunatic, he would be taken up for conspiracy." What an idea! It is about as good as many others very generally entertained.
I will now say a few words with regard to our position from the time that we have been a people until now. Persecution commenced at the beginning of Joseph's career. You would see a little one-horse priest with a constable, perhaps, by his side, abusing the prophet and hatching up lawsuits. That was the commencement. What was the result of this treatment? It made him depend upon his own resources and upon God. Then towns and countries, with their persecution, and what was the result? Those by whom we were surrounded drove us to depend upon our resources and abilities and upon the God we served. How was it with States? They drove the Latter-day Saints to depend upon their own resources and ability; upon their own economy, wisdom, strength and power,--that that God had given them. What did the Government of the United States do, and what is it now doing? Driving us to the necessity of becoming a self-sustaining people. Did they ever foster us? No; we have spent more here, a hundred times over, than any other Territory, for the Indians. What have we got for it? A song, and had to sing it ourselves. I believe, since we have been here, we have had less than sixty thousand dollars appropriated to pay the expenses of Indian wars, and a little doled out to the Indians. How much the Superintendents and Agents have put away, it is not for me to say. I do not know nor care how it was. When I was Superintendent I know that every dollar and farthing, and scores of thousands of dollars besides, that the Government refused to pay for years, were given to the Indians. At last I got my bill settled, through Captain Hooper, our delegate to Congress. Did they ever furnish me a sixpence in advance? No, not one red cent. I recollect buying three guns, yagers, at six or eight dollars apiece, and I returned them as Government property, because they were purchased to furnish men when traveling among the Indians. Would they allow me anything for them? No; not a red cent. Then what could I return as I made out my quarterly reports? It must have been about like this, "three goose quills, two steel pens and half a sheet of paper." Were these Government property? No; I bought and paid for them myself; but they were in my office.
What does this policy do? It drives people to be perfectly independent and become a nation.
How were we treated in Nauvoo? Stephen A. Douglass came to us, accompanied by one or two other Congressmen, perhaps one was a Senator. They said they came to make a treaty with us to leave the confines of the United States. We told them we would do it, and they said if we would, they would see us paid for our property. Did they ever see us paid one dollar? No, not one red cent. We left our houses, farms, gardens and our property in the State of Illinois and came here without it; but the agreement was that if we would leave the United States we should be paid; but we never got it. I, with my brethren, wrote to the Governors of every State and Territory, except Missouri, asking them to give us an asylum in their domain. Every one of them with the exception of one or two, did not take the pains to answer. Those who did answer, refused us an asylum. Then we took up the line of march and left them, to go beyond the confines of the United States, and when we got right into the heart of an Indian country the Government was so kind as to send a demand for 500 men to go to the Mexican war. What did this show? It showed a determination on their part, which, expressed in so many words, said "We will slay you Mormons if we can; we will ruin you if we can get any excuse for so doing." How impolitic this was! Instead of ruining us they were driving us to independence. I do think there never was a nation in the world that had less good, sound sense than the one we now live in. As for the policy necessary to pursue to preserve their constituents, and the course to take to make a great, proud, noble and superior nation, they do not understand it. I need not say they do not know how to build up, sustain and make a great and good nation. But anybody can tear to pieces.
I recollect what Joseph told Stephen A. Douglass. He was a great friend of Joseph and Joseph was a great friend of his. Said Joseph, "Mr. Douglass, I will tell you one thing. You are not aspiring to become President of the United States. This is your aspiration at the present time." "How do you know that?" said Douglass. Joseph answered, "No matter how I know it, I know this is your aspiration, but I want to inform you that, if ever you lift your heel against the Latter-day Saints, God will smite you, and you will never become President; but if you take a just, honorable and righteous course with regard to this people, the Lord will lift you and you will preside over the United States." When Douglass made that speech in Springfield, the die was cast, and his doom was sealed. He was canvassing then, but I wrote to him and told him he would never sit in the Presidential chair, and called to his mind the prophesy of Joseph upon his head. He went straight down to the grave.
Well, we left the confines of the United States, as I have told you, and the course that has been pursued towards us has forced us to rely upon our own resources. When a man comes here with his silken lips and tells how he loves us, if he does not receive the truth and embrace the gospel of Jesus Christ, know ye that he is not of us. "He that gathereth not with us, scattereth abroad." Said Jesus, "He that is not for us is against us." Is it so to-day? It is and has been, from that day to this, and ever will be. Christ and Baal have not become friends. We do not expect such parties to be our friends any further than political policy, good neighborhood and manly feelings demand; as for their having real sympathy with us, they have not, if they have they will receive and embrace the truth. But I say again, if those who revile us, knew what we are doing to lay a foundation for their redemption, that they may not become angels of the devil, they would rejoice, and bless us and sustain our hands.
We are going to ask the congregation of Saints some questions with regard to temporal matters, home productions, home manufacture, political economy and so forth. This afternoon we shall present the Authorities to the Conference, and we want you to have your ears open and be ready to hearken and act perfectly free. I want every person to act as free as Mr. Hudson did yesterday when the memorial was read here that is to be presented to Congress, when the contrary vote was called for said he, "I think it rather too rabid." I admired the independence of the man, but I am satisfied that he did not know anything about the instrument.
We shall adjourn our Conference to-morrow, at the end of the morning's meeting, and have half a day's rest. Zion's Camp is invited, by Bishop Hunter, to take dinner at four o'clock. We shall resume our Conference on Sunday morning at ten o'clock, and when it comes evening we will dismiss the Conference. Now make your calculations. A great many people say they like to come to Conference, they like to hear the preaching, the counsel and advice. Come, and fill this house. Stay here through Conference you that live in St. George and St. Joseph; in Richland, Richmond, Paris, or anywhere else. Stay here and get all the instruction you can, that you may go home and know how to teach the people.
We will now close our morning's services.
Conference adjourned till 2 p.m.
The Tabernacle Choir sang the hymn on page 272, commencing "The towers of Zion soon shall rise."
Prayer by Elder George B. Wallace.
delivered an interesting discourse, which will shortly be published.
Remarks
By President Brigham Young
For one I shall take the rebuke of Bro. Snow; I really think it belongs to us, and the coat fits so perfectly that I cannot help wearing it. I will appeal to my brethren and sisters to see if it will fit them. I do not wish to cast any reflections on any one, but if my beloved brother from St. George will stand up beside me, you will be able to see who is the best dressed, and who has the most foreign goods on; if he does not wear as much as I do I am mistaken. I generally wear cloth of my own make, but I am not doing so to-day, I have on a coat that was given me. But I must say that the rebuke is just; it comes in good time. Let us receive and profit by it. There is a great deal in it, as you will see, if you reflect. Bro. Snow says he is one of the two first men that set their feet in this valley; and he has a right to rebuke, guide, direct and teach us, and to give that instruction which is necessary to make the people of this and the other valleys acceptable to the Lord. I am happy to hear from him and the rest of my brethren that their whole hearts are engaged, and, I may say, their hands too, for his are in trying to sanctify and purify the people and make them in reality what they profess to be,--namely, Saints of the Most High, and to make them one in building up Zion and in bringing forth salvation and deliverance to all the inhabitants of the earth.
This is a matter of reflection with a great many. Brother Snow talks about our enemies and about the wicked we have in our midst; also about our friends, neighbors and relatives. I can say that if our friends and our enemies and the world of mankind knew what we are actually doing, in the Lord, they never would raise their hands or voices against us while they lived; no, never! It is hidden from them; they do not see it. They cannot see it, unless the Spirit of the Lord reveals it to them. We are laboring for the redemption of the human family. Let anybody look at it, even our most bitter enemies, and all who have any hope of eternity or eternal life, or even a desire for life everlasting; let them examine for themselves and learn what the Latter-day Saints are doing.
We say, the ancients said, and the whole Christian world say, that Christ died for the sins of the world. All who believe in the New Testament believe that Jesus will do what His apostles said He would and what He himself promised—that is, to save all the children of men in a kingdom of glory, light, purity, happiness, peace, delight and comfort. Whom will He save? How many will He save? Every son and daughter of Adam and Eve, except those who sin against the Holy Ghost; they will become angels of the devil, this is the promise of the Savior; and this is the work we are engaged in if we are what we profess, believe and think we are,--namely the people that God has called upon to come out from Babylon and separate ourselves from sinners and from sin. We are laboring with the Savior to accomplish the work of redemption for the human family, and to bring them into glory, or else we are doing nothing. Do the people of the world see this? Can they see it? No; not unless they have eyes,--eyes to see, and then see.
Although the Latter-day Saints are called to such a high and important mission, we have many foolish customs and habits existing amongst us. While beholding this, we, on the other hand, can also behold the sincerity of the people. Look at their sacrifices! Is it not a spectacle to behold the Latter-day Saints gathering from all parts of the earth—for we have them here from almost every nation under heaven—for the sake of being with those who are building up Zion? Yet if we view ourselves as in a glass, we find that many of us indulge in foolish fashions and customs, and in feelings which are worse than the cut of a coat or the shape of a bonnet. I do not consider that the coat makes any difference in reality. I do not consider that it makes any difference with regard to the love of truth in the heart of a lady whether she has three straws and a ribbon on her head or whether she has a corn-fan as we used to call the old fashioned bonnets. But, still, when the heart clings to these things that are so perishable and unnecessary, and follows after the fashions of the world, so wanting in comfort, I consider that we are very foolish and unwise.
This people are required to come out from Babylon and from the wicked. They may say:
"Have we not done so? We have left our fathers, mothers, sisters, brothers, our uncles and aunts, our homes and comforts, or our poverty, and have gathered with the Saints to build up Zion."
This is all true; but still we are by no means free from the traditions and customs of Babylon. We hear a sister say:
"I want to send to New York to get the fashions;" or, "I want a dress or a bonnet made;" or, "I want to get a dress from New York or Paris or London, and I want to see the fashions."
"Sister, do you take the fashion magazines?"
"Yes, I take them, for I want to see how to have a skirt cut, or the waist of my dress cut, or how to have this over-garment cut, made and trimmed."
Now, instead of being influenced and controlled by the follies and fashions of the world, a sensible lady would say:
"Who cares what other folks wear? I have just as good judgment and taste as any lady who lives in New York, London or Paris. My taste suits me, my judgment will answer for me and I will have a fashion to suit myself, and I will cut and make my garment for my comfort, beauty, and excellence, and I will dress according to my own taste; I care nothing about the fashions of the world."
This would be in accordance with the dictates of good sense and consistent with the instincts of a true lady. I do not mean those female loafers Brother Snow has been talking about, who are so useless; who think of nothing but riding, or patrolling the streets, for the sake of displaying their dresses or their fine bonnets, while their children, if they have any, are perhaps at home in the dirt, uncared for, unwashed in the morning, and running the streets, with nobody to teach them their letters. I do not call such characters ladies. A real lady should possess all the refinement and good behavior necessary in good society; she should possess all the knowledge of things pertaining to the cares of life devolving upon her in her sphere as a woman:--how to take care of her children, to keep her house clean and like a little palace, how to make beds, make bread, cook, cleanse the cooking utensils,--and in addition to all this she should be virtuous, and should strive continually to serve and obtain a knowledge of God. All these qualifications are necessary for a lady, but such things are disregarded to a very great extent now-a-days, especially in fashionable life, among those who are styled ladies.
A young man thinks he would like to get married, and having selected a young lady whom he thinks he would like for a partner, he says:
"I have some idea of entering the matrimonial state, and, having observed you for some time, I think I would like to make a proposition to you with that end in view. Can you milk a cow?"
"Oh, no, I never milked in my life."
"Can you make bread?"
"Oh, no, my mother or the hired girl does that."
"Can you make your bed?"
"I never made a bed in my life."
"Can you wash dishes?"
"Well, really, my hands don't look as though they had been in the dish water."
The young man is discouraged; he looks forward to life. Says he:
"We have to eat and drink; we want a good bed to sleep on, a good house to live in, good food for our bodies and I am looking forward to know how to obtain these articles, and I say to this young lady can you do these things and help me to gain a livelihood, and gain knowledge for ourselves, bring up a family of children and give them a good education?"
When a young gentleman finds there is no prospect for these things he leaves in disgust. This is the condition of the world to-day—with a few exceptions, in the higher ranks who have means—everybody, especially the female portion of society, seems to be anxious to obtain means to spend without labor.
The Latter-day Saints are called to something else; they are called to build up the Kingdom of God, and every person who has read the Old and New Testaments, and believes them, can easily understand that the performance of that work involves a great amount of labor. Is Zion to be built up on this earth? Yes, every person who believes the Bible acknowledges that. Well, is God coming here to build our houses and temples, to make our streets, or set out our orchards and vineyards? O, no, we do not expect that. Is He going to send His angels here to perform this labor? No, I rather think not. I have not yet learned any such thing. He will build up His Zion by gathering His people together. Suppose the people believe the gospel, and, when they gather together, bring Babylon with them, are they gathered from Babylon? No, they are not; they are only gathered from one part of it to another.
There is a great work to be done in building up Zion on the earth in the latter days. I know very well that our enemies do not believe that we are building up Zion. I am really glad of it. Why? Because they are helping to establish this Zion. Shall I say they are doing all they can? No; they are doing a little, but they do not know it; they are fulfilling the prophecies, but they do not understand it. Do you suppose the enemies of God's kingdom would fulfil the prophecies if they knew they were fulfilling them? No, I think not. I know they say they are not the enemies of God or righteousness; but if they are not, why do they not practice righteousness? If they are not the enemies of God, why not obey His commands? If they are not the enemies of truth and peace, and to all the blessings that pertain to the holy gospel, which make men and women pure in heart and pure in their lives, why do they not practice the principles of that gospel? Do we not know men by their works and deeds? Is not a tree known by the fruit it bears? They say they delight in righteousness and feel to promote it, but they never do it. They say they bear beautiful fruit, but when it is plucked it is sour and bitter to the taste. All people will be judged by their works and the fruits thereof. I think that is the way that the Lord has said He will judge the people of the nations of the earth.
The Lord has spoken to the whole world of mankind through His servant Joseph Smith, the Prophet; He has sent forth the words of eternal life to the whole world so far as they would receive them. If there is a few who have hearkened to the still small voice, a few who have lent a listening ear to the whisperings of the Spirit of God, and have gathered out from the wicked, they do not want Babylon in their midst. The question may arise, How do you know you do not; have you tried it?. Yes we have, and to our sorrow. We have promoted the interests of the wicked in our midst; we have fed and clothed them; we have made ourselves poor by giving them our money, and they have used that means to destroy us. Would they do it again? Yes, they would do it again and again, if we would permit them. But, saying nothing of the past, the time has now come for us to say we will build up the kingdom of God, and build up the kingdoms of this world no more. Is there any treason in this? No. Anything contrary to the Constitution of our Government? No. Is it contrary to any of the laws of our country? No; it is not. I can go and trade with James, my friend, just as well as to go to Mr. Jones' store. I say, "Friend James, I wish to do my trading with you, and I shall send my orders to your store."
James says to Joseph, "Joseph, if thou wilt do thy trading with me, I will do well by thee."
So they mutually agree, and Joseph trades with James, and buys all his goods at James' store, and there is no harm in it. He is not obliged to go to the store of a Catholic, Presbyterian, Methodist, Baptist, Universalian, or infidel, or anywhere else; but he can trade with James only, if he pleases, because he is his friend, and there is no sin nor harm in it whatever.
Is there any evil in the Latter-day Saints trading with one another? Oh, no, not the least; but "it is impolitic" some will cry; "it is not policy for you to shut yourselves up in this manner; you should not be so isolated and exclusive in your dealings." I say we should be strictly so; we have not been so in the past. We have made scores of merchants rich in this city who never dared tell the truth about us; but when lies came along they would sanction and foster them, and they do the same to-day. There are men here in our midst to-day who tell that which is as false as false can be with regard to the character of this people. They court contention and discord and alienation of feeling. Is this righteous?
We do not want Babylon in our midst, do we? If we are the people that we say and believe we are, we never should do another deed to foster Babylon in our midst. Is there any harm in this? I cannot see that there is? I have the liberty of trading, dealing and doing just as and where I please, as far as I can, if I transgress no law and do not infringe upon the rights of any of my fellowbeings. This is the law of liberty. All things, says the Apostle, are yours: height, length, depth and breadth; every glory and every blessing and privilege; every power that you can imagine is yours, provided you do not infringe upon the rights of others. This is the liberty of the gospel. Is there any harm in living thus? There would be no harm that I can see if my sisters were called upon here to form themselves into a society and make a covenant to make their head dresses of material that grows in the country. In the fair that has just been held I saw some hats and bonnets made of straw throughout; there was no foreign or imported material used in them, and they were the handsomest and most lovely and delicate I saw there. I can recollect when straw trimming first came into fashion. They sent from England and Massachusetts, and would pay four prices for bonnets that were trimmed with straw alone. Why not wear such bonnets now? Has it become less beautiful, or has it less lustre than it had forty, fifty or sixty years ago? Then why is it not worn? It is not fashionable. That is a very silly word to say, very silly word indeed.
How short-sighted we are to say "it is not fashionable!" Why, the fashion is whatever we are disposed to make it; we can make the fashion just to please ourselves. If I am disposed to wear a hat with a brim two and a half inches wide, that is my fashion as long as I continue to wear it, and it is just as good as to call it after any other name. It is so with boots, hats, bonnets or dresses. If a dress is made, possessing some peculiarity, and is called after a queen or some fine lady, it is fashionable, and others must copy after it just on that account. What folly! Have we not minds? Has not God endowed with us with all the qualifications to think and judge what is good for ourselves, as well as anybody else in the world? He has. All the attributes that we read of Him possessing are in mankind; we see them. They are developed more or less. Why not use these attributes, and think and say that our own fashions are as good as anybody else's?
Suppose we should ask our sisters if they will covenant and agree to make their own head dresses out of material produced here! We are raising silk, and if the ladies do not know how to make ribbons, our silkweavers do; the raw material is on hand in abundance, and they can go to work and weave silk ribbons enough for the ladies to cover themselves. We are capable of making any kind we please, and we can certainly make the straw. Suppose you ask the brethren if they will wear a good, substantial home-made straw hat in warm weather. Would there be any harm in it? No. How much would it save this community if the ladies and gentlemen were to wear home-made head-dresses for twelve months to come? Have you any idea what it would save? Do you think it would be a thousand dollars? If it were no more, a thousand dollars would bring out ten, twelve or fifteen poor Saints, with what they could do for themselves. Say we save a thousand dollars, that would help to emigrate some poor Saints. If we saved ten thousand, that would emigrate a hundred perhaps, with what they could do for themselves. If we do this, it would help to relieve suffering creatures who would lick the dust off our feet to have the privilege that we have to-day. Hundreds and thousands of them would crawl on their hands and knees to this house and lick the dust where we walked to enjoy the privilege we enjoy to-day. Do we esteem it? Do we realize where and who we are? Do we realize our position before God and angels? Think of these things! Now, brethren and sisters, suppose we say that we will make our own head dresses, and save a hundred thousand dollars annually, and with that amount feed the hungry, clothe the naked and put in the possession of those poor, ignorant ones who come here the knowledge how to live, teach them from good books, what the world is, what God is; would not this be infinitely better than to waste our means for the gratification of vanity and fashion?
I may ask again, are we obliged to import? Is it the law of the land that we shall purchase our goods here in this city of those who would put a knife to our throats and cut them if they had the power? I know of no such law, do you? If there is any such a law I have never seen it. Still, some might say it is policy for us to do so. I say there is no good policy in any such a course. If we are the Saints of God, we should come out from the world and from the sins of the world, and sanctify ourselves.
It is true this is the emporium of fashion and folly for the Territory. I have often been ashamed of the people of Salt Lake City. When I travel in the country, which I do a good deal, I preach to congregations here and there, and the ladies will have on sun-bonnets, or home-made straw bonnets and hats, and the brethren will wear cloth that their wives have made. How commendable it looks! And it looks very well, although sometimes made rude and rough. It looks comely and keeps them warm and comfortable, both old and young. God delights in those who will be industrious. I am thankful to see so much of it. I have many a time said:
"Brethren and sisters, I feel to thank and bless you, I see you have got your home-made on."
We now have factories in the Territory and can make cloth just as good as imported. Do we want fine broadcloth? Then let the Elders of Israel do as they have been instructed with regard to sheep. Now is the time for us to secure to ourselves the finest wool there is in America. It is down now, it is worth comparatively nothing. Why? Because somebody or other in Paris or some other place is making coats and pantaloons out of what I call gunny cloth, and it is all the rage. It will be but a few years before they will return to the fine wool again, then you will, perhaps, have to pay five thousand dollars for an animal you can now purchase for fifty. Now is the time to procure the animals that grow the material we wish to wear. We are still building factories for its manufacture. There is one or two in progress in the south, and we calculate to have a large one in Provo; and we shall have the machinery to manufacture the finest wool and cloth, and to give it all the finish that they do in the west of England, then we can wear home-made and be dressed in fine broadcloth. We are making cloth now that is commendable and which recommends itself to the most cultivated taste in the country.
My brethren and sisters, hearken to what has been told you at this Conference. We are assembled together in order to give you good instruction. We have not half spoken to you yet, and almost three days are gone. This is the first time I have taken the liberty, this Conference, to talk to you. We want to keep you here; we would like the whole of the Latter-day Saints to be here; and that is not all when we teach the ways of life and salvation and economy to the people we would like the whole world to hear it, and we would like them to know what we practice. Our works are not in the dark, they are published to the world, and a great deal more than our acts too. I have had a great many gentlemen call upon me, who have said,
"I have been well used by your people, never treated better in my life, just as well as if I had been in my own house or my father's house. Governor Young, I am going to such a place, what can I do for you?"
I have answered, universally, "I have but one request, and that is that you will speak the truth about us, nothing else; that is all I ask."
But who will do it? Scarcely one, they who do are the very few exceptions. I smiled the other day in reading a communication from George Francis Train, who took the liberty to correct a mistake which he saw published in a paper about the people of Utah. Afterwards, there was another notice of him which, in alluding to his defense of us said "were it not that we consider him a lunatic, he would be taken up for conspiracy." What an idea! It is about as good as many others very generally entertained.
I will now say a few words with regard to our position from the time that we have been a people until now. Persecution commenced at the beginning of Joseph's career. You would see a little one-horse priest with a constable, perhaps, by his side, abusing the prophet and hatching up lawsuits. That was the commencement. What was the result of this treatment? It made him depend upon his own resources and upon God. Then towns and countries, with their persecution, and what was the result? Those by whom we were surrounded drove us to depend upon our resources and abilities and upon the God we served. How was it with States? They drove the Latter-day Saints to depend upon their own resources and ability; upon their own economy, wisdom, strength and power,--that that God had given them. What did the Government of the United States do, and what is it now doing? Driving us to the necessity of becoming a self-sustaining people. Did they ever foster us? No; we have spent more here, a hundred times over, than any other Territory, for the Indians. What have we got for it? A song, and had to sing it ourselves. I believe, since we have been here, we have had less than sixty thousand dollars appropriated to pay the expenses of Indian wars, and a little doled out to the Indians. How much the Superintendents and Agents have put away, it is not for me to say. I do not know nor care how it was. When I was Superintendent I know that every dollar and farthing, and scores of thousands of dollars besides, that the Government refused to pay for years, were given to the Indians. At last I got my bill settled, through Captain Hooper, our delegate to Congress. Did they ever furnish me a sixpence in advance? No, not one red cent. I recollect buying three guns, yagers, at six or eight dollars apiece, and I returned them as Government property, because they were purchased to furnish men when traveling among the Indians. Would they allow me anything for them? No; not a red cent. Then what could I return as I made out my quarterly reports? It must have been about like this, "three goose quills, two steel pens and half a sheet of paper." Were these Government property? No; I bought and paid for them myself; but they were in my office.
What does this policy do? It drives people to be perfectly independent and become a nation.
How were we treated in Nauvoo? Stephen A. Douglass came to us, accompanied by one or two other Congressmen, perhaps one was a Senator. They said they came to make a treaty with us to leave the confines of the United States. We told them we would do it, and they said if we would, they would see us paid for our property. Did they ever see us paid one dollar? No, not one red cent. We left our houses, farms, gardens and our property in the State of Illinois and came here without it; but the agreement was that if we would leave the United States we should be paid; but we never got it. I, with my brethren, wrote to the Governors of every State and Territory, except Missouri, asking them to give us an asylum in their domain. Every one of them with the exception of one or two, did not take the pains to answer. Those who did answer, refused us an asylum. Then we took up the line of march and left them, to go beyond the confines of the United States, and when we got right into the heart of an Indian country the Government was so kind as to send a demand for 500 men to go to the Mexican war. What did this show? It showed a determination on their part, which, expressed in so many words, said "We will slay you Mormons if we can; we will ruin you if we can get any excuse for so doing." How impolitic this was! Instead of ruining us they were driving us to independence. I do think there never was a nation in the world that had less good, sound sense than the one we now live in. As for the policy necessary to pursue to preserve their constituents, and the course to take to make a great, proud, noble and superior nation, they do not understand it. I need not say they do not know how to build up, sustain and make a great and good nation. But anybody can tear to pieces.
I recollect what Joseph told Stephen A. Douglass. He was a great friend of Joseph and Joseph was a great friend of his. Said Joseph, "Mr. Douglass, I will tell you one thing. You are not aspiring to become President of the United States. This is your aspiration at the present time." "How do you know that?" said Douglass. Joseph answered, "No matter how I know it, I know this is your aspiration, but I want to inform you that, if ever you lift your heel against the Latter-day Saints, God will smite you, and you will never become President; but if you take a just, honorable and righteous course with regard to this people, the Lord will lift you and you will preside over the United States." When Douglass made that speech in Springfield, the die was cast, and his doom was sealed. He was canvassing then, but I wrote to him and told him he would never sit in the Presidential chair, and called to his mind the prophesy of Joseph upon his head. He went straight down to the grave.
Well, we left the confines of the United States, as I have told you, and the course that has been pursued towards us has forced us to rely upon our own resources. When a man comes here with his silken lips and tells how he loves us, if he does not receive the truth and embrace the gospel of Jesus Christ, know ye that he is not of us. "He that gathereth not with us, scattereth abroad." Said Jesus, "He that is not for us is against us." Is it so to-day? It is and has been, from that day to this, and ever will be. Christ and Baal have not become friends. We do not expect such parties to be our friends any further than political policy, good neighborhood and manly feelings demand; as for their having real sympathy with us, they have not, if they have they will receive and embrace the truth. But I say again, if those who revile us, knew what we are doing to lay a foundation for their redemption, that they may not become angels of the devil, they would rejoice, and bless us and sustain our hands.
We are going to ask the congregation of Saints some questions with regard to temporal matters, home productions, home manufacture, political economy and so forth. This afternoon we shall present the Authorities to the Conference, and we want you to have your ears open and be ready to hearken and act perfectly free. I want every person to act as free as Mr. Hudson did yesterday when the memorial was read here that is to be presented to Congress, when the contrary vote was called for said he, "I think it rather too rabid." I admired the independence of the man, but I am satisfied that he did not know anything about the instrument.
We shall adjourn our Conference to-morrow, at the end of the morning's meeting, and have half a day's rest. Zion's Camp is invited, by Bishop Hunter, to take dinner at four o'clock. We shall resume our Conference on Sunday morning at ten o'clock, and when it comes evening we will dismiss the Conference. Now make your calculations. A great many people say they like to come to Conference, they like to hear the preaching, the counsel and advice. Come, and fill this house. Stay here through Conference you that live in St. George and St. Joseph; in Richland, Richmond, Paris, or anywhere else. Stay here and get all the instruction you can, that you may go home and know how to teach the people.
We will now close our morning's services.
Conference adjourned till 2 p.m.
The Tabernacle Choir sang the hymn on page 272, commencing "The towers of Zion soon shall rise."
Prayer by Elder George B. Wallace.
Two p.m.
Meeting was called to order by President Geo. A. Smith. The Tabernacle Choir sang the hymn on page seventy-nine, commencing "Glorious things are sung of Zion."
Prayer by Elder Franklin D. Richards.
The Tabernacle Choir sang the anthem commencing "How beautiful upon the mountains."
Meeting was called to order by President Geo. A. Smith. The Tabernacle Choir sang the hymn on page seventy-nine, commencing "Glorious things are sung of Zion."
Prayer by Elder Franklin D. Richards.
The Tabernacle Choir sang the anthem commencing "How beautiful upon the mountains."
Elder Geo. Q. Cannon
presented the names of the following brethren to go on missions to the Eastern States, in addition to those who have already been presented to the Conference:
John P. Barnard, Brigham City
Arich C. Brower, Richmond
Grandison Raymond, Kaysville
John W. Cooley, Grantsville
Jacob E. Terry, Rockville, Kane Co.
Agrippa Cooper, Oxford, Cache Co.
William G. Nelson, Oxford, Cache Co.
Bishop John B. Fairbanks, Payson
Zechariah B. Decker, Sen., Parowan
Daniel McRae, 11th ward
Moroni Reese, 17th ward
Wellington Seeley, Mount Pleasant
W. W. Sterrett, Rich Co.
Nathan Tanner, 14th ward
William H. Walton, Bountiful
Hosiah Kilburn, Bountiful
The following brethren were also presented to the Conference as being called to go on missions to the Sandwich Islands:
James Hawkins, William King, Harvey H. Cluff.
presented the names of the following brethren to go on missions to the Eastern States, in addition to those who have already been presented to the Conference:
John P. Barnard, Brigham City
Arich C. Brower, Richmond
Grandison Raymond, Kaysville
John W. Cooley, Grantsville
Jacob E. Terry, Rockville, Kane Co.
Agrippa Cooper, Oxford, Cache Co.
William G. Nelson, Oxford, Cache Co.
Bishop John B. Fairbanks, Payson
Zechariah B. Decker, Sen., Parowan
Daniel McRae, 11th ward
Moroni Reese, 17th ward
Wellington Seeley, Mount Pleasant
W. W. Sterrett, Rich Co.
Nathan Tanner, 14th ward
William H. Walton, Bountiful
Hosiah Kilburn, Bountiful
The following brethren were also presented to the Conference as being called to go on missions to the Sandwich Islands:
James Hawkins, William King, Harvey H. Cluff.
Elder George Q. Cannon presented the Authorities of the Church for approval or disapproval of the Saints, as follows:
Brigham Young, President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, George A. Smith his first, and Daniel H. Wells his second counselor.
Orson Hyde, President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and Orson Pratt, Sen., John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, Charles C. Rich, Lorenzo Snow, Erastus Snow, Franklin D. Richards, George Q. Cannon, Brigham Young, Jun., Joseph F. Smith, and Albert Carrington, members of the said Quorum.
John Smith, Patriarch of the Church.
John W. Young, President of this Stake of Zion, and George B. Wallace and John T. Caine his counselors.
William Eddington, John L. Blythe, Howard O. Spencer, Claudius V. Spencer, John Squires, Wm. H. Folsom, Emanuel M. Murphy, Thomas E. Jeremy, George W. Thatcher, Charles S. Kimball, Joseph L. Barfoot, Samuel W. Richards, Nathaniel H. Felt, John H. Rumell, Miner G. Atwood, Hampton S. Beatie, Wm. Thorn, Dimick B. Huntington, and Theodore McKean, members of the High Council.
John Young, President of the High Priests Quorum, Edwin D. Woolley and Samuel W. Richards his counselors.
Joseph Young, President of the first seven Presidents of the Seventies, and Levi W. Hancock, Henry Harriman, Albert P. Rockwood, Horace S. Eldredge, Jacob Gates, and John Van Cott, members of the first seven Presidents of the Seventies.
Edward Hunter, Presiding Bishop; Leonard W. Hardy and Jesse C. Little, his counselors.
Benjamin L. Peart, President of the Elders' Quorum; Edward Davis and Abinadi Pratt, his Counselors.
Samuel G. Ladd, President of the Priests' Quorum; Robert Price and Wm. McLaughlin, his counselors.
Adam Spiers, President of the Teachers' Quorum; Henry I. Doremus and Martin Lenzi, his counselors
James Leach, President of the Deacon's Quorum; Peter Johnson and Chas. S. Cram his counselors.
Brigham Young, Trustee-in-Trust for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Truman O. Angell, Architect for the Church.
Daniel H. Wells, Superintendent of Public Works.
Brigham Young, President of the Perpetual Emigration Fund to gather the poor; George A. Smith, Daniel H. Wells, and Edward Hunter his assistants for said fund.
George A. Smith, Historian and General Church Recorder, and Wilford Woodruff, his assistant.
The votes in favor of sustaining the Authorities were unanimous.
Brigham Young, President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, George A. Smith his first, and Daniel H. Wells his second counselor.
Orson Hyde, President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and Orson Pratt, Sen., John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, Charles C. Rich, Lorenzo Snow, Erastus Snow, Franklin D. Richards, George Q. Cannon, Brigham Young, Jun., Joseph F. Smith, and Albert Carrington, members of the said Quorum.
John Smith, Patriarch of the Church.
John W. Young, President of this Stake of Zion, and George B. Wallace and John T. Caine his counselors.
William Eddington, John L. Blythe, Howard O. Spencer, Claudius V. Spencer, John Squires, Wm. H. Folsom, Emanuel M. Murphy, Thomas E. Jeremy, George W. Thatcher, Charles S. Kimball, Joseph L. Barfoot, Samuel W. Richards, Nathaniel H. Felt, John H. Rumell, Miner G. Atwood, Hampton S. Beatie, Wm. Thorn, Dimick B. Huntington, and Theodore McKean, members of the High Council.
John Young, President of the High Priests Quorum, Edwin D. Woolley and Samuel W. Richards his counselors.
Joseph Young, President of the first seven Presidents of the Seventies, and Levi W. Hancock, Henry Harriman, Albert P. Rockwood, Horace S. Eldredge, Jacob Gates, and John Van Cott, members of the first seven Presidents of the Seventies.
Edward Hunter, Presiding Bishop; Leonard W. Hardy and Jesse C. Little, his counselors.
Benjamin L. Peart, President of the Elders' Quorum; Edward Davis and Abinadi Pratt, his Counselors.
Samuel G. Ladd, President of the Priests' Quorum; Robert Price and Wm. McLaughlin, his counselors.
Adam Spiers, President of the Teachers' Quorum; Henry I. Doremus and Martin Lenzi, his counselors
James Leach, President of the Deacon's Quorum; Peter Johnson and Chas. S. Cram his counselors.
Brigham Young, Trustee-in-Trust for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Truman O. Angell, Architect for the Church.
Daniel H. Wells, Superintendent of Public Works.
Brigham Young, President of the Perpetual Emigration Fund to gather the poor; George A. Smith, Daniel H. Wells, and Edward Hunter his assistants for said fund.
George A. Smith, Historian and General Church Recorder, and Wilford Woodruff, his assistant.
The votes in favor of sustaining the Authorities were unanimous.
Elder Franklin D. Richards
said that the responsibilities are increasing upon all who profess to be Latter-day Saints. The burden of carrying forward this great work rests upon the shoulders of all, but comparatively few realized it; yet the time seems drawing near when all will have to be alive to the carrying out of those measures which have been introduced, and which are so necessary for the welfare of the Kingdom of God. Those who cannot see the benefits to be derived from carrying out faithfully the system of Co-operation are indeed blind. We have already been told by President Young that during the few months that the system has been in operation some $600,000 have been saved to the Territory. Not only are the pecuniary benefits arising from it considerable, but if we adhere to this system, we will have the satisfaction of attending to our own concerns ourselves. An illustrious visitor to this city, declared, a short time since, that the very best policy we could adopt would be to invite outside capital in order to develop the resources of our Territory. This would be the most suicidal policy that could be adopted by us. The Lord has commanded His servant to build up Zion, and unite His people together. The Saints are increasing in faith and good works, but there is great room for improvement yet. May we continually increase in unity and every good and vital principle of the gospel. Amen.
said that the responsibilities are increasing upon all who profess to be Latter-day Saints. The burden of carrying forward this great work rests upon the shoulders of all, but comparatively few realized it; yet the time seems drawing near when all will have to be alive to the carrying out of those measures which have been introduced, and which are so necessary for the welfare of the Kingdom of God. Those who cannot see the benefits to be derived from carrying out faithfully the system of Co-operation are indeed blind. We have already been told by President Young that during the few months that the system has been in operation some $600,000 have been saved to the Territory. Not only are the pecuniary benefits arising from it considerable, but if we adhere to this system, we will have the satisfaction of attending to our own concerns ourselves. An illustrious visitor to this city, declared, a short time since, that the very best policy we could adopt would be to invite outside capital in order to develop the resources of our Territory. This would be the most suicidal policy that could be adopted by us. The Lord has commanded His servant to build up Zion, and unite His people together. The Saints are increasing in faith and good works, but there is great room for improvement yet. May we continually increase in unity and every good and vital principle of the gospel. Amen.
President Geo. A. Smith
addressed the Conference. I have rejoiced in hearing the instructions given by those who have spoken, for they show that the elders are growing in wisdom. I am glad that we are about to send forth so many experienced elders to preach the gospel to the inhabitants of our own country. Ever since I became acquainted with the gospel, I have neglected no opportunity of bearing testimony to its truth. I know that the Prophet Joseph rejoiced that the law of Celestial Marriage was introduced in such a way that all the powers of earth and hell could not destroy it. The agent of a Bible Society asked me some time since, whether we circulated the Bible in our Territory. I answered certainly, for that Book supports the principles inculcated in our faith, especially the doctrine of plural marriage. There are some passages in the scriptures that monogamists use as arguments against polygamy. In the writings of the Apostle Paul it is stated that "a bishop should be the husband of one wife." It seems that the only inference that can be drawn from this passage is, that a bishop ought to be a married man. These men who are held up in the scriptures as patterns of excellence and godliness were polygamists; of this Jacob is a striking instance. When Jesus was on the earth, he denounced fornication, adultery and all other vices, but never said one word condemnatory of a plurality of wives. He said He had not come to destroy, but to fulfil the law; and that law to which He had reference not only recognized, but under some circumstances, commands a plurality of wives. The ancient prophets of God, were commissioned of the Almighty to go forth and warn the people of their iniquities, and were told if they should neglect to do so, the curse of the Lord would rest upon them. They denounced all manner of crimes, but although the men in that day were living with a plurality of wives, no word escaped them derogatory to the practice of that order. Had polygamy been a crime, they would have been under condemnation for not denouncing it. Abraham is called the "father of the faithful," and many of the Christians speak of going to Abraham's bosom; yet he was a polygamist. All Christians expect to go into the New Jerusalem, and if they ever do go there, they will find twelve gates, and on those gates the names of the twelve sons of the four wives of Jacob. No monogamist will want to go in there; and this being the case, how can a monogamist ever get there? And, further, men or women who lift their voice against this principle, under the government of God, will never get into that city. May God help us to gain admittance there, is my prayer. Amen.
addressed the Conference. I have rejoiced in hearing the instructions given by those who have spoken, for they show that the elders are growing in wisdom. I am glad that we are about to send forth so many experienced elders to preach the gospel to the inhabitants of our own country. Ever since I became acquainted with the gospel, I have neglected no opportunity of bearing testimony to its truth. I know that the Prophet Joseph rejoiced that the law of Celestial Marriage was introduced in such a way that all the powers of earth and hell could not destroy it. The agent of a Bible Society asked me some time since, whether we circulated the Bible in our Territory. I answered certainly, for that Book supports the principles inculcated in our faith, especially the doctrine of plural marriage. There are some passages in the scriptures that monogamists use as arguments against polygamy. In the writings of the Apostle Paul it is stated that "a bishop should be the husband of one wife." It seems that the only inference that can be drawn from this passage is, that a bishop ought to be a married man. These men who are held up in the scriptures as patterns of excellence and godliness were polygamists; of this Jacob is a striking instance. When Jesus was on the earth, he denounced fornication, adultery and all other vices, but never said one word condemnatory of a plurality of wives. He said He had not come to destroy, but to fulfil the law; and that law to which He had reference not only recognized, but under some circumstances, commands a plurality of wives. The ancient prophets of God, were commissioned of the Almighty to go forth and warn the people of their iniquities, and were told if they should neglect to do so, the curse of the Lord would rest upon them. They denounced all manner of crimes, but although the men in that day were living with a plurality of wives, no word escaped them derogatory to the practice of that order. Had polygamy been a crime, they would have been under condemnation for not denouncing it. Abraham is called the "father of the faithful," and many of the Christians speak of going to Abraham's bosom; yet he was a polygamist. All Christians expect to go into the New Jerusalem, and if they ever do go there, they will find twelve gates, and on those gates the names of the twelve sons of the four wives of Jacob. No monogamist will want to go in there; and this being the case, how can a monogamist ever get there? And, further, men or women who lift their voice against this principle, under the government of God, will never get into that city. May God help us to gain admittance there, is my prayer. Amen.
Celestial Marriage—Bishops and Deacons Should Be Married—Divorce
Remarks by President George A. Smith, delivered in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, October 8, 1869.
Reported by John Grimshaw.
It is a difficult undertaking to address this immense audience. If a man commences speaking loud, in a short time his voice gives out; whereas, if he commence rather low, he may raise his voice by degrees, and be able to sustain himself in speaking some length of time. But with children crying, a few persons whispering, and some shuffling their feet, it is indeed a difficult task to make an audience of ten thousand persons hear. I have listened with pleasure to the instructions of our brethren from the commencement of our Conference to the present time. I have rejoiced in their testimonies. I have felt that the elders are improving in wisdom, in knowledge, in power, and in understanding; and I rejoice in the privilege, which we have at the present day, of sending out to our own country a few hundred of the elders who have had experience—who have lived in Israel long enough to know, to feel, and to realize the importance of the work in which they are engaged—to understand its principles and comprehend the way of life. They can bear testimony to a generation that has nearly grown from childhood since the death of the Prophet Joseph Smith.
The Lord said in relation to those who have driven the Saints that He would visit “judgment, wrath, and indignation, wailing and anguish, and gnashing of teeth upon their heads unto the third and fourth generation, so long as they repent not and hate me, saith the Lord your God.”
I am a native of Potsdam, St. Lawrence County, New York—a town somewhat famous for its literary institutions, its learning and the religion and morality of its inhabitants. I left there in my youth, with my father's family, because we had received the Gospel of Jesus Christ, as revealed through Joseph Smith; and followed with the Saints through their drivings and trials unto the present day.
I have never seen the occasion, nor let the opportunity slip, from the time when I first came to a knowledge of the truth of the work of the Lord in the last days, that I understood it was in my power to do good for the advancement of this work but what I have used my utmost endeavors to accomplish that good. I have never failed to bear a faithful testimony to the work of God, or to carry out to all intents and purposes, the wishes and designs of the Prophet, Joseph Smith. I was his kinsman; was familiar with him, though several years his junior; knew his views, his sentiments, his ways, his designs, and many of the thoughts of his heart, and I do know that the servants of God, the Twelve Apostles, upon whom he laid the authority to bear off the Kingdom of God, and fulfil the work which he had commenced, have done according to his designs, in every particular, up to the present time and are continuing to do so. And I know, furthermore, that he rejoiced in the fact that the law of redemption and Celestial Marriage was revealed unto the Church in such a manner that it would be out of the power of earth and hell to destroy it; and that he rejoiced in the fact that the servants of God were ready prepared, having the keys to bear off the work he had commenced. Previous to my leaving Potsdam, there was but one man that I ever heard of in that town who did not believe the Bible. He proclaimed himself an atheist, and he drowned himself.
The Latter-day Saints believe the Bible. An agent of the American Bible Society called on me the other day and wanted to know if we would aid the Society in circulating the Bible in our Territory? I replied yes, by all means, for it was the book from which we were enabled to set forth our doctrines, and especially the doctrine of plural marriage.
There is an opinion in the breasts of many persons, who suppose that they believe the Bible, that Christ, when he came, did away with plural marriage, and that he inaugurated what is termed monogamy; and there are certain arguments and quotations used to maintain this view of the subject, one of which is found in Paul's first epistle to Timothy (3 chap. 2 v.), where Paul says: “A bishop should be blameless, the husband of one wife.” The friends of monogamy render it in this way: “A bishop should be blameless, the husband of but one wife.” That would imply that anyone but a bishop might have more. But they will say, “We mean a bishop should be blameless, the husband of one wife only.” Well, that would also admit of the construction that other people might have more than one. I understand it to mean that a bishop must be a married man.
A short time ago, the Minister from the King of Greece to the United States called on President Young. I inquired of him in relation to the religion of his country, and asked him if the clergy were allowed to marry. It is generally understood that the Roman Catholic clergy are not allowed to marry.
How is it with the Greek clergy? “Well,” said he, “all the clergy marry, except the bishop.” I replied, “You render the saying of Paul differently from what we do. We interpret it to mean—a bishop should be blameless, the husband of one wife at least;” and “we construe it,” said he, “directly the opposite.”
Now this passage does not prove that a man should have but one wife. It only proves that a bishop should be a married man. The same remark is made of deacons, that they also should have wives. Another passage is brought up where the Savior speaks of divorce. He tells us that it is very wrong to divorce, and that Moses permitted it because of the hardness of their (the children of Israel's) hearts. A man should leave his father and his mother and cleave unto his wife, and they twain should be one flesh. That is the principal argument raised that a man should have but one wife.
In the New Testament in various places, certain eminent men are referred to as patterns of faith, purity, righteousness and piety. For instance, if you read the epistle of Paul to the Hebrews, the 11th chapter, you find therein selected those persons “who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turning to flight the armies of the aliens;” and it is said by faith Jacob blessed the two sons of Joseph, and that he conferred upon them a blessing to the uttermost bounds of the everlasting hills. Who was Joseph? Why, Joseph was the son of Rachel. And who was Rachel? Rachel was the second wife of Jacob, a polygamist. Jacob had four wives, and after he had taken the second (Rachel), she, being barren, gave a third wife unto her husband that she might bear children unto him for her; and instead of being displeased with her for giving her husband another wife, God heard her prayer, blessed her, worked a miracle in her favor by opening her womb, and she bore a son, and called his name Joseph, rejoicing in God, whom she testified would give her another son. The question now arises, were not Rachel and Jacob one flesh? Yes. Leah and Jacob were also one flesh. Jacob is selected by the Apostle Paul as a pattern of faith for Christians to follow; he blessed his twelve sons, whom he had by four wives. The law of God, as it existed in those days, and as laid down in this book (the Bible) makes a child born of adultery or of fornication a bastard; and the same is prohibited from entering into the congregation of the Lord unto the tenth generation.
Now, instead of God's blessing Rachel and Jacob and their offspring, as we are told He did, we might have expected something entirely different, had it not been that God was pleased with and approbated and sustained a plurality of wives.
While we are considering this subject, we will inquire, did the Savior in any place that we can read of, in the course of his mission on the earth, denounce a plurality of wives? He lived in a nation of Jews; the law of Moses was in force, plurality of wives was the custom, and thousands upon thousands of people, from the highest to the lowest in the land, were polygamists. The Savior denounced adultery; he denounced fornication; he denounced lust; also divorce; but is there a single sentence asserting that plurality of wives is wrong? If so, where is it? Who can find it? Why did he not say it was wrong? “Think not,” said he, “that I am come to destroy the law or the Prophets. I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. Not one jot or one tittle shall pass from the law and the Prophets; but all shall be fulfilled.” Of what does the Savior speak when he refers to “the law?” Why, of the Ten Commandments, and other rules of life commanded by God and adopted by the ancients, and which Brother Pratt referred to yesterday, showing you from the sacred book that God legislated and made laws for the protection of a plurality of wives (Exod. 21:10), and that He commanded men to take a plurality under some circumstances. Brother Pratt further showed that the Lord made arrangements to protect to all intents and purposes the interests of the first wife; and to shield and protect the children of a wife from disinheritance who might be unfortunate enough not to have the affections of her husband (Deut. 21:15). These things were plainly written in the law—that law of which the Savior says, “Not one jot or one tittle shall pass away.” Continuing our inquiry, we pass on to the epistles of John the Evangelist, which we find in the Book of Revelation, written to the seven churches of Asia. In them we find the Evangelist denounces adultery, fornication, and all manner of iniquities and abominations of which these churches were guilty. Anything against a plurality of wives? No, not a syllable. Yet those churches were in a country in which plurality was the custom. Hundreds of Saints had more wives than one; and if it had been wrong, what would have been the result? Why, John would have denounced the practice, the same as the children of Israel were denounced for marrying heathen wives, had it not been that the law of plurality was the commandment of God.
Again, on this point, we can refer to the Prophets of the Old Testament—Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and others. When God called those men He warned them that if they did not deliver the message to the people which He gave them concerning their sins and iniquities that His vengeance should rest upon their heads. These are His words to Ezekiel, “Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel, therefore hear the word at my mouth and give them warning from me. When I say unto the wicked, thou shalt surely die, and thou givest him not warning nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way to save his life, the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity but his blood will I require at thine hand; yet if thou warn the wicked and he turn not from his wickedness nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity, but thou hast delivered thy soul.” (Ezek. 3:17, 18, 19.) How do we find these Prophets of the Lord fulfilling the commandments of the Almighty? We find them pouring out denunciations upon the heads of the people—against adultery, fornication, and every species of wickedness. All this, too, in a country in which, from the King down to the lowest orders of the people, a plurality of wives was practiced. Do they say anything against plurality of wives? Not one word. It was only in cases where men and women took improper license with each other, in violation of the holy law of marriage, that they were guilty of sin.
If plurality of wives had been a violation of the seventh commandment those prophets would have denounced it, otherwise their silence on the matter would have been dangerous to themselves, inasmuch as the blood of the people would have been required at their hands. The opposers of Celestial Marriage sometimes quote a passage in the seventh chapter of Romans, second and third verses, to show that a plurality of wives is wrong; but when we come to read the passage it shows that a plurality of husbands is wrong. You can read that passage for yourselves. In the forcible parable used by the Savior in relation to the rich man and Lazarus, we find recorded that the poor man Lazarus was carried to Abraham's bosom—Abraham the father of the faithful. The rich man calls unto Father Abraham to send Lazarus, who is afar off. Who was Abraham? He was a man who had a plurality of wives. And yet all good Christians, even pious church deacons, expect when they die to go to Abraham's bosom. I am sorry to say, however, that thousands of them will be disappointed, from the fact that they cannot and will not go where anyone has a plurality of wives; and I am convinced that Abraham will not turn out his own wives to receive such unbelievers in God's law. One peculiarity of this parable is the answer of Abraham to the application of the rich man, to send Lazarus to his five brothers “lest they come into this place of torment,” which was—“they have Moses and the prophets, let them hear them; and if they hear not Moses and the prophets neither would they be persuaded though one rose from the dead.” Moses' law provided for a plurality of wives, and the prophets observed that law, and Isaiah predicts its observance even down to the latter days. Isaiah, in his 4th chap. and 1st and 2nd verses, says, “Seven women shall take hold of one man, saying, we will eat our own bread and wear our own apparel, only let us be called by thy name to take away our reproach. In that day shall the branch of the Lord be beautiful and glorious and the fruit of the earth shall be excellent.”
A reference to the Scriptures shows that the reproach of women was to be barren, Gen. 30 chap. and 23 v.; Luke 1st chap. and 25 v.
We will now refer to John the Baptist. He came as a forerunner of Christ. He was a lineal descendant of the house of Levi. His father was a priest. John the Baptist was a child born by miracle, God having revealed to his father that Elizabeth who had been many years barren should bear a son. John feared not the world, but went forth preaching in the wilderness of Judea, declaiming against wickedness and corruption in the boldest terms. He preached against extortion; against the cruelty exercised by soldiers and tax gatherers. He even was so bold as to rebuke the king on his throne, to his face, for adultery. Did he say anything against a plurality of wives? No; it cannot be found. Yet thousands were believers in and practiced this order of marriage, under the law of Moses that God had revealed.
In bringing this subject before you, we cannot help saying that God knew what was best for His people. Hence He commanded them as He would have them act. The law regulating marriage previous to Moses, recognized a plurality of wives. Abraham and Jacob and others had a plurality. These are the men who are referred to in Scripture as patterns of piety and purity. David had many wives. The Scripture says that David did that which was right in the eyes of the Lord and turned not aside from anything that he commanded him all the days of his life, save in the matter of Uriah the Hittite, 1 Kings. 15th chap. 5 v. “I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart which shall fulfil all my will. Of this man's seed hath God, according to His promise raised unto Israel a Saviour, Jesus.” Acts 13th chap. 22nd and 23rd verses. Did David sin in taking so many wives? No. In what, then, did his sin consist? It was because he took the wife of Uriah, the Hittite—that is, violated the law of God in taking her. The Lord had given him the wives of Saul and would have given him many more; but he had no right to take one who belonged to another. When he did so the curse of adultery fell upon his head, and his wives were taken from him and given to another. We will now inquire in relation to the Savior himself. From whom did he descend? From the house of David a polygamist; and if you will trace the names of the families through which he descended you will find that numbers of them had a plurality of wives. How appropriate it would have been for Jesus, descending as he did from a race of polygamists, to have denounced this institution of plural marriage and shown its sinfulness, had it been a sin! Can we suppose, for one moment, if Patriarchal marriage were wrong, that He would, under the circumstances, have been silent concerning it or failed to denounce it in the most positive manner? Then if plural marriage be adultery and the offspring spurious, Christ Jesus is not the Christ; and we must look for another.
All good Christians are flattering themselves with the hope that they will finally enter the gates of the New Jerusalem. I presume this is the hope of all denominations—Catholics, Protestants, Greeks and all who believe in the Bible. Suppose they go there, what will they find? They will find at the twelve gates twelve angels, and “names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel.” The names of the twelve sons of Jacob, the polygamist. Can a monogamist enter there? “And the walls of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb;” and at the gates the names of the twelve tribes of Israel—from the twelve sons of the four wives of Jacob. Those who denounce Patriarchal Marriage will have to stay without and never walk the golden streets. And any man or woman that lifts his or her voice to proclaim against a plurality of wives, under the Government of God, will have to seek an inheritance outside of that city. For “there shall in no wise enter into it, anything that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination or maketh a lie, for without are sorcerers, whoremongers, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.” Is not the man that denounces Celestial Marriage a liar? Does he not work abomination? “I Jesus have sent mine Angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of (the polygamist) David, the bright and the morning star.”
May God enable us to keep His law, for “blessed are they that do His commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life and may enter in through the gate into the city.” Amen.
Meeting adjourned till ten a.m. to-morrow.
The choir, joined by the congregation, sang the hymn on page 325, commencing "Praise to the Man who communed with Jehovah."
Prayer by Bishop Lorenzo D. Young.
Remarks by President George A. Smith, delivered in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, October 8, 1869.
Reported by John Grimshaw.
It is a difficult undertaking to address this immense audience. If a man commences speaking loud, in a short time his voice gives out; whereas, if he commence rather low, he may raise his voice by degrees, and be able to sustain himself in speaking some length of time. But with children crying, a few persons whispering, and some shuffling their feet, it is indeed a difficult task to make an audience of ten thousand persons hear. I have listened with pleasure to the instructions of our brethren from the commencement of our Conference to the present time. I have rejoiced in their testimonies. I have felt that the elders are improving in wisdom, in knowledge, in power, and in understanding; and I rejoice in the privilege, which we have at the present day, of sending out to our own country a few hundred of the elders who have had experience—who have lived in Israel long enough to know, to feel, and to realize the importance of the work in which they are engaged—to understand its principles and comprehend the way of life. They can bear testimony to a generation that has nearly grown from childhood since the death of the Prophet Joseph Smith.
The Lord said in relation to those who have driven the Saints that He would visit “judgment, wrath, and indignation, wailing and anguish, and gnashing of teeth upon their heads unto the third and fourth generation, so long as they repent not and hate me, saith the Lord your God.”
I am a native of Potsdam, St. Lawrence County, New York—a town somewhat famous for its literary institutions, its learning and the religion and morality of its inhabitants. I left there in my youth, with my father's family, because we had received the Gospel of Jesus Christ, as revealed through Joseph Smith; and followed with the Saints through their drivings and trials unto the present day.
I have never seen the occasion, nor let the opportunity slip, from the time when I first came to a knowledge of the truth of the work of the Lord in the last days, that I understood it was in my power to do good for the advancement of this work but what I have used my utmost endeavors to accomplish that good. I have never failed to bear a faithful testimony to the work of God, or to carry out to all intents and purposes, the wishes and designs of the Prophet, Joseph Smith. I was his kinsman; was familiar with him, though several years his junior; knew his views, his sentiments, his ways, his designs, and many of the thoughts of his heart, and I do know that the servants of God, the Twelve Apostles, upon whom he laid the authority to bear off the Kingdom of God, and fulfil the work which he had commenced, have done according to his designs, in every particular, up to the present time and are continuing to do so. And I know, furthermore, that he rejoiced in the fact that the law of redemption and Celestial Marriage was revealed unto the Church in such a manner that it would be out of the power of earth and hell to destroy it; and that he rejoiced in the fact that the servants of God were ready prepared, having the keys to bear off the work he had commenced. Previous to my leaving Potsdam, there was but one man that I ever heard of in that town who did not believe the Bible. He proclaimed himself an atheist, and he drowned himself.
The Latter-day Saints believe the Bible. An agent of the American Bible Society called on me the other day and wanted to know if we would aid the Society in circulating the Bible in our Territory? I replied yes, by all means, for it was the book from which we were enabled to set forth our doctrines, and especially the doctrine of plural marriage.
There is an opinion in the breasts of many persons, who suppose that they believe the Bible, that Christ, when he came, did away with plural marriage, and that he inaugurated what is termed monogamy; and there are certain arguments and quotations used to maintain this view of the subject, one of which is found in Paul's first epistle to Timothy (3 chap. 2 v.), where Paul says: “A bishop should be blameless, the husband of one wife.” The friends of monogamy render it in this way: “A bishop should be blameless, the husband of but one wife.” That would imply that anyone but a bishop might have more. But they will say, “We mean a bishop should be blameless, the husband of one wife only.” Well, that would also admit of the construction that other people might have more than one. I understand it to mean that a bishop must be a married man.
A short time ago, the Minister from the King of Greece to the United States called on President Young. I inquired of him in relation to the religion of his country, and asked him if the clergy were allowed to marry. It is generally understood that the Roman Catholic clergy are not allowed to marry.
How is it with the Greek clergy? “Well,” said he, “all the clergy marry, except the bishop.” I replied, “You render the saying of Paul differently from what we do. We interpret it to mean—a bishop should be blameless, the husband of one wife at least;” and “we construe it,” said he, “directly the opposite.”
Now this passage does not prove that a man should have but one wife. It only proves that a bishop should be a married man. The same remark is made of deacons, that they also should have wives. Another passage is brought up where the Savior speaks of divorce. He tells us that it is very wrong to divorce, and that Moses permitted it because of the hardness of their (the children of Israel's) hearts. A man should leave his father and his mother and cleave unto his wife, and they twain should be one flesh. That is the principal argument raised that a man should have but one wife.
In the New Testament in various places, certain eminent men are referred to as patterns of faith, purity, righteousness and piety. For instance, if you read the epistle of Paul to the Hebrews, the 11th chapter, you find therein selected those persons “who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turning to flight the armies of the aliens;” and it is said by faith Jacob blessed the two sons of Joseph, and that he conferred upon them a blessing to the uttermost bounds of the everlasting hills. Who was Joseph? Why, Joseph was the son of Rachel. And who was Rachel? Rachel was the second wife of Jacob, a polygamist. Jacob had four wives, and after he had taken the second (Rachel), she, being barren, gave a third wife unto her husband that she might bear children unto him for her; and instead of being displeased with her for giving her husband another wife, God heard her prayer, blessed her, worked a miracle in her favor by opening her womb, and she bore a son, and called his name Joseph, rejoicing in God, whom she testified would give her another son. The question now arises, were not Rachel and Jacob one flesh? Yes. Leah and Jacob were also one flesh. Jacob is selected by the Apostle Paul as a pattern of faith for Christians to follow; he blessed his twelve sons, whom he had by four wives. The law of God, as it existed in those days, and as laid down in this book (the Bible) makes a child born of adultery or of fornication a bastard; and the same is prohibited from entering into the congregation of the Lord unto the tenth generation.
Now, instead of God's blessing Rachel and Jacob and their offspring, as we are told He did, we might have expected something entirely different, had it not been that God was pleased with and approbated and sustained a plurality of wives.
While we are considering this subject, we will inquire, did the Savior in any place that we can read of, in the course of his mission on the earth, denounce a plurality of wives? He lived in a nation of Jews; the law of Moses was in force, plurality of wives was the custom, and thousands upon thousands of people, from the highest to the lowest in the land, were polygamists. The Savior denounced adultery; he denounced fornication; he denounced lust; also divorce; but is there a single sentence asserting that plurality of wives is wrong? If so, where is it? Who can find it? Why did he not say it was wrong? “Think not,” said he, “that I am come to destroy the law or the Prophets. I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. Not one jot or one tittle shall pass from the law and the Prophets; but all shall be fulfilled.” Of what does the Savior speak when he refers to “the law?” Why, of the Ten Commandments, and other rules of life commanded by God and adopted by the ancients, and which Brother Pratt referred to yesterday, showing you from the sacred book that God legislated and made laws for the protection of a plurality of wives (Exod. 21:10), and that He commanded men to take a plurality under some circumstances. Brother Pratt further showed that the Lord made arrangements to protect to all intents and purposes the interests of the first wife; and to shield and protect the children of a wife from disinheritance who might be unfortunate enough not to have the affections of her husband (Deut. 21:15). These things were plainly written in the law—that law of which the Savior says, “Not one jot or one tittle shall pass away.” Continuing our inquiry, we pass on to the epistles of John the Evangelist, which we find in the Book of Revelation, written to the seven churches of Asia. In them we find the Evangelist denounces adultery, fornication, and all manner of iniquities and abominations of which these churches were guilty. Anything against a plurality of wives? No, not a syllable. Yet those churches were in a country in which plurality was the custom. Hundreds of Saints had more wives than one; and if it had been wrong, what would have been the result? Why, John would have denounced the practice, the same as the children of Israel were denounced for marrying heathen wives, had it not been that the law of plurality was the commandment of God.
Again, on this point, we can refer to the Prophets of the Old Testament—Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and others. When God called those men He warned them that if they did not deliver the message to the people which He gave them concerning their sins and iniquities that His vengeance should rest upon their heads. These are His words to Ezekiel, “Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel, therefore hear the word at my mouth and give them warning from me. When I say unto the wicked, thou shalt surely die, and thou givest him not warning nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way to save his life, the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity but his blood will I require at thine hand; yet if thou warn the wicked and he turn not from his wickedness nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity, but thou hast delivered thy soul.” (Ezek. 3:17, 18, 19.) How do we find these Prophets of the Lord fulfilling the commandments of the Almighty? We find them pouring out denunciations upon the heads of the people—against adultery, fornication, and every species of wickedness. All this, too, in a country in which, from the King down to the lowest orders of the people, a plurality of wives was practiced. Do they say anything against plurality of wives? Not one word. It was only in cases where men and women took improper license with each other, in violation of the holy law of marriage, that they were guilty of sin.
If plurality of wives had been a violation of the seventh commandment those prophets would have denounced it, otherwise their silence on the matter would have been dangerous to themselves, inasmuch as the blood of the people would have been required at their hands. The opposers of Celestial Marriage sometimes quote a passage in the seventh chapter of Romans, second and third verses, to show that a plurality of wives is wrong; but when we come to read the passage it shows that a plurality of husbands is wrong. You can read that passage for yourselves. In the forcible parable used by the Savior in relation to the rich man and Lazarus, we find recorded that the poor man Lazarus was carried to Abraham's bosom—Abraham the father of the faithful. The rich man calls unto Father Abraham to send Lazarus, who is afar off. Who was Abraham? He was a man who had a plurality of wives. And yet all good Christians, even pious church deacons, expect when they die to go to Abraham's bosom. I am sorry to say, however, that thousands of them will be disappointed, from the fact that they cannot and will not go where anyone has a plurality of wives; and I am convinced that Abraham will not turn out his own wives to receive such unbelievers in God's law. One peculiarity of this parable is the answer of Abraham to the application of the rich man, to send Lazarus to his five brothers “lest they come into this place of torment,” which was—“they have Moses and the prophets, let them hear them; and if they hear not Moses and the prophets neither would they be persuaded though one rose from the dead.” Moses' law provided for a plurality of wives, and the prophets observed that law, and Isaiah predicts its observance even down to the latter days. Isaiah, in his 4th chap. and 1st and 2nd verses, says, “Seven women shall take hold of one man, saying, we will eat our own bread and wear our own apparel, only let us be called by thy name to take away our reproach. In that day shall the branch of the Lord be beautiful and glorious and the fruit of the earth shall be excellent.”
A reference to the Scriptures shows that the reproach of women was to be barren, Gen. 30 chap. and 23 v.; Luke 1st chap. and 25 v.
We will now refer to John the Baptist. He came as a forerunner of Christ. He was a lineal descendant of the house of Levi. His father was a priest. John the Baptist was a child born by miracle, God having revealed to his father that Elizabeth who had been many years barren should bear a son. John feared not the world, but went forth preaching in the wilderness of Judea, declaiming against wickedness and corruption in the boldest terms. He preached against extortion; against the cruelty exercised by soldiers and tax gatherers. He even was so bold as to rebuke the king on his throne, to his face, for adultery. Did he say anything against a plurality of wives? No; it cannot be found. Yet thousands were believers in and practiced this order of marriage, under the law of Moses that God had revealed.
In bringing this subject before you, we cannot help saying that God knew what was best for His people. Hence He commanded them as He would have them act. The law regulating marriage previous to Moses, recognized a plurality of wives. Abraham and Jacob and others had a plurality. These are the men who are referred to in Scripture as patterns of piety and purity. David had many wives. The Scripture says that David did that which was right in the eyes of the Lord and turned not aside from anything that he commanded him all the days of his life, save in the matter of Uriah the Hittite, 1 Kings. 15th chap. 5 v. “I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart which shall fulfil all my will. Of this man's seed hath God, according to His promise raised unto Israel a Saviour, Jesus.” Acts 13th chap. 22nd and 23rd verses. Did David sin in taking so many wives? No. In what, then, did his sin consist? It was because he took the wife of Uriah, the Hittite—that is, violated the law of God in taking her. The Lord had given him the wives of Saul and would have given him many more; but he had no right to take one who belonged to another. When he did so the curse of adultery fell upon his head, and his wives were taken from him and given to another. We will now inquire in relation to the Savior himself. From whom did he descend? From the house of David a polygamist; and if you will trace the names of the families through which he descended you will find that numbers of them had a plurality of wives. How appropriate it would have been for Jesus, descending as he did from a race of polygamists, to have denounced this institution of plural marriage and shown its sinfulness, had it been a sin! Can we suppose, for one moment, if Patriarchal marriage were wrong, that He would, under the circumstances, have been silent concerning it or failed to denounce it in the most positive manner? Then if plural marriage be adultery and the offspring spurious, Christ Jesus is not the Christ; and we must look for another.
All good Christians are flattering themselves with the hope that they will finally enter the gates of the New Jerusalem. I presume this is the hope of all denominations—Catholics, Protestants, Greeks and all who believe in the Bible. Suppose they go there, what will they find? They will find at the twelve gates twelve angels, and “names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel.” The names of the twelve sons of Jacob, the polygamist. Can a monogamist enter there? “And the walls of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb;” and at the gates the names of the twelve tribes of Israel—from the twelve sons of the four wives of Jacob. Those who denounce Patriarchal Marriage will have to stay without and never walk the golden streets. And any man or woman that lifts his or her voice to proclaim against a plurality of wives, under the Government of God, will have to seek an inheritance outside of that city. For “there shall in no wise enter into it, anything that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination or maketh a lie, for without are sorcerers, whoremongers, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.” Is not the man that denounces Celestial Marriage a liar? Does he not work abomination? “I Jesus have sent mine Angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of (the polygamist) David, the bright and the morning star.”
May God enable us to keep His law, for “blessed are they that do His commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life and may enter in through the gate into the city.” Amen.
Meeting adjourned till ten a.m. to-morrow.
The choir, joined by the congregation, sang the hymn on page 325, commencing "Praise to the Man who communed with Jehovah."
Prayer by Bishop Lorenzo D. Young.
Saturday, 10 a.m.
Meeting was called to order by President Young.
Bro. Fishburn's Choir sang the hymn on page 218, "An Angel from on high."
The Tabernacle Choir sang the hymn on page 124, "With all my powers of heart and tongue."
Meeting was called to order by President Young.
Bro. Fishburn's Choir sang the hymn on page 218, "An Angel from on high."
The Tabernacle Choir sang the hymn on page 124, "With all my powers of heart and tongue."
Elder George Q. Cannon
addressed the Conference on the subject of Celestial Marriage. A full report of his discourse will shortly appear in the News.
Celestial Marriage
Discourse by Elder George Q. Cannon, delivered in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, October 9, 1869.
Reported by David W. Evans.
I will repeat a few verses in the tenth chapter of Mark, commencing at the twenty-eighth verse.
“Then Peter began to say unto him, Lo, we have left all, and have followed thee.
“And Jesus answered and said, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel's,
“But he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life.”
In rising to address you this morning, my brethren and sisters, I rely upon your faith and prayers and the blessing of God. We have heard, during Conference, a great many precious instructions, and in none have I been more interested than in those which have been given to the Saints concerning that much mooted doctrine called Patriarchal or Celestial Marriage. I am interested in this doctrine, because I see salvation, temporal and spiritual, embodied therein. I know, pretty well, what the popular feelings concerning this doctrine are; I am familiar with the opinions of the world, having traveled and mingled with the people sufficiently to be conversant with their ideas in relation to this subject. I am also familiar with the feelings of the Latter-day Saints upon this point. I know the sacrifice of feeling which it has caused for them to adopt this principle in their faith and lives. It has required the revelation of God, our heavenly Father, to enable His people to receive this principle and carry it out. I wish, here, to make one remark in connection with this subject—that while there is abundant proof to be found in the Scriptures and elsewhere in support of this doctrine, still it is not because it was practiced four thousand years ago by the servants and people of God, or because it has been practiced by any people or nation in any period of the world's history, that the Latter-day Saints have adopted it and made it part of their practice, but it is because God, our heavenly Father, has revealed it unto us. If there were no record of its practice to be found, and if the Bible, Book of Mormon and Book of Doctrine and Covenants were totally silent in respect to this doctrine, it would nevertheless be binding upon us as a people, God Himself having given a revelation for us to practice it at the present time. This should be understood by us as a people. It is gratifying to know, however, that we are not the first of God's people unto whom this principle has been revealed; it is gratifying to know that we are only following in the footsteps of those who have preceded us in the work of God, and that we, today, are only carrying out the principle which God's people observed, in obedience to revelation from Him, thousands of years ago. It is gratifying to know that we are suffering persecution, that we are threatened with fines and imprisonment for the practice of precisely the same principle which Abraham, the “Friend of God,” practiced in his life and taught to his children after him.
The discourses of Brother Orson Pratt and of President George A. Smith have left but very little to be said in relation to the Scriptural arguments in favor of this doctrine. I know that the general opinion among men is that the Old Testament, to some extent, sustains it; but that the New Testament—Jesus and the Apostles, were silent concerning it. It was clearly proved in our hearing yesterday, and the afternoon of the day previous, that the New Testament, though not so explicit in reference to the doctrine, is still decidedly in favor of it and sustains it. Jesus very plainly told the Jews, when boasting of being the seed of Abraham, that if they were, they would do the works of Abraham. He and the Apostles, in various places, clearly set forth that Abraham was the great exemplar of faith for them to follow, and that they must follow him, if they ever expected to participate in the glory and exaltation enjoyed by Abraham and his faithful seed. Throughout the New Testament, Abraham is held up to the converts to the doctrines which Jesus taught, as an example worthy of imitation, and in no place is there a word of condemnation uttered concerning him. The Apostle Paul, in speaking of him says:
“Know ye, therefore, that they which are of the faith, the same are the children of Abraham…
So then they which be of the faith are blessed with faithful Abraham.”
He also says that the Gentiles, through adoption, became Abraham's seed; that the blessing of Abraham, says he, might come upon the Gentiles through Jesus Christ, showing plainly that Jesus and all the Apostles who alluded to the subject, held the deeds of Abraham to be, in every respect, worthy of imitation.
Who was this Abraham? I have heard the saying frequently advanced, that in early life, being an idolater, it was an idolatrous, heathenish principle which he adopted in taking to himself a second wife, while Sarah still lived. Those who make this assertion in reference to the great patriarch, seem to be ignorant of the fact that he was well advanced in life and had served God faithfully many years, prior to making any addition to his family. He did not have a plurality of wives until years after the Lord had revealed Himself to him, commanding him to leave Ur, of the Chaldees, and go forth to a land which He would give to him and his posterity for an everlasting possession. He went forth and lived in that land many long years before the promise of God was fulfilled unto him—namely, that in his seed should all the nations of the earth be blessed; and Abraham was still without any heir, except Eliezer, of Damascus, the steward of his house. At length, after living thus for ten years, God commanded him to take to himself another wife, who was given to him by his wife Sarah. When the offspring of this marriage was born, Abraham was eighty-six years old.
We read of no word of condemnation from the Lord for this act—something which we might naturally expect if, as this unbelieving and licentious generation affirm, the act of taking more wives than one be such a vile crime, and so abominable in the sight of God; for if it be evil in the sight of the Lord today, it was then, for the Scriptures inform us that He changes not. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and is without variableness or the shadow of turning. But instead of condemnation, God revealed Himself continually to His friend Abraham, teaching His will unto him, revealing all things concerning the future it was necessary for him to understand, and promising him that, though he had been blessed with a son, Ishmael, yet in Isaac, a child of promise, not yet born, should his seed be called. Abraham was to have yet another son. Sarah, in her old age, because of her faithfulness, because of her willingness to comply with the requirements and revelations of God, was to have a son given unto her. Such an event was so unheard of among women at her time of life that, though the Lord promised it, she could not help laughing at the idea. But God fulfilled His promise, and in due time Isaac was born, and was greatly blessed of the Lord.
Determined to try His faithful servant Abraham to the uttermost, the Lord, some years after the birth of this son, in whom He had promised that Abraham's seed should be called, required him to offer up this boy as a burnt offering to Him; and Abraham, nothing doubting, but full of faith and integrity, and of devotion to his God, proved himself worthy of the honored title that had been conferred upon him, namely, “the Friend of God,” by taking his son Isaac, in whom most of his hopes for the future centered, up the mountain, and there, having built the altar, he bound the victim, and with knife uplifted, was about to strike the fatal blow, when the angel of the Lord cried out of heaven commanding him not to slay his son. The Lord was satisfied, having tried him to the uttermost, and found him willing even to shed the blood of his well-beloved son.
The Lord was so pleased with the faithfulness of Abraham, that He gave unto him the greatest promise He could give to any human being on the face of the earth. What do you think was the nature of that promise? Did He promise to Abraham a crown of eternal glory? Did He promise to him that he should be in the presence of the Lamb, that he should tune his harp and sing praises to God and the Lamb throughout the endless ages of eternity? Let me quote it to you, and it would be well if all the inhabitants of the earth would reflect upon it. Said the Lord:
“In blessing, I will bless thee, and in multiplying, I will multiply thy seed as the stars of heaven, and as the sand which is upon the seashore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies.”
This was the promise which God gave to Abraham, in that hour of his triumph, in that hour when there was joy in heaven over the faithfulness of one of God's noblest and most devoted sons. Think of the greatness of this blessing! Can you count the stars of heaven, or even the grains of a handful of sand? No, it is beyond the power of earth's most gifted sons to do either, and yet God promised to Abraham that his seed should be as innumerable as the stars of heaven or as the sand on the seashore.
How similar was this promise of God to Abraham to that made by Jesus as a reward for faithfulness to those who followed him! Said Jesus, he that forsakes brothers or sisters, houses or lands, father or mother, wives or children, shall receive a hundredfold in this life with persecution, and eternal life in the world to come.
A very similar blessing to that which God, long before, had made to Abraham, and couched in very similar terms.
It is pertinent for us to inquire, on the present occasion, how the promises made by Jesus and his Father, in ages of the world separated by a long interval the one from the other, could be realized under the system which prevails throughout Christendom at the present day? In the monogamic system, under which the possession of more than one living wife is regarded as such a crime, and as being so fearfully immoral, how could the promise of the Savior to his faithful followers, that they should have a hundredfold of wives and children, in this present life, ever be realized? There is a way which God has provided in a revelation given to this Church, in which He says:
“Strait is the gate and narrow the way that leadeth unto the exaltation and continuation of the lives, and few there be that find it, because ye receive me not in the world, neither do ye know me.”
God revealed that strait and narrow way to Abraham, and taught him how he could enter therein. He taught him the principle of plurality of wives; Abraham practiced it and bequeathed it to his children as a principle which they were to practice. Under such a system it was a comparatively easy matter for men to have a hundredfold of wives, children, fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters and everything else in proportion; and in no other way could the promises of Jesus be realized by his followers, than in the way God has provided, and which He has revealed to His Church and people in these latter days.
I have felt led to dwell upon these few passages from the sayings of Jesus to show you that there are abundance of Scriptural proofs in favor of this principle and the position this Church has assumed, in addition to those previously referred to.
It is a blessed thing to know that, in this as every other doctrine and principle taught by us as a Church, we are sustained by the revelations God gave to His people anciently. One of the strongest supports the Elders of this Church have had, in their labors among the nations, was the knowledge that the Bible and New Testament sustained every principle they advanced to the people. When they preached faith, repentance, baptism for the remission of sins, the laying on of hands for the reception of the Holy Ghost, the gathering of the people from the nations, the rebuilding of Jerusalem, the second coming of Christ, and every other principle ever touched upon by them, it was gratifying to know that they were sustained by the Scriptures, and that they could turn to chapter and verse among the sayings of Jesus and his Apostles, or among those of the ancient prophets, in confirmation of every doctrine they ever attempted to bring to the attention of those to whom they ministered. There is nothing with which the Latter-day Saints can, with more confidence, refer to the Scriptures for confirmation and support, than the doctrine of plural marriage, which at the present time, among one of the most wicked, adulterous and corrupt generations the world has ever seen, is so much hated, and for which mankind generally are so anxious to cast out and persecute the Latter-day Saints.
If we look abroad and peruse the records of everyday life throughout the whole of Christendom, we find that crimes of every hue, and of the most appalling and revolting character are constantly committed, exciting neither surprise nor comment. Murder, robbery, adultery, seduction and every species of villainy known in the voluminous catalogue of crime in modern times, are regarded as mere matters of ordinary occurrence, and yet there is hue and cry raised, almost as wide as Christendom, for the persecution, by fine, imprisonment, proscription, outlawry or extermination of the people of Utah because, knowing that God, the Eternal Father, has spoken in these days and revealed His mind and will to them, they dare to carry out His behests. For years they have meekly submitted to this persecution and contumely, but they appeal now, as ever, to all rational, reflecting men, and invite comparison between the state of society here and in any portion of this or any other country, knowing that the verdict will be unanimous and overwhelming in their favor. In every civilized country on the face of the earth the seducer plies his arts to envelop his victim within his meshes, in order to accomplish her ruin most completely; and it is well known that men holding positions of trust and responsibility, looked upon as honorable and highly respectable members of society, violate their marriage vows by carrying on their secret amours and supporting mistresses, yet against the people of Utah, where such things are totally unknown, there is an eternal and rabid outcry because they practice the heaven-revealed system of a plurality of wives. It is a most astonishing thing, and no greater evidence could be given that Satan reigns in the hearts of the children of men, and that he is determined, if possible, to destroy the work of God from the face of the earth.
The Bible, the only work accepted by the nations of Christendom, as a divine revelation, sustains this doctrine, from beginning to end. The only revelation on record that can be quoted against it, came through the Prophet Joseph Smith, and is contained in the Book of Mormon; and strange to say, here in Salt Lake City, a day or two since, one of the leading men of the nation, in his eager desire and determination to cast discredit on this doctrine, unable to do so by reference to the Bible, which he, no doubt, in common with all Christians, acknowledges as divine, was compelled to have recourse to the Book of Mormon, a work which on any other point he would most unquestionably have scouted and ridiculed as an emanation from the brain of an impostor. What consistency! A strange revolution this, that men should have recourse to our own works, whose authenticity they most emphatically deny, to prove us in the wrong. Yet, this attempt, whenever made, cannot be sustained, for Brother Pratt clearly showed to you, in his remarks the other day, that instead of the Book of Mormon being opposed to this principle, it contains an express provision for the revelation of the principle to us as a people at some future time—namely, that when the Lord should desire to raise up unto Himself a righteous seed, He would command His people to that effect, plainly setting forth that a time would come when He would command His people to do so.
It is necessary that this principle should be practiced under the auspices and control of the Priesthood. God has placed that Priesthood in the Church to govern and control all the affairs thereof, and this is a principle which, if not practiced in the greatest holiness and purity, might lead men into great sin, therefore the Priesthood is the more necessary to guide and control men in the practice of this principle. There might be circumstances and situations in which it would not be wisdom in the mind of God for His people to practice this principle, but so long as a people are guided by the Priesthood and revelations of God, there is no danger of evil arising therefrom. If we, as a people, had attempted to practice this principle without revelation, it is likely that we should have been led into grievous sins, and the condemnation of God would have rested upon us; but the Church waited until the proper time came, and then the people practiced it according to the mind and will of God, making a sacrifice of their own feelings in so doing. But the history of the world goes to prove that the practice of this principle, even by nations ignorant of the Gospel, has resulted in greater good to them than the practice of monogamy or the one-wife system in the so-called Christian nations. Today, Christendom holds itself and its institutions aloft as a pattern for all men to follow. If you travel throughout the United States and through the nations of Europe in which Christianity prevails, and talk with the people about their institutions, they will boast of them as being the most permanent, indestructible and progressive of any institutions existing upon the earth; yet it is a fact well known to historians, that the Christian nations of Europe are the youngest nations on the globe. Where are the nations that have existed from time immemorial? They are not to be found in Christian monogamic Europe, but in Asia, among the polygamic races—China, Japan, Hindostan and the various races of that vast continent. Those nations, from the most remote times, practiced plural marriage handed down to them by their forefathers. Although they are looked upon by the nations of Europe as semi-civilized, you will not find among them woman prostituted, debased and degraded as she is through Christendom. She may be treated coldly and degraded, but among them, except where the Christian element prevails to a large extent, she is not debased and polluted, as she is among the so-called Christian nations. It is a fact worthy of note that the shortest-lived nations of which we have record have been monogamic. Rome, with her arts, sciences and warlike instincts, was once the mistress of the world; but her glory faded. She was a monogamic nation, and the numerous evils attending that system early laid the foundation for that ruin which eventually overtook her. The strongest sayings of Jesus recorded in the New Testament were leveled against the dreadful corruptions practiced in Rome and wherever the Romans held sway. The leaven of their institutions had worked its way into the Jewish nation, Jewry or Palestine being then a Roman province, and governed by Roman officers, who brought with them their wicked institutions, and Jesus denounced the practices which prevailed there.
A few years before the birth of the Savior, Julius Caesar was First Consul at Rome; he aimed at and obtained imperial power. He had four wives during his life, and committed numerous adulteries. His first wife he married early; but, becoming ambitious, the alliance did not suit him, and, as the Roman law did not permit him to retain her and to marry another, he put her away. He then married the daughter of a consul, thinking to advance his interests thereby. She died, and a third was married. The third was divorced, and he married a fourth, with whom he was living at the time he was murdered. His grandnephew, the Emperor Augustus Caesar, reigned at the time of the birth of Christ. He is alluded to in history as one of the greatest of the Caesars; he also had four wives. He divorced one after another, except the last, who outlived him. These men were not singular in this practice; it was common in Rome; the Romans did not believe in plurality of wives, but in divorcing them; in taking wives for convenience and putting them away when they got tired of them. In our country divorces are increasing, yet Roman like, men expect purity and chastity from their wives they do not practice themselves. You recollect, doubtless, the famous answer of Caesar when his wife was accused of an intrigue with an infamous man. Someone asked Caesar why he had put away his wife. Said he, “The wife of Caesar must not only be incorrupt, but unsuspected.” He could not bear to have the virtue of his wife even suspected, yet his own life was infamous in the extreme. He was a seducer, adulterer, and is reported to have practiced even a worse crime, yet he expected his wife to possess a virtue which, in his highest and holiest moments, was utterly beyond his conception in his own life.
This leaven was spreading itself over every country where the Roman Empire had jurisdiction. It had reached Palestine in the days of the Savior, hence by understanding the practices prevalent in those times amongst that people, you will be better able to appreciate the strong language used by Jesus against putting away, or divorcing wives. Rome continued to practice corruption until she fell beneath the weight of it, and was overwhelmed, not by another monogamic race, but by the vigorous polygamic hordes from the north, who swept away Roman imperialism, establishing in the place thereof institutions of their own. But they speedily fell into the same habit of having one wife and multitudes of courtesans, and soon, like Rome, fell beneath their own corruptions.
When courtesans were taught every accomplishment and honored with the society of the leading men of the nation, and wives were deprived of these privileges, is it any wonder that Rome should fall? Or that the more pure, or barbarous nations, as they were called, overwhelmed and destroyed her?
I have had it quoted to me many times that no great nations ever practiced plural marriage. They who make such an assertion are utterly ignorant of history. What nations have left the deepest impression on the history of our race? Those which have practiced plurality of marriage. They have prevented the dreadful crime of prostitution by allowing men to have more wives than one. I know we are dazzled by the glory of Christendom; we are dazzled with the glory of our own age. Like every generation that has preceded it, the present generation thinks it is the wisest and best, and nearer to God than any which has preceded it. This is natural; it is a weakness of human nature. This is the case with nations as well as generations. China, today, calls all western nations “outside barbarians.” Japan, Hindostan and all other polygamic nations do the same, and in very many respects they have as much right to say that of the monogamic nations, as the latter have to say it of them.
I heard a traveler remark a few days ago, while in conversation with him, “I have traveled through Asia Minor and Turkey, and I have blushed many times while contrasting the practices and institutions of those people with those of my own country,” the United States. He was a gentleman with whom I had a discussion some years ago on the principle of plural marriage. He has traveled a good deal since then, and he remarked to me, “Travel enlarges a man's head and his heart. I have learned a great many things since we had a discussion together, and I have modified my views and opinions very materially with regard to the excellence of the institutions, habits and morals which prevail in Christendom.” This gentleman told me that among those nations, which we call semi-civilized, there are no drinking saloons, no brothels, nor drunkenness, and an entire absence of many other evils which exist in our own nation. I think this testimony, coming from a man who, previously, had such strong prejudices, was very valuable. He is not the only one who has borne this testimony, but all reliable travelers, who have lived in Oriental nations, vouch for the absence of those monstrous evils which flourish in and fatten and fester upon the vitals of all civilized or Christian nations.
In speaking of Utah and this peculiar practice amongst its people, it is frequently said, “Look at the Turks and other Oriental nations and see how women are degraded and debased among them, and deprived of many privileges which they enjoy among us!” But if it be true that woman does not occupy her true position among those nations, is this not more attributable to their rejection of the Gospel than to their practice of having a plurality of wives? Whatever her condition may be there, however, I do not therefore accept, as a necessary conclusion, that she must be degraded among us. We have received the Gospel of the Lord Jesus, the principles of which elevate all who honor them, and will impart to our sisters every blessing necessary to make them noble and good in the presence of God and man.
Look at the efforts which are being made to elevate the sex among the Latter-day Saints! See the privileges that are given to them, and listen to the teachings imparted to them day by day, week by week, and year by year, to encourage them to press forward in the march of improvement! The elevation of the sex must follow as a result of these instructions. The practice in the world is to select a few of the sex and to elevate them. There is no country in the world, probably, where women are idolized to the extent they are in the United States. But is the entire sex in the United States thus honored and respected? No, it is not. Any person who will travel, and observe while he is traveling, will find that thousands of women are degraded and treated as something very vile, and are terribly debased in consequence of the practices of men towards them. But the Gospel of Jesus and the revelations which God has given unto us concerning Patriarchal Marriage have a tendency to elevate the entire sex, and give all the privilege of being honored matrons and respected wives. There are no refuse among us—no class to be cast out, scorned and condemned; but every woman who chooses can be an honored wife and move in society in the enjoyment of every right which woman should enjoy to make her the equal of man as far as she can be his equal.
This is the result of the revelations of the Gospel unto us, and the effect of the preaching and practice of this principle in our midst. I know, however, that there are those who shrink from this, who feel their hearts rebel against the principle, because of the equality which it bestows on the sex. They would like to be the honored few—the aristocrats of society, as it were, while their sisters might perish on every hand around them. They would not, if they could, extend their hands to save their sisters from a life of degradation. This is wrong and a thing which God is displeased at. He has revealed this principle and commanded His servants to take wives. What for? That they may obey His great command—a command by which Eternity is peopled, a command by which Abraham's seed shall become as the stars of heaven for multitude, and as the sand on the seashore, that cannot be counted. He has given to us this command, and shall we, the sterner sex, submit to all the difficulties and trials entailed in carrying it out? Shall we submit to all the afflictions and labor incident to this life to save our sisters, while many of you who are of the same sex, whose hearts ought to beat for their salvation as strongly as ours do, will not help us? I leave you all to answer. There is a day of reckoning coming when you will be held accountable as well as we. Every woman in this Church should join heart and hand in this great work, which has for its result the redemption of the sexes, both male and female. No woman should slacken her hand or withhold her influence, but every one should seek by prayer and faith unto God for the strength and grace necessary to enable her to do so. “But,” says one, “is not this a trial, and does it not inflict upon us unnecessary trials?” There are afflictions and trials connected with this principle. It is necessary there should be. Is there any law that God reveals unattended with a trial of some kind? Think of the time, you who are adults, and were born in the nations, when you joined the Church! Think of the trials connected with your espousal of the Gospel. Did it not try you to go forth and be baptized? Did it not try you, when called upon to gather, to leave your homes and nearest and dearest friends, as many of you have done? Did it not try you to do a great many things you have been required to do in the Gospel? Every law of the Gospel has a trial connected with it, and the higher the law, the greater the trial; and as we ascend nearer and nearer to the Lord our God we shall have greater trials to contend with in purifying ourselves before Him. He has helped us thus far. He has helped us to conquer our selfish feelings, and when our sisters seek unto Him He helps them to overcome their feelings; He gives them strength to overcome their selfishness and jealousy. There is not a woman under the sound of my voice today, but can bear witness of this, if she has tried it. You, sisters, whose husbands have taken other wives, can you not bear testimony that the principle has purified your hearts, made you less selfish, brought you nearer to God and given you power you never had before? There are hundreds within the sound of my voice today, both men and women, who can testify that this has been the effect that the practice of this principle has had upon them.
I am speaking now of what are called the spiritual benefits arising from the righteous practice of this principle. I am sure that, through the practice of this principle, we shall have a purer community, a community more experienced, less selfish and with a higher knowledge of human nature than any other on the face of the earth. It has already had this effect to a great extent, and its effects in these directions will increase as the practice of the principle becomes more general.
A lady visitor remarked to me not long ago in speaking upon this subject, “Were I man, I would feel differently probably to what I do; to your sex the institution cannot be so objectionable.” This may be the case to some extent, but the practice of this principle is by no means without its trials for the males. The difficulties and perplexities connected with the care of a numerous family, to a man who has any ambition, are so great that nothing short of the revelations of God or the command of Jesus Christ would tempt men to enter this order; the mere increase of facilities to gratify the lower passions of our natures would be no inducement to assume such an increase of grave responsibilities. These desires have been implanted in both male and female for a wise purpose, but their immoderate and illegal gratification is a source of evil equal to that system of repression prevalent in the world, to which thousands must submit or criminate themselves. Just think, in the single State of Massachusetts, at the last census, there were 63,011 females more than males. Brother Pratt, in his remarks on this subject, truly remarked that the law of Massachusetts makes these 63,011 females either old maids or prostitutes, for that law says they shall not marry a man who has a wife. Think of this! And the same is true to a greater or less degree throughout all the older States, for the females preponderate in every one.
Thus far I have referred only to the necessity and benefit of this principle being practiced in a moral point of view. I have said nothing about the physiological side of the question. This is one, if not the strongest source of argument in its favor; but I do not propose to enter into that branch of the subject to any great extent on the present occasion. We are all, both men and women, physiologists enough to know that the procreative powers of man endure much longer than those of woman. Granting, as some assert, that an equal number of the sexes exist, what would this lead to? Man must practice that which is vile and low or submit to a system of repression; because if he be married to a woman who is physically incapable, he must either do himself violence or what is far worse, he must have recourse to the dreadful and damning practice of having illegal connection with women, or become altogether like the beasts. Do you not see that if these things were introduced among our society they would be pregnant with the worst results? The greatest conceivable evils would result therefrom! How dreadful are the consequences of this system of which I am now speaking, as witnessed at the present time throughout all the nations of Christendom! You may see them on every hand. Yet the attempt is being continually made to bring us to the same standard, and to compel us to share the same evils.
When the principle of plurality of wives was revealed, I was but a boy. While reflecting on the subject of the sealing power which was then being taught, the case of Jacob, who had four wives, occurred to me, and I immediately concluded that the time would come when light connected with this practice would be revealed to us as a people. I was therefore prepared for the principle when it was revealed, and I know it is true on the principle that I know that baptism, the laying on of hands, the gathering, and everything connected with the Gospel is true. If there were no books in existence, if the revelation itself were blotted out, and there was nothing written in its favor extant among men, still I could bear testimony for myself that I know this is a principle which, if practiced in purity and virtue, as it should be, will result in the exaltation and benefit of the human family; and that it will exalt woman until she is redeemed from the effects of the Fall, and from that curse pronounced upon her in the beginning. I believe the correct practice of this principle will redeem woman from the effects of that curse—namely, “Thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.” All the evils connected with jealousy have their origin in this. It is natural for woman to cleave to man; it was pronounced upon her in the beginning, seemingly as a punishment. I believe the time will come when, by the practice of the virtuous principles which God has revealed, woman will be emancipated from that punishment and that feeling. Will she cease to love man? No, it is not necessary for her to cease to love.
How is it among the nations of the earth? Why, women, in their yearning after the other sex and in their desire for maternity, will do anything to gratify that instinct of their nature and yield to anything and be dishonored even rather than not gratify it; and in consequence of that which has been pronounced upon them, they are not held accountable to the same extent as men are. Man is strong, he is the head of woman, and God will hold him responsible for the use of the influence he exercises over the opposite sex. Hence we were told by Brother Pratt that there are degrees of glory, and that the faithful man may receive the power of God—the greatest He has ever bestowed upon man—namely, the power of procreation. It is a godlike power, but how it is abused! How men debase themselves and the other sex by its unlawful and improper exercise! We were told there is a glory to which alone that power will be accorded in the life to come. Still there will be millions of women saved in the kingdom of God, while men, through the abuse of this precious gift, will not be counted worthy of such a privilege. And this very punishment will, in the end, be woman's salvation, because she is not held accountable to the same degree that men are.
This is a subject that we would all do well to reflect upon. There are many points connected with the question, physiologically, that might be dwelt upon with great advantage. I have heard it said, and seen it printed, that the children born here under this system are not so smart as others; that their eyes lack luster and that they are dull in intellect; and many strangers, especially ladies, when arriving here, are anxious to see the children, having read accounts which have led them to expect that most of the children born here are deficient. But the testimony of Professor Park, the principal of the University of Deseret, and of other leading teachers of the young here, is that they never saw children with greater aptitude for the acquisition of knowledge than the children raised in this Territory. There are no brighter children to be found in the world than those born in this Territory. Under the system of Patriarchal Marriage, the offspring, besides being equally as bright and brighter intellectually, are much more healthy and strong. Need I go into particulars to prove this? To you who are married there is no necessity of doing so; you know what I mean. You all know that many women are sent to the grave prematurely through the evils they have to endure from their husbands during pregnancy and lactation, and that their children often sustain irremediable injury.
Another good effect of the institution here is that you may travel throughout our entire Territory, and virtue prevails. Our young live virtuously until they marry. But how is it under the monogamic system? Temptations are numerous on every hand and young men fall a prey to vice. An eminent medical professor in New York, recently declared, while delivering a lecture to his class in one of the colleges there, that if he wanted a man twenty-five years of age, free from a certain disease, he would not know where to find him. What a terrible statement to make! In this community no such thing exists. Our boys grow up in purity, honoring and respecting virtue; our girls do the same and the great mass of them are pure. There may be impurities. We are human, and it would not be consistent with our knowledge of human nature to say that we are entirely pure, but we are the most pure of any people within the confines of the Republic. We have fewer unvirtuous boys and girls in our midst than any other community within the range of my knowledge. Both sexes grow up in vigor, health and purity.
These, my brethren and sisters, are some of the results which I wanted to allude to in connection with this subject. Much more might be said. There is not a man or woman who has listened to me today, but he and she have thoughts, reasons and arguments to sustain this principle passing through their minds which I have not touched upon, or if touched upon at all, in a very hasty manner.
The question arises, What is going to be done with this institution? Will it be overcome? The conclusion arrived at long ago is that it is God and the people for it. God has revealed it, He must sustain it, we cannot; we cannot bear it off, He must. I know that Napoleon said Providence was on the side of the heaviest artillery, and many men think that God is on the side of the strongest party. The Midianites probably thought so when Gideon fell upon them with three hundred men. Sennacherib and the Assyrians thought so when they came down in their might to blot out Israel. But God is mighty; God will prevail; God will sustain that which He has revealed, and He will uphold and strengthen His servants and bear off His people. We need not be afflicted by a doubt; a shadow of doubt need not cross our minds as to the result. We know that God can sustain us; He has borne off His people in triumph thus far and will continue to do so.
I did intend, when I got up, to say something in relation to the effects of the Priesthood; but as the time is so far gone, I feel that if I say anything it must, be very brief. But in connection with the subject of plural marriage, the Priesthood is intimately interwoven. It is the Priesthood which produces the peace, harmony, good order, and everything which make us as a people peculiar, and for which our Territory has become remarkable. It is that principle—the Priesthood, which governs the heavenly hosts. God and Jesus rule through this power, and through it we are made, so far as we have received it and rendered obedience to its mandates, like our heavenly Father and God. He is our Father and our God; He is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ; He is the Father of all the inhabitants of the earth, and we inherit His divinity, if we choose to seek for and cultivate it. We inherit His attributes; we can, by taking the proper course, inherit the Priesthood by which He exercises control; by which the heavenly orbs in the immensity of space are governed, and by which the earth revolves in its seasons. It is the holy Priesthood that controls all the creations of the Gods, and though men fight against it, and, if they could, would blot it out of existence, it will prevail and go on increasing in power and strength until the scepter of Jesus is acknowledged by all, and the earth is redeemed and sanctified.
That this may be brought about speedily, is my prayer in the name of Jesus, Amen.
addressed the Conference on the subject of Celestial Marriage. A full report of his discourse will shortly appear in the News.
Celestial Marriage
Discourse by Elder George Q. Cannon, delivered in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, October 9, 1869.
Reported by David W. Evans.
I will repeat a few verses in the tenth chapter of Mark, commencing at the twenty-eighth verse.
“Then Peter began to say unto him, Lo, we have left all, and have followed thee.
“And Jesus answered and said, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel's,
“But he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life.”
In rising to address you this morning, my brethren and sisters, I rely upon your faith and prayers and the blessing of God. We have heard, during Conference, a great many precious instructions, and in none have I been more interested than in those which have been given to the Saints concerning that much mooted doctrine called Patriarchal or Celestial Marriage. I am interested in this doctrine, because I see salvation, temporal and spiritual, embodied therein. I know, pretty well, what the popular feelings concerning this doctrine are; I am familiar with the opinions of the world, having traveled and mingled with the people sufficiently to be conversant with their ideas in relation to this subject. I am also familiar with the feelings of the Latter-day Saints upon this point. I know the sacrifice of feeling which it has caused for them to adopt this principle in their faith and lives. It has required the revelation of God, our heavenly Father, to enable His people to receive this principle and carry it out. I wish, here, to make one remark in connection with this subject—that while there is abundant proof to be found in the Scriptures and elsewhere in support of this doctrine, still it is not because it was practiced four thousand years ago by the servants and people of God, or because it has been practiced by any people or nation in any period of the world's history, that the Latter-day Saints have adopted it and made it part of their practice, but it is because God, our heavenly Father, has revealed it unto us. If there were no record of its practice to be found, and if the Bible, Book of Mormon and Book of Doctrine and Covenants were totally silent in respect to this doctrine, it would nevertheless be binding upon us as a people, God Himself having given a revelation for us to practice it at the present time. This should be understood by us as a people. It is gratifying to know, however, that we are not the first of God's people unto whom this principle has been revealed; it is gratifying to know that we are only following in the footsteps of those who have preceded us in the work of God, and that we, today, are only carrying out the principle which God's people observed, in obedience to revelation from Him, thousands of years ago. It is gratifying to know that we are suffering persecution, that we are threatened with fines and imprisonment for the practice of precisely the same principle which Abraham, the “Friend of God,” practiced in his life and taught to his children after him.
The discourses of Brother Orson Pratt and of President George A. Smith have left but very little to be said in relation to the Scriptural arguments in favor of this doctrine. I know that the general opinion among men is that the Old Testament, to some extent, sustains it; but that the New Testament—Jesus and the Apostles, were silent concerning it. It was clearly proved in our hearing yesterday, and the afternoon of the day previous, that the New Testament, though not so explicit in reference to the doctrine, is still decidedly in favor of it and sustains it. Jesus very plainly told the Jews, when boasting of being the seed of Abraham, that if they were, they would do the works of Abraham. He and the Apostles, in various places, clearly set forth that Abraham was the great exemplar of faith for them to follow, and that they must follow him, if they ever expected to participate in the glory and exaltation enjoyed by Abraham and his faithful seed. Throughout the New Testament, Abraham is held up to the converts to the doctrines which Jesus taught, as an example worthy of imitation, and in no place is there a word of condemnation uttered concerning him. The Apostle Paul, in speaking of him says:
“Know ye, therefore, that they which are of the faith, the same are the children of Abraham…
So then they which be of the faith are blessed with faithful Abraham.”
He also says that the Gentiles, through adoption, became Abraham's seed; that the blessing of Abraham, says he, might come upon the Gentiles through Jesus Christ, showing plainly that Jesus and all the Apostles who alluded to the subject, held the deeds of Abraham to be, in every respect, worthy of imitation.
Who was this Abraham? I have heard the saying frequently advanced, that in early life, being an idolater, it was an idolatrous, heathenish principle which he adopted in taking to himself a second wife, while Sarah still lived. Those who make this assertion in reference to the great patriarch, seem to be ignorant of the fact that he was well advanced in life and had served God faithfully many years, prior to making any addition to his family. He did not have a plurality of wives until years after the Lord had revealed Himself to him, commanding him to leave Ur, of the Chaldees, and go forth to a land which He would give to him and his posterity for an everlasting possession. He went forth and lived in that land many long years before the promise of God was fulfilled unto him—namely, that in his seed should all the nations of the earth be blessed; and Abraham was still without any heir, except Eliezer, of Damascus, the steward of his house. At length, after living thus for ten years, God commanded him to take to himself another wife, who was given to him by his wife Sarah. When the offspring of this marriage was born, Abraham was eighty-six years old.
We read of no word of condemnation from the Lord for this act—something which we might naturally expect if, as this unbelieving and licentious generation affirm, the act of taking more wives than one be such a vile crime, and so abominable in the sight of God; for if it be evil in the sight of the Lord today, it was then, for the Scriptures inform us that He changes not. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and is without variableness or the shadow of turning. But instead of condemnation, God revealed Himself continually to His friend Abraham, teaching His will unto him, revealing all things concerning the future it was necessary for him to understand, and promising him that, though he had been blessed with a son, Ishmael, yet in Isaac, a child of promise, not yet born, should his seed be called. Abraham was to have yet another son. Sarah, in her old age, because of her faithfulness, because of her willingness to comply with the requirements and revelations of God, was to have a son given unto her. Such an event was so unheard of among women at her time of life that, though the Lord promised it, she could not help laughing at the idea. But God fulfilled His promise, and in due time Isaac was born, and was greatly blessed of the Lord.
Determined to try His faithful servant Abraham to the uttermost, the Lord, some years after the birth of this son, in whom He had promised that Abraham's seed should be called, required him to offer up this boy as a burnt offering to Him; and Abraham, nothing doubting, but full of faith and integrity, and of devotion to his God, proved himself worthy of the honored title that had been conferred upon him, namely, “the Friend of God,” by taking his son Isaac, in whom most of his hopes for the future centered, up the mountain, and there, having built the altar, he bound the victim, and with knife uplifted, was about to strike the fatal blow, when the angel of the Lord cried out of heaven commanding him not to slay his son. The Lord was satisfied, having tried him to the uttermost, and found him willing even to shed the blood of his well-beloved son.
The Lord was so pleased with the faithfulness of Abraham, that He gave unto him the greatest promise He could give to any human being on the face of the earth. What do you think was the nature of that promise? Did He promise to Abraham a crown of eternal glory? Did He promise to him that he should be in the presence of the Lamb, that he should tune his harp and sing praises to God and the Lamb throughout the endless ages of eternity? Let me quote it to you, and it would be well if all the inhabitants of the earth would reflect upon it. Said the Lord:
“In blessing, I will bless thee, and in multiplying, I will multiply thy seed as the stars of heaven, and as the sand which is upon the seashore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies.”
This was the promise which God gave to Abraham, in that hour of his triumph, in that hour when there was joy in heaven over the faithfulness of one of God's noblest and most devoted sons. Think of the greatness of this blessing! Can you count the stars of heaven, or even the grains of a handful of sand? No, it is beyond the power of earth's most gifted sons to do either, and yet God promised to Abraham that his seed should be as innumerable as the stars of heaven or as the sand on the seashore.
How similar was this promise of God to Abraham to that made by Jesus as a reward for faithfulness to those who followed him! Said Jesus, he that forsakes brothers or sisters, houses or lands, father or mother, wives or children, shall receive a hundredfold in this life with persecution, and eternal life in the world to come.
A very similar blessing to that which God, long before, had made to Abraham, and couched in very similar terms.
It is pertinent for us to inquire, on the present occasion, how the promises made by Jesus and his Father, in ages of the world separated by a long interval the one from the other, could be realized under the system which prevails throughout Christendom at the present day? In the monogamic system, under which the possession of more than one living wife is regarded as such a crime, and as being so fearfully immoral, how could the promise of the Savior to his faithful followers, that they should have a hundredfold of wives and children, in this present life, ever be realized? There is a way which God has provided in a revelation given to this Church, in which He says:
“Strait is the gate and narrow the way that leadeth unto the exaltation and continuation of the lives, and few there be that find it, because ye receive me not in the world, neither do ye know me.”
God revealed that strait and narrow way to Abraham, and taught him how he could enter therein. He taught him the principle of plurality of wives; Abraham practiced it and bequeathed it to his children as a principle which they were to practice. Under such a system it was a comparatively easy matter for men to have a hundredfold of wives, children, fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters and everything else in proportion; and in no other way could the promises of Jesus be realized by his followers, than in the way God has provided, and which He has revealed to His Church and people in these latter days.
I have felt led to dwell upon these few passages from the sayings of Jesus to show you that there are abundance of Scriptural proofs in favor of this principle and the position this Church has assumed, in addition to those previously referred to.
It is a blessed thing to know that, in this as every other doctrine and principle taught by us as a Church, we are sustained by the revelations God gave to His people anciently. One of the strongest supports the Elders of this Church have had, in their labors among the nations, was the knowledge that the Bible and New Testament sustained every principle they advanced to the people. When they preached faith, repentance, baptism for the remission of sins, the laying on of hands for the reception of the Holy Ghost, the gathering of the people from the nations, the rebuilding of Jerusalem, the second coming of Christ, and every other principle ever touched upon by them, it was gratifying to know that they were sustained by the Scriptures, and that they could turn to chapter and verse among the sayings of Jesus and his Apostles, or among those of the ancient prophets, in confirmation of every doctrine they ever attempted to bring to the attention of those to whom they ministered. There is nothing with which the Latter-day Saints can, with more confidence, refer to the Scriptures for confirmation and support, than the doctrine of plural marriage, which at the present time, among one of the most wicked, adulterous and corrupt generations the world has ever seen, is so much hated, and for which mankind generally are so anxious to cast out and persecute the Latter-day Saints.
If we look abroad and peruse the records of everyday life throughout the whole of Christendom, we find that crimes of every hue, and of the most appalling and revolting character are constantly committed, exciting neither surprise nor comment. Murder, robbery, adultery, seduction and every species of villainy known in the voluminous catalogue of crime in modern times, are regarded as mere matters of ordinary occurrence, and yet there is hue and cry raised, almost as wide as Christendom, for the persecution, by fine, imprisonment, proscription, outlawry or extermination of the people of Utah because, knowing that God, the Eternal Father, has spoken in these days and revealed His mind and will to them, they dare to carry out His behests. For years they have meekly submitted to this persecution and contumely, but they appeal now, as ever, to all rational, reflecting men, and invite comparison between the state of society here and in any portion of this or any other country, knowing that the verdict will be unanimous and overwhelming in their favor. In every civilized country on the face of the earth the seducer plies his arts to envelop his victim within his meshes, in order to accomplish her ruin most completely; and it is well known that men holding positions of trust and responsibility, looked upon as honorable and highly respectable members of society, violate their marriage vows by carrying on their secret amours and supporting mistresses, yet against the people of Utah, where such things are totally unknown, there is an eternal and rabid outcry because they practice the heaven-revealed system of a plurality of wives. It is a most astonishing thing, and no greater evidence could be given that Satan reigns in the hearts of the children of men, and that he is determined, if possible, to destroy the work of God from the face of the earth.
The Bible, the only work accepted by the nations of Christendom, as a divine revelation, sustains this doctrine, from beginning to end. The only revelation on record that can be quoted against it, came through the Prophet Joseph Smith, and is contained in the Book of Mormon; and strange to say, here in Salt Lake City, a day or two since, one of the leading men of the nation, in his eager desire and determination to cast discredit on this doctrine, unable to do so by reference to the Bible, which he, no doubt, in common with all Christians, acknowledges as divine, was compelled to have recourse to the Book of Mormon, a work which on any other point he would most unquestionably have scouted and ridiculed as an emanation from the brain of an impostor. What consistency! A strange revolution this, that men should have recourse to our own works, whose authenticity they most emphatically deny, to prove us in the wrong. Yet, this attempt, whenever made, cannot be sustained, for Brother Pratt clearly showed to you, in his remarks the other day, that instead of the Book of Mormon being opposed to this principle, it contains an express provision for the revelation of the principle to us as a people at some future time—namely, that when the Lord should desire to raise up unto Himself a righteous seed, He would command His people to that effect, plainly setting forth that a time would come when He would command His people to do so.
It is necessary that this principle should be practiced under the auspices and control of the Priesthood. God has placed that Priesthood in the Church to govern and control all the affairs thereof, and this is a principle which, if not practiced in the greatest holiness and purity, might lead men into great sin, therefore the Priesthood is the more necessary to guide and control men in the practice of this principle. There might be circumstances and situations in which it would not be wisdom in the mind of God for His people to practice this principle, but so long as a people are guided by the Priesthood and revelations of God, there is no danger of evil arising therefrom. If we, as a people, had attempted to practice this principle without revelation, it is likely that we should have been led into grievous sins, and the condemnation of God would have rested upon us; but the Church waited until the proper time came, and then the people practiced it according to the mind and will of God, making a sacrifice of their own feelings in so doing. But the history of the world goes to prove that the practice of this principle, even by nations ignorant of the Gospel, has resulted in greater good to them than the practice of monogamy or the one-wife system in the so-called Christian nations. Today, Christendom holds itself and its institutions aloft as a pattern for all men to follow. If you travel throughout the United States and through the nations of Europe in which Christianity prevails, and talk with the people about their institutions, they will boast of them as being the most permanent, indestructible and progressive of any institutions existing upon the earth; yet it is a fact well known to historians, that the Christian nations of Europe are the youngest nations on the globe. Where are the nations that have existed from time immemorial? They are not to be found in Christian monogamic Europe, but in Asia, among the polygamic races—China, Japan, Hindostan and the various races of that vast continent. Those nations, from the most remote times, practiced plural marriage handed down to them by their forefathers. Although they are looked upon by the nations of Europe as semi-civilized, you will not find among them woman prostituted, debased and degraded as she is through Christendom. She may be treated coldly and degraded, but among them, except where the Christian element prevails to a large extent, she is not debased and polluted, as she is among the so-called Christian nations. It is a fact worthy of note that the shortest-lived nations of which we have record have been monogamic. Rome, with her arts, sciences and warlike instincts, was once the mistress of the world; but her glory faded. She was a monogamic nation, and the numerous evils attending that system early laid the foundation for that ruin which eventually overtook her. The strongest sayings of Jesus recorded in the New Testament were leveled against the dreadful corruptions practiced in Rome and wherever the Romans held sway. The leaven of their institutions had worked its way into the Jewish nation, Jewry or Palestine being then a Roman province, and governed by Roman officers, who brought with them their wicked institutions, and Jesus denounced the practices which prevailed there.
A few years before the birth of the Savior, Julius Caesar was First Consul at Rome; he aimed at and obtained imperial power. He had four wives during his life, and committed numerous adulteries. His first wife he married early; but, becoming ambitious, the alliance did not suit him, and, as the Roman law did not permit him to retain her and to marry another, he put her away. He then married the daughter of a consul, thinking to advance his interests thereby. She died, and a third was married. The third was divorced, and he married a fourth, with whom he was living at the time he was murdered. His grandnephew, the Emperor Augustus Caesar, reigned at the time of the birth of Christ. He is alluded to in history as one of the greatest of the Caesars; he also had four wives. He divorced one after another, except the last, who outlived him. These men were not singular in this practice; it was common in Rome; the Romans did not believe in plurality of wives, but in divorcing them; in taking wives for convenience and putting them away when they got tired of them. In our country divorces are increasing, yet Roman like, men expect purity and chastity from their wives they do not practice themselves. You recollect, doubtless, the famous answer of Caesar when his wife was accused of an intrigue with an infamous man. Someone asked Caesar why he had put away his wife. Said he, “The wife of Caesar must not only be incorrupt, but unsuspected.” He could not bear to have the virtue of his wife even suspected, yet his own life was infamous in the extreme. He was a seducer, adulterer, and is reported to have practiced even a worse crime, yet he expected his wife to possess a virtue which, in his highest and holiest moments, was utterly beyond his conception in his own life.
This leaven was spreading itself over every country where the Roman Empire had jurisdiction. It had reached Palestine in the days of the Savior, hence by understanding the practices prevalent in those times amongst that people, you will be better able to appreciate the strong language used by Jesus against putting away, or divorcing wives. Rome continued to practice corruption until she fell beneath the weight of it, and was overwhelmed, not by another monogamic race, but by the vigorous polygamic hordes from the north, who swept away Roman imperialism, establishing in the place thereof institutions of their own. But they speedily fell into the same habit of having one wife and multitudes of courtesans, and soon, like Rome, fell beneath their own corruptions.
When courtesans were taught every accomplishment and honored with the society of the leading men of the nation, and wives were deprived of these privileges, is it any wonder that Rome should fall? Or that the more pure, or barbarous nations, as they were called, overwhelmed and destroyed her?
I have had it quoted to me many times that no great nations ever practiced plural marriage. They who make such an assertion are utterly ignorant of history. What nations have left the deepest impression on the history of our race? Those which have practiced plurality of marriage. They have prevented the dreadful crime of prostitution by allowing men to have more wives than one. I know we are dazzled by the glory of Christendom; we are dazzled with the glory of our own age. Like every generation that has preceded it, the present generation thinks it is the wisest and best, and nearer to God than any which has preceded it. This is natural; it is a weakness of human nature. This is the case with nations as well as generations. China, today, calls all western nations “outside barbarians.” Japan, Hindostan and all other polygamic nations do the same, and in very many respects they have as much right to say that of the monogamic nations, as the latter have to say it of them.
I heard a traveler remark a few days ago, while in conversation with him, “I have traveled through Asia Minor and Turkey, and I have blushed many times while contrasting the practices and institutions of those people with those of my own country,” the United States. He was a gentleman with whom I had a discussion some years ago on the principle of plural marriage. He has traveled a good deal since then, and he remarked to me, “Travel enlarges a man's head and his heart. I have learned a great many things since we had a discussion together, and I have modified my views and opinions very materially with regard to the excellence of the institutions, habits and morals which prevail in Christendom.” This gentleman told me that among those nations, which we call semi-civilized, there are no drinking saloons, no brothels, nor drunkenness, and an entire absence of many other evils which exist in our own nation. I think this testimony, coming from a man who, previously, had such strong prejudices, was very valuable. He is not the only one who has borne this testimony, but all reliable travelers, who have lived in Oriental nations, vouch for the absence of those monstrous evils which flourish in and fatten and fester upon the vitals of all civilized or Christian nations.
In speaking of Utah and this peculiar practice amongst its people, it is frequently said, “Look at the Turks and other Oriental nations and see how women are degraded and debased among them, and deprived of many privileges which they enjoy among us!” But if it be true that woman does not occupy her true position among those nations, is this not more attributable to their rejection of the Gospel than to their practice of having a plurality of wives? Whatever her condition may be there, however, I do not therefore accept, as a necessary conclusion, that she must be degraded among us. We have received the Gospel of the Lord Jesus, the principles of which elevate all who honor them, and will impart to our sisters every blessing necessary to make them noble and good in the presence of God and man.
Look at the efforts which are being made to elevate the sex among the Latter-day Saints! See the privileges that are given to them, and listen to the teachings imparted to them day by day, week by week, and year by year, to encourage them to press forward in the march of improvement! The elevation of the sex must follow as a result of these instructions. The practice in the world is to select a few of the sex and to elevate them. There is no country in the world, probably, where women are idolized to the extent they are in the United States. But is the entire sex in the United States thus honored and respected? No, it is not. Any person who will travel, and observe while he is traveling, will find that thousands of women are degraded and treated as something very vile, and are terribly debased in consequence of the practices of men towards them. But the Gospel of Jesus and the revelations which God has given unto us concerning Patriarchal Marriage have a tendency to elevate the entire sex, and give all the privilege of being honored matrons and respected wives. There are no refuse among us—no class to be cast out, scorned and condemned; but every woman who chooses can be an honored wife and move in society in the enjoyment of every right which woman should enjoy to make her the equal of man as far as she can be his equal.
This is the result of the revelations of the Gospel unto us, and the effect of the preaching and practice of this principle in our midst. I know, however, that there are those who shrink from this, who feel their hearts rebel against the principle, because of the equality which it bestows on the sex. They would like to be the honored few—the aristocrats of society, as it were, while their sisters might perish on every hand around them. They would not, if they could, extend their hands to save their sisters from a life of degradation. This is wrong and a thing which God is displeased at. He has revealed this principle and commanded His servants to take wives. What for? That they may obey His great command—a command by which Eternity is peopled, a command by which Abraham's seed shall become as the stars of heaven for multitude, and as the sand on the seashore, that cannot be counted. He has given to us this command, and shall we, the sterner sex, submit to all the difficulties and trials entailed in carrying it out? Shall we submit to all the afflictions and labor incident to this life to save our sisters, while many of you who are of the same sex, whose hearts ought to beat for their salvation as strongly as ours do, will not help us? I leave you all to answer. There is a day of reckoning coming when you will be held accountable as well as we. Every woman in this Church should join heart and hand in this great work, which has for its result the redemption of the sexes, both male and female. No woman should slacken her hand or withhold her influence, but every one should seek by prayer and faith unto God for the strength and grace necessary to enable her to do so. “But,” says one, “is not this a trial, and does it not inflict upon us unnecessary trials?” There are afflictions and trials connected with this principle. It is necessary there should be. Is there any law that God reveals unattended with a trial of some kind? Think of the time, you who are adults, and were born in the nations, when you joined the Church! Think of the trials connected with your espousal of the Gospel. Did it not try you to go forth and be baptized? Did it not try you, when called upon to gather, to leave your homes and nearest and dearest friends, as many of you have done? Did it not try you to do a great many things you have been required to do in the Gospel? Every law of the Gospel has a trial connected with it, and the higher the law, the greater the trial; and as we ascend nearer and nearer to the Lord our God we shall have greater trials to contend with in purifying ourselves before Him. He has helped us thus far. He has helped us to conquer our selfish feelings, and when our sisters seek unto Him He helps them to overcome their feelings; He gives them strength to overcome their selfishness and jealousy. There is not a woman under the sound of my voice today, but can bear witness of this, if she has tried it. You, sisters, whose husbands have taken other wives, can you not bear testimony that the principle has purified your hearts, made you less selfish, brought you nearer to God and given you power you never had before? There are hundreds within the sound of my voice today, both men and women, who can testify that this has been the effect that the practice of this principle has had upon them.
I am speaking now of what are called the spiritual benefits arising from the righteous practice of this principle. I am sure that, through the practice of this principle, we shall have a purer community, a community more experienced, less selfish and with a higher knowledge of human nature than any other on the face of the earth. It has already had this effect to a great extent, and its effects in these directions will increase as the practice of the principle becomes more general.
A lady visitor remarked to me not long ago in speaking upon this subject, “Were I man, I would feel differently probably to what I do; to your sex the institution cannot be so objectionable.” This may be the case to some extent, but the practice of this principle is by no means without its trials for the males. The difficulties and perplexities connected with the care of a numerous family, to a man who has any ambition, are so great that nothing short of the revelations of God or the command of Jesus Christ would tempt men to enter this order; the mere increase of facilities to gratify the lower passions of our natures would be no inducement to assume such an increase of grave responsibilities. These desires have been implanted in both male and female for a wise purpose, but their immoderate and illegal gratification is a source of evil equal to that system of repression prevalent in the world, to which thousands must submit or criminate themselves. Just think, in the single State of Massachusetts, at the last census, there were 63,011 females more than males. Brother Pratt, in his remarks on this subject, truly remarked that the law of Massachusetts makes these 63,011 females either old maids or prostitutes, for that law says they shall not marry a man who has a wife. Think of this! And the same is true to a greater or less degree throughout all the older States, for the females preponderate in every one.
Thus far I have referred only to the necessity and benefit of this principle being practiced in a moral point of view. I have said nothing about the physiological side of the question. This is one, if not the strongest source of argument in its favor; but I do not propose to enter into that branch of the subject to any great extent on the present occasion. We are all, both men and women, physiologists enough to know that the procreative powers of man endure much longer than those of woman. Granting, as some assert, that an equal number of the sexes exist, what would this lead to? Man must practice that which is vile and low or submit to a system of repression; because if he be married to a woman who is physically incapable, he must either do himself violence or what is far worse, he must have recourse to the dreadful and damning practice of having illegal connection with women, or become altogether like the beasts. Do you not see that if these things were introduced among our society they would be pregnant with the worst results? The greatest conceivable evils would result therefrom! How dreadful are the consequences of this system of which I am now speaking, as witnessed at the present time throughout all the nations of Christendom! You may see them on every hand. Yet the attempt is being continually made to bring us to the same standard, and to compel us to share the same evils.
When the principle of plurality of wives was revealed, I was but a boy. While reflecting on the subject of the sealing power which was then being taught, the case of Jacob, who had four wives, occurred to me, and I immediately concluded that the time would come when light connected with this practice would be revealed to us as a people. I was therefore prepared for the principle when it was revealed, and I know it is true on the principle that I know that baptism, the laying on of hands, the gathering, and everything connected with the Gospel is true. If there were no books in existence, if the revelation itself were blotted out, and there was nothing written in its favor extant among men, still I could bear testimony for myself that I know this is a principle which, if practiced in purity and virtue, as it should be, will result in the exaltation and benefit of the human family; and that it will exalt woman until she is redeemed from the effects of the Fall, and from that curse pronounced upon her in the beginning. I believe the correct practice of this principle will redeem woman from the effects of that curse—namely, “Thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.” All the evils connected with jealousy have their origin in this. It is natural for woman to cleave to man; it was pronounced upon her in the beginning, seemingly as a punishment. I believe the time will come when, by the practice of the virtuous principles which God has revealed, woman will be emancipated from that punishment and that feeling. Will she cease to love man? No, it is not necessary for her to cease to love.
How is it among the nations of the earth? Why, women, in their yearning after the other sex and in their desire for maternity, will do anything to gratify that instinct of their nature and yield to anything and be dishonored even rather than not gratify it; and in consequence of that which has been pronounced upon them, they are not held accountable to the same extent as men are. Man is strong, he is the head of woman, and God will hold him responsible for the use of the influence he exercises over the opposite sex. Hence we were told by Brother Pratt that there are degrees of glory, and that the faithful man may receive the power of God—the greatest He has ever bestowed upon man—namely, the power of procreation. It is a godlike power, but how it is abused! How men debase themselves and the other sex by its unlawful and improper exercise! We were told there is a glory to which alone that power will be accorded in the life to come. Still there will be millions of women saved in the kingdom of God, while men, through the abuse of this precious gift, will not be counted worthy of such a privilege. And this very punishment will, in the end, be woman's salvation, because she is not held accountable to the same degree that men are.
This is a subject that we would all do well to reflect upon. There are many points connected with the question, physiologically, that might be dwelt upon with great advantage. I have heard it said, and seen it printed, that the children born here under this system are not so smart as others; that their eyes lack luster and that they are dull in intellect; and many strangers, especially ladies, when arriving here, are anxious to see the children, having read accounts which have led them to expect that most of the children born here are deficient. But the testimony of Professor Park, the principal of the University of Deseret, and of other leading teachers of the young here, is that they never saw children with greater aptitude for the acquisition of knowledge than the children raised in this Territory. There are no brighter children to be found in the world than those born in this Territory. Under the system of Patriarchal Marriage, the offspring, besides being equally as bright and brighter intellectually, are much more healthy and strong. Need I go into particulars to prove this? To you who are married there is no necessity of doing so; you know what I mean. You all know that many women are sent to the grave prematurely through the evils they have to endure from their husbands during pregnancy and lactation, and that their children often sustain irremediable injury.
Another good effect of the institution here is that you may travel throughout our entire Territory, and virtue prevails. Our young live virtuously until they marry. But how is it under the monogamic system? Temptations are numerous on every hand and young men fall a prey to vice. An eminent medical professor in New York, recently declared, while delivering a lecture to his class in one of the colleges there, that if he wanted a man twenty-five years of age, free from a certain disease, he would not know where to find him. What a terrible statement to make! In this community no such thing exists. Our boys grow up in purity, honoring and respecting virtue; our girls do the same and the great mass of them are pure. There may be impurities. We are human, and it would not be consistent with our knowledge of human nature to say that we are entirely pure, but we are the most pure of any people within the confines of the Republic. We have fewer unvirtuous boys and girls in our midst than any other community within the range of my knowledge. Both sexes grow up in vigor, health and purity.
These, my brethren and sisters, are some of the results which I wanted to allude to in connection with this subject. Much more might be said. There is not a man or woman who has listened to me today, but he and she have thoughts, reasons and arguments to sustain this principle passing through their minds which I have not touched upon, or if touched upon at all, in a very hasty manner.
The question arises, What is going to be done with this institution? Will it be overcome? The conclusion arrived at long ago is that it is God and the people for it. God has revealed it, He must sustain it, we cannot; we cannot bear it off, He must. I know that Napoleon said Providence was on the side of the heaviest artillery, and many men think that God is on the side of the strongest party. The Midianites probably thought so when Gideon fell upon them with three hundred men. Sennacherib and the Assyrians thought so when they came down in their might to blot out Israel. But God is mighty; God will prevail; God will sustain that which He has revealed, and He will uphold and strengthen His servants and bear off His people. We need not be afflicted by a doubt; a shadow of doubt need not cross our minds as to the result. We know that God can sustain us; He has borne off His people in triumph thus far and will continue to do so.
I did intend, when I got up, to say something in relation to the effects of the Priesthood; but as the time is so far gone, I feel that if I say anything it must, be very brief. But in connection with the subject of plural marriage, the Priesthood is intimately interwoven. It is the Priesthood which produces the peace, harmony, good order, and everything which make us as a people peculiar, and for which our Territory has become remarkable. It is that principle—the Priesthood, which governs the heavenly hosts. God and Jesus rule through this power, and through it we are made, so far as we have received it and rendered obedience to its mandates, like our heavenly Father and God. He is our Father and our God; He is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ; He is the Father of all the inhabitants of the earth, and we inherit His divinity, if we choose to seek for and cultivate it. We inherit His attributes; we can, by taking the proper course, inherit the Priesthood by which He exercises control; by which the heavenly orbs in the immensity of space are governed, and by which the earth revolves in its seasons. It is the holy Priesthood that controls all the creations of the Gods, and though men fight against it, and, if they could, would blot it out of existence, it will prevail and go on increasing in power and strength until the scepter of Jesus is acknowledged by all, and the earth is redeemed and sanctified.
That this may be brought about speedily, is my prayer in the name of Jesus, Amen.
Elder George Q. Cannon
then presented the names of the following brethren to go on missions to the Eastern States.
David Nelson, Ogden.
James H. Nelson, Ogden.
Orrawell Simons, Payson.
Warren Tinney, Payson.
Nelson Hollinshead, Parowan.
Albert Lutz, 12th ward.
Joseph Eldredge, 16th ward.
The name of E. M. Caste was presented to the Conference, as having been called to go on a mission to Sweden. These brethren were unanimously sustained by the Conference.
then presented the names of the following brethren to go on missions to the Eastern States.
David Nelson, Ogden.
James H. Nelson, Ogden.
Orrawell Simons, Payson.
Warren Tinney, Payson.
Nelson Hollinshead, Parowan.
Albert Lutz, 12th ward.
Joseph Eldredge, 16th ward.
The name of E. M. Caste was presented to the Conference, as having been called to go on a mission to Sweden. These brethren were unanimously sustained by the Conference.
President Young
made some brief remarks in relation to the 109th section of the Book of Doctrine and Covenants, showing how it was introduced there by Oliver Cowdery, against the wish of the Prophet Joseph. His remarks will be published in full.
Conference adjourned till to-morrow at 10 a.m.
made some brief remarks in relation to the 109th section of the Book of Doctrine and Covenants, showing how it was introduced there by Oliver Cowdery, against the wish of the Prophet Joseph. His remarks will be published in full.
Conference adjourned till to-morrow at 10 a.m.
Sunday, 10 a.m., Oct. 10.
Meeting was called to order by Prest. George A. Smith. The Tabernacle Choir sang the hymn on page 28, "God moves in a mysterious way, his wonders to perform."
Prayer by Elder Joseph F. Smith.
The Tabernacle Choir sang the hymn on page 209, "Come O thou king of kings."
Short and interesting addresses were delivered by Elders B. Young, Junr., Jos. F. Smith and Erastus Snow.
Meeting was called to order by Prest. George A. Smith. The Tabernacle Choir sang the hymn on page 28, "God moves in a mysterious way, his wonders to perform."
Prayer by Elder Joseph F. Smith.
The Tabernacle Choir sang the hymn on page 209, "Come O thou king of kings."
Short and interesting addresses were delivered by Elders B. Young, Junr., Jos. F. Smith and Erastus Snow.
President Geo. A. Smith
addressed the Conference. The course we pursue is calculated to empty all the money out of our pockets. We import nearly everything and export nothing. We should be alive to this matter. Is there anything we can raise and export? We could raise fine horses and cattle and send them abroad. We could make leather and clothe our feet. We can import sheep and take care of those we have to supply our cloth factories with wool. Our home-made cloth is warm, comfortable and fine looking. Instead of cheese being brought here from abroad, measures for the manufacture of that article should be adopted in each ward. Let this sentiment be scattered to each city and settlement in the Territory. About thirty-seven or thirty-eight years ago the Lord said to his people, "Let the beauty of your garments be the workmanship of your own hands." We should follow the advice and example of the man whom God has given to us to be a great leader. We have been prospered and blessed exceedingly; it has been the result of the course we have been led into by the Lord through his servant Brigham. God grant that we may be able to keep our covenants. Amen.
Conference then adjourned till two p.m.
The Tabernacle choir sang the hymn on page 66, "I'll praise my Maker."
Prayer by Elder John T. Caine.
addressed the Conference. The course we pursue is calculated to empty all the money out of our pockets. We import nearly everything and export nothing. We should be alive to this matter. Is there anything we can raise and export? We could raise fine horses and cattle and send them abroad. We could make leather and clothe our feet. We can import sheep and take care of those we have to supply our cloth factories with wool. Our home-made cloth is warm, comfortable and fine looking. Instead of cheese being brought here from abroad, measures for the manufacture of that article should be adopted in each ward. Let this sentiment be scattered to each city and settlement in the Territory. About thirty-seven or thirty-eight years ago the Lord said to his people, "Let the beauty of your garments be the workmanship of your own hands." We should follow the advice and example of the man whom God has given to us to be a great leader. We have been prospered and blessed exceedingly; it has been the result of the course we have been led into by the Lord through his servant Brigham. God grant that we may be able to keep our covenants. Amen.
Conference then adjourned till two p.m.
The Tabernacle choir sang the hymn on page 66, "I'll praise my Maker."
Prayer by Elder John T. Caine.
2 p.m.
Conference was called to order by Elder Geo. Q. Cannon.
The Tabernacle choir sang the hymn on page 143, "O my Father, thou that dwellest."
Prayer by Elder Geo. Q. Cannon.
The Sacrament of the Lord's Supper was administered to the congregation.
Conference was called to order by Elder Geo. Q. Cannon.
The Tabernacle choir sang the hymn on page 143, "O my Father, thou that dwellest."
Prayer by Elder Geo. Q. Cannon.
The Sacrament of the Lord's Supper was administered to the congregation.
President Brigham Young
delivered an instructive and interesting discourse upon the nature and duties pertaining to the office of a Bishop, the nature and effects of the Holy Priesthood, home manufacture, co-operation and kindred subject of importance. The discourse will appear in the columns of the News within a few days.
Discourse
By President Brigham Young, delivered in the New Tabernacle, Oct. 10th, 1869. Reported by David W. Evans.
I hope I shall be able to speak to the congregation so that they will hear me; to do so, the people must cease whispering, or making any noise with their feet, and they must pay close attention. I desire the prayers of the Saints to assist me, to give me strength and wisdom so that I may say a few things which shall be profitable to them and myself.
We have not called the bishops together to instruct them since the commencement of this Conference. I wish to say a few words to them as a body of men who are set to preside, guide and dictate in temporal affairs. While we are partaking of the bread and witnessing to God the Father that we always remember His Son Jesus Christ, let us draw in our hearts to worship Him in truth, acknowledge Him in sincerity and believe on him with all our hearts, so that we may have the spirit of charity in our bosoms, which will lead us to forgive one another our trespasses that we may be forgiven. Let us endeavor to do this on the present occasion and on all others when the sacrament is administered.
In my remarks to the Bishops, I expect and hope and trust and pray that they will be equally instructive to the Saints composing the wards over which the Bishops preside; for they, equally with the Bishops, are engaged in building up the kingdom of God on the earth. The business or labor assigned to the Latter-day Saints in this, the dispensation of the fullness of times,--the time of times,--in building up the kingdom of God, requires a great deal of knowledge from God. The scanty history or sketches that we possess in the sayings of the prophets and of Jesus and the Apostles give but a very faint idea with regard to the building up of Zion on the earth; and without the revelations of Jesus to His people who are called to perform this work, they would be altogether useless. It would be labor in vain for any people to rely for guidance upon these alone in establishing the kingdom and laws of God upon the earth, gathering the honest in heart from the nations, gathering home and protecting the House of Israel and preparing the way for the coming of the Son of Man. This great work must be dictated, guided, and directed, day by day, by the revelations of the Lord Jesus, by the Father, an angel, or by some messenger that God shall see fit to send to the people. It is useless for any people to attempt to accomplish this work without the Priesthood.
The Priesthood of the Son of God is from everlasting to everlasting; it is without beginning of days or end of years, or time. It is without father, without mother, without descent; it is the power by which the worlds are and were created, and the power by which they are now held in existence, and by which all that are yet to come will be organized, governed, controlled and sustained. This Priesthood must come to the children of men, in order for them to understand the modus operandi of establishing the Kingdom of God upon the earth. This Priesthood must govern and control the people who undertake to build up this Kingdom; and the rule of the Priesthood of the Son of God will extend to every avenue, and will control every department of the labor of those engaged in this great work. This Priesthood must govern and control or else the people will never become perfect.
The Bishops are the class whose labors are more arduous and tedious, more patience-wearing, faith-requiring and love-abounding than any other elders in Israel. No other class of elders require the same amount of wisdom, grace, and the power of God to dictate the affairs of His Zion upon the earth as the class called bishops; and what will be good for the bishops will be good for the people over whom they preside.
It has been said to us and scripture has been quoted, that “a bishop should be blameless.” He should be in all things; he should know how to preserve himself in all integrity before the Lord, in the honesty of his intentions and in the spirit of meekness. If there is any difference among the elders of Israel, I am not prepared to say there is, but if there is, he who is called to act in the office of a bishop should be more perfect than any others; but every creature who has named the name of our Father in Heaven should seek continually to live according to the dictates of the Holy Spirit and in the enjoyment of the light, wisdom and intelligence which proceed from Him. To do this according to the mind and will of God, requires the whole heart, the whole being, the whole man; as Jesus has said: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, and all thy mind and with all thy strength.”
All who hold the Priesthood of the Son of God should devote themselves entirely to magnifying their calling; no matter how seemingly insignificant that calling may be, it requires every effort of which a person is capable. If persons be only lay members in the Church and Kingdom of God, without any particular ordination, endowment, anointing or sealing, it requires their undivided energies, even then, to magnify their membership in the Church and their being here on this earth before the God of Heaven. It requires every sincere effort and every honest labor to fill up the measure of their creation here on the earth, and to secure eternal life in the celestial Kingdom of God.
The scriptures say that where much is given much will be required. This saying is as true of our day as of that in which it was written, and all persons, in the final reckoning, will learn the fact that they will have to give an account for every blessing that has been bestowed upon them: of all the knowledge, wisdom, light, intelligence and worldly means they have possessed, and also of their standing, and their conduct in their various callings. I do not know of any office more responsible than that of a Bishop.
A great many persons have supposed that, after being honest and sincere enough to repent of their sins, and to be baptized for the remission of them; and humble enough to obtain the spirit of God, that the battle is over, that the victory is won and that eternal life, and glory are theirs. All find themselves mistaken in the end. It is true that faith in God and in His Son Jesus Christ, and obedience to the ordinances of the gospel of life and salvation are required; but in addition to all this, we should be governed, guided and controlled by the principles of that gospel and by the priesthood of the Son of God in all our labors, business transactions and acts through our entire lives. Can we, as Latter-day Saints, understand this? If we do not now, the time will come when we shall have to do so. The question often arises:
“What has a Bishop to do with the members of his Ward in buying farms, cultivating the ground, keeping a herd, raising stock or grain, in dealing in merchandize, in the pursuit of mechanical labor, or in the arts and sciences?”
A person says:
“What has my bishop to do with me, if I am disposed to traffic and trade and get gain in this, or any other city?”
I merely answer the question, very briefly, he has everything to do with you and me. This may be a strange saying, even to many called Latter-day Saints. There are men and women in the church who have studied the priesthood and its effects until they can understand the economy of God, and His providences to His children; but take the masses of the Latter-day Saints and they are ignorant of them.
If we had Brother Heber C. Kimball here he would explain it this way: We have had clay in the mill for nearly forty years, grinding, grinding, grinding bringing it out and working it on the table, and if there is anything on it that should not be, we are ready to cut it out, then mould the remainder, heat it and make vessels of it; or if it is not prepared, and some little things are still wanting, it is thrown back into the mill and ground over again. Besides this, we are all the time digging in the mountains and bringing in new clay in our carts and wagons, and we fling the new clay into the same mill and keep on grinding the new with the old until it is prepared to mould into vessels of honor unto God. This is the way Brother Heber would have explained it.
A word now to the newcomer. We have brought several thousand here this year. Some have come with their own means; but a good many have been assisted. What is the idea of many of these newcomers? Simply this: I have got home to Zion, I am about to see where I can get work. They inquire around what does a plasterer get a day? Twenty dollars. What does a paper-hanger make? Twenty-five dollars. What does a common mason get a day for laying rock, brick or adobies? Oh, he certainly wants ten dollars a day. “Well,” says the newcomer, “I do not want anybody to know that I used to work for five, ten, eighteen, or twenty shillings per week, for I want to make my five or ten dollars a day now. Where can I get it? Where can I do the best?” This is the chief concern with many, and their minds are on the stretch to make means. Do such persons think of Zion? No, Zion will take care of herself, the King of Zion owns the whole world, and “if I can go,” say they, “to work and get rich, that is all I want.” Every such mind leaps forth into an unknown sea, and the first thing its possessor will know, he has no faith left in the gospel, and this is the cause of the “isms,” schisms, dreams, imaginations and apostasy that abound.
The whole business that the Latter-day Saints have to look after is the building up of Zion on the earth; no matter whether they came here twenty-two years ago or are newcomers; whether they are just baptized or have been in the Church for years. Your labor is to build up the Kingdom of God. Says a man: “I am not ordained.” That makes no difference. Are you a member of the Kingdom? “Yes.” Well, we want all the men and women in the Church to spend their whole time in building up Zion, saith the Lord Almighty. We have no time, then, to look out for speculation. Sometimes, to illustrate, I have referred to myself. I expect I was about as poor a man as ever gathered with the Saints. The little property I had when I came into the Church I gave to my friends, and I went preaching the gospel everywhere I could until I was called home to the gathering place, and was as poor as any man ever need to be. The first inquiry of mine to the prophet was “What can I do to build up Zion?” The prophet had told us never to spend another day to build up on outside city, or a city of the world; for the business of the Latter-day Saints was to build up the Zion. When I inquired for work I found plenty who wanted to get work done; but they had nothing to pay for it. The word was, “we can hire you but we cannot pay you the first dollar or sixpence.” I did not ask, what can you pay me, but “where is the work that wants to be done? I am here to do it.”
Pardon me for this digression; it is just as good an illustration as I can give. I have worked for Zion from that day to this, instead of working for myself. God has given me the means I possess, for I have never sought it. I have paid all attention to the work that the Lord has called me to, and the Lord has made me rich through being obedient in all things instead of half-hearted in His cause.
Let the inquiry be, with the newcomers, instead of what can I get a day for this or that job, what do you want me to do to build up Zion, and let wages, money and means be an after consideration and trust in God if you want to get rich. If you set your hearts on riches you will not obtain them; but if you set your hearts on Zion and on Zion alone, sooner or later you will be rich. This is to the newcomer. An elder of Israel may say, “look here my brother, have you some work you want done? I think you are preaching to get your work done.” Yes; the work I want you to do is to build up Zion. I want you to go and offer your services, without wages, not to me or to any one in particular; but when you are willing to build up Zion, it proves that your heart is in the work. You will then show whether your heart is for God or for gain. I want to hear every elder in Israel, every Latter-day Saint, when gathered, say “Brother Brigham, Brother George, and Brother Daniel, or any other in authority, if you want any work done I am here to do it, no matter about the pay, I guess I can get something to eat if the rest have any.”
Is this the priesthood? It is the result of the priesthood. Every man who loves the priesthood of the Son of God and the building up of Zion does not set his mind on worldly gain. “How do you know,” says one? I know by experience, and that is just as good evidence as I want in my Court. When a person knows by experience he knows it just as it is. “Well what shall we do?” say the old clay and the new clay, the newcomer and those who have been here for years? Go to your bishops and tell them you are here to build up Zion and you want to know how to accomplish most effectually the desires of your hearts. Tell them you have been here and have gained experience, and say, “Now what can we do to build up Zion?” You may possibly go to a bishop who has so much worldly care on his mind, and who is so anxious to get rich, that he cannot exactly dictate you, and he may stand awhile and finally say, “Well, I guess I don’t know what to say.” When you come across such a bishop, know that he is not in the line of his duty. He is one of those men who look after earthly gain instead of after the welfare of Zion. That bishop says, “The burden of building up the Kingdom of God is on the Presidency and the Twelve and those missionaries who have been called to labor in the vineyard. I have nothing to do with it.” I want to say this to the bishops, if you do not devote your whole time and labor to the regulation and dictation of the affairs of your wards, in the end, the honor and power of that priesthood, which has been conferred upon you, will be taken from you and given to another. I want you to hear this. Oh, ye bishops of Israel! I have already said that bishop’s require a great amount of patience; this is true. They also require a great amount of wisdom to magnify their holy calling. I will ask a question: Did you ever, when you were honest, and sincere, go to the Father and ask for knowledge, in the name of Jesus Christ, without receiving the light you needed? I can answer the question for you—you never did.
What is the duty of the bishops? If they act as presidents as well as bishops of their Wards they should take charge of, and direct the temporal and spiritual labors of every member of their respective Wards. Do they do it? No, they do not. “Well,” says a bishop, “I would be willing to dictate if the people were willing that I should dictate them.” I will say to the bishops that if you wish to be successful in dictating and managing your Wards, in all their affairs, in every good word and work, you must lead out yourselves, and set the example. When a bishop is called to dictate and direct home-manufactures and other interests of the ward, he should lead out, and have his own family manufacture their own hats, bonnets and clothing. Perhaps they may say to the First Presidency, “Do your families do these things?" I will acknowledge that they do not. What is to be done? I do not know but that we shall have to make a Ward by ourselves and introduce home-manufacture and invite all to join us who will covenant to do the same. If I were too close or exacting with my wives they might leave me, and I should be very sorry for that, but perhaps I should be better without them than with them if they would not hearken to me. Of this I leave Israel to judge. I can say, for myself, I would rather be in these mountains with two or three hundred good elders to contend against the prejudices of the whole world, than to have a million who were half hearted. Like Gideon, when going against the Midianites, I should prefer the few, who would lap water like a dog, if they were the right kind, than millions of any other kind. We could do more, do it faster, and do it better than we could with multitudes of the wicked, or of those who were half-hearted in observing the precepts of the Lord.
The question may be asked, is this included in the priesthood? Yes, it is; this is the effect of the priesthood. The priesthood of the Son of God is eternal. It fills immensity and governs all things. This priesthood has been revealed from heaven, to the children of men, by the Almighty, though in a small degree, and its effects are beginning to manifest themselves.
What is the greatest miracle that can be wrought before God, our Savior, angels, the inhabitants of the earth or the inhabitants of the infernal regions? Is it raising the dead or healing the sick? No, it is not. It is in bringing a people to a strict obedience to the rule of the priesthood. This is the greatest of all miracles and the greatest testimony to God, to all the heavenly host, to the devils in hell and to the inhabitants of the earth that the Latter-day Saints are the people of God. The greatest miracle that can be wrought on the face of the earth is for the power of the priesthood to make the people one, and this tremendous labor devolves in a great measure upon the home ministry, which includes the bishops, priests, teachers and deacons. By virtue of their high priesthood bishops act as Presidents in their Wards as well as in the bishopric; but if we had the literal descendants of Aaron to act as bishops we should then be under the necessity of appointing high priests to preside in the Wards and settlements. I am ready to help them, and am doing it all the time. The First Presidency are co-workers with you, in God, to sanctify the whole people and bring them to a knowledge of the truth, and to reveal to them the mind and will of God, and to lead them along step by step until the officers of this people officiate commendably before the heavens.
Some may say “If the Presidency does not set the example how can we follow?” We shall, if it is absolutely necessary, take another step in this direction, and call upon the elders of Israel to know who will build up Zion, and no other kingdom or influence on the face of the earth. This would draw the line, and this book, (the Bible) says the kingdom of God in the latter days, is to be like a net cast into the sea, which would gather of all kinds,--good and bad. This net is now circumscribing the whole world, and we expect the good and bad will be gathered together, and it is not exactly time yet to draw this line of distinction between those who are wholly devoted to the kingdom of God, and those who are devoted to it only in part. If we were to draw this line now it would not be according to the design of Heaven. The Elders of Israel are casting the good seed of the word of God among the people, and that that does not fall among the rocks and become parched, or dried up, or choked, takes root and brings forth, some thirty, some sixty and some an hundred fold. There are a great many tares in this field. What shall we do, pull up the tares? No, if we do, we shall pull up some of the wheat, so we must let them grow together until the time of separation comes. When men apostatize from the church, we must, of course, cut them off; but when they are striving to do right, we must bear with them.
The great work of going to all the world to tell the people what to do is for the Presidency and the Twelve. When we gather together, we appoint Bishops and Presidents. What for? For the perfecting of the Saints, for the work of the ministry and the edifying of the body of Christ until we all come to the unity of the faith. You all know that, from first to last, I have found a great deal of fault with the bishops. I do not know that I ever found fault with or chastened them more than they deserved; and we can find fault with the rest of the people with the same propriety that we can with the bishops.
To explain the facts as they are in this Priesthood—let the people of any Ward be united in God to build up His Kingdom on the earth, and they have a bishop who is dilatory, slothful, negligent, lazy and destitute of the spirit of his office, if the members of that Ward will be united in their faith and works as one man, they will remove this bishop out of the way so quickly that they will hardly know how it is done. This is the privilege of the people, so there is something required of them as well as of the bishops. They are not to sit down and say the bishop will dictate me; the bishops are not to sit down and say the Twelve will dictate us; the Twelve are not to sit down and say the First Presidency is to dictate us, and the First Presidency cannot sit down and say, let the Lord do it; but, as one man, they should all reach forth, in the power and strength of God, to build up His Kingdom and overcome the power of Satan on the earth.
A few words more to the bishops; and I wish them to hearken and give ear to this: In all your dealing, doing, counselling and sitting in judgment in your Wards, it is your imperative duty, and is required of you by the authorities of this Kingdom, by God and angels, to have enough of the Spirit of the Lord to enable you to judge righteously and to give judgment to each and every one without a feeling of partiality one way or the other; and when you have chastened a man let your feelings towards him to be just the same as before, and live, continually, so that you can chasten a child, a family or your entire Ward without any feeling of animosity. If you do not live in this way you live beneath your calling and duty. I want you to lend your ears to this. From this time forth I never want to have anybody come to me and say, a bishop, presiding officer or high council has decided partially or in a one-sided manner. All who sit to preside or judge should hear both sides of the question—listen diligently, learn everything, then, if you have the Spirit of the Lord you can judge righteously. If the bishops will take this course they will have influence in their Wards. Sometimes a bishop will complain of having no influence. When such is the case, it is because he lives beneath his privileges, and not because God is negligent. All such bishops live so that the justice, judgment, loving kindness and mercy of God cannot get to their hearts, or they would be filled with the spirit of revelation, knowledge, wisdom, judgment and decision and they would judge righteous judgment.
These remarks are not only applicable to Bishops but to Presidents, High Councillors and all who sit in judgment in the midst of Israel. Live so that you can judge by the revelations of the Lord Jesus, then you will render righteous judgments, the wicked will not have power to contend against you, the innocent will be satisfied and justified, and will rejoice in the midst of Israel.
I will now go a little further with my remarks. If I live upon the earth until the Latter-day Saints walk up to their duties and privileges I shall see the time when I can say to a Bishop, we want this canal dug, we want that field made, or that factory built in your Ward; or we want your Ward to have so many sheep, or so many cattle, or to raise so much sugarcane, or so much flax or hemp; make this railroad, build your schoolhouse or meetinghouse; go to work on the Temple or Tabernacle, improve here or improve there and give to the poor so that none need go hungry; and it will only have to be said to be done, and done promptly; there will be no more words about it. If I live in the flesh to see this people as they ought to be, I shall see all this and much more.
I frequently think of a little circumstance that has transpired this season, in building our railroad from Ogden to this city. All who know anything about my work on the Union Pacific road, know that the money for doing that work has not yet been paid. We are getting iron in lieu of money, and we are going to place it where it will do us good. The grading on our home-line is very light, and is being done chiefly by the Wards lying between this city and the Central road. Brother West took hold and did manfully and well. A great many individuals have run to the Superintendent asking for a job here or there, and requesting this or that for their pay. When we came to Kaysville, Bishop Christopher Layton said “I and my Ward will do so much of the work,” and from the time the work commenced until the present, our Superintendent tells me that no member of that Ward has said one word about it. They said they would do so much and they have done it. This is the only Ward in Israel that I know of that has done as they were counseled. What is the cause of this? Is it because Brother Layton is peculiarly adapted for acquiring influence? I do not know that is it; but he takes the right course and leads out. He is honest, upright, merciful and forgiving, and his loving-kindness is extended to all. He knows what to do; he is a good business man. He says we will do so and so, and there is not a word said about it by any member of his Ward. I will give him the praise of this.
There are many of our Elders who do not apply their minds to the building up of Zion; it is all self,--my little self. I have my circle, and I can not walk out of it. Instead of their minds expanding and reaching over, they are contracting. Again to the Bishops, there are some of them who do not treat the members of their Wards like the members of one family, they are treated like strangers, who, in their business transactions, mean to cheat each other.
I expect to live to see the time when men will cease being so greedy. I am pretty well convinced that our Co-operative system here, in our wholesale store, touches our merchants to the quick; I am convinced that some of them are so sore that if you were to lay the weight of your finger on them it would hurt them. Many of them, however, have done well in yielding up their former system of carrying on the business; yet there are those who, if they could, would grab up the means to-day, every dime of it, and make the people pay twenty-five or thirty cents for a yard of calico. The movement now inaugurated amongst us for the destruction of monopoly, although working so advantageously, is not something that has been got up in a day or a year. I have been striving for it ever since I have been in these valleys, and during the whole of the time have labored, toiled, preached, guided and counselled for its accomplishment.
I have said many times that I can tell any people, if they will follow my counsel, how to get rich. I have been telling you how to do so this afternoon. If you will build up Zion, you will get rich. If some of our merchants had had their way for the past six or eight months, they would have drawn from the means of the Latter-day Saints living in these mountains from five to eight hundred thousand dollars, which they now have to dispose of in some other way; through the mercies of God and the teachings of His servants this amount has been saved to the people. But who knows or thinks about it? Very few ever give a thought to it. This shows the ignorance of the people, in not giving credit to where it belongs. I recollect hearing the Prophet Joseph say, many times in his day, that no greater sin was ever committed on this earth than the sin of ingratitude, except the shedding of innocent blood.
If the bishops would lead out in all things, a great many of the people would follow them in every good word and work, and there would be a good many who would not follow them. Well, let the wheat and the tares grow together,--the murderer, slanderer, adulterer and thief with the best that live on the face of the earth. We have to submit to it until the people learn better.
I repeat that if the bishops should lead out in every good work and work,--if they were prepared to do so, the people are not all prepared to go with them; but many would. The bishops are far behind, however, in their duties and callings as well as the rest of us. They must wake up and lead out, and have influence enough over their Wards to go and do as they are told. You will hear a bishop say, occasionally: “The First Presidency has told my Ward to do so and so, and I suppose we must go to and do it because they have said so.” I suppose no such thing, and the bishop who looks at is in this light is full of darkness, and we want any men who have acted on that principle to cease doing so, or give up papers and cease holding the bishopric. You have not got light and knowledge; you are not pulling on the right thread, and do not understand your business and calling. When required by the First Presidency to perform any work, instead of doing it because they tell you to do it, do it because your minds are open and quick, and the spirit of truth manifests to you that that is what should be done. Do it because it ought to be done, and not because anybody says so. Is not this correct? It is, and every Saint knows it, and we should all live so that we may enjoy the revelations of the Holy Spirit, then we should understand things past, present and to come, for it is the office of the Holy Ghost to reveal these things to the minds of those who possess it, and to bring all things to their remembrance that are necessary for them to understand.
Bishops, never do another thing because anybody says, “do it.” When you do as you are required, let it be because you are prompted and dictated by the Holy Ghost and the revelations of the Lord Jesus Christ. Although many men live, not possessing the full amount of inspiration they might enjoy, they will say “brethren, we never knew you to be mistaken; taking your counsel has always proved the best for us.” I say to the elders of Israel when you are counseled to take a certain course, or to do certain things, act in accordance with that counsel. If you do not see it exactly, go to with your might until the revelations of God reveal it to you. You can all do as much as Colonel Little did on one occasion, when Marshal of the city. He was told to do a certain thing. Said he, “I know it is true, but I do not believe a word of it.” He could not believe it, reach it and grasp the spirit of it, and say, yes, I can see the result of it; but his judgement said, “I know it is right.”
Now brethren, bishops, when we ask you to do anything, no matter what it is, go to and do it, for the simple reason that we never ask you to do anything only what you ought to do, and, we are at the defiance of the inhabitants of the earth or the regions below to prove to the contrary. If you have not enough of the spirit of God to see its propriety and to understand all the workings of it, and to know its utility, go to with your might, with faith in God, until you get the revelation of Jesus upon you, then you will know for yourselves.
I have only said a little; I should like to say more to the brethren and sisters, but I shall defer my remarks to a future occasion. God bless you. Amen.
Brother Fishburn's Choir sang "Pray for the peace of Deseret."
delivered an instructive and interesting discourse upon the nature and duties pertaining to the office of a Bishop, the nature and effects of the Holy Priesthood, home manufacture, co-operation and kindred subject of importance. The discourse will appear in the columns of the News within a few days.
Discourse
By President Brigham Young, delivered in the New Tabernacle, Oct. 10th, 1869. Reported by David W. Evans.
I hope I shall be able to speak to the congregation so that they will hear me; to do so, the people must cease whispering, or making any noise with their feet, and they must pay close attention. I desire the prayers of the Saints to assist me, to give me strength and wisdom so that I may say a few things which shall be profitable to them and myself.
We have not called the bishops together to instruct them since the commencement of this Conference. I wish to say a few words to them as a body of men who are set to preside, guide and dictate in temporal affairs. While we are partaking of the bread and witnessing to God the Father that we always remember His Son Jesus Christ, let us draw in our hearts to worship Him in truth, acknowledge Him in sincerity and believe on him with all our hearts, so that we may have the spirit of charity in our bosoms, which will lead us to forgive one another our trespasses that we may be forgiven. Let us endeavor to do this on the present occasion and on all others when the sacrament is administered.
In my remarks to the Bishops, I expect and hope and trust and pray that they will be equally instructive to the Saints composing the wards over which the Bishops preside; for they, equally with the Bishops, are engaged in building up the kingdom of God on the earth. The business or labor assigned to the Latter-day Saints in this, the dispensation of the fullness of times,--the time of times,--in building up the kingdom of God, requires a great deal of knowledge from God. The scanty history or sketches that we possess in the sayings of the prophets and of Jesus and the Apostles give but a very faint idea with regard to the building up of Zion on the earth; and without the revelations of Jesus to His people who are called to perform this work, they would be altogether useless. It would be labor in vain for any people to rely for guidance upon these alone in establishing the kingdom and laws of God upon the earth, gathering the honest in heart from the nations, gathering home and protecting the House of Israel and preparing the way for the coming of the Son of Man. This great work must be dictated, guided, and directed, day by day, by the revelations of the Lord Jesus, by the Father, an angel, or by some messenger that God shall see fit to send to the people. It is useless for any people to attempt to accomplish this work without the Priesthood.
The Priesthood of the Son of God is from everlasting to everlasting; it is without beginning of days or end of years, or time. It is without father, without mother, without descent; it is the power by which the worlds are and were created, and the power by which they are now held in existence, and by which all that are yet to come will be organized, governed, controlled and sustained. This Priesthood must come to the children of men, in order for them to understand the modus operandi of establishing the Kingdom of God upon the earth. This Priesthood must govern and control the people who undertake to build up this Kingdom; and the rule of the Priesthood of the Son of God will extend to every avenue, and will control every department of the labor of those engaged in this great work. This Priesthood must govern and control or else the people will never become perfect.
The Bishops are the class whose labors are more arduous and tedious, more patience-wearing, faith-requiring and love-abounding than any other elders in Israel. No other class of elders require the same amount of wisdom, grace, and the power of God to dictate the affairs of His Zion upon the earth as the class called bishops; and what will be good for the bishops will be good for the people over whom they preside.
It has been said to us and scripture has been quoted, that “a bishop should be blameless.” He should be in all things; he should know how to preserve himself in all integrity before the Lord, in the honesty of his intentions and in the spirit of meekness. If there is any difference among the elders of Israel, I am not prepared to say there is, but if there is, he who is called to act in the office of a bishop should be more perfect than any others; but every creature who has named the name of our Father in Heaven should seek continually to live according to the dictates of the Holy Spirit and in the enjoyment of the light, wisdom and intelligence which proceed from Him. To do this according to the mind and will of God, requires the whole heart, the whole being, the whole man; as Jesus has said: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, and all thy mind and with all thy strength.”
All who hold the Priesthood of the Son of God should devote themselves entirely to magnifying their calling; no matter how seemingly insignificant that calling may be, it requires every effort of which a person is capable. If persons be only lay members in the Church and Kingdom of God, without any particular ordination, endowment, anointing or sealing, it requires their undivided energies, even then, to magnify their membership in the Church and their being here on this earth before the God of Heaven. It requires every sincere effort and every honest labor to fill up the measure of their creation here on the earth, and to secure eternal life in the celestial Kingdom of God.
The scriptures say that where much is given much will be required. This saying is as true of our day as of that in which it was written, and all persons, in the final reckoning, will learn the fact that they will have to give an account for every blessing that has been bestowed upon them: of all the knowledge, wisdom, light, intelligence and worldly means they have possessed, and also of their standing, and their conduct in their various callings. I do not know of any office more responsible than that of a Bishop.
A great many persons have supposed that, after being honest and sincere enough to repent of their sins, and to be baptized for the remission of them; and humble enough to obtain the spirit of God, that the battle is over, that the victory is won and that eternal life, and glory are theirs. All find themselves mistaken in the end. It is true that faith in God and in His Son Jesus Christ, and obedience to the ordinances of the gospel of life and salvation are required; but in addition to all this, we should be governed, guided and controlled by the principles of that gospel and by the priesthood of the Son of God in all our labors, business transactions and acts through our entire lives. Can we, as Latter-day Saints, understand this? If we do not now, the time will come when we shall have to do so. The question often arises:
“What has a Bishop to do with the members of his Ward in buying farms, cultivating the ground, keeping a herd, raising stock or grain, in dealing in merchandize, in the pursuit of mechanical labor, or in the arts and sciences?”
A person says:
“What has my bishop to do with me, if I am disposed to traffic and trade and get gain in this, or any other city?”
I merely answer the question, very briefly, he has everything to do with you and me. This may be a strange saying, even to many called Latter-day Saints. There are men and women in the church who have studied the priesthood and its effects until they can understand the economy of God, and His providences to His children; but take the masses of the Latter-day Saints and they are ignorant of them.
If we had Brother Heber C. Kimball here he would explain it this way: We have had clay in the mill for nearly forty years, grinding, grinding, grinding bringing it out and working it on the table, and if there is anything on it that should not be, we are ready to cut it out, then mould the remainder, heat it and make vessels of it; or if it is not prepared, and some little things are still wanting, it is thrown back into the mill and ground over again. Besides this, we are all the time digging in the mountains and bringing in new clay in our carts and wagons, and we fling the new clay into the same mill and keep on grinding the new with the old until it is prepared to mould into vessels of honor unto God. This is the way Brother Heber would have explained it.
A word now to the newcomer. We have brought several thousand here this year. Some have come with their own means; but a good many have been assisted. What is the idea of many of these newcomers? Simply this: I have got home to Zion, I am about to see where I can get work. They inquire around what does a plasterer get a day? Twenty dollars. What does a paper-hanger make? Twenty-five dollars. What does a common mason get a day for laying rock, brick or adobies? Oh, he certainly wants ten dollars a day. “Well,” says the newcomer, “I do not want anybody to know that I used to work for five, ten, eighteen, or twenty shillings per week, for I want to make my five or ten dollars a day now. Where can I get it? Where can I do the best?” This is the chief concern with many, and their minds are on the stretch to make means. Do such persons think of Zion? No, Zion will take care of herself, the King of Zion owns the whole world, and “if I can go,” say they, “to work and get rich, that is all I want.” Every such mind leaps forth into an unknown sea, and the first thing its possessor will know, he has no faith left in the gospel, and this is the cause of the “isms,” schisms, dreams, imaginations and apostasy that abound.
The whole business that the Latter-day Saints have to look after is the building up of Zion on the earth; no matter whether they came here twenty-two years ago or are newcomers; whether they are just baptized or have been in the Church for years. Your labor is to build up the Kingdom of God. Says a man: “I am not ordained.” That makes no difference. Are you a member of the Kingdom? “Yes.” Well, we want all the men and women in the Church to spend their whole time in building up Zion, saith the Lord Almighty. We have no time, then, to look out for speculation. Sometimes, to illustrate, I have referred to myself. I expect I was about as poor a man as ever gathered with the Saints. The little property I had when I came into the Church I gave to my friends, and I went preaching the gospel everywhere I could until I was called home to the gathering place, and was as poor as any man ever need to be. The first inquiry of mine to the prophet was “What can I do to build up Zion?” The prophet had told us never to spend another day to build up on outside city, or a city of the world; for the business of the Latter-day Saints was to build up the Zion. When I inquired for work I found plenty who wanted to get work done; but they had nothing to pay for it. The word was, “we can hire you but we cannot pay you the first dollar or sixpence.” I did not ask, what can you pay me, but “where is the work that wants to be done? I am here to do it.”
Pardon me for this digression; it is just as good an illustration as I can give. I have worked for Zion from that day to this, instead of working for myself. God has given me the means I possess, for I have never sought it. I have paid all attention to the work that the Lord has called me to, and the Lord has made me rich through being obedient in all things instead of half-hearted in His cause.
Let the inquiry be, with the newcomers, instead of what can I get a day for this or that job, what do you want me to do to build up Zion, and let wages, money and means be an after consideration and trust in God if you want to get rich. If you set your hearts on riches you will not obtain them; but if you set your hearts on Zion and on Zion alone, sooner or later you will be rich. This is to the newcomer. An elder of Israel may say, “look here my brother, have you some work you want done? I think you are preaching to get your work done.” Yes; the work I want you to do is to build up Zion. I want you to go and offer your services, without wages, not to me or to any one in particular; but when you are willing to build up Zion, it proves that your heart is in the work. You will then show whether your heart is for God or for gain. I want to hear every elder in Israel, every Latter-day Saint, when gathered, say “Brother Brigham, Brother George, and Brother Daniel, or any other in authority, if you want any work done I am here to do it, no matter about the pay, I guess I can get something to eat if the rest have any.”
Is this the priesthood? It is the result of the priesthood. Every man who loves the priesthood of the Son of God and the building up of Zion does not set his mind on worldly gain. “How do you know,” says one? I know by experience, and that is just as good evidence as I want in my Court. When a person knows by experience he knows it just as it is. “Well what shall we do?” say the old clay and the new clay, the newcomer and those who have been here for years? Go to your bishops and tell them you are here to build up Zion and you want to know how to accomplish most effectually the desires of your hearts. Tell them you have been here and have gained experience, and say, “Now what can we do to build up Zion?” You may possibly go to a bishop who has so much worldly care on his mind, and who is so anxious to get rich, that he cannot exactly dictate you, and he may stand awhile and finally say, “Well, I guess I don’t know what to say.” When you come across such a bishop, know that he is not in the line of his duty. He is one of those men who look after earthly gain instead of after the welfare of Zion. That bishop says, “The burden of building up the Kingdom of God is on the Presidency and the Twelve and those missionaries who have been called to labor in the vineyard. I have nothing to do with it.” I want to say this to the bishops, if you do not devote your whole time and labor to the regulation and dictation of the affairs of your wards, in the end, the honor and power of that priesthood, which has been conferred upon you, will be taken from you and given to another. I want you to hear this. Oh, ye bishops of Israel! I have already said that bishop’s require a great amount of patience; this is true. They also require a great amount of wisdom to magnify their holy calling. I will ask a question: Did you ever, when you were honest, and sincere, go to the Father and ask for knowledge, in the name of Jesus Christ, without receiving the light you needed? I can answer the question for you—you never did.
What is the duty of the bishops? If they act as presidents as well as bishops of their Wards they should take charge of, and direct the temporal and spiritual labors of every member of their respective Wards. Do they do it? No, they do not. “Well,” says a bishop, “I would be willing to dictate if the people were willing that I should dictate them.” I will say to the bishops that if you wish to be successful in dictating and managing your Wards, in all their affairs, in every good word and work, you must lead out yourselves, and set the example. When a bishop is called to dictate and direct home-manufactures and other interests of the ward, he should lead out, and have his own family manufacture their own hats, bonnets and clothing. Perhaps they may say to the First Presidency, “Do your families do these things?" I will acknowledge that they do not. What is to be done? I do not know but that we shall have to make a Ward by ourselves and introduce home-manufacture and invite all to join us who will covenant to do the same. If I were too close or exacting with my wives they might leave me, and I should be very sorry for that, but perhaps I should be better without them than with them if they would not hearken to me. Of this I leave Israel to judge. I can say, for myself, I would rather be in these mountains with two or three hundred good elders to contend against the prejudices of the whole world, than to have a million who were half hearted. Like Gideon, when going against the Midianites, I should prefer the few, who would lap water like a dog, if they were the right kind, than millions of any other kind. We could do more, do it faster, and do it better than we could with multitudes of the wicked, or of those who were half-hearted in observing the precepts of the Lord.
The question may be asked, is this included in the priesthood? Yes, it is; this is the effect of the priesthood. The priesthood of the Son of God is eternal. It fills immensity and governs all things. This priesthood has been revealed from heaven, to the children of men, by the Almighty, though in a small degree, and its effects are beginning to manifest themselves.
What is the greatest miracle that can be wrought before God, our Savior, angels, the inhabitants of the earth or the inhabitants of the infernal regions? Is it raising the dead or healing the sick? No, it is not. It is in bringing a people to a strict obedience to the rule of the priesthood. This is the greatest of all miracles and the greatest testimony to God, to all the heavenly host, to the devils in hell and to the inhabitants of the earth that the Latter-day Saints are the people of God. The greatest miracle that can be wrought on the face of the earth is for the power of the priesthood to make the people one, and this tremendous labor devolves in a great measure upon the home ministry, which includes the bishops, priests, teachers and deacons. By virtue of their high priesthood bishops act as Presidents in their Wards as well as in the bishopric; but if we had the literal descendants of Aaron to act as bishops we should then be under the necessity of appointing high priests to preside in the Wards and settlements. I am ready to help them, and am doing it all the time. The First Presidency are co-workers with you, in God, to sanctify the whole people and bring them to a knowledge of the truth, and to reveal to them the mind and will of God, and to lead them along step by step until the officers of this people officiate commendably before the heavens.
Some may say “If the Presidency does not set the example how can we follow?” We shall, if it is absolutely necessary, take another step in this direction, and call upon the elders of Israel to know who will build up Zion, and no other kingdom or influence on the face of the earth. This would draw the line, and this book, (the Bible) says the kingdom of God in the latter days, is to be like a net cast into the sea, which would gather of all kinds,--good and bad. This net is now circumscribing the whole world, and we expect the good and bad will be gathered together, and it is not exactly time yet to draw this line of distinction between those who are wholly devoted to the kingdom of God, and those who are devoted to it only in part. If we were to draw this line now it would not be according to the design of Heaven. The Elders of Israel are casting the good seed of the word of God among the people, and that that does not fall among the rocks and become parched, or dried up, or choked, takes root and brings forth, some thirty, some sixty and some an hundred fold. There are a great many tares in this field. What shall we do, pull up the tares? No, if we do, we shall pull up some of the wheat, so we must let them grow together until the time of separation comes. When men apostatize from the church, we must, of course, cut them off; but when they are striving to do right, we must bear with them.
The great work of going to all the world to tell the people what to do is for the Presidency and the Twelve. When we gather together, we appoint Bishops and Presidents. What for? For the perfecting of the Saints, for the work of the ministry and the edifying of the body of Christ until we all come to the unity of the faith. You all know that, from first to last, I have found a great deal of fault with the bishops. I do not know that I ever found fault with or chastened them more than they deserved; and we can find fault with the rest of the people with the same propriety that we can with the bishops.
To explain the facts as they are in this Priesthood—let the people of any Ward be united in God to build up His Kingdom on the earth, and they have a bishop who is dilatory, slothful, negligent, lazy and destitute of the spirit of his office, if the members of that Ward will be united in their faith and works as one man, they will remove this bishop out of the way so quickly that they will hardly know how it is done. This is the privilege of the people, so there is something required of them as well as of the bishops. They are not to sit down and say the bishop will dictate me; the bishops are not to sit down and say the Twelve will dictate us; the Twelve are not to sit down and say the First Presidency is to dictate us, and the First Presidency cannot sit down and say, let the Lord do it; but, as one man, they should all reach forth, in the power and strength of God, to build up His Kingdom and overcome the power of Satan on the earth.
A few words more to the bishops; and I wish them to hearken and give ear to this: In all your dealing, doing, counselling and sitting in judgment in your Wards, it is your imperative duty, and is required of you by the authorities of this Kingdom, by God and angels, to have enough of the Spirit of the Lord to enable you to judge righteously and to give judgment to each and every one without a feeling of partiality one way or the other; and when you have chastened a man let your feelings towards him to be just the same as before, and live, continually, so that you can chasten a child, a family or your entire Ward without any feeling of animosity. If you do not live in this way you live beneath your calling and duty. I want you to lend your ears to this. From this time forth I never want to have anybody come to me and say, a bishop, presiding officer or high council has decided partially or in a one-sided manner. All who sit to preside or judge should hear both sides of the question—listen diligently, learn everything, then, if you have the Spirit of the Lord you can judge righteously. If the bishops will take this course they will have influence in their Wards. Sometimes a bishop will complain of having no influence. When such is the case, it is because he lives beneath his privileges, and not because God is negligent. All such bishops live so that the justice, judgment, loving kindness and mercy of God cannot get to their hearts, or they would be filled with the spirit of revelation, knowledge, wisdom, judgment and decision and they would judge righteous judgment.
These remarks are not only applicable to Bishops but to Presidents, High Councillors and all who sit in judgment in the midst of Israel. Live so that you can judge by the revelations of the Lord Jesus, then you will render righteous judgments, the wicked will not have power to contend against you, the innocent will be satisfied and justified, and will rejoice in the midst of Israel.
I will now go a little further with my remarks. If I live upon the earth until the Latter-day Saints walk up to their duties and privileges I shall see the time when I can say to a Bishop, we want this canal dug, we want that field made, or that factory built in your Ward; or we want your Ward to have so many sheep, or so many cattle, or to raise so much sugarcane, or so much flax or hemp; make this railroad, build your schoolhouse or meetinghouse; go to work on the Temple or Tabernacle, improve here or improve there and give to the poor so that none need go hungry; and it will only have to be said to be done, and done promptly; there will be no more words about it. If I live in the flesh to see this people as they ought to be, I shall see all this and much more.
I frequently think of a little circumstance that has transpired this season, in building our railroad from Ogden to this city. All who know anything about my work on the Union Pacific road, know that the money for doing that work has not yet been paid. We are getting iron in lieu of money, and we are going to place it where it will do us good. The grading on our home-line is very light, and is being done chiefly by the Wards lying between this city and the Central road. Brother West took hold and did manfully and well. A great many individuals have run to the Superintendent asking for a job here or there, and requesting this or that for their pay. When we came to Kaysville, Bishop Christopher Layton said “I and my Ward will do so much of the work,” and from the time the work commenced until the present, our Superintendent tells me that no member of that Ward has said one word about it. They said they would do so much and they have done it. This is the only Ward in Israel that I know of that has done as they were counseled. What is the cause of this? Is it because Brother Layton is peculiarly adapted for acquiring influence? I do not know that is it; but he takes the right course and leads out. He is honest, upright, merciful and forgiving, and his loving-kindness is extended to all. He knows what to do; he is a good business man. He says we will do so and so, and there is not a word said about it by any member of his Ward. I will give him the praise of this.
There are many of our Elders who do not apply their minds to the building up of Zion; it is all self,--my little self. I have my circle, and I can not walk out of it. Instead of their minds expanding and reaching over, they are contracting. Again to the Bishops, there are some of them who do not treat the members of their Wards like the members of one family, they are treated like strangers, who, in their business transactions, mean to cheat each other.
I expect to live to see the time when men will cease being so greedy. I am pretty well convinced that our Co-operative system here, in our wholesale store, touches our merchants to the quick; I am convinced that some of them are so sore that if you were to lay the weight of your finger on them it would hurt them. Many of them, however, have done well in yielding up their former system of carrying on the business; yet there are those who, if they could, would grab up the means to-day, every dime of it, and make the people pay twenty-five or thirty cents for a yard of calico. The movement now inaugurated amongst us for the destruction of monopoly, although working so advantageously, is not something that has been got up in a day or a year. I have been striving for it ever since I have been in these valleys, and during the whole of the time have labored, toiled, preached, guided and counselled for its accomplishment.
I have said many times that I can tell any people, if they will follow my counsel, how to get rich. I have been telling you how to do so this afternoon. If you will build up Zion, you will get rich. If some of our merchants had had their way for the past six or eight months, they would have drawn from the means of the Latter-day Saints living in these mountains from five to eight hundred thousand dollars, which they now have to dispose of in some other way; through the mercies of God and the teachings of His servants this amount has been saved to the people. But who knows or thinks about it? Very few ever give a thought to it. This shows the ignorance of the people, in not giving credit to where it belongs. I recollect hearing the Prophet Joseph say, many times in his day, that no greater sin was ever committed on this earth than the sin of ingratitude, except the shedding of innocent blood.
If the bishops would lead out in all things, a great many of the people would follow them in every good word and work, and there would be a good many who would not follow them. Well, let the wheat and the tares grow together,--the murderer, slanderer, adulterer and thief with the best that live on the face of the earth. We have to submit to it until the people learn better.
I repeat that if the bishops should lead out in every good work and work,--if they were prepared to do so, the people are not all prepared to go with them; but many would. The bishops are far behind, however, in their duties and callings as well as the rest of us. They must wake up and lead out, and have influence enough over their Wards to go and do as they are told. You will hear a bishop say, occasionally: “The First Presidency has told my Ward to do so and so, and I suppose we must go to and do it because they have said so.” I suppose no such thing, and the bishop who looks at is in this light is full of darkness, and we want any men who have acted on that principle to cease doing so, or give up papers and cease holding the bishopric. You have not got light and knowledge; you are not pulling on the right thread, and do not understand your business and calling. When required by the First Presidency to perform any work, instead of doing it because they tell you to do it, do it because your minds are open and quick, and the spirit of truth manifests to you that that is what should be done. Do it because it ought to be done, and not because anybody says so. Is not this correct? It is, and every Saint knows it, and we should all live so that we may enjoy the revelations of the Holy Spirit, then we should understand things past, present and to come, for it is the office of the Holy Ghost to reveal these things to the minds of those who possess it, and to bring all things to their remembrance that are necessary for them to understand.
Bishops, never do another thing because anybody says, “do it.” When you do as you are required, let it be because you are prompted and dictated by the Holy Ghost and the revelations of the Lord Jesus Christ. Although many men live, not possessing the full amount of inspiration they might enjoy, they will say “brethren, we never knew you to be mistaken; taking your counsel has always proved the best for us.” I say to the elders of Israel when you are counseled to take a certain course, or to do certain things, act in accordance with that counsel. If you do not see it exactly, go to with your might until the revelations of God reveal it to you. You can all do as much as Colonel Little did on one occasion, when Marshal of the city. He was told to do a certain thing. Said he, “I know it is true, but I do not believe a word of it.” He could not believe it, reach it and grasp the spirit of it, and say, yes, I can see the result of it; but his judgement said, “I know it is right.”
Now brethren, bishops, when we ask you to do anything, no matter what it is, go to and do it, for the simple reason that we never ask you to do anything only what you ought to do, and, we are at the defiance of the inhabitants of the earth or the regions below to prove to the contrary. If you have not enough of the spirit of God to see its propriety and to understand all the workings of it, and to know its utility, go to with your might, with faith in God, until you get the revelation of Jesus upon you, then you will know for yourselves.
I have only said a little; I should like to say more to the brethren and sisters, but I shall defer my remarks to a future occasion. God bless you. Amen.
Brother Fishburn's Choir sang "Pray for the peace of Deseret."
President George A. Smith
addressed the Conference. The Book of Mormon has been translated into the Deseret Alphabet, and the first and second readers are published, suitable for those desirous of learning that Alphabet. It is desirable that the Bishops and others should interest themselves to disseminate a knowledge of those characters. A knowledge of them will result in much good to the present and to future generation.
Silk culture should receive more attention than it has hitherto. The Female Relief Societies would do well to plant out mulberry trees. The Bishops of each ward should see that sufficient broom corn is planted in their wards to supply all the brooms necessary for the use of the people. It is a shame to us that we should be so slow to adopt principles of true economy. Awake to this subject and take the wise counsels of our President. Those in favor of this will raise their right hands. (Here a forest of hands were raised heaven-ward.) May the Lord enable us to carry out our good resolutions. Amen.
addressed the Conference. The Book of Mormon has been translated into the Deseret Alphabet, and the first and second readers are published, suitable for those desirous of learning that Alphabet. It is desirable that the Bishops and others should interest themselves to disseminate a knowledge of those characters. A knowledge of them will result in much good to the present and to future generation.
Silk culture should receive more attention than it has hitherto. The Female Relief Societies would do well to plant out mulberry trees. The Bishops of each ward should see that sufficient broom corn is planted in their wards to supply all the brooms necessary for the use of the people. It is a shame to us that we should be so slow to adopt principles of true economy. Awake to this subject and take the wise counsels of our President. Those in favor of this will raise their right hands. (Here a forest of hands were raised heaven-ward.) May the Lord enable us to carry out our good resolutions. Amen.
President Daniel H. Wells
spoke. The Prophet Joseph at one time published his views concerning government. He advised the abolishment of slavery and the remuneration of the slave owners for the pecuniary loss that would be incurred by the adoption of that policy. The experience of the United States has shown how much misery the nation would have been spared had the advice of the Prophet been taken. This is the case in many instances with ourselves. We often cannot see what would be for our best good until we learn it by bitter experience. We are apt to take our own way in preference to the way pointed out by the Lord through His servants. May God enable us to carry out every righteous principle, is my prayer, in the name of Jesus. Amen.
spoke. The Prophet Joseph at one time published his views concerning government. He advised the abolishment of slavery and the remuneration of the slave owners for the pecuniary loss that would be incurred by the adoption of that policy. The experience of the United States has shown how much misery the nation would have been spared had the advice of the Prophet been taken. This is the case in many instances with ourselves. We often cannot see what would be for our best good until we learn it by bitter experience. We are apt to take our own way in preference to the way pointed out by the Lord through His servants. May God enable us to carry out every righteous principle, is my prayer, in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Elder George Q. Cannon
presented the names of the following brethren to the Conference, they having been called to go on missions:
John Loveless, Payson
Charles H. Oliphant, Eagleville
Thomas R. King, Fillmore
Joseph V. Robinson, Fillmore
Jesse Taylor Jackson, Nephi
Peter C. Wood, Bountiful
Henry Nisonger, Santaquin
Jacob Houtz, Sen., Springville
Hiram Mace, Fillmore
On motion of President Young it was resolved that Conference adjourn until the 6th day of next April at this place.
The Tabernacle choir, joined by the congregation, sang the hymn on page 268, "The Spirit of God like a fire is Burning."
Benediction by President George A. Smith.
John Nicholson,
Clerk of Conference.
presented the names of the following brethren to the Conference, they having been called to go on missions:
John Loveless, Payson
Charles H. Oliphant, Eagleville
Thomas R. King, Fillmore
Joseph V. Robinson, Fillmore
Jesse Taylor Jackson, Nephi
Peter C. Wood, Bountiful
Henry Nisonger, Santaquin
Jacob Houtz, Sen., Springville
Hiram Mace, Fillmore
On motion of President Young it was resolved that Conference adjourn until the 6th day of next April at this place.
The Tabernacle choir, joined by the congregation, sang the hymn on page 268, "The Spirit of God like a fire is Burning."
Benediction by President George A. Smith.
John Nicholson,
Clerk of Conference.