April/May 1870
Hyde, Orson. "Punctual Payment of Debts." Journal of Discourses. Volume 13. May 5, 1870: pg. 363-368.
Pratt, Orson. "Discourse." The Deseret News, April 20, 1870: pg. 125-128. Pratt, Orson. "The Latter-Day Work—Obeying the Commandments." Journal of Discourses. Volume 13. May 5, 1870: pg. 354-363. Smith, George A. "Organization of the Church—Different Glories—God's Work." Journal of Discourses. Volume 13. May 5, 1870: pg. 345-348. Smith, George A. "Home Manufactures—Union in Business Matters." Journal of Discourses. Volume 14. May 6, 1870: pg. 12-15. Taylor, John. "How to Know the Things of God." Journal of Discourses. Volume 13. May 6, 1870: pg. 221-233. The Deseret News. "Fortieth Annual Conference." April 13, 1870: pg. 112. The Deseret News. "Fortieth Annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints." April 13, 1870: pg. 114. The Deseret News. "Fortieth Annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints." May 11, 1870: pg. 160-162. Wells, Daniel H. "The Gospel—Building Up the Kingdom." Journal of Discourses. Volume 13. May 5, 1870: pg. 349-353. Woodruff, Wilford. "The Work of God—Authority of President Young—Keeping the Commandments of God." Journal of Discourses. Volume 14. May 6, 1870: pg. 31-37. Young, Brigham. "Proper Conduct in Meeting." Journal of Discourses. Volume 13. May 5, 1870: pg. 343-345. Young, Brigham. "The Fashions of the World—Making Our Own Clothing & Fashions." Journal of Discourses. Volume 14. May 6, 1870: pg. 15-22. Young, Brigham. "Character and Condition of the Latter-Day Saints—Infidelity—The Atonement—Celestial Marriage." Journal of Discourses. Volume 14. May 8, 1870: pg. 37-45. FORTIETH ANNUAL CONFERENCE President Daniel H. Wells Elder John Taylor Elder Orson Pratt Discourse Elder Wilford Woodruff Elder George Q. Cannon President Daniel H. Wells Fortieth Annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. (May 5) President George A. Smith Organization of the Church—Different Glories—God's Work President Daniel H. Wells The Gospel—Building Up the Kingdom President Brigham Young Proper Conduct in Meeting Thursday, 2 p.m. Elder Orson Hyde Punctual Payment of Debts Elder Orson Pratt The Latter-Day Work—Obeying the Commandments Friday, 10 a.m. (May 6) Elder John Taylor How to Know the Things of God Mission Calls Friday, 2 p.m. President Brigham Young The Fashions of the World—Making Our Own Clothing & Fashions Elder Wilford Woodruff The Work of God—Authority of President Young President George A. Smith Home Manufactures—Union in Business Matters Saturday, 10 a.m. (May 7) Elder George Q. Cannon President Brigham Young Saturday, 2 p.m. President George A. Smith Sustaining of the General Authorities Elder Erastus Snow Elder Lorenzo Snow Elder Joseph Young, Sen. Sunday, 10 a.m. (May 8) President George A. Smith Elder Joseph Young, Sen. Elder Charles C. Rich Elder Franklin D. Richards Mission Calls Elder George Q. Cannon Sunday, 2 p.m. Elder Brigham Young, Jr. Elder Joseph F. Smith President George A. Smith President Brigham Young Character and Condition of the Latter-Day Saints |
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FORTIETH ANNUAL CONFERENCE
Tomorrow, the 6th day of April 1870, is the commencement of the Fortieth Annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In the morning at 10 o'clock the Saints will convene in the Tabernacle, and hold one meeting, when the Conference will adjourn until the 5th of May. This has been deemed the wiser course, owing to the absence, in the southern portion of the Territory, of Presidents Young and Smith; and also on account of the unfinished state of the gallery in the New Tabernacle. By the 5th of next month it is believed that the new gallery will be so far finished as to be ready for use by the public, and twelve thousand persons may then be comfortably seated within the walls of the spacious building. Under such circumstances it is presumed that Conference may be held in comfort, and that none who desire to attend will be under the necessity of staying away, for the lack of comfortable accommodation, as has been the case on many occasions in the past.
The assembling of the General Conference of the Church on this, its fortieth birthday, is more than ordinarily suggestive of thoughts and reflections connected with its history since its establishment in these last days. Since the 6th of April 1830, many are the vicissitudes and trials which, in the providences of our Heavenly Father, His Church and people have been called to pass through. The powers of evil have prevailed to a great extent; true, they have not succeeded in overturning the cause of Jehovah, neither will they, for, Revelation has declared that the Church, now established, shall never be thrown down. But thousands of the Saints and their Prophet and Patriarch have suffered martyrdom at the hands of the wicked and ungodly. For many years past, however, the Saints, in their God-given homes in the Rocky Mountains have been abundantly blessed. The Lord has been with us on the right hand and on the left; He has blessed us in our basket and store, and is fast making of us a great people. But again, in His providences, dark clouds seem to be hovering near, and according to all human appearance, a day of oppression and persecution is at hand. There is a striking difference between the persecution which now threatens and those of the past. Then we suffered at the hands of lawless mobs; now we are threatened with persecution by law. This is a strange anomaly in the 19th century! The most liberal government of the world copying after the bigotry and intolerance of centuries ago, and legislating as to what religious observances men and women shall and shall not believe and practice.
What the result of the present move against the Church of God may be, we cannot say; but of this, we are assured: that in the future, as in the past, every step taken in connection with that church will be overruled by its Great Founder so as to result in the advantage and acceleration of His cause upon the earth. This is the abiding faith of every honest-hearted, faithful Saint of God; and if persecutions and troubles come, we may rest assured that they come because they are needed. The chastenings of our Father, though they may be severe, are prompted by kindness and will be sanctified to the good of His children.
Under these feelings, we hail with pleasure the fortieth birthday of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints!
FORTIETH ANNUAL CONFERENCE of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, April 6, 1870.
According to adjournment of the Conference held on Oct. 6th, 1869, the Saints met in a Conference capacity, this morning at 10 o'clock. The meeting was merely of a preliminary nature; as the Saints had been notified that, in consequence of the absence of Presidents Brigham Young and Geo. A. Smith, and also owing to the present unfinished condition of the gallery in the New Tabernacle, Conference would be re-adjourned until May 5th. The attendance was a large as might have been expected under the circumstances. The heavy snow storm which has prevailed almost without intermission, since yesterday morning, doubtless deterred many from being present who otherwise would have attended.
The postponement of Conference seems to have been opportune, as but few of the Saints from the country settlements could have attended on account of the stormy weather.
On the stand were President Daniel H. Wells, of the First Presidency;
Orson Pratt, Wilford Woodruff, Geo. Q. Cannon and Joseph F. Smith, of the Quorum of the Twelve;
Edwin D. Woolley and Samuel W. Richards, of the Presidency of the High Priests' Quorum;
George B. Wallace, of the Presidency of this Stake of Zion;
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;
John W. Hess, Bishop of Farmington, F. A. Hammond, Bishop of Huntsville, and several other prominent Elders.
Conference was called to order by President Daniel H. Wells.
The Tabernacle choir sang the hymn, commencing "See! all creation join To praise th' eternal God."
Prayer was offered by Elder John Van Cott.
The hymn "The towers of Zion soon shall rise Above the clouds and reach the skies," was sung by the Tabernacle choir.
Tomorrow, the 6th day of April 1870, is the commencement of the Fortieth Annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In the morning at 10 o'clock the Saints will convene in the Tabernacle, and hold one meeting, when the Conference will adjourn until the 5th of May. This has been deemed the wiser course, owing to the absence, in the southern portion of the Territory, of Presidents Young and Smith; and also on account of the unfinished state of the gallery in the New Tabernacle. By the 5th of next month it is believed that the new gallery will be so far finished as to be ready for use by the public, and twelve thousand persons may then be comfortably seated within the walls of the spacious building. Under such circumstances it is presumed that Conference may be held in comfort, and that none who desire to attend will be under the necessity of staying away, for the lack of comfortable accommodation, as has been the case on many occasions in the past.
The assembling of the General Conference of the Church on this, its fortieth birthday, is more than ordinarily suggestive of thoughts and reflections connected with its history since its establishment in these last days. Since the 6th of April 1830, many are the vicissitudes and trials which, in the providences of our Heavenly Father, His Church and people have been called to pass through. The powers of evil have prevailed to a great extent; true, they have not succeeded in overturning the cause of Jehovah, neither will they, for, Revelation has declared that the Church, now established, shall never be thrown down. But thousands of the Saints and their Prophet and Patriarch have suffered martyrdom at the hands of the wicked and ungodly. For many years past, however, the Saints, in their God-given homes in the Rocky Mountains have been abundantly blessed. The Lord has been with us on the right hand and on the left; He has blessed us in our basket and store, and is fast making of us a great people. But again, in His providences, dark clouds seem to be hovering near, and according to all human appearance, a day of oppression and persecution is at hand. There is a striking difference between the persecution which now threatens and those of the past. Then we suffered at the hands of lawless mobs; now we are threatened with persecution by law. This is a strange anomaly in the 19th century! The most liberal government of the world copying after the bigotry and intolerance of centuries ago, and legislating as to what religious observances men and women shall and shall not believe and practice.
What the result of the present move against the Church of God may be, we cannot say; but of this, we are assured: that in the future, as in the past, every step taken in connection with that church will be overruled by its Great Founder so as to result in the advantage and acceleration of His cause upon the earth. This is the abiding faith of every honest-hearted, faithful Saint of God; and if persecutions and troubles come, we may rest assured that they come because they are needed. The chastenings of our Father, though they may be severe, are prompted by kindness and will be sanctified to the good of His children.
Under these feelings, we hail with pleasure the fortieth birthday of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints!
FORTIETH ANNUAL CONFERENCE of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, April 6, 1870.
According to adjournment of the Conference held on Oct. 6th, 1869, the Saints met in a Conference capacity, this morning at 10 o'clock. The meeting was merely of a preliminary nature; as the Saints had been notified that, in consequence of the absence of Presidents Brigham Young and Geo. A. Smith, and also owing to the present unfinished condition of the gallery in the New Tabernacle, Conference would be re-adjourned until May 5th. The attendance was a large as might have been expected under the circumstances. The heavy snow storm which has prevailed almost without intermission, since yesterday morning, doubtless deterred many from being present who otherwise would have attended.
The postponement of Conference seems to have been opportune, as but few of the Saints from the country settlements could have attended on account of the stormy weather.
On the stand were President Daniel H. Wells, of the First Presidency;
Orson Pratt, Wilford Woodruff, Geo. Q. Cannon and Joseph F. Smith, of the Quorum of the Twelve;
Edwin D. Woolley and Samuel W. Richards, of the Presidency of the High Priests' Quorum;
George B. Wallace, of the Presidency of this Stake of Zion;
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;
John W. Hess, Bishop of Farmington, F. A. Hammond, Bishop of Huntsville, and several other prominent Elders.
Conference was called to order by President Daniel H. Wells.
The Tabernacle choir sang the hymn, commencing "See! all creation join To praise th' eternal God."
Prayer was offered by Elder John Van Cott.
The hymn "The towers of Zion soon shall rise Above the clouds and reach the skies," was sung by the Tabernacle choir.
President Daniel H. Wells
said we have convened in a Conference capacity this morning, but we do not propose to transact the business that is usually attended to on such occasions, as those matters will be left over until the re-convening of Conference on the 5th of May. President Young and party were at Tokerville last night, all well.
said we have convened in a Conference capacity this morning, but we do not propose to transact the business that is usually attended to on such occasions, as those matters will be left over until the re-convening of Conference on the 5th of May. President Young and party were at Tokerville last night, all well.
Elder John Taylor
spoke. It has been customary for the Latter-day Saints to meet on the 6th of April; although it has been considered wise and necessary to adjourn till another time. It is not so much mere forms and observances that we are after, but we are in search of truths and principles. Yet we feel a particular attachment for the times that have been set apart, not only in this city, but in other parts of the Territory, and in various parts of the world where an organized portion of the church exists. The carrying out of the purposes of Jehovah and establishing righteousness on the earth ought to be the polar star of our ambition. If we have the spirit of the gospel, this will be our aim. This is the object of the First Presidency, of the Twelve and of the Elders, Priests, Teachers and Deacons. The object for which we are here is not to introduce ideas of our own but to promulgate the laws of life. There were no philosophers, theologians, or scientists that knew our relationship to God, or His purposes with regard to the earth, before He revealed these things to Joseph Smith, the Prophet; neither they nor we knew anything about them. It was the Lord, through His Prophet, who revealed the sealing ordinances; how we might save ourselves and our families. It was He who taught us to be baptized for our dead. We are indebted to the Lord for all the blessings we enjoy. The kingdom of God will stand whilst all that is not founded on the rock of truth shall pass away like the baseless fabric of a dream. We know in whom we trust and He will sustain His Saints and will cause the discomfiture and overthrow of their enemies. May God bless all who love and favor Zion. Amen.
spoke. It has been customary for the Latter-day Saints to meet on the 6th of April; although it has been considered wise and necessary to adjourn till another time. It is not so much mere forms and observances that we are after, but we are in search of truths and principles. Yet we feel a particular attachment for the times that have been set apart, not only in this city, but in other parts of the Territory, and in various parts of the world where an organized portion of the church exists. The carrying out of the purposes of Jehovah and establishing righteousness on the earth ought to be the polar star of our ambition. If we have the spirit of the gospel, this will be our aim. This is the object of the First Presidency, of the Twelve and of the Elders, Priests, Teachers and Deacons. The object for which we are here is not to introduce ideas of our own but to promulgate the laws of life. There were no philosophers, theologians, or scientists that knew our relationship to God, or His purposes with regard to the earth, before He revealed these things to Joseph Smith, the Prophet; neither they nor we knew anything about them. It was the Lord, through His Prophet, who revealed the sealing ordinances; how we might save ourselves and our families. It was He who taught us to be baptized for our dead. We are indebted to the Lord for all the blessings we enjoy. The kingdom of God will stand whilst all that is not founded on the rock of truth shall pass away like the baseless fabric of a dream. We know in whom we trust and He will sustain His Saints and will cause the discomfiture and overthrow of their enemies. May God bless all who love and favor Zion. Amen.
Elder Orson Pratt
addressed the Conference. Forty years ago, God organized His Church. It has not been sustained by human wisdom but by the power of God, who is its Author. On the day when the Church was organized, God gave many instructions relative to the duties of its officers. The Lord continued to give line upon line and precept upon precept. The command for the Saints to assemble together in conference, at stated intervals, wherever the Church was organized, came direct from the Almighty.
When it became necessary to build a Temple, the plan was not devised by man's wisdom, but the Lord commanded that three men should be selected, unto whom the plan of the Temple would be shown, and it was done as directed and the Temple was erected according to the pattern given. The ordinances which were administered in the Temple were given by direct revelation. As the Elders went forth and declared unto the people, in the surrounding country, what the Lord was doing, persecution arose. The Saints were driven from place to place and despoiled of their property. Their persecutors had not polygamy then to plead as an excuse for their course; the reasons stated by them were that the Saints professed to have revelations from God, that they believed in the laying on of hands and anointing with oil for the healing of the sick; and another great objection urged was that the Latter-day Saints were too united. In the various parts where they were so ruthlessly driven, they petitioned the State authorities and laid before them their grievances, some of whom listened respectfully and others treated the matter with contempt. After we had been driven from Jackson county, Missouri, our steps were directed towards the West, and whilst we were out on the prairies a deputation was sent to inform us that we were required to furnish five hundred men to fight the battles of the country in Mexico; and although the circumstances under which the request was made were so peculiarly disadvantageous to the Saints, yet the quota of men was furnished.
When we came here we brought polygamy with us. It is an eternal part of our religion, and we will never relinquish it. We love the glorious principles we have received better than we do our homes, better than we do our lives. When compared with our hopes of eternal exaltation, life is as nothing. When the Government granted to us, as a community, our present civil rights and government they were perfectly aware that we were a polygamous people. When the homestead law was extended to us it was well known that we believed in and practiced plural marriage. When the homestead law was made applicable to the people of this Territory we went forth in good faith and paid our money for our land, and we are now coolly informed that we shall not be permitted to possess these lands that we have pre-empted, cultivated and paid for. Is this just?
It is not in the province of Congress to say what portion of the Bible we shall or shall not believe in. Should the bill, which has just passed the House of Representatives, become law, then alas! for the liberty of our common country. The enjoining or compulsory enforcement of the monogamic law is one of the "twin relics of barbarism."
May the Lord bless us: Amen.
addressed the Conference. Forty years ago, God organized His Church. It has not been sustained by human wisdom but by the power of God, who is its Author. On the day when the Church was organized, God gave many instructions relative to the duties of its officers. The Lord continued to give line upon line and precept upon precept. The command for the Saints to assemble together in conference, at stated intervals, wherever the Church was organized, came direct from the Almighty.
When it became necessary to build a Temple, the plan was not devised by man's wisdom, but the Lord commanded that three men should be selected, unto whom the plan of the Temple would be shown, and it was done as directed and the Temple was erected according to the pattern given. The ordinances which were administered in the Temple were given by direct revelation. As the Elders went forth and declared unto the people, in the surrounding country, what the Lord was doing, persecution arose. The Saints were driven from place to place and despoiled of their property. Their persecutors had not polygamy then to plead as an excuse for their course; the reasons stated by them were that the Saints professed to have revelations from God, that they believed in the laying on of hands and anointing with oil for the healing of the sick; and another great objection urged was that the Latter-day Saints were too united. In the various parts where they were so ruthlessly driven, they petitioned the State authorities and laid before them their grievances, some of whom listened respectfully and others treated the matter with contempt. After we had been driven from Jackson county, Missouri, our steps were directed towards the West, and whilst we were out on the prairies a deputation was sent to inform us that we were required to furnish five hundred men to fight the battles of the country in Mexico; and although the circumstances under which the request was made were so peculiarly disadvantageous to the Saints, yet the quota of men was furnished.
When we came here we brought polygamy with us. It is an eternal part of our religion, and we will never relinquish it. We love the glorious principles we have received better than we do our homes, better than we do our lives. When compared with our hopes of eternal exaltation, life is as nothing. When the Government granted to us, as a community, our present civil rights and government they were perfectly aware that we were a polygamous people. When the homestead law was extended to us it was well known that we believed in and practiced plural marriage. When the homestead law was made applicable to the people of this Territory we went forth in good faith and paid our money for our land, and we are now coolly informed that we shall not be permitted to possess these lands that we have pre-empted, cultivated and paid for. Is this just?
It is not in the province of Congress to say what portion of the Bible we shall or shall not believe in. Should the bill, which has just passed the House of Representatives, become law, then alas! for the liberty of our common country. The enjoining or compulsory enforcement of the monogamic law is one of the "twin relics of barbarism."
May the Lord bless us: Amen.
Discourse
By Elder Orson Pratt, delivered in the Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, April 10th, 1870.
Reported by David W. Evans.
It has fallen to my lot to speak to the congregation this afternoon, and I humbly hope and trust that, through your faith and prayers, I may be assisted by the Comforter, the Holy Ghost, in speaking to your edification; and I ask my Heavenly Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, that He will pour out upon me that spirit which giveth utterance and enlighteneth the understanding that I may be able to edify all who hear me.
Forty years have passed away since the Church was organized. We held the Conference here on Wednesday last, in commemoration of that eventful period in the history of our race, for it is a period that we consider very eventful in our history and in the history of the world; and we have no doubt in our own minds that the Lord looks upon it in the same light, for He is interested more than any other person possibly can be in the salvation of the human family. And as He has set times in His own mind for the performance of His own purposes, He no doubt chose the 6th day of April 1830, as the set time for the organization, or the beginning of an organization or kingdom that should have no end.
All the governments which have hitherto had a place on our earth, excepting those now in existence, have had an end. Human governments have been very changeable in their nature. The Lord has raised up a nation here and a nation there, a kingdom here and a kingdom there, and He has suffered them to live and flourish for a few centuries, and some, perhaps, even for one or two thousand years; then he has caused them to pass away. But He spoke to His ancient servant, who is called Daniel, whose prophecy is written in this book, (the Bible) and said that in the latter days He would set up a government or kingdom which should have no end. This government will differ from all preceding governments set up from the Creation down to the period of its establishment. Daniel says it shall become universal and shall cover the whole earth. He calls the citizens of that government Saints. He beheld that the stone cut out of the mountain without hands should roll forth and become a great mountain and fill the whole earth, and that all earthly governments, kingdoms and empires should become like the chaff of the summer threshing floor, and no place should be found for them: while the stone that was cut out of the mountains should have dominion over the whole earth, and the Saints of the Most High should have dominion under the whole heaven.
Now there will have to be a beginning to that work. The Lord will not make such a wonderful revolution as the one I have named, all in one day, or in one year. Jesus made His appearance on the earth in the meridian of time, and He established His kingdom on the earth. But to fulfill ancient prophecies the Lord suffered that kingdom to be uprooted; in other words, the kingdoms of this world made war against the kingdom of God, established eighteen centuries ago, and they prevailed against it, and the kingdom ceased to exist. The great beast that John saw made war with it and prevailed against it, and human institutions, without prophets or inspired men, usurped the place of the ancient Kingdom of God. But God has promised that the Latter-day kingdom shall stand for ever. Though the heavens and earth be wrapped together as a scroll and pass away, yet the kingdom that was to be set up in the latter days will have no end, but will prevail among all people under the heavens and will have dominion for one thousand years. After that, when the earth passes away, the kingdom will be caught up; it will not perish, be annihilated or overcome, but be caught up into the heavens while the earth is undergoing its last change; and when the Lord shall resurrect the earth, the same as He will our bodies, and make it a new earth, wherein shall dwell righteousness, He will then bring down out of heaven to the new earth this latter-day kingdom, with all the former kingdoms that He has built up in other dispensations, and they will stand for ever, for the new earth will never pass away.
The destiny of all governments established by human wisdom is to pass away. The great nation of the United States, one of the best governments ever organized by human authority on the earth, so far as our knowledge goes, must pass away in many of its features. The only way for safety to the people of the government of the United States is to repent of their sins, turn away from all their iniquities, receive the gospel of the Son of God and become citizens of that kingdom which is to endure forever; then all the great and glorious principles incorporated in this great republic will be incorporated in the kingdom of God and be preserved. I mean the principles of civil and religious liberty, especially, and all other good principles that are contained in that great instrument framed by our forefathers will be incorporated in the kingdom of God; and only in this manner can all that is good in this and in foreign governments be preserved.
The time will shortly come when thrones will be cast down and empires will fall; and all republics and empires will eventually fall and become like the dream of a night vision,--they will vanish away; but the Kingdom of God will grow, flourish, spread abroad and become stronger and more powerful, until its King shall come in the clouds of heaven, crowned in all the glory and power of His Father, bringing the celestial hosts with Him, to sit upon His throne in Jerusalem and also in Zion to reign over His people here on the earth for the space of a thousand years, before the destruction of the earth.
This is what we believe; and it is the sincere belief and faith of the Latter-day Saints that we are in that Kingdom. It is true that our King is now absent: He is in the heavens. But we expect Him again; we look for Him and He will come in His own due time. The day when He will come He has not revealed to any of the inhabitants of the earth, neither will He do so, for the Lord has told us in a certain revelation, recorded in the Doctrine and Covenants, that no one should have it revealed to them; but this much God has revealed,--that this Kingdom which He has organized on the earth has been organized preparatory to the day of the coming of our Lord from the heavens. Hence in organizing this kingdom He has restored all the essential characteristics of His Kingdom in its embryo, or its beginning: such as inspired men, inspired prophets, inspired leaders, called by revelation to act in different positions.
Now there is something very peculiar indeed in setting up the Kingdom of God in regard to the time. I told you in the commencement of my remarks that the Lord generally had set times to accomplish His purposes. It can be reasonably inferred, according to the revelations that we have in the Book of Mormon, that God organized His Kingdom, precisely to a day, 1800 years after the crucifixion. Of course, we do not learn this directly from the “Book of Mormon;” but we learn enough there of data on which to found a calculation. We learn not only from this book, but also from the antiquities of the Jews, from the New Testament, from historians and from some of the Mosaic rites that Jesus was crucified about the time of the Passover, and that happened some time after the vernal equinox; and that 1833 years had passed from the time of the birth of our Savior before the organization of this latter-day kingdom.
The way we come at this is by the account given in the Book of Mormon. We find that the ancient Israelites on this continent had a sign given of the exact time of the crucifixion and a revelation of the exact time of the Savior’s birth, and according to their reckoning, they made him thirty-three years and a little over three days old from the time of His birth to the time that He hung upon the cross. There is no doubt that the year of the ancient Israelites, who inhabited this continent, differed a little in length from our years; for they probably reckoned theirs somewhat after the manner of the Jews at Jerusalem, and the Jews had formed their reckoning from the Egyptians, among whom they dwelt some four hundred years. The Egyptians reckoned three hundred and sixty-five days to the year; but the ancient Israelites on this continent, according to the records of the early Spanish historians, did not consider that three hundred and sixty-five days made up a full year, and hence at the end of every fifty-two years they added thirteen days, which is equivalent to adding one day every four years, the same as we do. If such, were the reckoning of the ancient Nephites then thirty-three years and three days of their time had passed away between the time of the Savior’s birth and crucifixion. Now these thirty-three years and three days would, according to our reckoning, lack five days of thirty-three years. When we come to trace back all these authorities we find that this very day, on which I am speaking, would be the close of the year, and that to-morrow, the 11th day of April, would be the anniversary of the very day on which Jesus was born; and the 6th day of April the very day on which He was crucified precisely 1800 years prior to the organization of this church.
I have made mention of this, not bringing all the evidences and proofs that might be advanced, but merely to show, in a very brief manner, that God has a set time to perform and accomplish His work, and that the commencement of the organization of His Kingdom took place eighteen centuries after the time that the Savior groaned and suffered on the cross.
There are a great many, of course, in the world, who disbelieve this record which is received as divine by the Latter-day Saints. A great many do not believe that the Book of Mormon is true, and the reason they do not believe it is because they never have examined its evidences. I consider that there are some evidences, that never have been sufficiently put forth before the public, to prove the divine authenticity of the “Book of Mormon,” quite as strong as those which have been adduced. We have often referred to the Old Testament to prove that a work of this nature was to come forth in the latter days. The ancient prophets have spoken of it in many places, sometimes under the term of a book. Speaking of the manner in which it should be translated. You will find it referred to in the twenty-ninth chapter of Isaiah. It is referred to in other places as sticks, written upon, one for Judah and one for Joseph, that should be united together by the power of the Lord in the latter days preparatory to His coming. In other places it is referred to as truth which, in the latter days, should come out of the ground, and that, at the same time, righteousness should come down out of heaven, and that this should be a preparatory work for the salvation of Israel and for the coming of the Lord.
But we will pass over all these scriptural evidences, and name one which, perhaps, our elders themselves have not dwelt upon to any very great extent to prove the divine authenticity of the Book of Mormon.
This book, the Book of Mormon, informs us that the time of day at which Jesus was crucified, I mean the time of day here in America, was in the morning; the New Testament tells us that Jesus was crucified in Asia in the afternoon, between the sixth and ninth hour according to the Jews’ reckoning. They commenced their reckoning at 6 o’clock in the morning, and consequently the sixth hour would be twelve o’clock in the afternoon. Jesus, from the sixth to the ninth hour, in other words from twelve o’clock to three, was hanging on the cross. Now the Book of Mormon, or the historians whose records it contains, when relating the incidents that transpired at the time of the crucifixion—the darkness that was spread over the face of the land, the earthquakes, the rending of rocks, the sinking of cities and the whirlwinds, say these events occurred in the morning; they also say that darkness was spread over the face of the land for the space of three days. In Jerusalem, it was only three hours. But the Lord gave them a special sign in this country, and the darkness lasted three days, and at the expiration of three days and three nights of darkness it cleared off, and it was in the morning. That shows that, according to the time in this country, the crucifixion must have taken place in the morning.
Says one, “Is not this a contradiction between the Book of Mormon and the New Testament?” To an unlearned person it would really be a contradiction, for the four Evangelists place it from twelve to three in the afternoon, while the “Book of Mormon” says in the morning. An unlearned person seeing this discrepancy, would say, of course, that both books cannot be true. If the Book of Mormon be true the Bible cannot be; and if the Bible be true the Book of Mormon cannot be.
I do not know that anybody ever brought up this objection, for I do not think they ever thought of it. I do not think that the Prophet Joseph, who translated the book, ever thought of this apparent discrepancy. “But,” says one, “how do you account for it being in the morning in America and in the afternoon in Jerusalem?” Simply by the difference in longitude. This would make a difference of time of several hours; for when it would be twelve at noon in Jerusalem it would only be half past four in the morning in the northwest part of South America, where the Book of Mormon was then being written. Seven and a half hours difference in longitude would account for this apparent discrepancy; and if the Book of Mormon had said the crucifixion took place in the afternoon we should have known at once that it could not be true. This is incidental proof to learned or scientific men that they can not very well reason away, and especially when the instrument who brought forth the “Book of Mormon” is considered. It must be remembered that he was but a youth, and unlearned; and, when he translated this work, I presume that he was unaware that there was any difference in the time of day, according to the longitude, in different parts of the earth. I do not suppose that Joseph ever thought about it to the day of his death. I never heard him or any other person bring forth this as confirmatory evidence of the divine authenticity of the Book of Mormon; I never thought of it myself until years after Joseph’s death; but when I did reflect upon it, I could see the reason why the Lord, through His servants, has said in the Book of Mormon, that the crucifixion took place in the morning.
But we will pass over this and will say a few words in regard to the object of this great work. The Lord has brought forth the Book of Mormon in order that all the nations, kindreds, tongues and peoples on the face of the earth may be warned of the great events which are about to take place. This book contains prophecies which affect every nation under heaven, prophecies that will be fulfilled on their heads. Can we read the future of this great American nation—our great republic? Yes, we can learn a great many features within its pages concerning the nation and government that we never should have learned without its aid or the spirit of revelation. From it we learn that two great and powerful nations formerly dwelt on this continent. One nation, or rather the colony which founded it, came from the Tower of Babel soon after the days of the Flood. They colonized what we call North America, landing on the western coast, a little south of the Gulf of California in the south-western part of this north wing of our continent. They flourished some sixteen hundred years. When they first colonized this continent from the Tower of Babel the Lord told them if they would not serve Him faithfully but became ripe in iniquity they should be cut off from the face of the land. That was fulfilled about six hundred years before Christ, when they were entirely swept off, and in their stead the Lord brought a remnant of Israel, a few families, not the ten tribes, but a small portion of the tribe of Joseph. He brought them from Jerusalem first down to the Red Sea. They traveled along the eastern borders of the Red Sea for many days, and then bore off in an eastern direction which brought them to the Arabian Gulf. There they were commanded of the Lord to build a vessel. They went aboard of this vessel and were brought by the special providence of God across the great Indian and Pacific Oceans, and landed on the western coast of South America. This was about five hundred and eighty years before the coming of Christ. Eleven years after the Lord brought this first colony of Israelites from Jerusalem, He brought another small colony, headed by one of the sons of Zedekiah, a descendant of King David. They left Jerusalem the same year that the Jews were carried away captive into Babylon, were brought forth to this continent and landed somewhere north of the Isthmus. They wended their way into the northern part of South America. About four hundred years after this the two colonies amalgamated in the northern part of South America and they became one nation.
The first colony brought with them the Jewish scriptures on plates of brass, containing an account of the Creation and the history of their nation down to eleven years before the Captivity, or six hundred years before Christ. These brass plates were kept among them during the period of their righteousness, and were preserved by the hand of the Lord. The second colony that came from Jerusalem came without the scriptures, and having no copy of the sacred writings they soon fell into wickedness. In four hundred years’ time they disbelieved in the being of a God, but uniting with the other branch of Israelites they were converted. Their language had became much corrupted, but through their conversion their language was restored in a partial measure by means of the records which were possessed by the other colony.
About forty-five years before Christ, a very large colony of 5,400 men, with wives and children, united themselves together in the northern part of South America, and came forth by land into North America, and traveled an exceedingly great distance until they came to large bodies of water and many rivers, very probably in the great Mississippi Valley. In the next ten years numerous other colonies came forth and spread themselves on the northern portion of the continent and became exceedingly numerous.
You may inquire “did all these different colonies have the scriptures?” Yes. “How did they get them?” They had a great many scribes in their midst. The Book of Mormon informs us that they had not only the scriptures which they brought from Jerusalem, but those given by the living prophets among them; and that a great many copies were written and sent forth into all of these colonies, so that the people in all their colonies were well acquainted with the law of Moses and with the prophecies of her prophets in relation to the first coming of our Savior Jesus Christ.
“But,” some may inquire, “have you any external evidence to prove what you are now saying?" I think we have. Thirty years after the Book of Mormon was put in print, giving the history of the settlement of this country, one of the great mounds south of the great lakes near Newark, in Ohio, was opened. What was found in it? A great many curiosities, among which were some copper pieces, supposed to be money. After digging down many feet, and carrying off many thousand loads of stone, they at length found a coffin in the midst of a hard kind of fire clay. Underneath this, they found a large stone that appeared to be hollow, something seemed to rattle inside it. The stone was cemented together in the middle, but with some little exertion they broke it open, when another stone was found inside of it, of a different nature entirely from its covering. On the stone taken from the inside was carved the figure of a man with a priestly robe flowing from his shoulders; and over the head of this man were the Hebrew characters for Moshe, the ancient name of Moses; while on each side of this likeness, and on different sides of the stone, above, beneath and round about were the Ten Commandments that were received on Mount Sinai, written in the ancient Hebrew characters. Now recollect that the Book of Mormon had been in print thirty years before discovery. And what does this discovery prove? It proves that the builders of these mounts, south of the great lakes in the great Mississippi Valley in Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, New York, etc., must have understood the Hebrew characters; and not only that, but they must also have understood the law of Moses. Otherwise how happened it that they should write on this stone the Ten Commandments almost verbatim as they are now contained in King James’ translation of the Bible. It proves that the builders of these mounds were Israelites, and that their illustrious dead, buried in these mounts, had these commandments buried with them, in accordance with the custom of many of the ancient nations, especially the Egyptians, who were in the habit of consigning their written sacred papyrus to their great tombs. In Egypt many of these ancient manuscripts have been exhumed and, in many instances, pretended to be translated. So the Israelites followed the customs of these Eastern nations, and buried that which they considered most sacred, namely, the Ten Commandments, thundered by the voice of the Almighty in the midst of the flaming fire on Mount Sinai in the ears of all the congregation of Israel.
I have seen that sacred stone. It is not a hatched up story. I heard tell of it as being in the Antiquarian Society, or rather, as it is now called, the Ethnological Society, in the city of New York. I went to the Secretary of that Society, and he kindly showed me this stone, of which I have been speaking, and being acquainted with modern Hebrew, I could form some kind of an estimate of the ancient Hebrew, for some of the modern Hebrew characters do not vary much in form from the ancient Hebrew. At any rate we have enough of the ancient Hebrew, that has been dug up in Palestine and taken from among the ruins of the Israelites, east of the Mediterranean Sea, to form some kind of an estimate of the characters that were in use among them; and having these characters and comparing them I could see and understand the nature of the writing upon these records. They were also taken to the most learned men of our country, who, as soon as they looked at them, were able to pronounce them to be not only ancient Hebrew, but they were also able to translate them and pronounced them to be the Ten Commandments. This, then, is external proof, independent of the scriptural proofs to which I have alluded, in testimony of the divine authenticity of the Book of Mormon.
Now, our modern Hebrew has many points; it has also many additional characters not found in the ancient Hebrew. These additional characters have been made since these colonies left Jerusalem. Do you find on these ancient writings any of these modern characters that have been introduced during the last 2,400 years? Not one. Do you find any Hebrew points representing vowels? Not one; and all the new consonants that have been introduced during the last 2,400 years were not found upon this stone to which I have referred, showing plainly that it must have been of very ancient date.
Five years after the discovery of this remarkable memento of the ancient Israelites on the American continent, and thirty-five years after the “Book of Mormon” was in print, several other mounds in the same vicinity of Newark were opened, in several of which Hebrew characters were found. Among them was this beautiful expression, buried with one of their ancient dead, “May the Lord have mercy on me a Nephite.” It was translated a little different—“Nephel.” Now we well know that Nephi, who came out of Jerusalem six hundred years before Christ, was the leader of the first Jewish colony across to this land, and the people, ever afterwards, were called “Nephites,” after their inspired prophet and leader. The Nephites were a righteous people and had many prophets among them; and when they were burying one of their brethren in these ancient mounts they introduced the Hebrew characters signifying “May the Lord have mercy on me a Nephite.” This is another direct evidence of the divine authenticity of the Book of Mormon, which was brought forth and translated by inspiration some thirty-five years before this inscription was found.
But I said I would tell you some of the objects that the Lord had in view in bringing forth this sacred record. It is in order to prepare the people for the day of His coming, in order to establish the true church and kingdom of God upon the earth with all its ordinances, gifts, powers and blessings, that the people might have the old, ancient religion, even the fulness of the blessings of that gospel that was preached eighteen hundred years ago.
Another object that the Lord had in view was to gather His people out from all nations before the coming of the great and terrible judgments which are pronounced in this ancient record of the Nephites. God has said, concerning the nation which should inherit this land in the latter days, when this work should be brought forth, if they would not repent of their sins and hearken to the servants of God who should he sent forth among them; if they would reject this divine record which He should bring forth by His power; if they would bring forth His church and His Zion, that when they were fully ripened in iniquity they should be cut off from the face of this land. And for this reason He would gather out from their midst His people and assemble them in one.
This is all predicted in the Book of Mormon. And remember, this was in print before the organization of the church took place. The church was organized on the 6th of April, 1830, and consisted of six members only; but the Book of Mormon was in print before that. How did Joseph Smith, if an impostor, as he is represented to be by a great many of the world foretell events that have been taking place during the past forty years? How could he know that this book would be received beyond his own neighborhood, or ever extend beyond the limits of the State of New York? How did he know it would go beyond the limits of this continent and across the ocean and spread forth among many nations? “Well,” says one, “he might have guessed it.” Yes, but guesses are very uncertain indeed. Many people may conjecture, and think that such and such things will be the case; but when it comes to enumerating particulars in regard to the future, if a man is not inspired of God, how liable he is to fall into ten thousand errors!
Now this book predicted, not only the spread of this work among this people or nation, but also that it would go forth to all people, nations and tongues under the whole heavens. Forty years, only have passed away, and how much of this has been fulfilled already! This book has been translated into eight different languages and spread forth upon the islands of the sea,--the Sandwich Islands, the Society Islands, Australia, New Zealand, Hindostan, and has gone forth to the nations of Europe and has penetrated to almost every nation under heaven in the course, only, of forty years.
Has there been any gathering, according to the predictions of this book? for it not only predicts the organization and rising up of the Kingdom of God in the latter days when it should go forth, but it also speaks of the great gathering together of His people. Has this been fulfilled? What do I now see before me? Several thousand people listening to me in the midst of one of the most fruitful deserts of the North American continent; that is, it was frightful, so much so that Fremont and others could not traverse it, with any degree of safety, unless a large company was with them; and even, with all the means he had at his command, Fremont could not travel through these deserts without losing a great many of his men. It was a parched-up, dry and sterile country, and it looked as though an agricultural people never could possess it with any degree of advantage. This was the description given by those who explored a small portion of this country before the Latter-day Saints settled it. But what do I now see? Not only this large congregation now before me, but as I travel to and fro in the Territory, I see four hundred miles of desert reclaimed, and over one hundred towns, cities and villages incorporated and organized, cultivating the earth, and numerous flocks and herds being raised by peaceable settlers. Who are these settlers? Those who believe in the divine authenticity of the Book of Mormon; those who believe that Joseph Smith was a true prophet, and thus have fulfilled his predictions. Is it not another testimony in favor of the divine authenticity of this record when we see things transpiring that, to all natural appearance, never could have transpired? What did our enemies say when this book was first printed? “O, it is only destined for a year or two, two years at longest will see the end of ‘Mormonism.’” By and by, when two years had passed away, and they began to see that their prophecies were failing, they concluded to extend the time for the extinction of “Mormonism,” and they would say, “Watch five years more, and ‘Mormonism’ will have an end.” Why it was so inconsistent in their opinion that God should again speak from the heavens, and have inspired men on the earth; that He should restore all the gifts of the ancient gospel: that He should send an angel with the everlasting gospel in fulfillment of the predictions of John the Revelator and the testimony of many of the ancient prophets. It was so foreign to their minds that any such prophecies should be fulfilled in their day that they predicted that this work would have an end in five years. That was the way the natural man viewed the matter.
But God, who can foresee all events among the children of men, had His eye fixed on the gathering of His children before the church was organized, and He predicted that they should come out of every nation under heaven. Not only from the settled portions of the gentile nation, but they should be brought forth out of the midst of that gentile nation, just as we have been.
If you want to learn particularly concerning that prophecy, read the saying of our Lord Jesus Christ in the Book of Mormon, when He descended in the northern part of South America, soon after His resurrection, and ascension to heaven. He descended in the sight of a large congregation of 2,500 men, women and children, a little south of the Isthmus, at a place where they had built a temple. After making His appearance in their midst, He taught them many things, and showed them the wounds in His hands, in His feet and in His side. In His instructions on that occasion, He commanded them to do away with the law of Moses, so far as the ordinances, sacrifices and burnt offerings were concerned, and He commanded them to receive the gospel, which He taught them. After He had done all this, He commenced to prophecy to them, and His prophecies are in this record; and one of them has been fulfilled during the last forty years. He said He would bring forth their gold plates, which they then had in their midst. He declared that the Father should bring them forth unto the gentiles in the latter days. The prophecy says, “If the gentiles will not receive the fulness of my gospel which shall be contained in that book, behold, saith the Father, I will bring the fullness of my gospel from among them.” These are the words of Jesus, as recorded in this book.
Has this prophecy been fulfilled? How could the Lord have brought the Saints from among the inhabitants of the great nation of gentiles, called the United States, any more effectually than He did twenty-three years ago when He located us in these mountains? Was there any other part of this continent on which this prophecy could have been so effectually fulfilled? Nowhere. We did not come here altogether of our own accord, that is, all of us did not; some few did, because they understood the mind and will of the Lord in regard to the gathering of the Saints from among the gentiles; but a great many were so attached to their farms and homes in the East that they had to be driven away before they would come. It was not indeed a pleasurable thing to any of us, only to those who understood the mind and will of God in relation to the matter. The Lord brought us some 1,200 miles from the settled portion of the United States, and planted us in one of the most wild and isolated regions on the face of the whole continent.
How completely were the words of Jesus fulfilled! “If the gentiles in that day do not receive the fulness of my gospel, which shall be translated from the Record, behold, saith the Father, I will bring my people, my priesthood, my gospel and my Saints from their midst.” Twenty-three years that prophecy has been fulfilling, and I think it has been accomplished to the very letter.
What next has the Lord predicted? He has predicted that if the gentiles do not repent in that day, “behold, saith the Father I will sweep them from the face of the land as I did the nation that I brought from the Tower of Babel. So shall they be swept off from the face of the land, when they are fully ripened in iniquity.”
I do not know when this will be fulfilled; but we are all the time in expectation. The Lord does not generally do things in a hurry. He gives the people plenty of time to ripen themselves in iniquity, if they will not repent. It does not take some people a very great time to ripen, for you know this is a fast age, and things are done in a great hurry now-a-days, and when they get on the downward course, into all manner of wickedness, they seem to rush with lightning speed into all the corruption that can be named. What a difference between our fathers, who lived forty years ago, and the present generation! Every one can see it. The rising generation are proud, haughty, high-minded, lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God; fighting against His people; given to whoredom and prostitution and all manner of iniquity and abominations; guilty of all the abominations named by the apostle that he should characterize the false churches of the latter days, having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof. That is, denying the gifts of healing, miracles, prophecy, revelation, the ministering and discerning of spirits. All these things were denied when the Book of Mormon came forth. Of course the devil saw that it was not policy with all the scriptures staring them in the face, and all the Latter-day Saint Elders quoting these scriptures to show the necessity of the gifts, to keep them denying these gifts; hence he introduced them under the name of Spiritualism. As soon as the Book of Mormon came forth, the counterfeit then spread like the counterfeit gifts exercised by the old magicians of Egypt. When Moses went down with the power and authority of Heaven, the counterfeit sprang up in order to delude the Egyptians, and make them think the power of Moses was the same in character as that exercised by the magicians. When Moses threw down his rod it became a serpent; the rods of the magicians did the same. When Moses brought up frogs on the land, they did the same; when he turned the rivers of water into blood they did the same: and thus they deluded the Egyptian nation, and made them believe that if the power of Moses was superior to theirs, it was only because he had learned the magic art more thoroughly than they had.
Well, it seems as if the Lord our God is giving the nation a pretty thorough warning. He told this nation by revelation, twenty-eight years before it commenced, of the great American war. He told all about how the Southern States should be divided against the Northern States, and that in the course of the war, many souls should be cut off. This has been fulfilled.
I went forth before my beard was gray, before my hair began to turn white, when I was a youth of nineteen, now I am fifty-eight, and from that time on, I published these tidings among the inhabitants of the earth. I carried forth the written revelation, foretelling this great contest, some twenty-eight years before the war commenced. This prophecy has been printed and circulated extensively in this and other nations and languages. It point out the place where it should commence in South Carolina. That which I declared over the New England States, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and many other parts in the East, when but a boy, came to pass twenty-eight years after the revelation was given.
When they were talking about a war commencing down here in Kansas, I told them that was not the place; I also told them that the revelation had designated South Carolina, “and,” said I, “you have no need to think that the Kansas war is going to be the war that is to be so terribly destructive in its character and nature. No, it must commence at the place the Lord has designated by revelation.”
What did they have to say to me? They thought it was a Mormon humbug, and laughed me to scorn, and they looked upon that revelation as they do upon all others that God has given in these latter days,--as without divine authority. But behold and lo! in process of time it came to pass, again establishing the divinity of this work, and giving another proof that God is in this work, and is performing that which He spoke by the mouths of ancient prophets, as recorded in the Book or Mormon before any church of Latter-day Saints was in existence.
This same book says, “in that day, the blood of the Saints shall cry from the ground for vengeance on the heads of the wicked.” What! in a free and enlightened nation and government like the United States which holds forth, in the first amendment to the Constitution, liberty, and freedom of conscience? A Constitution that protects religious societies in their belief! A Constitution that guarantees to all the right of having whatever kind of religion they chose! A Constitution that guarantees liberty of the press, and liberty to all to serve God according to the dictates of their own consciences! Can it be that such a prophecy will be fulfilled in the midst of such an enlightened nation? The Book of Mormon declared it, and that too, before the existence of the Latter-day Saints’ church. It has been printed and sent to all the world that in that day, when that book should come forth, the blood of the Saints should cry to the Lord from the ground of these United States for vengeance upon the heads of their persecutors and murderers. Has this been fulfilled? In the history of this people and church during the last forty years I read concerning our drivings from Jackson county, Missouri; from Kirtland, Ohio; of our drivings from Clay County, Missouri, and from Caldwell county to Ray, and out of many counties in the western part of Missouri into Illinois.
The word concerning the driving of the people from Illinois, westward to the Rocky Mountains, in the article of the treaty got up by the mobocrats, was that “we must not stop short of the Rocky Mountains, but that we must go beyond them.” Were any lives lost in those terrible persecution, or was it merely property taken away from the Saints, without paying them a cent, in the shape of thousands of acres of land which they had paid the government for, and comfortable houses? If it had been only our houses and lands it would have been bad enough; but lives were taken,--innocent men, women and children were shot down. I might go on and relate some of the circumstances, but I dislike to dwell on the subject; it is apt to kindle up old nature in one’s heart, therefore I will leave that topic. Suffice it to say that the blood of hundreds, and I might almost say thousands, will be required at the hands of this nation, unless the people repent.
Where is our prophet who translated this book, that noble youth whom God raised up when only between fourteen and fifteen years of age? Where is that noble boy to whom God sent His angel, and to whom He gave the Urim and Thummim, and to whom He entrusted the original golden plates from which this book was translated? He fell a martyr to his religion under this free government of the United States. Where is the Patriarch of our church, the brother of our Prophet? He too was shot down at the same time. By whom? By people who were painted black for the occasion, and who boasted of their bloody deeds in Hancock county, Illinois. Some of them are still alive in that county, and to this day boast of their bloody deeds in persecuting the Latter-day Saints.
Many scores of our people were wasted away, and their blood soaks the soil of this great government, crying aloud to the Heavens for vengeance on those who shed the blood of the martyrs, and who persecuted God’s people and sent them forth, as they supposed, to perish in the heart of the Great American Desert.
Not only will they who committed these deeds be brought to judgment, but those also who stood back, behind the screen and said “How glad I am, Joe Smith is now dead, the Mormon Patriarch Hyrum Smith is shot down; and we have killed many of their followers, men, women and children. They have been driven five times from their locations and settlements and been robbed of millions of dollars’ worth of property and we are enjoying it, and it is all right. Joe Smith ought to have been killed before, long ago.”
This seemed to be the feeling of a great many people in the American nation. They sanctioned the shedding of innocent blood, if they did not actually shed it themselves, and God will require it at their hands. Will He require anything at the hands of our nation, in a national capacity, in regard to this matter? Was it not within their power to protect us on the lands which we purchased from the General Government? We did not purchase, to any extent, land from the Missourian, but we took up land that belonged to the General Government. We paid our money into that Government Land office. Did they protect us in the possession of that land which they guaranteed by their deeds to us and our seed or heirs forever? They did not. Did they protect us in our citizenship? No, they did not. Did we appeal to them for protection? Yes, we laid our case before them. What was their reply? Martin Van Buren, who sat at the head of the government at that time said, “gentlemen, your cause is just, but I can do nothing for you.” He saw the testimony; there was not getting away from it. His reply indicated that he thought we had been persecuted so many years that they had the right to persecute us; and when we asked “can you protect us according to the Constitution, in our just rights? Can you not restore us our property,--our houses and lands?” the reply was, “No, we can do nothing for you.”
Then, according to our ideas of the justice that dwells in the bosom of the Almighty, who is the Judge of all the earth, we must suppose that He will not only hold the actual murderers of the Saints responsible, but all who sanctioned the deed, and the nation for not punishing those murderers and for not protecting us in our rights, and suffering us to be exiled unjustly to a foreign territory, for Utah then belonged to Mexico. When we could not find safety in the United States we fled to Mexico for protection; but we ultimately assisted in redeeming the land we now occupy from the Mexican government and securing it to the United States government. After sending five hundred of our men to redeem this country the United States formed a treaty with Mexico and this became United States Territory.
By and by, after having secured this soil to our government by the Mormon Battalion, and having redeemed it from its sterility, and built upwards of a hundred towns and settlements, it was sold to us. Did we find fault at having to pay for it? No. When the land office was opened in this Territory two or three years ago we considered it all right and we were willing to pay our money for it. But what now? A bill is before Congress the object of which is to deprive us of the lands which we have paid for. The government has got our money in its Treasury for lands we have bought and paid for, and for which it bargained to give us a deed and entered into a compact that we and our children after us should possess this land forever, and now Congress has got up a law to deprive every man in this Territory, whose religious faith happens to differ from Congress, of these lands. Because we happen to differ on certain religious points with the General Government we are to be deprived of our homestead rights, guaranteed to us and to the people of all the Territories of the United States, by the laws of Congress.
Does this look like justice? Is this even-handed justice? It does not seem to agree with my ideas of justice any more than the proceedings of the mobocrats in Missouri, Ohio or Illinois. When, therefore, the American nation, as a nation, by the voice of her Representatives, Senators and President, sanctions a law to deprive American citizens of their citizenship, to rob them of their houses and lands, and then deprive them of their liberty, because of a difference of religious belief and practice, I think the nation is pretty well ripened, and that it will not take much more to prepare them for the fulfillment of the prophecies which I have been repeating. I do not know how longsuffering the Lord is. It is a good thing that He has wisdom, knowledge and understanding, that He is not a human being, or He would get wrathy and swallow up the people in a moment. It is a good thing that you and I do not have people to deal with according to our feelings. God is a long-suffering being. He has fulfilled a great many things pertaining to this people during forty years past. There are a great many more to be fulfilled in relation to us, and in relation to the nation which is persecuting us; but whatever the final result may be, whether the American Congress pass laws to persecute us or not, whether they rob us of our houses and lands or not; whether they imprison us and send us for five years to a Penitentiary or a military camp or not, there is one thing sure: as sure as the sun shines forth in yonder heavens; so sure will the Lord fulfil one thing with regard to this people. What is that? He will return them to Jackson county, and in the western part of the State of Missouri they will build up a city which shall be called Zion, which will be the head-quarters of this Latter-day Saints church; and that will be the place where the prophets, apostles and inspired men of God will have their head-quarters. It will be the place where the Lord God will manifest himself to His people, as He has promised in the Scriptures, as well as in modern revelation.
“Do you believe that?” says one. Just as much as we believed, long before it came to pass, what has taken place. The world can believe what has taken place, because it has been fulfilled. The Latter-day Saints believe in prophecies before they take place. We have just as much confidence in returning to Jackson County and the building of a great central city that will remain there a thousand years before the earth passes away, as the Jews have in returning to Jerusalem and re-building the waste places of Palestine. In fact, we have more faith than they have; for they have been so many generations cast out of their land that their descendants have almost lost their faith in returning. But the Latter-day Saints are fresh, as it were. There are many of the old stock, who passed through all those tribulations I have named, still living, whose faith in returning to Jackson county, and the things that are coming is a firm and fixed as the throne of the Almighty. We know the future destiny of the Kingdom as well as we know its past history, that is concerning the general events which are to transpire.
I am taking up too much of your time. May the Lord bless us as a people; bless us with wisdom, with understanding, with power with the heavens, with union, with peace among ourselves; bless us with righteousness, and joy in the Holy Ghost; bless us with the spiritual gifts of His Kingdom, multiply His favors upon us and upon our generations after us, forever and ever, is my prayer in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
By Elder Orson Pratt, delivered in the Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, April 10th, 1870.
Reported by David W. Evans.
It has fallen to my lot to speak to the congregation this afternoon, and I humbly hope and trust that, through your faith and prayers, I may be assisted by the Comforter, the Holy Ghost, in speaking to your edification; and I ask my Heavenly Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, that He will pour out upon me that spirit which giveth utterance and enlighteneth the understanding that I may be able to edify all who hear me.
Forty years have passed away since the Church was organized. We held the Conference here on Wednesday last, in commemoration of that eventful period in the history of our race, for it is a period that we consider very eventful in our history and in the history of the world; and we have no doubt in our own minds that the Lord looks upon it in the same light, for He is interested more than any other person possibly can be in the salvation of the human family. And as He has set times in His own mind for the performance of His own purposes, He no doubt chose the 6th day of April 1830, as the set time for the organization, or the beginning of an organization or kingdom that should have no end.
All the governments which have hitherto had a place on our earth, excepting those now in existence, have had an end. Human governments have been very changeable in their nature. The Lord has raised up a nation here and a nation there, a kingdom here and a kingdom there, and He has suffered them to live and flourish for a few centuries, and some, perhaps, even for one or two thousand years; then he has caused them to pass away. But He spoke to His ancient servant, who is called Daniel, whose prophecy is written in this book, (the Bible) and said that in the latter days He would set up a government or kingdom which should have no end. This government will differ from all preceding governments set up from the Creation down to the period of its establishment. Daniel says it shall become universal and shall cover the whole earth. He calls the citizens of that government Saints. He beheld that the stone cut out of the mountain without hands should roll forth and become a great mountain and fill the whole earth, and that all earthly governments, kingdoms and empires should become like the chaff of the summer threshing floor, and no place should be found for them: while the stone that was cut out of the mountains should have dominion over the whole earth, and the Saints of the Most High should have dominion under the whole heaven.
Now there will have to be a beginning to that work. The Lord will not make such a wonderful revolution as the one I have named, all in one day, or in one year. Jesus made His appearance on the earth in the meridian of time, and He established His kingdom on the earth. But to fulfill ancient prophecies the Lord suffered that kingdom to be uprooted; in other words, the kingdoms of this world made war against the kingdom of God, established eighteen centuries ago, and they prevailed against it, and the kingdom ceased to exist. The great beast that John saw made war with it and prevailed against it, and human institutions, without prophets or inspired men, usurped the place of the ancient Kingdom of God. But God has promised that the Latter-day kingdom shall stand for ever. Though the heavens and earth be wrapped together as a scroll and pass away, yet the kingdom that was to be set up in the latter days will have no end, but will prevail among all people under the heavens and will have dominion for one thousand years. After that, when the earth passes away, the kingdom will be caught up; it will not perish, be annihilated or overcome, but be caught up into the heavens while the earth is undergoing its last change; and when the Lord shall resurrect the earth, the same as He will our bodies, and make it a new earth, wherein shall dwell righteousness, He will then bring down out of heaven to the new earth this latter-day kingdom, with all the former kingdoms that He has built up in other dispensations, and they will stand for ever, for the new earth will never pass away.
The destiny of all governments established by human wisdom is to pass away. The great nation of the United States, one of the best governments ever organized by human authority on the earth, so far as our knowledge goes, must pass away in many of its features. The only way for safety to the people of the government of the United States is to repent of their sins, turn away from all their iniquities, receive the gospel of the Son of God and become citizens of that kingdom which is to endure forever; then all the great and glorious principles incorporated in this great republic will be incorporated in the kingdom of God and be preserved. I mean the principles of civil and religious liberty, especially, and all other good principles that are contained in that great instrument framed by our forefathers will be incorporated in the kingdom of God; and only in this manner can all that is good in this and in foreign governments be preserved.
The time will shortly come when thrones will be cast down and empires will fall; and all republics and empires will eventually fall and become like the dream of a night vision,--they will vanish away; but the Kingdom of God will grow, flourish, spread abroad and become stronger and more powerful, until its King shall come in the clouds of heaven, crowned in all the glory and power of His Father, bringing the celestial hosts with Him, to sit upon His throne in Jerusalem and also in Zion to reign over His people here on the earth for the space of a thousand years, before the destruction of the earth.
This is what we believe; and it is the sincere belief and faith of the Latter-day Saints that we are in that Kingdom. It is true that our King is now absent: He is in the heavens. But we expect Him again; we look for Him and He will come in His own due time. The day when He will come He has not revealed to any of the inhabitants of the earth, neither will He do so, for the Lord has told us in a certain revelation, recorded in the Doctrine and Covenants, that no one should have it revealed to them; but this much God has revealed,--that this Kingdom which He has organized on the earth has been organized preparatory to the day of the coming of our Lord from the heavens. Hence in organizing this kingdom He has restored all the essential characteristics of His Kingdom in its embryo, or its beginning: such as inspired men, inspired prophets, inspired leaders, called by revelation to act in different positions.
Now there is something very peculiar indeed in setting up the Kingdom of God in regard to the time. I told you in the commencement of my remarks that the Lord generally had set times to accomplish His purposes. It can be reasonably inferred, according to the revelations that we have in the Book of Mormon, that God organized His Kingdom, precisely to a day, 1800 years after the crucifixion. Of course, we do not learn this directly from the “Book of Mormon;” but we learn enough there of data on which to found a calculation. We learn not only from this book, but also from the antiquities of the Jews, from the New Testament, from historians and from some of the Mosaic rites that Jesus was crucified about the time of the Passover, and that happened some time after the vernal equinox; and that 1833 years had passed from the time of the birth of our Savior before the organization of this latter-day kingdom.
The way we come at this is by the account given in the Book of Mormon. We find that the ancient Israelites on this continent had a sign given of the exact time of the crucifixion and a revelation of the exact time of the Savior’s birth, and according to their reckoning, they made him thirty-three years and a little over three days old from the time of His birth to the time that He hung upon the cross. There is no doubt that the year of the ancient Israelites, who inhabited this continent, differed a little in length from our years; for they probably reckoned theirs somewhat after the manner of the Jews at Jerusalem, and the Jews had formed their reckoning from the Egyptians, among whom they dwelt some four hundred years. The Egyptians reckoned three hundred and sixty-five days to the year; but the ancient Israelites on this continent, according to the records of the early Spanish historians, did not consider that three hundred and sixty-five days made up a full year, and hence at the end of every fifty-two years they added thirteen days, which is equivalent to adding one day every four years, the same as we do. If such, were the reckoning of the ancient Nephites then thirty-three years and three days of their time had passed away between the time of the Savior’s birth and crucifixion. Now these thirty-three years and three days would, according to our reckoning, lack five days of thirty-three years. When we come to trace back all these authorities we find that this very day, on which I am speaking, would be the close of the year, and that to-morrow, the 11th day of April, would be the anniversary of the very day on which Jesus was born; and the 6th day of April the very day on which He was crucified precisely 1800 years prior to the organization of this church.
I have made mention of this, not bringing all the evidences and proofs that might be advanced, but merely to show, in a very brief manner, that God has a set time to perform and accomplish His work, and that the commencement of the organization of His Kingdom took place eighteen centuries after the time that the Savior groaned and suffered on the cross.
There are a great many, of course, in the world, who disbelieve this record which is received as divine by the Latter-day Saints. A great many do not believe that the Book of Mormon is true, and the reason they do not believe it is because they never have examined its evidences. I consider that there are some evidences, that never have been sufficiently put forth before the public, to prove the divine authenticity of the “Book of Mormon,” quite as strong as those which have been adduced. We have often referred to the Old Testament to prove that a work of this nature was to come forth in the latter days. The ancient prophets have spoken of it in many places, sometimes under the term of a book. Speaking of the manner in which it should be translated. You will find it referred to in the twenty-ninth chapter of Isaiah. It is referred to in other places as sticks, written upon, one for Judah and one for Joseph, that should be united together by the power of the Lord in the latter days preparatory to His coming. In other places it is referred to as truth which, in the latter days, should come out of the ground, and that, at the same time, righteousness should come down out of heaven, and that this should be a preparatory work for the salvation of Israel and for the coming of the Lord.
But we will pass over all these scriptural evidences, and name one which, perhaps, our elders themselves have not dwelt upon to any very great extent to prove the divine authenticity of the Book of Mormon.
This book, the Book of Mormon, informs us that the time of day at which Jesus was crucified, I mean the time of day here in America, was in the morning; the New Testament tells us that Jesus was crucified in Asia in the afternoon, between the sixth and ninth hour according to the Jews’ reckoning. They commenced their reckoning at 6 o’clock in the morning, and consequently the sixth hour would be twelve o’clock in the afternoon. Jesus, from the sixth to the ninth hour, in other words from twelve o’clock to three, was hanging on the cross. Now the Book of Mormon, or the historians whose records it contains, when relating the incidents that transpired at the time of the crucifixion—the darkness that was spread over the face of the land, the earthquakes, the rending of rocks, the sinking of cities and the whirlwinds, say these events occurred in the morning; they also say that darkness was spread over the face of the land for the space of three days. In Jerusalem, it was only three hours. But the Lord gave them a special sign in this country, and the darkness lasted three days, and at the expiration of three days and three nights of darkness it cleared off, and it was in the morning. That shows that, according to the time in this country, the crucifixion must have taken place in the morning.
Says one, “Is not this a contradiction between the Book of Mormon and the New Testament?” To an unlearned person it would really be a contradiction, for the four Evangelists place it from twelve to three in the afternoon, while the “Book of Mormon” says in the morning. An unlearned person seeing this discrepancy, would say, of course, that both books cannot be true. If the Book of Mormon be true the Bible cannot be; and if the Bible be true the Book of Mormon cannot be.
I do not know that anybody ever brought up this objection, for I do not think they ever thought of it. I do not think that the Prophet Joseph, who translated the book, ever thought of this apparent discrepancy. “But,” says one, “how do you account for it being in the morning in America and in the afternoon in Jerusalem?” Simply by the difference in longitude. This would make a difference of time of several hours; for when it would be twelve at noon in Jerusalem it would only be half past four in the morning in the northwest part of South America, where the Book of Mormon was then being written. Seven and a half hours difference in longitude would account for this apparent discrepancy; and if the Book of Mormon had said the crucifixion took place in the afternoon we should have known at once that it could not be true. This is incidental proof to learned or scientific men that they can not very well reason away, and especially when the instrument who brought forth the “Book of Mormon” is considered. It must be remembered that he was but a youth, and unlearned; and, when he translated this work, I presume that he was unaware that there was any difference in the time of day, according to the longitude, in different parts of the earth. I do not suppose that Joseph ever thought about it to the day of his death. I never heard him or any other person bring forth this as confirmatory evidence of the divine authenticity of the Book of Mormon; I never thought of it myself until years after Joseph’s death; but when I did reflect upon it, I could see the reason why the Lord, through His servants, has said in the Book of Mormon, that the crucifixion took place in the morning.
But we will pass over this and will say a few words in regard to the object of this great work. The Lord has brought forth the Book of Mormon in order that all the nations, kindreds, tongues and peoples on the face of the earth may be warned of the great events which are about to take place. This book contains prophecies which affect every nation under heaven, prophecies that will be fulfilled on their heads. Can we read the future of this great American nation—our great republic? Yes, we can learn a great many features within its pages concerning the nation and government that we never should have learned without its aid or the spirit of revelation. From it we learn that two great and powerful nations formerly dwelt on this continent. One nation, or rather the colony which founded it, came from the Tower of Babel soon after the days of the Flood. They colonized what we call North America, landing on the western coast, a little south of the Gulf of California in the south-western part of this north wing of our continent. They flourished some sixteen hundred years. When they first colonized this continent from the Tower of Babel the Lord told them if they would not serve Him faithfully but became ripe in iniquity they should be cut off from the face of the land. That was fulfilled about six hundred years before Christ, when they were entirely swept off, and in their stead the Lord brought a remnant of Israel, a few families, not the ten tribes, but a small portion of the tribe of Joseph. He brought them from Jerusalem first down to the Red Sea. They traveled along the eastern borders of the Red Sea for many days, and then bore off in an eastern direction which brought them to the Arabian Gulf. There they were commanded of the Lord to build a vessel. They went aboard of this vessel and were brought by the special providence of God across the great Indian and Pacific Oceans, and landed on the western coast of South America. This was about five hundred and eighty years before the coming of Christ. Eleven years after the Lord brought this first colony of Israelites from Jerusalem, He brought another small colony, headed by one of the sons of Zedekiah, a descendant of King David. They left Jerusalem the same year that the Jews were carried away captive into Babylon, were brought forth to this continent and landed somewhere north of the Isthmus. They wended their way into the northern part of South America. About four hundred years after this the two colonies amalgamated in the northern part of South America and they became one nation.
The first colony brought with them the Jewish scriptures on plates of brass, containing an account of the Creation and the history of their nation down to eleven years before the Captivity, or six hundred years before Christ. These brass plates were kept among them during the period of their righteousness, and were preserved by the hand of the Lord. The second colony that came from Jerusalem came without the scriptures, and having no copy of the sacred writings they soon fell into wickedness. In four hundred years’ time they disbelieved in the being of a God, but uniting with the other branch of Israelites they were converted. Their language had became much corrupted, but through their conversion their language was restored in a partial measure by means of the records which were possessed by the other colony.
About forty-five years before Christ, a very large colony of 5,400 men, with wives and children, united themselves together in the northern part of South America, and came forth by land into North America, and traveled an exceedingly great distance until they came to large bodies of water and many rivers, very probably in the great Mississippi Valley. In the next ten years numerous other colonies came forth and spread themselves on the northern portion of the continent and became exceedingly numerous.
You may inquire “did all these different colonies have the scriptures?” Yes. “How did they get them?” They had a great many scribes in their midst. The Book of Mormon informs us that they had not only the scriptures which they brought from Jerusalem, but those given by the living prophets among them; and that a great many copies were written and sent forth into all of these colonies, so that the people in all their colonies were well acquainted with the law of Moses and with the prophecies of her prophets in relation to the first coming of our Savior Jesus Christ.
“But,” some may inquire, “have you any external evidence to prove what you are now saying?" I think we have. Thirty years after the Book of Mormon was put in print, giving the history of the settlement of this country, one of the great mounds south of the great lakes near Newark, in Ohio, was opened. What was found in it? A great many curiosities, among which were some copper pieces, supposed to be money. After digging down many feet, and carrying off many thousand loads of stone, they at length found a coffin in the midst of a hard kind of fire clay. Underneath this, they found a large stone that appeared to be hollow, something seemed to rattle inside it. The stone was cemented together in the middle, but with some little exertion they broke it open, when another stone was found inside of it, of a different nature entirely from its covering. On the stone taken from the inside was carved the figure of a man with a priestly robe flowing from his shoulders; and over the head of this man were the Hebrew characters for Moshe, the ancient name of Moses; while on each side of this likeness, and on different sides of the stone, above, beneath and round about were the Ten Commandments that were received on Mount Sinai, written in the ancient Hebrew characters. Now recollect that the Book of Mormon had been in print thirty years before discovery. And what does this discovery prove? It proves that the builders of these mounts, south of the great lakes in the great Mississippi Valley in Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, New York, etc., must have understood the Hebrew characters; and not only that, but they must also have understood the law of Moses. Otherwise how happened it that they should write on this stone the Ten Commandments almost verbatim as they are now contained in King James’ translation of the Bible. It proves that the builders of these mounds were Israelites, and that their illustrious dead, buried in these mounts, had these commandments buried with them, in accordance with the custom of many of the ancient nations, especially the Egyptians, who were in the habit of consigning their written sacred papyrus to their great tombs. In Egypt many of these ancient manuscripts have been exhumed and, in many instances, pretended to be translated. So the Israelites followed the customs of these Eastern nations, and buried that which they considered most sacred, namely, the Ten Commandments, thundered by the voice of the Almighty in the midst of the flaming fire on Mount Sinai in the ears of all the congregation of Israel.
I have seen that sacred stone. It is not a hatched up story. I heard tell of it as being in the Antiquarian Society, or rather, as it is now called, the Ethnological Society, in the city of New York. I went to the Secretary of that Society, and he kindly showed me this stone, of which I have been speaking, and being acquainted with modern Hebrew, I could form some kind of an estimate of the ancient Hebrew, for some of the modern Hebrew characters do not vary much in form from the ancient Hebrew. At any rate we have enough of the ancient Hebrew, that has been dug up in Palestine and taken from among the ruins of the Israelites, east of the Mediterranean Sea, to form some kind of an estimate of the characters that were in use among them; and having these characters and comparing them I could see and understand the nature of the writing upon these records. They were also taken to the most learned men of our country, who, as soon as they looked at them, were able to pronounce them to be not only ancient Hebrew, but they were also able to translate them and pronounced them to be the Ten Commandments. This, then, is external proof, independent of the scriptural proofs to which I have alluded, in testimony of the divine authenticity of the Book of Mormon.
Now, our modern Hebrew has many points; it has also many additional characters not found in the ancient Hebrew. These additional characters have been made since these colonies left Jerusalem. Do you find on these ancient writings any of these modern characters that have been introduced during the last 2,400 years? Not one. Do you find any Hebrew points representing vowels? Not one; and all the new consonants that have been introduced during the last 2,400 years were not found upon this stone to which I have referred, showing plainly that it must have been of very ancient date.
Five years after the discovery of this remarkable memento of the ancient Israelites on the American continent, and thirty-five years after the “Book of Mormon” was in print, several other mounds in the same vicinity of Newark were opened, in several of which Hebrew characters were found. Among them was this beautiful expression, buried with one of their ancient dead, “May the Lord have mercy on me a Nephite.” It was translated a little different—“Nephel.” Now we well know that Nephi, who came out of Jerusalem six hundred years before Christ, was the leader of the first Jewish colony across to this land, and the people, ever afterwards, were called “Nephites,” after their inspired prophet and leader. The Nephites were a righteous people and had many prophets among them; and when they were burying one of their brethren in these ancient mounts they introduced the Hebrew characters signifying “May the Lord have mercy on me a Nephite.” This is another direct evidence of the divine authenticity of the Book of Mormon, which was brought forth and translated by inspiration some thirty-five years before this inscription was found.
But I said I would tell you some of the objects that the Lord had in view in bringing forth this sacred record. It is in order to prepare the people for the day of His coming, in order to establish the true church and kingdom of God upon the earth with all its ordinances, gifts, powers and blessings, that the people might have the old, ancient religion, even the fulness of the blessings of that gospel that was preached eighteen hundred years ago.
Another object that the Lord had in view was to gather His people out from all nations before the coming of the great and terrible judgments which are pronounced in this ancient record of the Nephites. God has said, concerning the nation which should inherit this land in the latter days, when this work should be brought forth, if they would not repent of their sins and hearken to the servants of God who should he sent forth among them; if they would reject this divine record which He should bring forth by His power; if they would bring forth His church and His Zion, that when they were fully ripened in iniquity they should be cut off from the face of this land. And for this reason He would gather out from their midst His people and assemble them in one.
This is all predicted in the Book of Mormon. And remember, this was in print before the organization of the church took place. The church was organized on the 6th of April, 1830, and consisted of six members only; but the Book of Mormon was in print before that. How did Joseph Smith, if an impostor, as he is represented to be by a great many of the world foretell events that have been taking place during the past forty years? How could he know that this book would be received beyond his own neighborhood, or ever extend beyond the limits of the State of New York? How did he know it would go beyond the limits of this continent and across the ocean and spread forth among many nations? “Well,” says one, “he might have guessed it.” Yes, but guesses are very uncertain indeed. Many people may conjecture, and think that such and such things will be the case; but when it comes to enumerating particulars in regard to the future, if a man is not inspired of God, how liable he is to fall into ten thousand errors!
Now this book predicted, not only the spread of this work among this people or nation, but also that it would go forth to all people, nations and tongues under the whole heavens. Forty years, only have passed away, and how much of this has been fulfilled already! This book has been translated into eight different languages and spread forth upon the islands of the sea,--the Sandwich Islands, the Society Islands, Australia, New Zealand, Hindostan, and has gone forth to the nations of Europe and has penetrated to almost every nation under heaven in the course, only, of forty years.
Has there been any gathering, according to the predictions of this book? for it not only predicts the organization and rising up of the Kingdom of God in the latter days when it should go forth, but it also speaks of the great gathering together of His people. Has this been fulfilled? What do I now see before me? Several thousand people listening to me in the midst of one of the most fruitful deserts of the North American continent; that is, it was frightful, so much so that Fremont and others could not traverse it, with any degree of safety, unless a large company was with them; and even, with all the means he had at his command, Fremont could not travel through these deserts without losing a great many of his men. It was a parched-up, dry and sterile country, and it looked as though an agricultural people never could possess it with any degree of advantage. This was the description given by those who explored a small portion of this country before the Latter-day Saints settled it. But what do I now see? Not only this large congregation now before me, but as I travel to and fro in the Territory, I see four hundred miles of desert reclaimed, and over one hundred towns, cities and villages incorporated and organized, cultivating the earth, and numerous flocks and herds being raised by peaceable settlers. Who are these settlers? Those who believe in the divine authenticity of the Book of Mormon; those who believe that Joseph Smith was a true prophet, and thus have fulfilled his predictions. Is it not another testimony in favor of the divine authenticity of this record when we see things transpiring that, to all natural appearance, never could have transpired? What did our enemies say when this book was first printed? “O, it is only destined for a year or two, two years at longest will see the end of ‘Mormonism.’” By and by, when two years had passed away, and they began to see that their prophecies were failing, they concluded to extend the time for the extinction of “Mormonism,” and they would say, “Watch five years more, and ‘Mormonism’ will have an end.” Why it was so inconsistent in their opinion that God should again speak from the heavens, and have inspired men on the earth; that He should restore all the gifts of the ancient gospel: that He should send an angel with the everlasting gospel in fulfillment of the predictions of John the Revelator and the testimony of many of the ancient prophets. It was so foreign to their minds that any such prophecies should be fulfilled in their day that they predicted that this work would have an end in five years. That was the way the natural man viewed the matter.
But God, who can foresee all events among the children of men, had His eye fixed on the gathering of His children before the church was organized, and He predicted that they should come out of every nation under heaven. Not only from the settled portions of the gentile nation, but they should be brought forth out of the midst of that gentile nation, just as we have been.
If you want to learn particularly concerning that prophecy, read the saying of our Lord Jesus Christ in the Book of Mormon, when He descended in the northern part of South America, soon after His resurrection, and ascension to heaven. He descended in the sight of a large congregation of 2,500 men, women and children, a little south of the Isthmus, at a place where they had built a temple. After making His appearance in their midst, He taught them many things, and showed them the wounds in His hands, in His feet and in His side. In His instructions on that occasion, He commanded them to do away with the law of Moses, so far as the ordinances, sacrifices and burnt offerings were concerned, and He commanded them to receive the gospel, which He taught them. After He had done all this, He commenced to prophecy to them, and His prophecies are in this record; and one of them has been fulfilled during the last forty years. He said He would bring forth their gold plates, which they then had in their midst. He declared that the Father should bring them forth unto the gentiles in the latter days. The prophecy says, “If the gentiles will not receive the fulness of my gospel which shall be contained in that book, behold, saith the Father, I will bring the fullness of my gospel from among them.” These are the words of Jesus, as recorded in this book.
Has this prophecy been fulfilled? How could the Lord have brought the Saints from among the inhabitants of the great nation of gentiles, called the United States, any more effectually than He did twenty-three years ago when He located us in these mountains? Was there any other part of this continent on which this prophecy could have been so effectually fulfilled? Nowhere. We did not come here altogether of our own accord, that is, all of us did not; some few did, because they understood the mind and will of the Lord in regard to the gathering of the Saints from among the gentiles; but a great many were so attached to their farms and homes in the East that they had to be driven away before they would come. It was not indeed a pleasurable thing to any of us, only to those who understood the mind and will of God in relation to the matter. The Lord brought us some 1,200 miles from the settled portion of the United States, and planted us in one of the most wild and isolated regions on the face of the whole continent.
How completely were the words of Jesus fulfilled! “If the gentiles in that day do not receive the fulness of my gospel, which shall be translated from the Record, behold, saith the Father, I will bring my people, my priesthood, my gospel and my Saints from their midst.” Twenty-three years that prophecy has been fulfilling, and I think it has been accomplished to the very letter.
What next has the Lord predicted? He has predicted that if the gentiles do not repent in that day, “behold, saith the Father I will sweep them from the face of the land as I did the nation that I brought from the Tower of Babel. So shall they be swept off from the face of the land, when they are fully ripened in iniquity.”
I do not know when this will be fulfilled; but we are all the time in expectation. The Lord does not generally do things in a hurry. He gives the people plenty of time to ripen themselves in iniquity, if they will not repent. It does not take some people a very great time to ripen, for you know this is a fast age, and things are done in a great hurry now-a-days, and when they get on the downward course, into all manner of wickedness, they seem to rush with lightning speed into all the corruption that can be named. What a difference between our fathers, who lived forty years ago, and the present generation! Every one can see it. The rising generation are proud, haughty, high-minded, lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God; fighting against His people; given to whoredom and prostitution and all manner of iniquity and abominations; guilty of all the abominations named by the apostle that he should characterize the false churches of the latter days, having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof. That is, denying the gifts of healing, miracles, prophecy, revelation, the ministering and discerning of spirits. All these things were denied when the Book of Mormon came forth. Of course the devil saw that it was not policy with all the scriptures staring them in the face, and all the Latter-day Saint Elders quoting these scriptures to show the necessity of the gifts, to keep them denying these gifts; hence he introduced them under the name of Spiritualism. As soon as the Book of Mormon came forth, the counterfeit then spread like the counterfeit gifts exercised by the old magicians of Egypt. When Moses went down with the power and authority of Heaven, the counterfeit sprang up in order to delude the Egyptians, and make them think the power of Moses was the same in character as that exercised by the magicians. When Moses threw down his rod it became a serpent; the rods of the magicians did the same. When Moses brought up frogs on the land, they did the same; when he turned the rivers of water into blood they did the same: and thus they deluded the Egyptian nation, and made them believe that if the power of Moses was superior to theirs, it was only because he had learned the magic art more thoroughly than they had.
Well, it seems as if the Lord our God is giving the nation a pretty thorough warning. He told this nation by revelation, twenty-eight years before it commenced, of the great American war. He told all about how the Southern States should be divided against the Northern States, and that in the course of the war, many souls should be cut off. This has been fulfilled.
I went forth before my beard was gray, before my hair began to turn white, when I was a youth of nineteen, now I am fifty-eight, and from that time on, I published these tidings among the inhabitants of the earth. I carried forth the written revelation, foretelling this great contest, some twenty-eight years before the war commenced. This prophecy has been printed and circulated extensively in this and other nations and languages. It point out the place where it should commence in South Carolina. That which I declared over the New England States, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and many other parts in the East, when but a boy, came to pass twenty-eight years after the revelation was given.
When they were talking about a war commencing down here in Kansas, I told them that was not the place; I also told them that the revelation had designated South Carolina, “and,” said I, “you have no need to think that the Kansas war is going to be the war that is to be so terribly destructive in its character and nature. No, it must commence at the place the Lord has designated by revelation.”
What did they have to say to me? They thought it was a Mormon humbug, and laughed me to scorn, and they looked upon that revelation as they do upon all others that God has given in these latter days,--as without divine authority. But behold and lo! in process of time it came to pass, again establishing the divinity of this work, and giving another proof that God is in this work, and is performing that which He spoke by the mouths of ancient prophets, as recorded in the Book or Mormon before any church of Latter-day Saints was in existence.
This same book says, “in that day, the blood of the Saints shall cry from the ground for vengeance on the heads of the wicked.” What! in a free and enlightened nation and government like the United States which holds forth, in the first amendment to the Constitution, liberty, and freedom of conscience? A Constitution that protects religious societies in their belief! A Constitution that guarantees to all the right of having whatever kind of religion they chose! A Constitution that guarantees liberty of the press, and liberty to all to serve God according to the dictates of their own consciences! Can it be that such a prophecy will be fulfilled in the midst of such an enlightened nation? The Book of Mormon declared it, and that too, before the existence of the Latter-day Saints’ church. It has been printed and sent to all the world that in that day, when that book should come forth, the blood of the Saints should cry to the Lord from the ground of these United States for vengeance upon the heads of their persecutors and murderers. Has this been fulfilled? In the history of this people and church during the last forty years I read concerning our drivings from Jackson county, Missouri; from Kirtland, Ohio; of our drivings from Clay County, Missouri, and from Caldwell county to Ray, and out of many counties in the western part of Missouri into Illinois.
The word concerning the driving of the people from Illinois, westward to the Rocky Mountains, in the article of the treaty got up by the mobocrats, was that “we must not stop short of the Rocky Mountains, but that we must go beyond them.” Were any lives lost in those terrible persecution, or was it merely property taken away from the Saints, without paying them a cent, in the shape of thousands of acres of land which they had paid the government for, and comfortable houses? If it had been only our houses and lands it would have been bad enough; but lives were taken,--innocent men, women and children were shot down. I might go on and relate some of the circumstances, but I dislike to dwell on the subject; it is apt to kindle up old nature in one’s heart, therefore I will leave that topic. Suffice it to say that the blood of hundreds, and I might almost say thousands, will be required at the hands of this nation, unless the people repent.
Where is our prophet who translated this book, that noble youth whom God raised up when only between fourteen and fifteen years of age? Where is that noble boy to whom God sent His angel, and to whom He gave the Urim and Thummim, and to whom He entrusted the original golden plates from which this book was translated? He fell a martyr to his religion under this free government of the United States. Where is the Patriarch of our church, the brother of our Prophet? He too was shot down at the same time. By whom? By people who were painted black for the occasion, and who boasted of their bloody deeds in Hancock county, Illinois. Some of them are still alive in that county, and to this day boast of their bloody deeds in persecuting the Latter-day Saints.
Many scores of our people were wasted away, and their blood soaks the soil of this great government, crying aloud to the Heavens for vengeance on those who shed the blood of the martyrs, and who persecuted God’s people and sent them forth, as they supposed, to perish in the heart of the Great American Desert.
Not only will they who committed these deeds be brought to judgment, but those also who stood back, behind the screen and said “How glad I am, Joe Smith is now dead, the Mormon Patriarch Hyrum Smith is shot down; and we have killed many of their followers, men, women and children. They have been driven five times from their locations and settlements and been robbed of millions of dollars’ worth of property and we are enjoying it, and it is all right. Joe Smith ought to have been killed before, long ago.”
This seemed to be the feeling of a great many people in the American nation. They sanctioned the shedding of innocent blood, if they did not actually shed it themselves, and God will require it at their hands. Will He require anything at the hands of our nation, in a national capacity, in regard to this matter? Was it not within their power to protect us on the lands which we purchased from the General Government? We did not purchase, to any extent, land from the Missourian, but we took up land that belonged to the General Government. We paid our money into that Government Land office. Did they protect us in the possession of that land which they guaranteed by their deeds to us and our seed or heirs forever? They did not. Did they protect us in our citizenship? No, they did not. Did we appeal to them for protection? Yes, we laid our case before them. What was their reply? Martin Van Buren, who sat at the head of the government at that time said, “gentlemen, your cause is just, but I can do nothing for you.” He saw the testimony; there was not getting away from it. His reply indicated that he thought we had been persecuted so many years that they had the right to persecute us; and when we asked “can you protect us according to the Constitution, in our just rights? Can you not restore us our property,--our houses and lands?” the reply was, “No, we can do nothing for you.”
Then, according to our ideas of the justice that dwells in the bosom of the Almighty, who is the Judge of all the earth, we must suppose that He will not only hold the actual murderers of the Saints responsible, but all who sanctioned the deed, and the nation for not punishing those murderers and for not protecting us in our rights, and suffering us to be exiled unjustly to a foreign territory, for Utah then belonged to Mexico. When we could not find safety in the United States we fled to Mexico for protection; but we ultimately assisted in redeeming the land we now occupy from the Mexican government and securing it to the United States government. After sending five hundred of our men to redeem this country the United States formed a treaty with Mexico and this became United States Territory.
By and by, after having secured this soil to our government by the Mormon Battalion, and having redeemed it from its sterility, and built upwards of a hundred towns and settlements, it was sold to us. Did we find fault at having to pay for it? No. When the land office was opened in this Territory two or three years ago we considered it all right and we were willing to pay our money for it. But what now? A bill is before Congress the object of which is to deprive us of the lands which we have paid for. The government has got our money in its Treasury for lands we have bought and paid for, and for which it bargained to give us a deed and entered into a compact that we and our children after us should possess this land forever, and now Congress has got up a law to deprive every man in this Territory, whose religious faith happens to differ from Congress, of these lands. Because we happen to differ on certain religious points with the General Government we are to be deprived of our homestead rights, guaranteed to us and to the people of all the Territories of the United States, by the laws of Congress.
Does this look like justice? Is this even-handed justice? It does not seem to agree with my ideas of justice any more than the proceedings of the mobocrats in Missouri, Ohio or Illinois. When, therefore, the American nation, as a nation, by the voice of her Representatives, Senators and President, sanctions a law to deprive American citizens of their citizenship, to rob them of their houses and lands, and then deprive them of their liberty, because of a difference of religious belief and practice, I think the nation is pretty well ripened, and that it will not take much more to prepare them for the fulfillment of the prophecies which I have been repeating. I do not know how longsuffering the Lord is. It is a good thing that He has wisdom, knowledge and understanding, that He is not a human being, or He would get wrathy and swallow up the people in a moment. It is a good thing that you and I do not have people to deal with according to our feelings. God is a long-suffering being. He has fulfilled a great many things pertaining to this people during forty years past. There are a great many more to be fulfilled in relation to us, and in relation to the nation which is persecuting us; but whatever the final result may be, whether the American Congress pass laws to persecute us or not, whether they rob us of our houses and lands or not; whether they imprison us and send us for five years to a Penitentiary or a military camp or not, there is one thing sure: as sure as the sun shines forth in yonder heavens; so sure will the Lord fulfil one thing with regard to this people. What is that? He will return them to Jackson county, and in the western part of the State of Missouri they will build up a city which shall be called Zion, which will be the head-quarters of this Latter-day Saints church; and that will be the place where the prophets, apostles and inspired men of God will have their head-quarters. It will be the place where the Lord God will manifest himself to His people, as He has promised in the Scriptures, as well as in modern revelation.
“Do you believe that?” says one. Just as much as we believed, long before it came to pass, what has taken place. The world can believe what has taken place, because it has been fulfilled. The Latter-day Saints believe in prophecies before they take place. We have just as much confidence in returning to Jackson County and the building of a great central city that will remain there a thousand years before the earth passes away, as the Jews have in returning to Jerusalem and re-building the waste places of Palestine. In fact, we have more faith than they have; for they have been so many generations cast out of their land that their descendants have almost lost their faith in returning. But the Latter-day Saints are fresh, as it were. There are many of the old stock, who passed through all those tribulations I have named, still living, whose faith in returning to Jackson county, and the things that are coming is a firm and fixed as the throne of the Almighty. We know the future destiny of the Kingdom as well as we know its past history, that is concerning the general events which are to transpire.
I am taking up too much of your time. May the Lord bless us as a people; bless us with wisdom, with understanding, with power with the heavens, with union, with peace among ourselves; bless us with righteousness, and joy in the Holy Ghost; bless us with the spiritual gifts of His Kingdom, multiply His favors upon us and upon our generations after us, forever and ever, is my prayer in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Elder Wilford Woodruff
spoke. Our religion is God-given, and were we to relinquish it because of the fear of man, we would be recreant to every heaven-born principle. Civil and religious liberty is the keystone in the arch of the glorious Constitution of our country; if that be taken away, the whole fabric must fall to pieces. This Government is in the hands of God. My life is of but small consequence when compared with my hopes of eternal happiness. No power will put down this work, for God is at the helm and will guide it safely through. President Young has done and is doing all in his power to benefit mankind, thus following in the footsteps of the prophet Joseph. I pray that we may be faithful to the holy principles we have received. Amen.
spoke. Our religion is God-given, and were we to relinquish it because of the fear of man, we would be recreant to every heaven-born principle. Civil and religious liberty is the keystone in the arch of the glorious Constitution of our country; if that be taken away, the whole fabric must fall to pieces. This Government is in the hands of God. My life is of but small consequence when compared with my hopes of eternal happiness. No power will put down this work, for God is at the helm and will guide it safely through. President Young has done and is doing all in his power to benefit mankind, thus following in the footsteps of the prophet Joseph. I pray that we may be faithful to the holy principles we have received. Amen.
Elder Geo. Q. Cannon
addressed the Conference. The Lord is calling the Saints to pass through circumstances that will conduce to make them a great people. We have had trials and persecutions, and the end is not yet. We shall doubtless have to pass through trials that will prove to God that we love Him supremely. All who have read the history of this people cannot but acknowledge that it is not plurality [of wives] which causes the intense hatred that exists against them. If polygamy did not exist, something else would be urged as an excuse for attempting to crush us out of existence. This we have bitterly experienced in the past.
It is not a light thing to embrace the gospel of Jesus. We are engaged in a joyous work and if we have to suffer in sustaining it, it is a glorious reflection that we are but following in the footsteps of others who have labored in the same cause. Although the clouds that seem now to be hovering over us, appear dark, doubtless God will deliver His people as signally as He ever has done heretofore, for we are laboring for the triumph of a principle that will tend to purify the human family. When the gospel was first revealed, revelation was not believed in. How widely revelations are believed in to-day! Thus it is that, although it may be in their own peculiar way. So will it be, probably, in relation to polygamy. If the Saints will be faithful, the Lord will deliver them, which is my desire in the name of Jesus, Amen.
addressed the Conference. The Lord is calling the Saints to pass through circumstances that will conduce to make them a great people. We have had trials and persecutions, and the end is not yet. We shall doubtless have to pass through trials that will prove to God that we love Him supremely. All who have read the history of this people cannot but acknowledge that it is not plurality [of wives] which causes the intense hatred that exists against them. If polygamy did not exist, something else would be urged as an excuse for attempting to crush us out of existence. This we have bitterly experienced in the past.
It is not a light thing to embrace the gospel of Jesus. We are engaged in a joyous work and if we have to suffer in sustaining it, it is a glorious reflection that we are but following in the footsteps of others who have labored in the same cause. Although the clouds that seem now to be hovering over us, appear dark, doubtless God will deliver His people as signally as He ever has done heretofore, for we are laboring for the triumph of a principle that will tend to purify the human family. When the gospel was first revealed, revelation was not believed in. How widely revelations are believed in to-day! Thus it is that, although it may be in their own peculiar way. So will it be, probably, in relation to polygamy. If the Saints will be faithful, the Lord will deliver them, which is my desire in the name of Jesus, Amen.
President Daniel H. Wells.
If the Saints will be directed by the authority of the Holy Priesthood, the thing that is aimed at us will miss its mark. The blessings of God cannot be obtained on any other principle than by abiding His law.
President Wells then moved that this Conference adjourn to the 5th day of May. The vote in favor of the motion was unanimous.
The Tabernacle choir sang the hymn commencing "Daniel's wisdom may I know, Stephen's faith and patience show."
Conference was dismissed by prayer by Elder Joseph F. Smith.
The Spirit of God was manifested and felt throughout the meeting; and the speakers were blessed with extraordinary freedom and power. We feel assured that none present, who came for the purpose of being edified, left, without feeling an increased desire, come what may, to sustain the work of God. We may look upon this as a harbinger of the good time that will be enjoyed at the Conference on Thursday the 5th of May.
John Nicholson,
Clerk of Conference.
If the Saints will be directed by the authority of the Holy Priesthood, the thing that is aimed at us will miss its mark. The blessings of God cannot be obtained on any other principle than by abiding His law.
President Wells then moved that this Conference adjourn to the 5th day of May. The vote in favor of the motion was unanimous.
The Tabernacle choir sang the hymn commencing "Daniel's wisdom may I know, Stephen's faith and patience show."
Conference was dismissed by prayer by Elder Joseph F. Smith.
The Spirit of God was manifested and felt throughout the meeting; and the speakers were blessed with extraordinary freedom and power. We feel assured that none present, who came for the purpose of being edified, left, without feeling an increased desire, come what may, to sustain the work of God. We may look upon this as a harbinger of the good time that will be enjoyed at the Conference on Thursday the 5th of May.
John Nicholson,
Clerk of Conference.
Fortieth Annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. (May 5)
The Fortieth Annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints convened, according to adjournment on April 6th, this morning, at ten o'clock, in the New Tabernacle.
The interesting nature of the times, the increased facilities for travel from the northern settlements and the beautiful weather having induced larger numbers of the Saints than usual from the country districts to flock to the city, the congregation was more numerous than is usual at the first meeting. For nearly an hour before the opening of the gates, and about two hours before the time announced for opening conference, a living stream flowed towards the Temple Block and collected on First South street. Many faces could be observed among the throng, that had not been seen in this city for years. Capt. Beezly's Martial Band was on the ground and increased the interest and animation of the scene with it enlivening strains.
On the stand were:
Of the First Presidency: Brigham Young, Geo. A. Smith and Daniel H. Wells.
Of the Twelve Apostles: Orson Hyde, Orson Pratt, John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, Charles C. Rich, Lorenzo Snow, Erastus Snow, Franklin D. Richards, Geo. Q. Cannon, Brigham Young, Jun., and Joseph F. Smith.
Patriarch: John Smith.
Of the First Seven Presidents of Seventies: Joseph Young, Albert P. Rockwood, Horace S. Eldredge and John Van Cott.
Of the Presidency of the High Priests' Quorum: Edwin D. Woolley and Samuel W. Richards.
Of the Presidency of this Stake of Zion: John W. Young and George B. Wallace.
Of the Presidency of the Bishopric: Edward Hunter, Leonard W. Hardy and Jesse C. Little.
There were also Bishops, Elders and leading men from every settlement in the Territory.
Conference was called to order by President Brigham Young.
The choir sang the hymn commencing: "The morning breaks, the shadows flee."
Prayer by President Geo. A. Smith.
The choir sang. "The towers of Zion soon shall rise."
The Fortieth Annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints convened, according to adjournment on April 6th, this morning, at ten o'clock, in the New Tabernacle.
The interesting nature of the times, the increased facilities for travel from the northern settlements and the beautiful weather having induced larger numbers of the Saints than usual from the country districts to flock to the city, the congregation was more numerous than is usual at the first meeting. For nearly an hour before the opening of the gates, and about two hours before the time announced for opening conference, a living stream flowed towards the Temple Block and collected on First South street. Many faces could be observed among the throng, that had not been seen in this city for years. Capt. Beezly's Martial Band was on the ground and increased the interest and animation of the scene with it enlivening strains.
On the stand were:
Of the First Presidency: Brigham Young, Geo. A. Smith and Daniel H. Wells.
Of the Twelve Apostles: Orson Hyde, Orson Pratt, John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, Charles C. Rich, Lorenzo Snow, Erastus Snow, Franklin D. Richards, Geo. Q. Cannon, Brigham Young, Jun., and Joseph F. Smith.
Patriarch: John Smith.
Of the First Seven Presidents of Seventies: Joseph Young, Albert P. Rockwood, Horace S. Eldredge and John Van Cott.
Of the Presidency of the High Priests' Quorum: Edwin D. Woolley and Samuel W. Richards.
Of the Presidency of this Stake of Zion: John W. Young and George B. Wallace.
Of the Presidency of the Bishopric: Edward Hunter, Leonard W. Hardy and Jesse C. Little.
There were also Bishops, Elders and leading men from every settlement in the Territory.
Conference was called to order by President Brigham Young.
The choir sang the hymn commencing: "The morning breaks, the shadows flee."
Prayer by President Geo. A. Smith.
The choir sang. "The towers of Zion soon shall rise."
President Geo. A. Smith
addressed the Conference on the first principles of the gospel. The Latter-day Saints had never been permitted to stay long enough in one place to enable them to build a house large enough to accommodate all who wished to attend our conferences. By the blessings of God, however, we are now in a position that we will not be under the necessity of requesting any of our brethren and sisters of the city to stay away to make room for the Saints from the country.
Forty years since, on the 6th day of last April, the Church of Jesus Christ was organized with six members. At that time, fragmentary portions of the gospel of Christ could be found in the various sectarian churches throughout the world; but when the gospel was restored by the Almighty through the instrumentality of the Prophet Joseph, a complete system was introduced. Have we adhered to those ordinances and those glorious principles which were incorporated in that system? In the days of Joseph, men were tried and tempted and many were led astray by false spirits. At one time, Oliver Cowdery remarked that if he should apostatize, the church would be broken up. The Prophet told him, however, that it was the work of the Lord and it would roll on without him. This work is not dependent upon any man or set of men. In the days of Joseph, it was predicted by many that if he were destroyed, the Church would fall to pieces, yet it exists today and is more powerful than it ever was. May the Lord of life and glory bless his servants and all Israel, is my prayer, Amen.
addressed the Conference on the first principles of the gospel. The Latter-day Saints had never been permitted to stay long enough in one place to enable them to build a house large enough to accommodate all who wished to attend our conferences. By the blessings of God, however, we are now in a position that we will not be under the necessity of requesting any of our brethren and sisters of the city to stay away to make room for the Saints from the country.
Forty years since, on the 6th day of last April, the Church of Jesus Christ was organized with six members. At that time, fragmentary portions of the gospel of Christ could be found in the various sectarian churches throughout the world; but when the gospel was restored by the Almighty through the instrumentality of the Prophet Joseph, a complete system was introduced. Have we adhered to those ordinances and those glorious principles which were incorporated in that system? In the days of Joseph, men were tried and tempted and many were led astray by false spirits. At one time, Oliver Cowdery remarked that if he should apostatize, the church would be broken up. The Prophet told him, however, that it was the work of the Lord and it would roll on without him. This work is not dependent upon any man or set of men. In the days of Joseph, it was predicted by many that if he were destroyed, the Church would fall to pieces, yet it exists today and is more powerful than it ever was. May the Lord of life and glory bless his servants and all Israel, is my prayer, Amen.
Organization of the Church—Different Glories—God's Work
Remarks by President George A. Smith, delivered in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, May 5, 1870.
Reported by David W. Evans.
It is a great pleasure to meet with the brethren again in Conference, and it is certainly very gratifying to see the people so comfortably seated, with a prospect of enjoying the benefits and blessings of the Conference; even should the elements not be favorable we have a shelter and a shade. It has been the fortune of the Latter-day Saints never to stay in any place long enough to build a house sufficiently large to hold the people; but, with the blessing of the Lord and the united efforts of the brethren, we have room sufficient to hold a very large audience, though no doubt occasions will still occur when we shall cry out, “More room,” and probably before our Conference closes. I think, however, that we need not ask any of our brethren who reside in this city, as we have had to do, to stay at home to make room for those who may be in from a distance; all may come and be accommodated. The acoustic properties of the Tabernacle are evidently improved by the erection of the gallery, and if all who attend Conference will leave their coughing at home, sit still while here and omit shuffling their feet, they may have an opportunity of hearing pretty much everything that may be said. It will certainly require, even when all these conditions are complied with, considerable effort to fill so large a house with one voice, and that effort must be met by a corresponding effort on the part of the audience to preserve perfect stillness.
It was forty years ago on the 6th of last month since the organization of the Church took place, in the chamber of Father Whitmer, in Fayette, Seneca county, New York, with six members. The history of that forty years would require volumes to record. The institution, as it then commenced, was in its infancy; yet the Lord revealed to His servant, that He had laid the foundation of a great work; the truth of that saying has been realized by the progress of events. The changes that have transpired in connection with this people have been very remarkable. The work commenced by preaching faith in the Lord Jesus, repentance and the ordinance of baptism for the remission of sins, and the laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost, which was an innovation upon the creeds and practices of every other religious sect; I am not aware that any one denomination believed in and practiced all the principles that were introduced at the organization of this Church. The first three of these principles were faith in the Lord Jesus, repentance, and baptism by immersion for the remission of sins. The next principle was the laying on of hands for the reception of the Holy Ghost, precisely as it was pointed out by the Savior and practiced by his disciples in Judea.
There were denominations who believed in baptism by immersion, but not for the remission of sins, they believed that remission of sins was necessary previous to baptism; but they were ignorant of the possibility of the reception of the Holy Ghost, and, consequently, of the doctrine of the laying on of hands. The Church of England, it is true, would confirm by the laying on of the hand of the bishops, but not for confirming the gift of the Holy Ghost on the heads of the believers; and while all the professed believers in the doctrine of Christ had some portions or fragments of his Gospel as revealed and established by him and his Apostles, it was the Church of Latter-day Saints which introduced and established, complete, the principles of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, repentance towards God, baptism for the remission of sins, and the laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost. These principles were all important, and the moment the Bible was brought forth everybody could find that they coincided exactly with the principles set forth by the Savior, and it required to be spiritualized and changed to make it appear otherwise. But the Christian world had gone astray from these things, and when they were restored, they rejected them. There were, however, honest persons in all of the denominations, and God has respect to every man who is honest of heart and purpose, though he may be deceived, and in error as to principle and doctrine; yet so far as that error is the result of their being deceived by the cunning craftiness of men, or of circumstances over which such have no control, the Lord in His abundant mercy looks with allowance thereon, and in His great economy He has provided different glories and ordained that all persons shall be judged according to the knowledge they possess and the use they make of that knowledge, and according to the deeds done in the body, whether good or evil.
“And again, we saw the terrestrial world, and behold and lo, these are they who are of the terrestrial, whose glory differs from that of the church of the Firstborn who have received the fullness of the Father, even as that of the moon differs from that of the sun in the firmament. Behold, these are they who died without law; And also they who are the spirits of men kept in prison, whom the Son visited, and preached the gospel unto them, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh; Who received not the testimony of Jesus in the flesh, but afterwards received it. These are they who are honorable men of the earth, who were blinded by the craftiness of men. These are they who receive of his glory, but not of his fullness. These are they who receive of the presence of the Son, but not of the fullness of the Father. Wherefore, they are bodies terrestrial, and not bodies celestial, and differ in glory as the moon differs from the sun. These are they who are not valiant in the testimony of Jesus; wherefore, they obtain not the crown over the kingdom of our God.”
In opening this Conference it would be well for us individually to ask ourselves, Have we received the first principles of the Gospel of Christ, and have we continued in those principles which were first taught unto us; or is it necessary for us again to lay the foundation of repentance from dead works? It is very singular that when the principles of the Gospel, as I have stated them, were presented to the different sects, they were disposed to reject them and to persecute those who preached them in their fullness. Such, however, was the fact, and it is owing to this that the Latter-day Saints are now in the Great Basin of the Rocky Mountains, in the heart of the American continent, in the enjoyment of political and religious liberty and freedom, for which they have sacrificed more perhaps than any other people on the face of the earth. And we have the greatest reason of all people to be thankful to God for these blessings.
Then let us ask ourselves, Are we prepared for the great blessings which God has bestowed upon us? Are we living up to our callings and magnifying the same? Do we observe the duties which are imposed upon us by our holy religion? Or are we foolish enough, while recognizing its truth, and professing to be Latter-day Saints, to treat it with carelessness and neglect, and failing to live up to our high and holy calling?
From the earliest days of the preaching of the Gospel by Joseph Smith, men were tried and tempted and led astray by false spirits and doctrines of devils. We find at the commencement of Joseph's mission that many who entered into covenant turned away, and some became very bitter enemies. It was necessary from the very beginning that there should be a sifting, for the Lord declared unto His people that He would sift them as with a sieve. This sifting had to continue, and hence every time the Latter-day Saints were driven, scattered, or otherwise persecuted, it caused those who could not abide in the faith to pass quietly away, or to make their wickedness manifest unto the church and unto the world. But while this was going on, the strength of Zion was increasing. It is said, and I presume correctly, that Oliver Cowdery remarked at one time to Joseph Smith, “If I should apostatize and leave the Church, the Church would be broken up.” The answer of the Prophet was, “What and who are you? This is the work of God, and if you turn against it and withdraw from it, it will still roll on and you will not be missed.” It was not long until Oliver turned away, but the work continued. God raised up men from obscurity to step forth and shoulder the burdens, and it was hardly known when and where he went. In about ten years he came back again, came before a local Conference at Mosquito Creek, Pottawatomie Co., Iowa, Oct., 1848, and acknowledged his faults. He bore testimony of the mission of the Prophet, Joseph Smith, and of the truth of the Book of Mormon; he exhorted the Saints to follow the authority of the Holy Priesthood, which he assured them was with the Twelve Apostles. He said, “When the Saints follow the main channel of the stream, they find themselves in deep water and always right, pursuing their journey with safety; but when they turned aside into sloughs and bayous, they are left to flounder in the mud and are lost, for the Angel of God said unto Joseph in my hearing that this Priesthood shall remain on the earth until the end.”
Oliver declared he took pleasure in bearing this testimony to the largest congregation of Saints he had ever seen together. He was rebaptized and made arrangements to come to the mountains, but died soon after, while on a visit to the Whitmers, in Missouri.
This circumstance shows how little God depends upon man to carry on His work. He does it by His own power, His own majesty, by His own mighty hand and for the accomplishment of His own glorious purposes.
It was thought and felt throughout the world, about the year 1844, that if Joseph Smith, the Prophet, could be destroyed, that would be the end of the Latter-day Saints. Men conspired together to shed his blood; they sought occasion against him; they made him an offender for a word; they swore falsely against him, and some who had been his friends turned traitors and conspired with the wicked and shed his blood. It was generally believed by the enemies of the Saints that that was the end of the work of the Lord. The pulpit resounded with thanks to God that the great arch-impostor, Joseph Smith, was slain. The priests rejoiced over it; and though there was a feeling, tolerably widespread, that it was barbarous to kill him, under the plighted faith of Illinois, yet the general feeling was that it was a good thing that he was dead. But God had a work to perform, and it did not depend upon the life of one or two individuals. It was His work, His kingdom, His Church, His plan of salvation, and He, by His own wisdom and His own mighty hand bore it off.
These were the facts, and these continue to be the facts; and all that the Latter-day Saints have to do is to live within the confines of God's holy law and up to their privileges. Are we doing so? Are we walking in accordance with these principles? Let us ask ourselves these questions, and if any of us are remiss, let us immediately commence to reform, humble ourselves before God, and be ready to sacrifice ourselves and all we have, if necessary, for the building up and redemption of Zion and for our salvation.
We have come together as a Conference to compare notes with each other, to rejoice together and to receive instruction; and let every man and woman that has come or that may yet come, lift their hearts to God in solemn prayer that His blessing may rest upon His servants, that they may be inspired with a double portion of His holy Spirit, that the Priesthood, in all its life, power and glory, may speak forth the words of truth, light and intelligence that shall pour comfort into the hearts of the Saints, and guide and strengthen them, and illuminate their path, that we, one and all, may continue in the great and glorious work which we have commenced.
May the Lord God of Hosts bless you, and peace be and abide in your hearts, that you may appreciate these things, and exercise faith, union, knowledge, power, and wisdom in your walk and conduct henceforth, and that these meetings may be a blessing to all who attend them, is my prayer, in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Remarks by President George A. Smith, delivered in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, May 5, 1870.
Reported by David W. Evans.
It is a great pleasure to meet with the brethren again in Conference, and it is certainly very gratifying to see the people so comfortably seated, with a prospect of enjoying the benefits and blessings of the Conference; even should the elements not be favorable we have a shelter and a shade. It has been the fortune of the Latter-day Saints never to stay in any place long enough to build a house sufficiently large to hold the people; but, with the blessing of the Lord and the united efforts of the brethren, we have room sufficient to hold a very large audience, though no doubt occasions will still occur when we shall cry out, “More room,” and probably before our Conference closes. I think, however, that we need not ask any of our brethren who reside in this city, as we have had to do, to stay at home to make room for those who may be in from a distance; all may come and be accommodated. The acoustic properties of the Tabernacle are evidently improved by the erection of the gallery, and if all who attend Conference will leave their coughing at home, sit still while here and omit shuffling their feet, they may have an opportunity of hearing pretty much everything that may be said. It will certainly require, even when all these conditions are complied with, considerable effort to fill so large a house with one voice, and that effort must be met by a corresponding effort on the part of the audience to preserve perfect stillness.
It was forty years ago on the 6th of last month since the organization of the Church took place, in the chamber of Father Whitmer, in Fayette, Seneca county, New York, with six members. The history of that forty years would require volumes to record. The institution, as it then commenced, was in its infancy; yet the Lord revealed to His servant, that He had laid the foundation of a great work; the truth of that saying has been realized by the progress of events. The changes that have transpired in connection with this people have been very remarkable. The work commenced by preaching faith in the Lord Jesus, repentance and the ordinance of baptism for the remission of sins, and the laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost, which was an innovation upon the creeds and practices of every other religious sect; I am not aware that any one denomination believed in and practiced all the principles that were introduced at the organization of this Church. The first three of these principles were faith in the Lord Jesus, repentance, and baptism by immersion for the remission of sins. The next principle was the laying on of hands for the reception of the Holy Ghost, precisely as it was pointed out by the Savior and practiced by his disciples in Judea.
There were denominations who believed in baptism by immersion, but not for the remission of sins, they believed that remission of sins was necessary previous to baptism; but they were ignorant of the possibility of the reception of the Holy Ghost, and, consequently, of the doctrine of the laying on of hands. The Church of England, it is true, would confirm by the laying on of the hand of the bishops, but not for confirming the gift of the Holy Ghost on the heads of the believers; and while all the professed believers in the doctrine of Christ had some portions or fragments of his Gospel as revealed and established by him and his Apostles, it was the Church of Latter-day Saints which introduced and established, complete, the principles of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, repentance towards God, baptism for the remission of sins, and the laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost. These principles were all important, and the moment the Bible was brought forth everybody could find that they coincided exactly with the principles set forth by the Savior, and it required to be spiritualized and changed to make it appear otherwise. But the Christian world had gone astray from these things, and when they were restored, they rejected them. There were, however, honest persons in all of the denominations, and God has respect to every man who is honest of heart and purpose, though he may be deceived, and in error as to principle and doctrine; yet so far as that error is the result of their being deceived by the cunning craftiness of men, or of circumstances over which such have no control, the Lord in His abundant mercy looks with allowance thereon, and in His great economy He has provided different glories and ordained that all persons shall be judged according to the knowledge they possess and the use they make of that knowledge, and according to the deeds done in the body, whether good or evil.
“And again, we saw the terrestrial world, and behold and lo, these are they who are of the terrestrial, whose glory differs from that of the church of the Firstborn who have received the fullness of the Father, even as that of the moon differs from that of the sun in the firmament. Behold, these are they who died without law; And also they who are the spirits of men kept in prison, whom the Son visited, and preached the gospel unto them, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh; Who received not the testimony of Jesus in the flesh, but afterwards received it. These are they who are honorable men of the earth, who were blinded by the craftiness of men. These are they who receive of his glory, but not of his fullness. These are they who receive of the presence of the Son, but not of the fullness of the Father. Wherefore, they are bodies terrestrial, and not bodies celestial, and differ in glory as the moon differs from the sun. These are they who are not valiant in the testimony of Jesus; wherefore, they obtain not the crown over the kingdom of our God.”
In opening this Conference it would be well for us individually to ask ourselves, Have we received the first principles of the Gospel of Christ, and have we continued in those principles which were first taught unto us; or is it necessary for us again to lay the foundation of repentance from dead works? It is very singular that when the principles of the Gospel, as I have stated them, were presented to the different sects, they were disposed to reject them and to persecute those who preached them in their fullness. Such, however, was the fact, and it is owing to this that the Latter-day Saints are now in the Great Basin of the Rocky Mountains, in the heart of the American continent, in the enjoyment of political and religious liberty and freedom, for which they have sacrificed more perhaps than any other people on the face of the earth. And we have the greatest reason of all people to be thankful to God for these blessings.
Then let us ask ourselves, Are we prepared for the great blessings which God has bestowed upon us? Are we living up to our callings and magnifying the same? Do we observe the duties which are imposed upon us by our holy religion? Or are we foolish enough, while recognizing its truth, and professing to be Latter-day Saints, to treat it with carelessness and neglect, and failing to live up to our high and holy calling?
From the earliest days of the preaching of the Gospel by Joseph Smith, men were tried and tempted and led astray by false spirits and doctrines of devils. We find at the commencement of Joseph's mission that many who entered into covenant turned away, and some became very bitter enemies. It was necessary from the very beginning that there should be a sifting, for the Lord declared unto His people that He would sift them as with a sieve. This sifting had to continue, and hence every time the Latter-day Saints were driven, scattered, or otherwise persecuted, it caused those who could not abide in the faith to pass quietly away, or to make their wickedness manifest unto the church and unto the world. But while this was going on, the strength of Zion was increasing. It is said, and I presume correctly, that Oliver Cowdery remarked at one time to Joseph Smith, “If I should apostatize and leave the Church, the Church would be broken up.” The answer of the Prophet was, “What and who are you? This is the work of God, and if you turn against it and withdraw from it, it will still roll on and you will not be missed.” It was not long until Oliver turned away, but the work continued. God raised up men from obscurity to step forth and shoulder the burdens, and it was hardly known when and where he went. In about ten years he came back again, came before a local Conference at Mosquito Creek, Pottawatomie Co., Iowa, Oct., 1848, and acknowledged his faults. He bore testimony of the mission of the Prophet, Joseph Smith, and of the truth of the Book of Mormon; he exhorted the Saints to follow the authority of the Holy Priesthood, which he assured them was with the Twelve Apostles. He said, “When the Saints follow the main channel of the stream, they find themselves in deep water and always right, pursuing their journey with safety; but when they turned aside into sloughs and bayous, they are left to flounder in the mud and are lost, for the Angel of God said unto Joseph in my hearing that this Priesthood shall remain on the earth until the end.”
Oliver declared he took pleasure in bearing this testimony to the largest congregation of Saints he had ever seen together. He was rebaptized and made arrangements to come to the mountains, but died soon after, while on a visit to the Whitmers, in Missouri.
This circumstance shows how little God depends upon man to carry on His work. He does it by His own power, His own majesty, by His own mighty hand and for the accomplishment of His own glorious purposes.
It was thought and felt throughout the world, about the year 1844, that if Joseph Smith, the Prophet, could be destroyed, that would be the end of the Latter-day Saints. Men conspired together to shed his blood; they sought occasion against him; they made him an offender for a word; they swore falsely against him, and some who had been his friends turned traitors and conspired with the wicked and shed his blood. It was generally believed by the enemies of the Saints that that was the end of the work of the Lord. The pulpit resounded with thanks to God that the great arch-impostor, Joseph Smith, was slain. The priests rejoiced over it; and though there was a feeling, tolerably widespread, that it was barbarous to kill him, under the plighted faith of Illinois, yet the general feeling was that it was a good thing that he was dead. But God had a work to perform, and it did not depend upon the life of one or two individuals. It was His work, His kingdom, His Church, His plan of salvation, and He, by His own wisdom and His own mighty hand bore it off.
These were the facts, and these continue to be the facts; and all that the Latter-day Saints have to do is to live within the confines of God's holy law and up to their privileges. Are we doing so? Are we walking in accordance with these principles? Let us ask ourselves these questions, and if any of us are remiss, let us immediately commence to reform, humble ourselves before God, and be ready to sacrifice ourselves and all we have, if necessary, for the building up and redemption of Zion and for our salvation.
We have come together as a Conference to compare notes with each other, to rejoice together and to receive instruction; and let every man and woman that has come or that may yet come, lift their hearts to God in solemn prayer that His blessing may rest upon His servants, that they may be inspired with a double portion of His holy Spirit, that the Priesthood, in all its life, power and glory, may speak forth the words of truth, light and intelligence that shall pour comfort into the hearts of the Saints, and guide and strengthen them, and illuminate their path, that we, one and all, may continue in the great and glorious work which we have commenced.
May the Lord God of Hosts bless you, and peace be and abide in your hearts, that you may appreciate these things, and exercise faith, union, knowledge, power, and wisdom in your walk and conduct henceforth, and that these meetings may be a blessing to all who attend them, is my prayer, in the name of Jesus. Amen.
President Daniel H. Wells.
The Lord knew the right time to reveal His gospel to His children, and He sent His messenger to the right Joseph. He knew that Joseph would receive it and could never be induced to deny it. The children of men have their agency to accept or reject the principles of the Holy Gospel, when those principles are unfolded to them. Those who reject the gospel, take upon themselves an awful responsibility. The Lord will leave all of His children without excuse. Those who do not know the gospel in this life, will have an opportunity in another sphere. The Latter-day Saints know in whom they have trusted. They have relied upon Him who is indeed their Father. The gospel should be sweeter to us now than it has ever been, and we should be willing, were it necessary, to place our all, even to our existence, on the altar, for furtherance of the cause of God on the earth. When any new principle, or even a new idea respecting some old principle is advanced, many are ready to oppose it. How many, for instance, have raised a hue and cry because the people were counseled not to trade with their enemies. The kingdom and the greatness thereof will never be given to a people who would hand them over to the Devil as fast as the Lord bestowed them. The Lord tests and tries his people to see whether they have integrity, and those who fly the track the moment they are tired, show to Him that they have no integrity. It is the greatest calamity that can befall a person, to make shipwreck of his most Holy Faith. In all ages of the world, the people of God have had to endure the hatred and persecution of the world. The tables, however, will finally be changed. The Saints will yet have power to erect a holy temple to the Lord, and the glory of God shall rest upon the Temple and the habitations of the Saints.
The Lord knew the right time to reveal His gospel to His children, and He sent His messenger to the right Joseph. He knew that Joseph would receive it and could never be induced to deny it. The children of men have their agency to accept or reject the principles of the Holy Gospel, when those principles are unfolded to them. Those who reject the gospel, take upon themselves an awful responsibility. The Lord will leave all of His children without excuse. Those who do not know the gospel in this life, will have an opportunity in another sphere. The Latter-day Saints know in whom they have trusted. They have relied upon Him who is indeed their Father. The gospel should be sweeter to us now than it has ever been, and we should be willing, were it necessary, to place our all, even to our existence, on the altar, for furtherance of the cause of God on the earth. When any new principle, or even a new idea respecting some old principle is advanced, many are ready to oppose it. How many, for instance, have raised a hue and cry because the people were counseled not to trade with their enemies. The kingdom and the greatness thereof will never be given to a people who would hand them over to the Devil as fast as the Lord bestowed them. The Lord tests and tries his people to see whether they have integrity, and those who fly the track the moment they are tired, show to Him that they have no integrity. It is the greatest calamity that can befall a person, to make shipwreck of his most Holy Faith. In all ages of the world, the people of God have had to endure the hatred and persecution of the world. The tables, however, will finally be changed. The Saints will yet have power to erect a holy temple to the Lord, and the glory of God shall rest upon the Temple and the habitations of the Saints.
The Gospel—Building Up the Kingdom
Remarks by President Daniel H. Wells, delivered in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, May 5, 1870.
Reported by David W. Evans.
It has pleased God in the day and generation in which we live to reveal His holy Gospel. I expect that He knew the time to bring it forth; that He understood the proper time to introduce its principles, and chose that period in the world's history in which it would be received by, at least, a portion of His children. I apprehend that He made no mistake; that the angel which John prophesied should come forth, bearing the everlasting Gospel to the children of men, came to the right person, to the true Joseph—to the one who would receive it, and bear testimony that he had seen an angel, though all the world should deride and point the finger of scorn, call him a dreamer, and treat him with every kind of contumely and reproach; and though they eventually persecuted him unto the death, they could not prevail upon him to deny that he had seen an angel, and that he received from the Lord those principles which he taught.
We believe, then, that it was the right time, and that he, the angel, came to the right person; that the Gospel has gone forth unto the world, that the minds of the children of men have been touched with the light of truth, and that it has had the effect to inspire some to seek after the Lord, to observe and keep His laws, learn His ways and walk in His paths. The object and purpose of our gathering together, brethren and sisters, is to learn of His ways, and walk in His paths.
It is one of the greatest conceivable blessings which can be conferred upon the children of men to live in the day and generation in which the Lord has sent forth His Gospel; in an age in which He has conferred upon men the authority of the holy Priesthood to administer in sacred and holy things. It is one of the greatest blessings that could be conferred upon His children to become the happy recipients of that knowledge which leads to eternal life and exaltation in His kingdom. All people have this privilege so far as the knowledge of the Gospel has come to their ears. In this the children of men are independent; they have their volition and agency to receive or to reject these principles when they shall hear them; but when they are sent forth with the authority of the holy Priesthood, which is the authority of God, and are sounded in the ears of God's creatures here on the earth, and they reject them, they incur a fearful responsibility. Still they have the power to act as they please in this matter; but the consequences rest upon themselves—the Lord has left them without excuse. It is a matter for you and me and for all persons to canvas in their own minds, and we can then act upon our own volition in receiving or rejecting the truth.
All who have not heard the principles of life and salvation proclaimed will have the privilege of doing so; if not here, then in some other sphere or state of existence. The plan of salvation is ample, full and complete, and will save all the children of men who let it, and the Lord will be left without excuse in the final winding up, so far as the probation of man on the earth is concerned.
We read in the Scriptures that to know the only true God and Jesus Christ, whom He has sent, is life eternal. To enable His creatures to obtain this knowledge the Lord has kindly sent forth His revelations from time to time; but we do honestly believe that the Latter-day Saints are the only people on the face of the earth at the present time that have any true knowledge of God, of the relationship that does exist between Him and the inhabitants of the earth and of the design and object of the Almighty in bringing them into existence, and the purpose to be accomplished thereby in their future state. I say we believe that the Latter-day Saints are the only people who possess this knowledge. The world have no just conceptions of the Deity; even the Christian world are without the knowledge of God as much as the heathen nations. This may be deemed a sweeping declaration, but it is susceptible of proof, if we take the Scriptures for our guide and as the foundation of our argument; that is, if the Christian world believe as they profess to do. I do not care to illustrate at this present time, or to bring evidence to bear to sustain my position, to a people who understand these arguments and principles, and who have learned better things, as is the case with this congregation. We know in whom we have trusted; we know who has led us forth to the valleys of the mountains; who has blessed the land and caused it to bring forth its strength for our sustenance; who has shielded and protected us from the power of the adversary—those who have sought our overthrow and destruction. We have learned to know Him as our Father, the Father of our spirits, and the God and Father of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He has exercised a parental care over us, and has delivered us at all times from the power of our enemies, brought us an inheritance in a goodly land, blessed the land and caused it to bring forth in its strength for our sustenance. We know that we are dependent upon Him for our very existence, and that by Him only are we preserved, just as well as we know that the children of men, impelled by the great adversary, Satan, are seeking to overthrow us, to break in pieces the kingdom of God, and to destroy from the face of the earth the rule and authority of the Priesthood of God.
Are we prepared to take upon ourselves the labor, the self-denial, the self-abnegation, I might say the persecution, if it should be permitted to come upon us, that continually besets the pathway of the Saint of God? If we are, we are all right; if we are not, we had better repent and seek unto the Lord for strength, retrace our steps, and get the Spirit of God in our hearts that we may become more confirmed in our most holy faith. When we received the Gospel we felt as though it would be a great privilege to devote our whole lives and all our interests in this existence to the extension of this great and glorious cause. Have we grown lukewarm in our feelings and love? If so it is time to retrace our steps, lest we become darkened in the counsel of our minds and turn away to the beggarly elements of the world.
I will say, this morning, that the Gospel that I received is as sweet to me today as it ever was during my existence on the earth, yea, more so, for as I advance, greater and more glorious truths and beauties develop themselves and come home to my understanding. If the first principles of the Gospel were true in the days of Joseph, they are true today. If the principles that have been developed as we have passed along were true when they first struck our minds with their convincing proofs, they are also true today. If what we believed were the whisperings of the Spirit of God confirming these truths on our minds, were really so, and we received them from Heaven, we should live faithful to what we have received, that we may progress and improve as we pass along. We have received an item of truth here and another there, as we could receive and maintain it; but the revelations declare that there are things yet to be revealed which have been kept hid from the foundations of the world. I, for one, expect that the volume of revelation will remain open, and that the servants of God will, in the future as they have in the past, read to us from the Book of Life. The reflection that we shall not be confined to what has already been given, but that we shall continue to grow and increase in the knowledge of God, and in every good, is one of the most highly-prized principles of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
How true it is that, when any new principle, or any new idea concerning an old principle is promulgated, the human heart seems to rise up in rebellion against it, and the Saints are no exception in this respect, for when the Lord condescends to reveal any new principle pertaining to their welfare and the building up of His kingdom on the earth, many are ready, both in feelings and practices, to rise up and rebel against it. What is the matter? Are we pent up in a nutshell and confined in our feelings to such an extent that we cannot receive new revelations and instructions from time to time when they come from the proper source? No. I think that, for the great majority of the Latter-day Saints, I can answer it is not so. It may be so with individuals; but as a general thing, the Saints are glad to receive instruction, line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little, as they can receive and endure it. I heard President Young say that he told the Prophet Joseph never to reveal a new principle to him if he thought that he could not receive it, that it would be detrimental to his faith or cause him to turn from that which he had received. He said he would rather remain in ignorance than to have it prove a stumbling block to him. I have seen a great many people anxious for revelation, and for the development of some great mystery concerning the kingdom of God. I have never felt so; I have been satisfied with what the Lord should condescend to reveal, and more than glad if, when it did come, I was able to receive and practice it.
How many are there within the hearing of my voice who have felt infringed upon in their feelings when they were told to sustain Zion and not to trade with their enemies. This was a new feature, but it touched things of a temporal nature. Why a great many felt as though they could not submit to be dictated to, though it was by the servant of God, in regard to temporal affairs. Is not this true, and we, too, right in the midst of Israel? O, yes, we can't deny it, there has been considerable howling made concerning this item. But yet this is the kingdom of God, and the kingdom and the greatness thereof are to be given to the Saints of the Most High. Can we expect anything else than that His servant will dictate us concerning our temporal matters? I do not understand it in any other way. When, I would ask, can the kingdom of God be established on the earth, or in other words when can the kingdom and the greatness thereof be given to the Saints of the Most High? Never until a people is found possessing sufficient good, hard, sound sense to use the blessings of that kingdom to build it up and not to give it to the devil just as fast as the Lord hands them over to them. We have come up to Zion that we may be taught in the ways of the Lord and that we may learn to walk in His paths. And you know I have told you how independent we are—we can either receive the Gospel, or reject it and take the consequences. But let no man lay the flattering unction to his soul that he can do just as he pleases and obtain celestial glory. We can never do this, except we make our ways, notions and ideas correspond with the Lord's. If we expect to attain to celestial glory, and be prepared and qualified to receive the kingdom of God in its greatness upon the earth, we shall have to make our ways correspond with the Lord's, so much so at least as to be found faithful in making good use of the blessings which He has entrusted to us. It is those who are found faithful over a few things unto whom the promise is made that they shall become rulers over many things. It is not those who fly the track at the moment of peril and difficulty who will obtain the blessings of high heaven; no, the Lord tests and tries us, to prove if we have integrity, and the man who flies the track, when tested, proves that he is lacking in integrity and is not worthy to receive the blessings of those who are faithful and true. Blessings are no doubt withheld in kindness for a time, for many who receive them grow fat and kick, thus proving to the Lord that they are not worthy; and peradventure He withholds blessings from many very good people, who will finally triumph over their own peculiar notions and ideas, and make their ways so far correspond with the Lord's as to be worthy.
We are in a school of experience, brethren and sisters, and it will be well for us if we will wisely use and apply the blessings we receive and the experience that we are passing through, and so govern and control ourselves in the future that the experience of the past may be a light to our feet in time to come.
It is most desirable to us all that we should be preserved in the purity of our most holy faith, and never depart therefrom or swerve either to the right hand or to the left. The fate of others who have departed from the path of rectitude ought to be a warning to as all to be careful not to grieve the Holy Spirit, lest we fall into the same pit. It is a very easy thing for a man to get into the dark, and small things often lead to it. He sees, peradventure, something in his Bishop or Teacher, or in some of the authorities, which he does not like, and instead of going to the proper place to ascertain the truth in the case, and informing his mind correctly concerning the matter, he lets it corrode in his heart until disaffection is produced and he begins to lose confidence. In a short time, if he indulges in this spirit, he mouths it to some confidant or friend, and after doing it once he mouths it again, and if you follow that man a little longer you will find that he neglects his prayers and the duties of his calling, and very soon the counsel of his mind becomes darkened, and soon he is on the highway to apostasy, and, in fact, he has been there from the beginning, if he had only known it; and if no good friend should tell him his error, in a short time, such a man goes over the dam and makes shipwreck of his faith, and that is the greatest calamity that can befall any person.
What matters it to the Saints what path they are led into if the Lord leads? If they are submissive and yield to His dictation, no matter whether it brings weal or woe, it will work out good; it may bring poverty, so far as the things of the world are concerned, but it will never bring poverty to the soul. And it will be a happy reflection when we have passed through this mortal existence, that we were able to stand the test, enduring the ordeals and remaining steadfast and faithful to the end.
I do not know that we are promised anything here but the hatred and persecution of the world; and this has been the portion of the Saints of God in every age of the world. I do believe, however, that the table is going to change; I believe that when the people are sufficiently pure and worthy, and capable of wisely using the blessings of which I have spoken, the blessings of earth and heaven will be poured upon them in rich abundance. We have a little foretaste of this in the blessings that we have received and enjoy today. Although the power of the Adversary is very great, and he still seeks the overthrow and destruction of the cause and kingdom of God on the earth; yet it is a different age of the world, it is a different dispensation; it is the dispensation of the fulness of times, in which, no matter how much we may be overturned, no matter how much individuals may suffer, or how much they may be called to endure, the final result will be triumph to the kingdom, and it will not be given to another people; but we shall have power to redeem Zion and to build that great and glorious temple in which the Saints will receive the blessings of eternity, and on which the glory of God will rest as a cloud by day and as a pillar of fire by night. This people are that people; these Saints are the Saints of the Most High, to whom the kingdom and the greatness thereof will be given, and another people shall never possess it.
This should be a great satisfaction to us, and should encourage us in our pathway through all the difficulties we may have to encounter. We would not be worth much if we could not pass through ordeals. The Savior of the world had to pass through them, and we should not complain if we have to tread in his footsteps in order to obtain great blessings at the end of the race. Let us reflect on these things and go on our way rejoicing, filling the full measure of our creation with credit to ourselves, and with honor to God, our Father, who brought us to this state of existence, which is my prayer for Jesus' sake. Amen.
Remarks by President Daniel H. Wells, delivered in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, May 5, 1870.
Reported by David W. Evans.
It has pleased God in the day and generation in which we live to reveal His holy Gospel. I expect that He knew the time to bring it forth; that He understood the proper time to introduce its principles, and chose that period in the world's history in which it would be received by, at least, a portion of His children. I apprehend that He made no mistake; that the angel which John prophesied should come forth, bearing the everlasting Gospel to the children of men, came to the right person, to the true Joseph—to the one who would receive it, and bear testimony that he had seen an angel, though all the world should deride and point the finger of scorn, call him a dreamer, and treat him with every kind of contumely and reproach; and though they eventually persecuted him unto the death, they could not prevail upon him to deny that he had seen an angel, and that he received from the Lord those principles which he taught.
We believe, then, that it was the right time, and that he, the angel, came to the right person; that the Gospel has gone forth unto the world, that the minds of the children of men have been touched with the light of truth, and that it has had the effect to inspire some to seek after the Lord, to observe and keep His laws, learn His ways and walk in His paths. The object and purpose of our gathering together, brethren and sisters, is to learn of His ways, and walk in His paths.
It is one of the greatest conceivable blessings which can be conferred upon the children of men to live in the day and generation in which the Lord has sent forth His Gospel; in an age in which He has conferred upon men the authority of the holy Priesthood to administer in sacred and holy things. It is one of the greatest blessings that could be conferred upon His children to become the happy recipients of that knowledge which leads to eternal life and exaltation in His kingdom. All people have this privilege so far as the knowledge of the Gospel has come to their ears. In this the children of men are independent; they have their volition and agency to receive or to reject these principles when they shall hear them; but when they are sent forth with the authority of the holy Priesthood, which is the authority of God, and are sounded in the ears of God's creatures here on the earth, and they reject them, they incur a fearful responsibility. Still they have the power to act as they please in this matter; but the consequences rest upon themselves—the Lord has left them without excuse. It is a matter for you and me and for all persons to canvas in their own minds, and we can then act upon our own volition in receiving or rejecting the truth.
All who have not heard the principles of life and salvation proclaimed will have the privilege of doing so; if not here, then in some other sphere or state of existence. The plan of salvation is ample, full and complete, and will save all the children of men who let it, and the Lord will be left without excuse in the final winding up, so far as the probation of man on the earth is concerned.
We read in the Scriptures that to know the only true God and Jesus Christ, whom He has sent, is life eternal. To enable His creatures to obtain this knowledge the Lord has kindly sent forth His revelations from time to time; but we do honestly believe that the Latter-day Saints are the only people on the face of the earth at the present time that have any true knowledge of God, of the relationship that does exist between Him and the inhabitants of the earth and of the design and object of the Almighty in bringing them into existence, and the purpose to be accomplished thereby in their future state. I say we believe that the Latter-day Saints are the only people who possess this knowledge. The world have no just conceptions of the Deity; even the Christian world are without the knowledge of God as much as the heathen nations. This may be deemed a sweeping declaration, but it is susceptible of proof, if we take the Scriptures for our guide and as the foundation of our argument; that is, if the Christian world believe as they profess to do. I do not care to illustrate at this present time, or to bring evidence to bear to sustain my position, to a people who understand these arguments and principles, and who have learned better things, as is the case with this congregation. We know in whom we have trusted; we know who has led us forth to the valleys of the mountains; who has blessed the land and caused it to bring forth its strength for our sustenance; who has shielded and protected us from the power of the adversary—those who have sought our overthrow and destruction. We have learned to know Him as our Father, the Father of our spirits, and the God and Father of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He has exercised a parental care over us, and has delivered us at all times from the power of our enemies, brought us an inheritance in a goodly land, blessed the land and caused it to bring forth in its strength for our sustenance. We know that we are dependent upon Him for our very existence, and that by Him only are we preserved, just as well as we know that the children of men, impelled by the great adversary, Satan, are seeking to overthrow us, to break in pieces the kingdom of God, and to destroy from the face of the earth the rule and authority of the Priesthood of God.
Are we prepared to take upon ourselves the labor, the self-denial, the self-abnegation, I might say the persecution, if it should be permitted to come upon us, that continually besets the pathway of the Saint of God? If we are, we are all right; if we are not, we had better repent and seek unto the Lord for strength, retrace our steps, and get the Spirit of God in our hearts that we may become more confirmed in our most holy faith. When we received the Gospel we felt as though it would be a great privilege to devote our whole lives and all our interests in this existence to the extension of this great and glorious cause. Have we grown lukewarm in our feelings and love? If so it is time to retrace our steps, lest we become darkened in the counsel of our minds and turn away to the beggarly elements of the world.
I will say, this morning, that the Gospel that I received is as sweet to me today as it ever was during my existence on the earth, yea, more so, for as I advance, greater and more glorious truths and beauties develop themselves and come home to my understanding. If the first principles of the Gospel were true in the days of Joseph, they are true today. If the principles that have been developed as we have passed along were true when they first struck our minds with their convincing proofs, they are also true today. If what we believed were the whisperings of the Spirit of God confirming these truths on our minds, were really so, and we received them from Heaven, we should live faithful to what we have received, that we may progress and improve as we pass along. We have received an item of truth here and another there, as we could receive and maintain it; but the revelations declare that there are things yet to be revealed which have been kept hid from the foundations of the world. I, for one, expect that the volume of revelation will remain open, and that the servants of God will, in the future as they have in the past, read to us from the Book of Life. The reflection that we shall not be confined to what has already been given, but that we shall continue to grow and increase in the knowledge of God, and in every good, is one of the most highly-prized principles of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
How true it is that, when any new principle, or any new idea concerning an old principle is promulgated, the human heart seems to rise up in rebellion against it, and the Saints are no exception in this respect, for when the Lord condescends to reveal any new principle pertaining to their welfare and the building up of His kingdom on the earth, many are ready, both in feelings and practices, to rise up and rebel against it. What is the matter? Are we pent up in a nutshell and confined in our feelings to such an extent that we cannot receive new revelations and instructions from time to time when they come from the proper source? No. I think that, for the great majority of the Latter-day Saints, I can answer it is not so. It may be so with individuals; but as a general thing, the Saints are glad to receive instruction, line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little, as they can receive and endure it. I heard President Young say that he told the Prophet Joseph never to reveal a new principle to him if he thought that he could not receive it, that it would be detrimental to his faith or cause him to turn from that which he had received. He said he would rather remain in ignorance than to have it prove a stumbling block to him. I have seen a great many people anxious for revelation, and for the development of some great mystery concerning the kingdom of God. I have never felt so; I have been satisfied with what the Lord should condescend to reveal, and more than glad if, when it did come, I was able to receive and practice it.
How many are there within the hearing of my voice who have felt infringed upon in their feelings when they were told to sustain Zion and not to trade with their enemies. This was a new feature, but it touched things of a temporal nature. Why a great many felt as though they could not submit to be dictated to, though it was by the servant of God, in regard to temporal affairs. Is not this true, and we, too, right in the midst of Israel? O, yes, we can't deny it, there has been considerable howling made concerning this item. But yet this is the kingdom of God, and the kingdom and the greatness thereof are to be given to the Saints of the Most High. Can we expect anything else than that His servant will dictate us concerning our temporal matters? I do not understand it in any other way. When, I would ask, can the kingdom of God be established on the earth, or in other words when can the kingdom and the greatness thereof be given to the Saints of the Most High? Never until a people is found possessing sufficient good, hard, sound sense to use the blessings of that kingdom to build it up and not to give it to the devil just as fast as the Lord hands them over to them. We have come up to Zion that we may be taught in the ways of the Lord and that we may learn to walk in His paths. And you know I have told you how independent we are—we can either receive the Gospel, or reject it and take the consequences. But let no man lay the flattering unction to his soul that he can do just as he pleases and obtain celestial glory. We can never do this, except we make our ways, notions and ideas correspond with the Lord's. If we expect to attain to celestial glory, and be prepared and qualified to receive the kingdom of God in its greatness upon the earth, we shall have to make our ways correspond with the Lord's, so much so at least as to be found faithful in making good use of the blessings which He has entrusted to us. It is those who are found faithful over a few things unto whom the promise is made that they shall become rulers over many things. It is not those who fly the track at the moment of peril and difficulty who will obtain the blessings of high heaven; no, the Lord tests and tries us, to prove if we have integrity, and the man who flies the track, when tested, proves that he is lacking in integrity and is not worthy to receive the blessings of those who are faithful and true. Blessings are no doubt withheld in kindness for a time, for many who receive them grow fat and kick, thus proving to the Lord that they are not worthy; and peradventure He withholds blessings from many very good people, who will finally triumph over their own peculiar notions and ideas, and make their ways so far correspond with the Lord's as to be worthy.
We are in a school of experience, brethren and sisters, and it will be well for us if we will wisely use and apply the blessings we receive and the experience that we are passing through, and so govern and control ourselves in the future that the experience of the past may be a light to our feet in time to come.
It is most desirable to us all that we should be preserved in the purity of our most holy faith, and never depart therefrom or swerve either to the right hand or to the left. The fate of others who have departed from the path of rectitude ought to be a warning to as all to be careful not to grieve the Holy Spirit, lest we fall into the same pit. It is a very easy thing for a man to get into the dark, and small things often lead to it. He sees, peradventure, something in his Bishop or Teacher, or in some of the authorities, which he does not like, and instead of going to the proper place to ascertain the truth in the case, and informing his mind correctly concerning the matter, he lets it corrode in his heart until disaffection is produced and he begins to lose confidence. In a short time, if he indulges in this spirit, he mouths it to some confidant or friend, and after doing it once he mouths it again, and if you follow that man a little longer you will find that he neglects his prayers and the duties of his calling, and very soon the counsel of his mind becomes darkened, and soon he is on the highway to apostasy, and, in fact, he has been there from the beginning, if he had only known it; and if no good friend should tell him his error, in a short time, such a man goes over the dam and makes shipwreck of his faith, and that is the greatest calamity that can befall any person.
What matters it to the Saints what path they are led into if the Lord leads? If they are submissive and yield to His dictation, no matter whether it brings weal or woe, it will work out good; it may bring poverty, so far as the things of the world are concerned, but it will never bring poverty to the soul. And it will be a happy reflection when we have passed through this mortal existence, that we were able to stand the test, enduring the ordeals and remaining steadfast and faithful to the end.
I do not know that we are promised anything here but the hatred and persecution of the world; and this has been the portion of the Saints of God in every age of the world. I do believe, however, that the table is going to change; I believe that when the people are sufficiently pure and worthy, and capable of wisely using the blessings of which I have spoken, the blessings of earth and heaven will be poured upon them in rich abundance. We have a little foretaste of this in the blessings that we have received and enjoy today. Although the power of the Adversary is very great, and he still seeks the overthrow and destruction of the cause and kingdom of God on the earth; yet it is a different age of the world, it is a different dispensation; it is the dispensation of the fulness of times, in which, no matter how much we may be overturned, no matter how much individuals may suffer, or how much they may be called to endure, the final result will be triumph to the kingdom, and it will not be given to another people; but we shall have power to redeem Zion and to build that great and glorious temple in which the Saints will receive the blessings of eternity, and on which the glory of God will rest as a cloud by day and as a pillar of fire by night. This people are that people; these Saints are the Saints of the Most High, to whom the kingdom and the greatness thereof will be given, and another people shall never possess it.
This should be a great satisfaction to us, and should encourage us in our pathway through all the difficulties we may have to encounter. We would not be worth much if we could not pass through ordeals. The Savior of the world had to pass through them, and we should not complain if we have to tread in his footsteps in order to obtain great blessings at the end of the race. Let us reflect on these things and go on our way rejoicing, filling the full measure of our creation with credit to ourselves, and with honor to God, our Father, who brought us to this state of existence, which is my prayer for Jesus' sake. Amen.
President Brigham Young
said that the people would be required during Conference, to pay strict attention and to keep good order. He thought it would be advisable for the sisters to make arrangements to leave their babies at home, as little children could not possibly understand anything that might be said, and by their noise, they prevent the congregation from hearing. As our congregations will be of necessity large, we will be compelled to be a little exacting on those points. Referring to that filthy practice indulged in by some, while at meeting, of chewing tobacco, President Young said:
On Sunday, after meeting, going through the gallery which had been occupied by those claiming, no doubt, to be gentlemen, and perhaps, brethren, you might have supposed that cattle had been standing around there and dropping their nuisances. Here and there were great quids of tobacco, and places a foot or two feet square smeared with tobacco juice. I wish the door-keepers, when, in the future, they observe any person besmearing the seats and floor in this way, to request them to leave the house; and, if they refuse and will not stop spitting about and besmearing their neighbors, just take them and lead them out carefully and kindly. It is an imposition for those claiming to be gentlemen to spit tobacco juice for ladies to draw their clothes through and besmear them, or to leave their dirt in the house. We request all addicted to this practice, to omit it while in this house. Elders of Israel, if you must chew tobacco, omit it while in meeting, and when you leave, you can take a double portion, if you wish to.
President Young made some excellent practical remarks in relation to the necessity for the Saints being continually taught in the things of God.
said that the people would be required during Conference, to pay strict attention and to keep good order. He thought it would be advisable for the sisters to make arrangements to leave their babies at home, as little children could not possibly understand anything that might be said, and by their noise, they prevent the congregation from hearing. As our congregations will be of necessity large, we will be compelled to be a little exacting on those points. Referring to that filthy practice indulged in by some, while at meeting, of chewing tobacco, President Young said:
On Sunday, after meeting, going through the gallery which had been occupied by those claiming, no doubt, to be gentlemen, and perhaps, brethren, you might have supposed that cattle had been standing around there and dropping their nuisances. Here and there were great quids of tobacco, and places a foot or two feet square smeared with tobacco juice. I wish the door-keepers, when, in the future, they observe any person besmearing the seats and floor in this way, to request them to leave the house; and, if they refuse and will not stop spitting about and besmearing their neighbors, just take them and lead them out carefully and kindly. It is an imposition for those claiming to be gentlemen to spit tobacco juice for ladies to draw their clothes through and besmear them, or to leave their dirt in the house. We request all addicted to this practice, to omit it while in this house. Elders of Israel, if you must chew tobacco, omit it while in meeting, and when you leave, you can take a double portion, if you wish to.
President Young made some excellent practical remarks in relation to the necessity for the Saints being continually taught in the things of God.
Proper Conduct in Meeting
Remarks by President Brigham Young, delivered in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, May 5, 1870.
Reported by David W. Evans.
During our Conference we shall require the people to pay attention and to preserve good order, and perhaps we shall require that that will not be altogether pleasing in some respects. One thing which strikes me here this morning, and which is a source of considerable annoyance to the congregation, appears to me might be avoided, and that is bringing children here who are not capable of understanding the preaching. If we were to set them on the stand, where they could hear every word, it would convey to them no knowledge or instruction, and would not be the least benefit to them. I will ask my sisters: Cannot we avoid this? Have you not daughters, sisters, or friends, or some one who can take care of these children while you attend meeting? When meetings are over, the mothers can go home and bestow all the care and attention upon their children which may be necessary. I cannot understand the utility of bringing children into such a congregation as we shall have here through the Conference, just for the sake of pleasing the mothers, when the noise made by them disturbs all around them. I therefore request that the sisters will leave their babies at home in the care of good nurses. And when you come here, sisters and brethren, sit still and make no noise by shuffling your feet or whispering. Wait till meeting is dismissed, then you may go out and talk and walk as much as you please; but while you are in this house it is necessary to keep perfectly still.
I hope our doorkeepers are instructed and understand, so that they will keep order, and also be still themselves. I have noticed sometimes that our doorkeepers and policemen will make more disturbance in a congregation than the people do. This is very unbecoming, and it certainly exhibits a great lack of understanding. If a look or motion will not answer, do not holloa; we, on the Stand, will do all the talking necessary. But if a doorkeeper holloas to this one and that one, he makes more confusion than the people will make. Now, doorkeepers, be sure that you are perfectly still; and if you are obliged to walk around here much, I would recommend that you wear India-rubber overshoes, so that you may be able to walk without making a noise.
There is another subject I wish to refer to. Last Sabbath this front gallery, the gentleman's gallery, was very full. After meeting was dismissed I took a walk through it, and to see the floor that had been occupied by those professing to be gentlemen, and I do not know but brethren, you might have supposed that cattle had been there rolling and standing around, for here and there were great quids of tobacco, and places one or two feet square smeared with tobacco juice. I want to say to the doorkeepers that when you see gentlemen who cannot omit chewing and spitting while in this house, request them to leave; and if such persons refuse to leave, and continue their spitting, just take them and lead them out carefully and kindly. We do not want to have the house thus defiled. It is an imposition for gentlemen to spit tobacco juice around, or to leave their quids of tobacco on the floor; they dirty the house, and if a lady happen to besmear the bottom of her dress, which can hardly be avoided, it is highly offensive. We therefore request all gentlemen attending Conference to omit tobacco chewing while here. To the Elders of Israel who cannot and will not keep the Word of Wisdom, I say, omit tobacco chewing while here.
In all probability our congregations will be large, and we shall be under the necessity of being a little stringent and exacting in regard to leaving the children at home and in preserving quietness and order while in the house. You may think it a little unreasonable, sisters, to make such a request, but it is not so, for you who are here this morning have seen the great amount of confusion and annoyance the crying of children has caused; and if you cannot, for the space of two or three hours, forego the pleasure of gazing upon the faces of your little darlings, just stay at home with them. This we earnestly request while we are here in Conference. We have all the brethren of the Twelve here, except Brother Carrington, who is in Liverpool, and we shall have speeches, exhortations and advice from them, which, if followed and observed by the people, will lead them in the path of truth, light, intelligence, virtue, soberness and godliness, and we want such good order preserved and maintained that all attending Conference can hear the instructions given.
We have many things to say to the people. They need a great amount of talking to and instruction. They are a good deal like children and need to have words of counsel and advice constantly reiterated. The mother says to the child, “My darling little Johnny, don't you get that knife,” or “Can't you let your father's razor alone,” or “Let the crockery alone, you will break it.” And the “little darling Johnny” lets it alone for a minute or two, but soon he makes another stretch after the knife, razor, tumbler, pitcher, or something that his mother does not want him to have, and again her voice is heard, “Johnny, let that alone, it is not good for you to have;” or, “You will break that pitcher.” Johnny sets down the pitcher, and pretty soon it is gone from his mind, but he runs around a little, and then he wants a drink, and while getting the pitcher, or perhaps the knife, the mother coaxingly says, “My darling dear, will you let that alone,” and finally, wearied with talking to “Johnny,” she probably boxes his ears. It is precisely so with the people, or many of them. We exhort them to observe the Word of Wisdom, to be faithful, truthful and prayerful, and so on, but many of them forget, and we have to ask and beseech them again and again.
We shall now dismiss our morning's meeting, and shall assemble again at two o'clock this afternoon, and I trust that strict attention will be paid to what is said. I am of the opinion that what is said will be instructive and good for the people. We do not want the teachings of the Elders to drop upon senseless, careless, indolent ears; but let every ear be open, and every heart receive understanding, that good may result from our labors. We are teaching the people how to be saved—how to walk and talk so as to secure eternal salvation, and I do hope and pray my brethren and sisters to pay attention, that the Spirit of the Lord may be in your hearts, that you may see and understand things as they are. I would say, still further, if there be error advanced here, do not receive it, pass it by, and live so that you will know truth from error, light from darkness, the things that are of God from those not of God; and if an error should drop from the lips of one of our Elders, do not receive, believe, or practice it. Truth is what we want, and we ought to live so that we can understand and know it for ourselves. This is our privilege and duty; and we request of the Latter-day Saints, and of all people, to live so that they may know and understand the things of God, and receive and embrace them in their faith, and practice them in their lives.
The choir sang "Holy Lord God of Hosts."
Prayer by Elder Geo. Q. Cannon.
Conference adjourned till 2 p.m.
Remarks by President Brigham Young, delivered in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, May 5, 1870.
Reported by David W. Evans.
During our Conference we shall require the people to pay attention and to preserve good order, and perhaps we shall require that that will not be altogether pleasing in some respects. One thing which strikes me here this morning, and which is a source of considerable annoyance to the congregation, appears to me might be avoided, and that is bringing children here who are not capable of understanding the preaching. If we were to set them on the stand, where they could hear every word, it would convey to them no knowledge or instruction, and would not be the least benefit to them. I will ask my sisters: Cannot we avoid this? Have you not daughters, sisters, or friends, or some one who can take care of these children while you attend meeting? When meetings are over, the mothers can go home and bestow all the care and attention upon their children which may be necessary. I cannot understand the utility of bringing children into such a congregation as we shall have here through the Conference, just for the sake of pleasing the mothers, when the noise made by them disturbs all around them. I therefore request that the sisters will leave their babies at home in the care of good nurses. And when you come here, sisters and brethren, sit still and make no noise by shuffling your feet or whispering. Wait till meeting is dismissed, then you may go out and talk and walk as much as you please; but while you are in this house it is necessary to keep perfectly still.
I hope our doorkeepers are instructed and understand, so that they will keep order, and also be still themselves. I have noticed sometimes that our doorkeepers and policemen will make more disturbance in a congregation than the people do. This is very unbecoming, and it certainly exhibits a great lack of understanding. If a look or motion will not answer, do not holloa; we, on the Stand, will do all the talking necessary. But if a doorkeeper holloas to this one and that one, he makes more confusion than the people will make. Now, doorkeepers, be sure that you are perfectly still; and if you are obliged to walk around here much, I would recommend that you wear India-rubber overshoes, so that you may be able to walk without making a noise.
There is another subject I wish to refer to. Last Sabbath this front gallery, the gentleman's gallery, was very full. After meeting was dismissed I took a walk through it, and to see the floor that had been occupied by those professing to be gentlemen, and I do not know but brethren, you might have supposed that cattle had been there rolling and standing around, for here and there were great quids of tobacco, and places one or two feet square smeared with tobacco juice. I want to say to the doorkeepers that when you see gentlemen who cannot omit chewing and spitting while in this house, request them to leave; and if such persons refuse to leave, and continue their spitting, just take them and lead them out carefully and kindly. We do not want to have the house thus defiled. It is an imposition for gentlemen to spit tobacco juice around, or to leave their quids of tobacco on the floor; they dirty the house, and if a lady happen to besmear the bottom of her dress, which can hardly be avoided, it is highly offensive. We therefore request all gentlemen attending Conference to omit tobacco chewing while here. To the Elders of Israel who cannot and will not keep the Word of Wisdom, I say, omit tobacco chewing while here.
In all probability our congregations will be large, and we shall be under the necessity of being a little stringent and exacting in regard to leaving the children at home and in preserving quietness and order while in the house. You may think it a little unreasonable, sisters, to make such a request, but it is not so, for you who are here this morning have seen the great amount of confusion and annoyance the crying of children has caused; and if you cannot, for the space of two or three hours, forego the pleasure of gazing upon the faces of your little darlings, just stay at home with them. This we earnestly request while we are here in Conference. We have all the brethren of the Twelve here, except Brother Carrington, who is in Liverpool, and we shall have speeches, exhortations and advice from them, which, if followed and observed by the people, will lead them in the path of truth, light, intelligence, virtue, soberness and godliness, and we want such good order preserved and maintained that all attending Conference can hear the instructions given.
We have many things to say to the people. They need a great amount of talking to and instruction. They are a good deal like children and need to have words of counsel and advice constantly reiterated. The mother says to the child, “My darling little Johnny, don't you get that knife,” or “Can't you let your father's razor alone,” or “Let the crockery alone, you will break it.” And the “little darling Johnny” lets it alone for a minute or two, but soon he makes another stretch after the knife, razor, tumbler, pitcher, or something that his mother does not want him to have, and again her voice is heard, “Johnny, let that alone, it is not good for you to have;” or, “You will break that pitcher.” Johnny sets down the pitcher, and pretty soon it is gone from his mind, but he runs around a little, and then he wants a drink, and while getting the pitcher, or perhaps the knife, the mother coaxingly says, “My darling dear, will you let that alone,” and finally, wearied with talking to “Johnny,” she probably boxes his ears. It is precisely so with the people, or many of them. We exhort them to observe the Word of Wisdom, to be faithful, truthful and prayerful, and so on, but many of them forget, and we have to ask and beseech them again and again.
We shall now dismiss our morning's meeting, and shall assemble again at two o'clock this afternoon, and I trust that strict attention will be paid to what is said. I am of the opinion that what is said will be instructive and good for the people. We do not want the teachings of the Elders to drop upon senseless, careless, indolent ears; but let every ear be open, and every heart receive understanding, that good may result from our labors. We are teaching the people how to be saved—how to walk and talk so as to secure eternal salvation, and I do hope and pray my brethren and sisters to pay attention, that the Spirit of the Lord may be in your hearts, that you may see and understand things as they are. I would say, still further, if there be error advanced here, do not receive it, pass it by, and live so that you will know truth from error, light from darkness, the things that are of God from those not of God; and if an error should drop from the lips of one of our Elders, do not receive, believe, or practice it. Truth is what we want, and we ought to live so that we can understand and know it for ourselves. This is our privilege and duty; and we request of the Latter-day Saints, and of all people, to live so that they may know and understand the things of God, and receive and embrace them in their faith, and practice them in their lives.
The choir sang "Holy Lord God of Hosts."
Prayer by Elder Geo. Q. Cannon.
Conference adjourned till 2 p.m.
Thursday, 2 p.m.
Meeting was called to order by President Brigham Young.
The choir sang: "Hosannah to the great Messiah."
Prayer by Elder Brigham Young, Jr.
The choir sang: "What wondrous things we now behold."
Meeting was called to order by President Brigham Young.
The choir sang: "Hosannah to the great Messiah."
Prayer by Elder Brigham Young, Jr.
The choir sang: "What wondrous things we now behold."
Elder Orson Hyde.
We are engaged in the cause of God. I know that Joseph Smith was a true Prophet, and although we cannot see him with the natural eye, yet he is moving in that cause we are engaged in. Not only can I bear my testimony that Joseph Smith was sent of God, but that Prest. Brigham Young is his legal successor. Although the enemies of President Young may vent their rage and spleen against him, yet their machinations will have no more effect on him than the warring elements which gather around our mountain tops have upon the Twin Peaks, which have withstood the storms of ages. The man who has been appointed to lead Israel will still stand an immovable pillar of the Almighty.
The Latter-day Saints should be prompt in paying their debts. They should owe no man anything but love and good will. We may turn away those to whom we are indebted with some frivolous excuse, but we cannot, in this way, turn aside the demands of justice. If we are slack in discharging our obligations and have no fixed determination to do so, will the Lord hear and answer our prayers? Some people run into debt to gratify pride and fashion; this is not right. Some actually sell their crop of wheat as soon as it is sown. Such should deny themselves indulgences that can be dispensed with. It would be well for the people to ask themselves whether they have settled their indebtedness to the Emigrating Fund, whether they have paid up their Tithing, their newspapers, &c. Joseph, the Prophet, once said that the majority of this people would never go astray. If we will walk uprightly and honestly, the blessings of the Lord will rest upon us. I expect to see the day when those who have sought the injury of the Saints will feel ashamed in the presence of honorable men. God defend this people and their rights, is my prayer, in the name of Jesus, Amen.
We are engaged in the cause of God. I know that Joseph Smith was a true Prophet, and although we cannot see him with the natural eye, yet he is moving in that cause we are engaged in. Not only can I bear my testimony that Joseph Smith was sent of God, but that Prest. Brigham Young is his legal successor. Although the enemies of President Young may vent their rage and spleen against him, yet their machinations will have no more effect on him than the warring elements which gather around our mountain tops have upon the Twin Peaks, which have withstood the storms of ages. The man who has been appointed to lead Israel will still stand an immovable pillar of the Almighty.
The Latter-day Saints should be prompt in paying their debts. They should owe no man anything but love and good will. We may turn away those to whom we are indebted with some frivolous excuse, but we cannot, in this way, turn aside the demands of justice. If we are slack in discharging our obligations and have no fixed determination to do so, will the Lord hear and answer our prayers? Some people run into debt to gratify pride and fashion; this is not right. Some actually sell their crop of wheat as soon as it is sown. Such should deny themselves indulgences that can be dispensed with. It would be well for the people to ask themselves whether they have settled their indebtedness to the Emigrating Fund, whether they have paid up their Tithing, their newspapers, &c. Joseph, the Prophet, once said that the majority of this people would never go astray. If we will walk uprightly and honestly, the blessings of the Lord will rest upon us. I expect to see the day when those who have sought the injury of the Saints will feel ashamed in the presence of honorable men. God defend this people and their rights, is my prayer, in the name of Jesus, Amen.
Punctual Payment of Debts
Discourse by President Orson Hyde, delivered in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, May 5, 1870.
Reported by David W. Evans.
Brethren and sisters, my heart almost falters at the idea of attempting to make you all distinctly hear me, but by the aid of the Spirit of the Lord, in answer to your good wishes and prayers, I will do my best to make you hear such things as it may suggest to me. I am thankful for this opportunity of meeting the Saints from different parts of the Territory, of beholding their friendly faces, and of greeting them with a cordial “How do you do?” and “God bless you.” It really fills me with joy and gladness, and I am thankful that I have the privilege of meeting with my brethren who bear the Priesthood, and of mingling my testimony with theirs, to establish the truths of heaven long since revealed by the Lord to His people—the Latter-day Saints. Brethren and sisters, I know that the cause in which we are engaged is the cause of God. I know that Joseph Smith was a true and faithful Prophet of the Most High God. I know that he sealed his testimony with his blood, and though he is invisible to our natural eyes at the present time, he is moving the cause of Zion by an influence which we can better feel than see. I feel thankful that I have the privilege of bearing this testimony; and not only do I bear it in behalf of the martyred Prophet, but I bear the same testimony in behalf of him whom God has placed to lead, guide and govern the affairs of His kingdom on the earth—namely, President Brigham Young.
You can all behold the “Twin Peaks” down here, when you are out in the open air, towering aloft towards heaven. You have seen the clouds gather around their brow, you have heard the thunders roll and seen the lightnings flash as if they would demolish those proud monuments of nature, and the elements have expended upon them their fury, yet after all, the clouds retired, the thunders ceased to roll, the lightnings to flash, and the sky became clearer; and there stand today those proud monuments, unscathed and unmoved. Why? Because God Almighty's hand reared them and placed them there. And the elements by which we are more or less surrounded may gather around our President, Brigham Young, until his name is almost obscured for the time being; the thunders may roll over his head, the lightnings may flash or the clouds gather; is he affected? Is he not the same identical pillar, leading, guiding and sustaining the cause of God? Most assuredly he is. And remember that, although the elements are lively and they play around the “Twin Peaks” with a great deal of force and fury, they can have but very little effect upon them; and so it is with the man whom God has ordained and placed to guide His Saints. Apostates may cause the clouds to gather, and they may thunder and they may lighten, and they may do this, that and the other, but at last they must yield and give place to the monument that God has erected; and he will stand forth in bold relief, towering to heaven and pointing the way to eternal life.
This is my testimony. This is the way my heart feels today; and it is the way it has ever felt towards that individual; it is the way that I am inclined to think that it ever will feel. It is my determination. Why? Because I have had evidence that is unmistakable that I am occupying grounds that are correct, that are true and faithful, and I cannot forget it. I pray the Lord that He may always lead me to keep the truth in mind, vivid and clear as the sun at noonday.
Brethren and sisters, if we will be united in keeping the commandments of God, in observing and cleaving to the Word of Wisdom, not for the time being only, but always while life shall last; if we will remember our prayers and be faithful in the discharge of our duties, I will tell you that any measure, inimical to our welfare and interests it may seem, that may be sought to be carried against us, will utterly fail. We have the means within ourselves to defeat almost anything that is intended for our destruction and overthrow. However, I want to talk but little about this. I have endeavored to instruct the brethren and sisters where I have labored in relation to this matter, and if I shall repeat here today some things that I have said heretofore, do not think that it is because Brother Hyde lacks a subject; but he is happy to have the opportunity of declaring the truth; and truth never becomes stale because of being often repeated.
We are a commercial and trading people, although far inland, and hence we buy and sell. Now the question is, are we always punctual to pay according to promise and agreement? I am sorry to say that in too many instances we are careless and indifferent with regard to fulfilling our word and agreement. We are told in the good Book that we should owe no man anything but love and good will; and if every man that hears the sound of my voice today could stand out like an angel of God and say, “I owe no man anything but love and good will,” what missile from the enemies' ranks could be successfully hurled against us? I say not one. We have paid that which we owe, and no man can say aught in complaint against us because we are delinquents; and every one that knows us will be ready to say, “God bless you, you are punctual and faithful.” Do we all desire, brethren and sisters, to maintain this character and stand upon this ground? I know that cases will arise, and almost unavoidably, in which we may be indebted to our brethren; but how is it with some of us when those to whom we are indebted apply for payment? I am afraid that such creditors, instead of receiving that which is their due, are sometimes turned away with an excuse; when, if the debtor would exert himself, he might pay about as well then as at any other time. But though we may turn away a brother with an excuse, does that turn away the demands of justice and right? I tell you no. I have seen individuals who would contract a debt, apparently regardless whether they paid or not. I do not know that there are any here, but if there are, I hope they will heed the words which I speak. Let me say that I very much question whether, if we have contracted debts and do not pay them, nor manifest any desire to do so, we shall go into the celestial kingdom. I cannot tell how this will be, but I should rather fear that, instead of going into the celestial kingdom, we should go down to that prison that is spoken of in the Scriptures. Hence we are exhorted to “agree with thine adversary quickly whilst thou art in the way with him, lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and the officer cast thee into prison: verily, verily, I say unto thee that thou shalt not come out thence until thou hast paid the uttermost farthing.” Whether this Scripture legitimately applies in this case, I will not say; but to my mind it has a strong beginning in that direction. Well, if I have to go to prison and there work to pay the uttermost farthing, heaven nerve my arm so that I may meet and pay my obligations while I am in the flesh. I know that in relation to these matters some of us have been in the habit of considering, “Well, it is a brother to whom I owe this debt, and I can put him off, he will bear with me, and if he begins to make any particular demonstration towards collecting it, I will twine around him, and say, ‘Bear with me a little, and I will pay you,’” when perhaps we have no real, firm and fixed determination to pay that debt at all.
Will the Lord hear and answer our prayers if this be our condition? I cannot say, but I will tell you I would rather be clear of any obligation except those of love and good will. I would rather risk prayer offered under these circumstances than when offered while the suppliant is involved in debts and obligations he has failed to discharge.
Now, brethren and sisters, if we will train ourselves never to contract a debt, unless we feel sure, and not only feel sure, but determined, to pay according to promise, we shall not have the burdens on our shoulders that we otherwise shall have. Times are changing. Sometimes we are tempted by the allurements of the world, by the flow of money and by the abundance of everything, to go beyond the mark, and we contract debts; then perhaps there is a shutdown on the sources of prosperity, and a dark, dull time, financially, may set in, and everything we have got is at stake. Which, then, is the better way? The better way, in my opinion, is to keep clear of debt; whether times are prosperous or tight, keep clear of debt if possible.
Some will run into debt to gratify pride, and they will really rob themselves and their creditors just to keep up with this fanciful thing called fashion. Brother or sister So and So says, “I must have this or that, because somebody else has it;” or somebody has got such a thing, and I feel that I am as much entitled to it as he or she. I say let somebody else have as many fashions as they like, but let us abide by what God has given us and be content therewith; and if we really want more, let us make a little extra exertion, and before we spend money let us earn it.
I know men who will actually go to work and sell the crop, that they are perhaps planting now, to merchants; and when they irrigate those crops it is not for themselves, but for them to whom they have sold it. The same is true when the grain is harvested and when it is threshed. There is no liberty, independence or nobility in this; but they who take this course are bound down and are slaves to somebody else. I feel that a little economy and self-denial would relieve us very much from this embarrassment and encumbrance. I believe the good Book says, “Except a man deny himself, take up his cross and follow me, he cannot be my disciple.” Do we seek to deny ourselves or to gratify ourselves? Which is the greater labor, to gratify or to deny ourselves? I will tell you that if we would bestow as much labor in denying ourselves as we do in gratifying ourselves, we should feel better and should be happier, and the heavens would plead our cause more effectually. How comfortable a man feels when he can say to himself, “Though I have but little, thank God I do not owe anybody anything.” I have paid up my tithing, my emigration indebtedness, I have paid for my newspaper, and done the best I could to keep the hearts of my brethren whole by paying promptly, according to promise, so that the great machine of progress may move without obstruction and hindrance? I believe that if we will all turn in from this time and be honest, and really pay our debts and obligations, we have no great reason to fear anything injurious proceeding from any quarter.
Suppose now, brethren and sisters, that we should be united in this one thing, and should actually go to and pay our debts and obligations. Let me suggest to you one thing. Says one, “Really, I would very much like if I had the assurance that God heard my prayers.” Now, when you go home, just think of them to whom you are indebted and who is in most need among your creditors, and then go right to that individual and bless him with an installment of what you owe him, and I tell you that will aid very much the acceptance of your offering unto God; it will induce Him to hear your prayer and to answer it. If you don't believe it, try it, and instead of putting off your brother, to whom you are indebted, and making a thousand excuses and apologies, and trying to get out of his road, go right to him, be honest, lay your heart open to him, and say, “My brother, I will do all I can for you. I will bless you by paying you what I owe, or a portion of it, and I will pay you the remainder as fast as I possibly can.” Let this course be taken throughout Israel, and see if the tables will not turn in favor of Zion. I feel that they will; let us all take this course and see.
I intend, if the Lord will let me live, and I believe He will, to work just as hard as I can to pay every just obligation that I owe, and I believe I shall accomplish it. I pray the Lord to let me live until I can say, boldly and honestly and truly, that I owe no man anything but love and goodwill; and then as much longer as He pleases. That is what I desire and intend. And I believe that if we, as a people, do this, remember our prayers, and keep the words of wisdom, the Lord will not suffer the enemy to prevail against us.
Now I look around this congregation, and contemplate that there are, perhaps, some ten or twelve thousand persons, and it may be more, I do not know, there is a very large number; then when I think that numerous as we are here we are but the representatives—not more than a tithing of those left behind, of the same stripe, it reminds me of the words of Joseph the Prophet, when he said, “Brethren, remember that the majority of this people will never go astray; and as long as you keep with the majority you are sure to enter the celestial kingdom.” I am satisfied, brethren, that if we will go to with our might and strength and pay our debts and liabilities, the blessing of God will attend us, and that too in the eyes of all the world.
I will tell you what I expect. I expect to live to see the day when those in our midst, who have sought our injury and ruin, will stand the same as men do, when discovered, that I read of in the papers, who rob henroosts or steal sheep. You know how they feel—they feel “cheap,” they would feel very mean in the presence of honorable men. I expect to live to see the day, brethren, when those who have sought our injury will quail in our presence.
Well, this is no time for long sermons. There are my brethren of the Twelve here, besides many others, who want to speak; and I presume to say that I have occupied my share of the time. One thing more, however, I will say. You who have money owing to you, do not, from my remarks, go to him who owes you and take him by the throat and say, “Pay me that which thou owest.” Do not do that. No, let your debtor remain undisturbed by you; you be silent, and see whether that man's conscience will operate upon him so as to induce him to come and make reasonable and proper satisfaction to you; and if he will not when this subject is fully laid before him you may begin to think that he is not as honest as he should be, and by and by he will work himself out of the kingdom.
I feel, brethren and sisters, that I am in the right company. If I can only manage to keep right myself, if I can only manage to be true and faithful to my God and myself, while I am in the midst of this assembly—the representatives of a host of Latter-day Saints—their hearts beating in unison with my words, and my words with their hearts, I feel that I am not following the few who break off, but that I am with the majority, and we are bound for the celestial kingdom.
God defend His people and their rights, is my prayer in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Discourse by President Orson Hyde, delivered in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, May 5, 1870.
Reported by David W. Evans.
Brethren and sisters, my heart almost falters at the idea of attempting to make you all distinctly hear me, but by the aid of the Spirit of the Lord, in answer to your good wishes and prayers, I will do my best to make you hear such things as it may suggest to me. I am thankful for this opportunity of meeting the Saints from different parts of the Territory, of beholding their friendly faces, and of greeting them with a cordial “How do you do?” and “God bless you.” It really fills me with joy and gladness, and I am thankful that I have the privilege of meeting with my brethren who bear the Priesthood, and of mingling my testimony with theirs, to establish the truths of heaven long since revealed by the Lord to His people—the Latter-day Saints. Brethren and sisters, I know that the cause in which we are engaged is the cause of God. I know that Joseph Smith was a true and faithful Prophet of the Most High God. I know that he sealed his testimony with his blood, and though he is invisible to our natural eyes at the present time, he is moving the cause of Zion by an influence which we can better feel than see. I feel thankful that I have the privilege of bearing this testimony; and not only do I bear it in behalf of the martyred Prophet, but I bear the same testimony in behalf of him whom God has placed to lead, guide and govern the affairs of His kingdom on the earth—namely, President Brigham Young.
You can all behold the “Twin Peaks” down here, when you are out in the open air, towering aloft towards heaven. You have seen the clouds gather around their brow, you have heard the thunders roll and seen the lightnings flash as if they would demolish those proud monuments of nature, and the elements have expended upon them their fury, yet after all, the clouds retired, the thunders ceased to roll, the lightnings to flash, and the sky became clearer; and there stand today those proud monuments, unscathed and unmoved. Why? Because God Almighty's hand reared them and placed them there. And the elements by which we are more or less surrounded may gather around our President, Brigham Young, until his name is almost obscured for the time being; the thunders may roll over his head, the lightnings may flash or the clouds gather; is he affected? Is he not the same identical pillar, leading, guiding and sustaining the cause of God? Most assuredly he is. And remember that, although the elements are lively and they play around the “Twin Peaks” with a great deal of force and fury, they can have but very little effect upon them; and so it is with the man whom God has ordained and placed to guide His Saints. Apostates may cause the clouds to gather, and they may thunder and they may lighten, and they may do this, that and the other, but at last they must yield and give place to the monument that God has erected; and he will stand forth in bold relief, towering to heaven and pointing the way to eternal life.
This is my testimony. This is the way my heart feels today; and it is the way it has ever felt towards that individual; it is the way that I am inclined to think that it ever will feel. It is my determination. Why? Because I have had evidence that is unmistakable that I am occupying grounds that are correct, that are true and faithful, and I cannot forget it. I pray the Lord that He may always lead me to keep the truth in mind, vivid and clear as the sun at noonday.
Brethren and sisters, if we will be united in keeping the commandments of God, in observing and cleaving to the Word of Wisdom, not for the time being only, but always while life shall last; if we will remember our prayers and be faithful in the discharge of our duties, I will tell you that any measure, inimical to our welfare and interests it may seem, that may be sought to be carried against us, will utterly fail. We have the means within ourselves to defeat almost anything that is intended for our destruction and overthrow. However, I want to talk but little about this. I have endeavored to instruct the brethren and sisters where I have labored in relation to this matter, and if I shall repeat here today some things that I have said heretofore, do not think that it is because Brother Hyde lacks a subject; but he is happy to have the opportunity of declaring the truth; and truth never becomes stale because of being often repeated.
We are a commercial and trading people, although far inland, and hence we buy and sell. Now the question is, are we always punctual to pay according to promise and agreement? I am sorry to say that in too many instances we are careless and indifferent with regard to fulfilling our word and agreement. We are told in the good Book that we should owe no man anything but love and good will; and if every man that hears the sound of my voice today could stand out like an angel of God and say, “I owe no man anything but love and good will,” what missile from the enemies' ranks could be successfully hurled against us? I say not one. We have paid that which we owe, and no man can say aught in complaint against us because we are delinquents; and every one that knows us will be ready to say, “God bless you, you are punctual and faithful.” Do we all desire, brethren and sisters, to maintain this character and stand upon this ground? I know that cases will arise, and almost unavoidably, in which we may be indebted to our brethren; but how is it with some of us when those to whom we are indebted apply for payment? I am afraid that such creditors, instead of receiving that which is their due, are sometimes turned away with an excuse; when, if the debtor would exert himself, he might pay about as well then as at any other time. But though we may turn away a brother with an excuse, does that turn away the demands of justice and right? I tell you no. I have seen individuals who would contract a debt, apparently regardless whether they paid or not. I do not know that there are any here, but if there are, I hope they will heed the words which I speak. Let me say that I very much question whether, if we have contracted debts and do not pay them, nor manifest any desire to do so, we shall go into the celestial kingdom. I cannot tell how this will be, but I should rather fear that, instead of going into the celestial kingdom, we should go down to that prison that is spoken of in the Scriptures. Hence we are exhorted to “agree with thine adversary quickly whilst thou art in the way with him, lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and the officer cast thee into prison: verily, verily, I say unto thee that thou shalt not come out thence until thou hast paid the uttermost farthing.” Whether this Scripture legitimately applies in this case, I will not say; but to my mind it has a strong beginning in that direction. Well, if I have to go to prison and there work to pay the uttermost farthing, heaven nerve my arm so that I may meet and pay my obligations while I am in the flesh. I know that in relation to these matters some of us have been in the habit of considering, “Well, it is a brother to whom I owe this debt, and I can put him off, he will bear with me, and if he begins to make any particular demonstration towards collecting it, I will twine around him, and say, ‘Bear with me a little, and I will pay you,’” when perhaps we have no real, firm and fixed determination to pay that debt at all.
Will the Lord hear and answer our prayers if this be our condition? I cannot say, but I will tell you I would rather be clear of any obligation except those of love and good will. I would rather risk prayer offered under these circumstances than when offered while the suppliant is involved in debts and obligations he has failed to discharge.
Now, brethren and sisters, if we will train ourselves never to contract a debt, unless we feel sure, and not only feel sure, but determined, to pay according to promise, we shall not have the burdens on our shoulders that we otherwise shall have. Times are changing. Sometimes we are tempted by the allurements of the world, by the flow of money and by the abundance of everything, to go beyond the mark, and we contract debts; then perhaps there is a shutdown on the sources of prosperity, and a dark, dull time, financially, may set in, and everything we have got is at stake. Which, then, is the better way? The better way, in my opinion, is to keep clear of debt; whether times are prosperous or tight, keep clear of debt if possible.
Some will run into debt to gratify pride, and they will really rob themselves and their creditors just to keep up with this fanciful thing called fashion. Brother or sister So and So says, “I must have this or that, because somebody else has it;” or somebody has got such a thing, and I feel that I am as much entitled to it as he or she. I say let somebody else have as many fashions as they like, but let us abide by what God has given us and be content therewith; and if we really want more, let us make a little extra exertion, and before we spend money let us earn it.
I know men who will actually go to work and sell the crop, that they are perhaps planting now, to merchants; and when they irrigate those crops it is not for themselves, but for them to whom they have sold it. The same is true when the grain is harvested and when it is threshed. There is no liberty, independence or nobility in this; but they who take this course are bound down and are slaves to somebody else. I feel that a little economy and self-denial would relieve us very much from this embarrassment and encumbrance. I believe the good Book says, “Except a man deny himself, take up his cross and follow me, he cannot be my disciple.” Do we seek to deny ourselves or to gratify ourselves? Which is the greater labor, to gratify or to deny ourselves? I will tell you that if we would bestow as much labor in denying ourselves as we do in gratifying ourselves, we should feel better and should be happier, and the heavens would plead our cause more effectually. How comfortable a man feels when he can say to himself, “Though I have but little, thank God I do not owe anybody anything.” I have paid up my tithing, my emigration indebtedness, I have paid for my newspaper, and done the best I could to keep the hearts of my brethren whole by paying promptly, according to promise, so that the great machine of progress may move without obstruction and hindrance? I believe that if we will all turn in from this time and be honest, and really pay our debts and obligations, we have no great reason to fear anything injurious proceeding from any quarter.
Suppose now, brethren and sisters, that we should be united in this one thing, and should actually go to and pay our debts and obligations. Let me suggest to you one thing. Says one, “Really, I would very much like if I had the assurance that God heard my prayers.” Now, when you go home, just think of them to whom you are indebted and who is in most need among your creditors, and then go right to that individual and bless him with an installment of what you owe him, and I tell you that will aid very much the acceptance of your offering unto God; it will induce Him to hear your prayer and to answer it. If you don't believe it, try it, and instead of putting off your brother, to whom you are indebted, and making a thousand excuses and apologies, and trying to get out of his road, go right to him, be honest, lay your heart open to him, and say, “My brother, I will do all I can for you. I will bless you by paying you what I owe, or a portion of it, and I will pay you the remainder as fast as I possibly can.” Let this course be taken throughout Israel, and see if the tables will not turn in favor of Zion. I feel that they will; let us all take this course and see.
I intend, if the Lord will let me live, and I believe He will, to work just as hard as I can to pay every just obligation that I owe, and I believe I shall accomplish it. I pray the Lord to let me live until I can say, boldly and honestly and truly, that I owe no man anything but love and goodwill; and then as much longer as He pleases. That is what I desire and intend. And I believe that if we, as a people, do this, remember our prayers, and keep the words of wisdom, the Lord will not suffer the enemy to prevail against us.
Now I look around this congregation, and contemplate that there are, perhaps, some ten or twelve thousand persons, and it may be more, I do not know, there is a very large number; then when I think that numerous as we are here we are but the representatives—not more than a tithing of those left behind, of the same stripe, it reminds me of the words of Joseph the Prophet, when he said, “Brethren, remember that the majority of this people will never go astray; and as long as you keep with the majority you are sure to enter the celestial kingdom.” I am satisfied, brethren, that if we will go to with our might and strength and pay our debts and liabilities, the blessing of God will attend us, and that too in the eyes of all the world.
I will tell you what I expect. I expect to live to see the day when those in our midst, who have sought our injury and ruin, will stand the same as men do, when discovered, that I read of in the papers, who rob henroosts or steal sheep. You know how they feel—they feel “cheap,” they would feel very mean in the presence of honorable men. I expect to live to see the day, brethren, when those who have sought our injury will quail in our presence.
Well, this is no time for long sermons. There are my brethren of the Twelve here, besides many others, who want to speak; and I presume to say that I have occupied my share of the time. One thing more, however, I will say. You who have money owing to you, do not, from my remarks, go to him who owes you and take him by the throat and say, “Pay me that which thou owest.” Do not do that. No, let your debtor remain undisturbed by you; you be silent, and see whether that man's conscience will operate upon him so as to induce him to come and make reasonable and proper satisfaction to you; and if he will not when this subject is fully laid before him you may begin to think that he is not as honest as he should be, and by and by he will work himself out of the kingdom.
I feel, brethren and sisters, that I am in the right company. If I can only manage to keep right myself, if I can only manage to be true and faithful to my God and myself, while I am in the midst of this assembly—the representatives of a host of Latter-day Saints—their hearts beating in unison with my words, and my words with their hearts, I feel that I am not following the few who break off, but that I am with the majority, and we are bound for the celestial kingdom.
God defend His people and their rights, is my prayer in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Elder Orson Pratt.
Here in these wilds of North America is a great people whose views are one, who believe that God has commenced for the last time to establish His kingdom. No other consideration than the building up of Zion could have induced this great people to gather together in these valleys. Had they gathered to a rich country, other motives might have been assigned for their gathering. We came here because God commanded us to come. We were willing to forego the luxuries that abounded in the countries from which we have come. We believed, before we came here, that the Lord would, in this mountainous country, raise up a great and powerful people. We had faith in the prophecies contained in the Bible, some of which say that Zion should be commanded to get up into a high mountain, and that an ensign shall be lifted up to the nations and unto which many people shall flow. The kingdom of God will stand forever, whilst all earthly governments shall crumble to pieces. Jesus said, if ye love me, keep my commandments. Before a people can obey these commandments, it is necessary for them to know what they are. I remember when I was a boy, visiting the Prophet Joseph, in Seneca County, New York. On the 2nd day of January 1831, a Conference of the church was held, and at the solicitation of the people for the Prophet to enquire of the Lord what was required of them, a revelation was given to the effect that they were to gather up to the State of Ohio. Under these circumstances, the only way those people could have manifested their love for Jesus would be to obey this commandment. The people, at that time, with but few exceptions, rejoiced to have the privilege of obeying that command. Commandments and revelations are given according to the circumstances of the people unto whom they are given. Many commandments and revelations were given to the Saints whilst in Kirtland, Ohio. He commanded that a Temple should then be built, and gave, by revelation, the pattern after which it should be erected, even to the minutest particular. The people manifested their love for the Lord by obeying His commandment. In that Temple, the Prophet Elijah visited the Prophet Joseph. This was in fulfillment of the prophecy of Malachi: that the hearts of the children might be turned to the fathers and the hearts of the fathers to the children. Previous to this, we knew nothing of salvation and baptism for the dead who had died without the knowledge of the gospel. Elijah was not the only ancient prophet that came and ministered in that temple. Others came and delivered to the servants of God keys connected with the great and last dispensation. And here around me are men who hold those keys, which were delivered by heavenly messengers. And although apostates may arise and raise their heel against the Lord's anointed, yet those keys will never again be taken from the earth. The saints were told by the Lord that unless they obeyed strictly His commandments in relation to the purchase of lands they should be scourged and driven by their enemies; and although the Prophet Joseph, accompanied by a number of prominent Elders, traveled over one thousand miles among the Saints and warned them of the judgments of God that would visit them if they did not repent of their shortcomings, the Saints were driven from place to place, until finally they, being led by the servants of God, came to this country. In 1831 the Lord promised that the Saints would, before the generation had all passed away that was in existence then, build up the centre stake of Zion where a Temple should be reared and the glory of God would rest upon it.
I rejoice to see so great an improvement in the Latter-day Saints as has taken place since then. They are more united now than they have ever been at any former time. They will continue to improve until they shall be prepared to associate with heavenly beings.
Here in these wilds of North America is a great people whose views are one, who believe that God has commenced for the last time to establish His kingdom. No other consideration than the building up of Zion could have induced this great people to gather together in these valleys. Had they gathered to a rich country, other motives might have been assigned for their gathering. We came here because God commanded us to come. We were willing to forego the luxuries that abounded in the countries from which we have come. We believed, before we came here, that the Lord would, in this mountainous country, raise up a great and powerful people. We had faith in the prophecies contained in the Bible, some of which say that Zion should be commanded to get up into a high mountain, and that an ensign shall be lifted up to the nations and unto which many people shall flow. The kingdom of God will stand forever, whilst all earthly governments shall crumble to pieces. Jesus said, if ye love me, keep my commandments. Before a people can obey these commandments, it is necessary for them to know what they are. I remember when I was a boy, visiting the Prophet Joseph, in Seneca County, New York. On the 2nd day of January 1831, a Conference of the church was held, and at the solicitation of the people for the Prophet to enquire of the Lord what was required of them, a revelation was given to the effect that they were to gather up to the State of Ohio. Under these circumstances, the only way those people could have manifested their love for Jesus would be to obey this commandment. The people, at that time, with but few exceptions, rejoiced to have the privilege of obeying that command. Commandments and revelations are given according to the circumstances of the people unto whom they are given. Many commandments and revelations were given to the Saints whilst in Kirtland, Ohio. He commanded that a Temple should then be built, and gave, by revelation, the pattern after which it should be erected, even to the minutest particular. The people manifested their love for the Lord by obeying His commandment. In that Temple, the Prophet Elijah visited the Prophet Joseph. This was in fulfillment of the prophecy of Malachi: that the hearts of the children might be turned to the fathers and the hearts of the fathers to the children. Previous to this, we knew nothing of salvation and baptism for the dead who had died without the knowledge of the gospel. Elijah was not the only ancient prophet that came and ministered in that temple. Others came and delivered to the servants of God keys connected with the great and last dispensation. And here around me are men who hold those keys, which were delivered by heavenly messengers. And although apostates may arise and raise their heel against the Lord's anointed, yet those keys will never again be taken from the earth. The saints were told by the Lord that unless they obeyed strictly His commandments in relation to the purchase of lands they should be scourged and driven by their enemies; and although the Prophet Joseph, accompanied by a number of prominent Elders, traveled over one thousand miles among the Saints and warned them of the judgments of God that would visit them if they did not repent of their shortcomings, the Saints were driven from place to place, until finally they, being led by the servants of God, came to this country. In 1831 the Lord promised that the Saints would, before the generation had all passed away that was in existence then, build up the centre stake of Zion where a Temple should be reared and the glory of God would rest upon it.
I rejoice to see so great an improvement in the Latter-day Saints as has taken place since then. They are more united now than they have ever been at any former time. They will continue to improve until they shall be prepared to associate with heavenly beings.
The Latter-Day Work—Obeying the Commandments
Discourse by Elder Orson Pratt, delivered in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, May 5, 1870.
Reported by David W. Evans.
It is with great pleasure and satisfaction that I arise before so large an assembly of people this afternoon, in the capacity of a General Conference. It is truly wonderful to me that God has begun so great and important a work in the day in which I am permitted to live. I do not read in history of any other work of a similar character since the creation of the world. We behold before us, in these interior wilds of North America, a great people called the Latter-day Saints—a people whose faith and doctrine are one, who believe in the same God, and in the same great plan of salvation; who believe that God has established His kingdom on the earth for the last time. It has been a manifestation of faith on the part of this people to gather here; they have exhibited to one another and before all mankind that they have faith in the doctrines which they have received. What other purpose could have gathered out so great a people? If we had gathered into a healthy, rich country where there was an expectation of bettering our condition, temporarily; where there were prospects of our becoming exceedingly rich in the goods of this world, it might have been supposed that we had some selfish motive in view in thus assembling ourselves together. But there were no such prospects before us. We came here, some 1,200 miles, from the Eastern settlements to this isolated region, almost naked and barefoot, having been despoiled by our enemies—having suffered the loss of property to the extent of millions—having been reduced to the last degree of poverty. We came here—not into the midst of a land of cities and villages, not into the midst of a country where all was prepared for us beforehand; but we came into the heart of a desert, since, in some measure, reclaimed from its barrenness and sterility. We came because we had faith in our religion, because we not only believed, but most of us knew with a certainty, that God had spoken from on high and had commanded us to gather together. In this we have manifested a sincerity that ought to be convincing to all the world that we have embraced a religion in all of the depths of the sincerity of our hearts. We did not care for the riches and honors of the world; we did not care for the pleasures of our native countries, nor for the luxuries with which those countries abounded; but we came because we verily believed in our hearts that it was our duty to do so in obedience to the voice of the Lord through His servants. It is true that some of this people came to this land because they were forced hither by persecution; but whether obliged to come or not we, many of us, clearly understood from the spirit of prophecy and revelation, as manifested through our prophet and leader before his martyrdom, that we should be required to locate ourselves in the heart of this continent. We came here then to fulfil the commandments of the Lord our God, and to be free, in a measure, from the persecutions of our enemies, that we might have none to mob or molest us as they had done from the time of the rise of the Church until our flight to these mountains. We came here because we loved God, because we loved His laws—we loved the plan of salvation, we loved the principles that He had revealed, and because we knew that in process of time, in fulfillment of ancient prophecy respecting the Latter-day Zion and the Church of the Most High God, we should become a great and powerful people.
We are taught in the Jewish record, the Bible, that a little one shall become a thousand and a small one a strong nation. We believe these prophecies, we know this to be the kingdom of God. We well understood by the spirit of revelation that God intended to fulfil all that was spoken by the mouths of His ancient prophets, as well as that which had been delivered in our day in regard to the future glory and prosperity of Zion, or the Church of the living God. We understood that Zion was to be located in the mountains; we understood, as I have often repeated, from the 40th chapter of Isaiah, that the time would come when the Lord would command His people, saying unto Zion, “Get up into the high mountains.” These things had not been fulfilled in former ages, consequently, we know that they were yet in the future. We knew that the Zion of the latter days must be located in the mountains. We could read the ancient prophecies of that great prophet—Isaiah, in the 18th chapter, that a great work should be performed in the mountains, a work that should attract the attention of all the nations of the earth, so much so that the prophet, when gazing upon the work as shown to him by the spirit of prophecy, calls upon all the inhabitants of the world and the dwellers on the earth to see when the Lord should lift up an ensign upon the mountains. That ensign we knew must be reared, that great work must be accomplished, and all people—not only those on the American continent but all dwelling in the four quarters of the globe, however obscure, and however distant they might be from the place where the ensign was to be reared, would be required by the power of the Lord, and by the marvelous work that He should perform, to open their eyes and contemplate that ensign, understand its nature and comprehend, in some measure, its purpose.
We came here to fulfil these ancient prophecies. God has lifted up this Church—this kingdom, as a standard—as an ensign to which the nations are invited, and the ambassadors of the Most High are sent forth from these mountains carrying the glad tidings of salvation in their mouths—carrying forth the great and glorious principles that God has revealed in establishing his latter-day kingdom on the earth. Beautiful indeed are the feet of those who are sent forth from the mountains of Zion to publish glad tidings of great joy among the various nations and kingdoms of the earth; God is with them in very deed. His power is over them, and His arm encircles them round about. Their voice is lifted up to the nations; their hands are pointed to the West, to the heart of the American continent—to the everlasting hills, saying to mankind, “Yonder, in those mountains, is a kingdom that is never to be destroyed, a kingdom that must exist forever; while all earthly kingdoms and governments will crumble to the dust and will be blown away, like the chaff of the summer threshing floor, to the four winds of heaven.”
Jesus said on a certain occasion to his disciples, and to the multitudes, “If ye love me, keep my commandments.” There are tens of thousands, yes, hundreds of thousands, of people now upon our globe who profess to love Jesus Christ. Do they keep his commandments? Some of them no doubt strive to do so. But there are many things to be taken into consideration in connection with the keeping of the commandments of Jesus. In the first place, it is very essential and necessary that we should know what his commandments are before we can keep them. In the second place it is very important and essential that we should give heed to all those commandments, whether they appear great or small in our estimation.
Do this people, called Latter-day Saints, really love the Lord their God, or is it a mere profession? When God raised up His servant Joseph Smith and inspired him from on high to give commandments and revelations and to organize His Church, forty years ago, we were but few in number. I well recollect when I was but a boy of nineteen visiting the place where this Church was organized, and visiting the Prophet Joseph, who resided at that time in Fayette, Seneca County, New York, at the house where the Church was organized. I became acquainted more fully with that man and with the revelations and commandments that God had given to him; also with the few people who had been organized into a Church capacity. I saw the spirit of the people, that is, I saw there was a desire to do good, to love the Lord, and to be obedient to the commandments which the Prophet Joseph had delivered unto them.
On the 2nd day of January, 1831, a Conference was held in the same house where this Church was organized, and the various Branches in the State of New York were there gathered together. By the solicitations of the Conference, the Prophet Joseph enquired of the Lord to know what was His will concerning the few Latter-day Saints that were then in existence. The Lord hearkened to him, and gave on that occasion a revelation contained in the Book of Doctrine and Covenants, in which certain commandments were given, one being that all the Elders, Priests, Teachers, and Deacons of the various Branches of the Church, instead of going out to preach, should go to with all their might and labor for the gathering up of the people from the State of New York to the State of Ohio; that is, they were to assist those in the various Branches who had property to dispose of the same, and in regulating all their affairs, and to arrange business in such a manner that they might be able to keep this commandment to gather together.
Now, suppose the people had refused to comply with this commandment; suppose that the Elders, Priests, Teachers and Deacons had considered the physical labor which the carrying out of this command entailed upon them beneath their notice, and had refused to make preparations to flee from the State of New York and to gather up some six hundred miles to the State of Ohio, what would have been the result? Would the love of God have dwelt in their hearts? No. Would they have manifested before the heavens that they loved God with all their hearts? No. Would they have manifested to the Prophet, to the Priesthood and to one another that they really were sincere in their religion? No. There was no possible way for these Latter-day Saints to show their love to God, only by obeying His command that was given and written for their instruction on that occasion. If there were any who refused to do that, I will venture to say that they are not members of the Church today. If there were any who had so much means or property that they did not feel disposed to leave their pleasant homes and make a sacrifice of their wealth, in some measure, in order to fulfil the commandment of Jehovah, I will venture to say that they are not in the Church today. Why? Because God would withdraw His Holy Spirit from them. They might make great profession, and say how much they loved the Lord and His ways; how much they loved Jesus, who was crucified for the sins of the world, yet all this would be foolish and vain if they refused to keep his commandments, for, “If ye love me, keep my commandments,” saith the Savior. Again, it is written, “This is the love of God, that ye do keep His commandments, and His commandments are not grievous.” His commandments to most of the people of the Latter-day Saints were not grievous in the winter and spring of 1831. They rejoiced in having the privilege of obeying the Lord's commandments, through His servant, the Prophet. Hence they gathered up all the various Branches of the Church, with some few exceptions, to Kirtland, in the State of Ohio.
This is the right way to keep the Lord's commandments; but it is, in the first place, necessary to find what His commandments are. You might have taken this big book, the Jewish record, or Bible, and searched it from the beginning of Genesis to the end of Revelation to find out your duties as Saints, and you never could have found within it what the Lord required of His Saints at that time—namely, to remove from the State of New York to the State of Ohio. No such Scripture as that was given. That was the duty required of individuals in the nineteenth century. No other people were ever required to do that; it cannot be found within the lids of the Bible. That commandment was specially adapted to the circumstances of the few Latter-day Saints then existing, and they were the ones required to keep it. The ancients were not required to do that, neither are we; it was a commandment having relation to the time then being, and it was fulfilled. With that commandment we have nothing further to do, provided that we, or as many of us as were included among those to whom it was given, kept it. If we have not kept it we have something further to do with it—we shall have to meet it in the great judgment day.
When we came to Kirtland the Lord gave us further commandments, and He revealed a great many things through His servant Joseph. Among others, He gave one that the Latter-day Saints in Kirtland, Ohio, should go to with their might and build a house to His name, wherein He promised to bestow great and choice blessings upon His people. He revealed the pattern according to which that house should be built, pointing out the various courts and apartments, telling the size of the house, the order of the pulpits, and in fact everything pertaining to it was clearly pointed out by revelation. God gave a vision of these things, not only to Joseph, but to several others, and they were strictly commanded to build according to the pattern revealed from the heavens.
Now, then, no other people was ever commanded to do that work in Kirtland, Ohio, but the people then living there, called Latter-day Saints. It was not a work required of Noah, Abraham, Moses, Solomon, nor of any other man that ever existed on the earth, nor of any people but those to whom it was given, then living in the State of Ohio. Supposing they had said, “We will not build the house; we can meet in a common meetinghouse, after the order of the Gentiles, and we will take their forms of building, it does not matter, we do not think it necessary to be at all this expense, and we can hire a house.” Would that have been sufficient? No, the only way we could witness to one another and before the Lord of hosts that we loved Him with all our hearts was to go to and build a house just according to the pattern.
Well, when we did build it, did the Lord accept it, according to promise? He did, and He revealed great and important things in that house through His servant, Joseph the Prophet; and not only did Joseph have the privilege of seeing and understanding the mind and will of the Lord, but after the house was built many others had this great privilege given to them. For instance, the Lord had promised to reveal Himself unto many of His people and His Priesthood in that house. He did so. Among other great revelations and visions given there, was the revelation, which you will find recorded in our Church history, of Elijah, the Prophet, of him who was translated to heaven in a chariot of fire. That same personage came and stood in that temple and manifested certain keys, gave these keys to the servant of the Lord, the Prophet Joseph, and said unto him that that was the fulfillment of that which was spoken by the Prophet Malachi. What has Malachi said? He has told us of the great day of the Lord that should come, when it should burn as an oven, and when all the proud and they that do wickedly shall become as stubble and shall be burned up, leaving them neither root nor branch. He has told us that before that great and terrible day the Lord would send Elijah the Prophet. Or, to quote the words of Scripture, “Behold I will send you Elijah the Prophet before the great and terrible day of the Lord shall come.” What great object had the Lord in view in sending His ancient prophet as a ministering angel to His people on the earth? It is expressed in one sentence—“He shall turn the hearts of the fathers unto the children and the hearts of the children unto the fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.” In other words, there will be no flesh prepared to escape the day appointed—no flesh but what will become as stubble, no flesh will be able to abide the presence of the Lord until Elijah comes. He did come in that Kirtland Temple; he appeared in his glorious majesty, and there revealed the keys unto the servants of the Lord which should restore this union between the fathers and the children—something that we did not understand anything about, until the angel Elijah revealed it unto us. This was a great work to be accomplished in the latter days, in order that the fathers, from the days of the ancient Priesthood, or those who were in the spirit world—millions and millions of them, might be redeemed through the ordinance of baptism for the dead, turning the minds and thoughts and affections of the children, living on the earth, to search after their ancient fathers and to be baptized for them according to that which is contained in the New Testament about baptism for the dead. Moreover it turned the hearts of those ancient fathers to their children, for they looked to us, their children, to accomplish a work that is needful to be accomplished in their behalf, for God's house is a house of order; God's kingdom is a kingdom of order; and His ordinances were instituted from before the foundation of the world, and they are adapted to the condition of the living and the dead; and God revealed these things that our fathers, in all past generations, might rejoice with their children in the latter days, by being united in the same bonds, in the same New and Everlasting Covenants. They died without the Gospel, without understanding the plan of salvation. They were brought up in the midst of the sectarian world, where all was confusion and darkness; where no voice of God was heard; no voice of living prophets or Apostles to direct them, or to teach them in the mysteries of the kingdom of God. They went down to their graves as sincere, many of them, as you and I are. Must they be forever cast off? Must they always remain in prison and be forever deprived of the society of their children that should live on the earth in the latter days, when God should again open the heavens and send His angels to minister to His people? No; they without us cannot be made perfect; for there is no way for them to receive the Gospel only through their children. We have the work to do for them, and that work we could not commence until Elijah the Prophet was sent from heaven, holding the keys that were to be committed to the children in behalf of the fathers, in the last dispensation, before the great day of the Lord should come.
Then you see that even this one revelation, which God gave in that Temple, paid the people for the toil they had endured in erecting it. What a satisfaction it was to them to know that angels administered in that Temple! What a satisfaction it was for them to go into that Temple and have the heavens opened to them so that they could gaze on the glory of God! What a satisfaction it was for them to know that the Lord accepted, as His own, the house which they had built according to the pattern which He had given! And what a satisfaction it was for them to know that they loved God by keeping His commandments!
Elijah was not the only angel that administered in that house. Others holding keys pertaining to the last dispensation of the fullness of times came forth and manifested those keys and bestowed the authority upon the servants of God living in the flesh to carry out certain great and important purposes pertaining to this dispensation. These keys are still on the earth. Here are the servants of the living God, sitting on my right hand and on my left, who have had these keys committed into their hands by authority from the proper source, from those who received them from the heavenly messengers. These keys, being now in the hands of the Priesthood, never will be taken from them while the earth shall stand or eternal duration shall roll on. There may be apostates, those who fight against the anointed of the Lord and lift up their heel against those holding these keys; yet be it known to the Latter-day Saints and to all the ends of the earth that the almighty hand of the Great Jehovah is stretched out and He will accomplish the purposes ordained by Him in regard to this great and important work of the latter days.
Are these the only commandments that God has given for us to keep wherein we have manifested our love towards Him? No. God gave commandment to His people in the summer of 1831 that they should gather up from the Eastern lands, New York, the New England States, Pennsylvania and the Middle States, from Ohio and various parts of the United States, upon the western frontiers of Missouri; that is, that they should continue to gather, but not let their flight be in haste, and let all things be prepared before them. God led forth the Prophet that He had raised up to the western part of Missouri, and pointed out, by His own finger, where the great city of Zion should stand in the latter days, the great city of the New Jerusalem that should be built up on the American continent. I say He pointed out these things and gave direction to His people to gather to that land, and commanded them to lay the corner stone of a great and magnificent temple that was to be built during the generation in which the people then lived. The corner stone was laid in the summer of 1831, in Jackson County, State of Missouri. All these things were done by the people of God by commandment and revelation, and in this way they still further showed, one to another and to all people as well as to the heavens, that they did love the Lord their God.
Many commandments were given to the people about affairs there in Jackson County—how they should regulate their property and how they should become one—revelations that were intended to produce the greatest possible union that could exist among the people of God, if they had been complied with. The people complied with them in part, but yet, through inexperience, for the want of understanding, because of the weakness of mortality, and because of the wicked and corrupt traditions that they had imbibed in regard to property, they did not fully carry out the mind and will of God in relation to their consecrations and inheritances. It is true that they purchased the land from the American Government, or much of it, and paid their money into the land office in that county; but yet, not carrying out the command of God to the very letter, the Lord was not pleased, and before they had been located there fourteen months He threatened them very severely. Said He, “If you do not remember my commandments to keep them, and not only my commandments, but the Book of Mormon, which I have caused to come forth and to be written for your edification, as the New and Everlasting Covenant; if you do not give heed to the words of instruction and counsel, and the commandments written in that book, behold, saith the Lord, there remains a scourge and judgment to be poured out upon the inhabitants of Zion.”
We did not know what the judgment or scourging was. We had only been about fourteen months on the land, and we did not understand the nature of it. The Lord told us in another revelation, which is published in the Book of Doctrine and Covenants, that, inasmuch as we did not do just precisely as He told us to do in regard to obtaining our lands, we should be driven by our enemies—“Behold and lo, your enemies shall be upon you; you shall be persecuted and driven from city to city, and but few of you shall stand to receive an inheritance.” We could not comprehend all this. We thought perhaps we should be faithful enough that this prophecy might not be fulfilled upon our heads. Although they were the very best people on the earth, yet there was a lack among them, through want of experience or through the former traditions of the Gentiles which they had imbibed from their childhood; but the Lord required us to be very good and to give heed to every word that proceeded out of His mouth, and never disobey the least thing; and consequently when He found that we lacked in some of these things, He told us He would not suffer that land to be polluted by those who were called by His name; for it was a choice land—a holy land, and those who were called by His name, and professed to be His disciples, should not pollute it, and if they did they should be scourged and driven away and persecuted, and there would be few left who would receive their inheritance there.
In the year 1833, in the month of November, we began to feel this scourge that the Lord had forewarned us of. Yet so anxious was the Prophet Joseph that the scourge might be averted that he took a journey, in connection with some of the prominent Elders of the Church, from the State of Ohio, about one thousand miles, to the western frontiers of Missouri, to warn the people of the terrible judgment that would overtake them, if they were not more obedient. But, alas! their repentance was not sufficient, though they were such a good people—far better than any other people or Church on the face of the earth; but yet they did not come up to the letter of the law which God had revealed, consequently they did not manifest before Him that they loved Him with all their hearts, souls, might, mind and strength, and judgment came upon them and they were driven. Two hundred houses were burned, our haystacks were burned, our cattle were shot down by the mob, our merchandise were strewn in the streets, our household furniture broken up and scattered, and the people were driven forth on the bleak prairies in the cold month of November. Then they remembered the prophecies which the Lord had delivered by His servant Joseph; they remembered what had been written and published, which they had been warned of time and time again, both by letter and by the personal ministry of the servants of God in their midst.
They fled to Clay County and were driven thence in a few months, when they fled still further north into other unsettled portions of the State of Missouri, and again purchased lands of the Government, and entered them and continued there a few years; but by and by we were again driven, thus fulfilling the word of the Lord through His servant Joseph—that we should be persecuted and driven from place to place and from city to city unless we did as He told us. Finally, we were driven into the State of Illinois, where we purchased a beautiful spot of ground on the eastern bank of the Mississippi River, called Commerce, which we afterwards called Nauvoo, a Hebrew word which means beautiful for location.
After we had worked in Nauvoo for a few years, and had gathered together our people from various parts of the United States and some from Great Britain, to the number of some fifteen or twenty thousand souls, in Nauvoo and the regions round about, behold the mob was again upon us and we were driven again, thus fulfilling more fully the prophecies that had been made, and we were driven here to these mountains. We came here by the direction of the servant of God, being led by him on whom the Lord had placed the great responsibility of leading this people. He brought us here, and established us in the heart of this country. Here we have extended our settlements south, north, east and west, until the country is now populated with, as I suppose, some hundred thousand inhabitants. I do not know how many, it may be a hundred and fifty thousand for aught I know. Suffice it to say, we have over a hundred towns, cities and villages built up in the various portions of this great Basin, this desert country. We have beautified our inheritances; we have planted fruit trees in abundance and ornamental shade trees, so as to make our residences cheering and beautiful in the midst of a desert. God has been with us from the time that we came to this land, and I hope that the days of our tribulation are past. I hope this, because God promised in the year 1832 that we should, before the generation then living had passed away, return and build up the City of Zion in Jackson County; that we should return and build up the temple of the Most High where we formerly laid the corner stone. He promised us that He would manifest Himself on that temple, that the glory of God should be upon it; and not only upon the temple, but within it, even a cloud by day and a flaming fire by night.
We believe in these promises as much as we believe in any promise ever uttered by the mouth of Jehovah. The Latter-day Saints just as much expect to receive a fulfillment of that promise during the generation that was in existence in 1832 as they expect that the sun will rise and set tomorrow. Why? Because God cannot lie. He will fulfil all His promises. He has spoken, it must come to pass. This is our faith. It will depend upon the conduct of the Latter-day Saints whether we suffer more tribulation. We may suffer tribulation although we are righteous in every respect, though there were no sin found in the midst of the people. Why? Because the wicked always did persecute the righteous, they always did hate the principles and plan of salvation; still we have greater claim upon the arm of Jehovah for protection and assistance when we keep His commandments and love and serve Him.
Did you ever hear of the Elders of this Church getting up like the sectarian world and speaking about the love of God dwelling in their bosoms, and saying how much they loved Jesus, and at the same time transgressing his laws? No, we have no right to make any such declaration as this; hence we show to the heavens that we are determined to do the will of God. Then we may say that we love God; then we can say that we love His ways, and His Priesthood, and His Church, and His kingdom, and His Gospel which He has sent forth by His angels in the latter day.
I feel truly grateful to the Most High God that such a great improvement has been made among the Latter-day Saints in these mountains. I think I am able to judge. I have been with this people from my youth up. Forty years have almost expired since I was baptized into this Church and kingdom. I have known the former history of the Saints; and I know and understand, in some measure, their present condition, and I can contrast the two, and I see a decided improvement. Is there more union amongst them? Yes; far more than there was in the lifetime of Joseph; and all that the great mass of the people want is to know what God requires, and, with one heart and mind, they will do it. If God requires them to be baptized for their dead, as far as they can search and find out their ancestors' names, they will do it with all their hearts and souls. If He requires them to receive the sacred ordinance of the endowments, by which they may attain to greater blessings and glory in His presence, they will go to with one heart and mind to receive those ordinances. If God requires His people to take a plurality of wives and have them sealed to them for time and eternity, behold they will do these things. If God requires the young, middle-aged, or even the aged, Elders to start from their farms or from their various occupations and leave this Territory on a journey across the Plains or across the great ocean and to the different nations of the earth and study their language and preach to the people, behold they will do it. If God calls upon this people to go forth into the South country, which is still more barren and desolate than the northern portion of the Territory, behold they are willing to go and do it. If God requires anything at their hands there is a union, oneness and willingness to go forward and carry out His great designs and purposes in regard to the rolling forth of His kingdom in the last days. By all these acts, by all these manifestations, by the good feeling that exists in the bosoms of this people, we know that they have made great improvement and advancement in the things of the kingdom of God since our Prophet was called upon to offer his great and last testimony by the shedding of his blood.
This union will increase and become stronger and stronger; it will continue until this people shall be prepared and sanctified before the heavens, and be permitted to return and build up the waste places of Zion in the western frontiers of the United States. This people will wax stronger in faith, in love towards God, in the power of the Priesthood and in the demonstration of the Spirit, until they are able to build the city wherein God shall reveal Himself, as He did in ancient times before the flood, among the people of ancient Zion—the Zion built up by Enoch. This people will increase in union, faith, greatness and glory, until the heavens shall come down and embrace us, and we shall embrace them, and all the heavenly host shall be united together in one with the hosts of the Saints of God here on earth, and a union will be created such as exists nowhere but in the celestial kingdom of our God, for the Saints themselves will ere long become celestial. Amen.
The choir sang: "We thank Thee, O God, for a Prophet."
Prayer by Elder John Taylor.
Conference adjourned till to-morrow morning at 10 o'clock.
Discourse by Elder Orson Pratt, delivered in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, May 5, 1870.
Reported by David W. Evans.
It is with great pleasure and satisfaction that I arise before so large an assembly of people this afternoon, in the capacity of a General Conference. It is truly wonderful to me that God has begun so great and important a work in the day in which I am permitted to live. I do not read in history of any other work of a similar character since the creation of the world. We behold before us, in these interior wilds of North America, a great people called the Latter-day Saints—a people whose faith and doctrine are one, who believe in the same God, and in the same great plan of salvation; who believe that God has established His kingdom on the earth for the last time. It has been a manifestation of faith on the part of this people to gather here; they have exhibited to one another and before all mankind that they have faith in the doctrines which they have received. What other purpose could have gathered out so great a people? If we had gathered into a healthy, rich country where there was an expectation of bettering our condition, temporarily; where there were prospects of our becoming exceedingly rich in the goods of this world, it might have been supposed that we had some selfish motive in view in thus assembling ourselves together. But there were no such prospects before us. We came here, some 1,200 miles, from the Eastern settlements to this isolated region, almost naked and barefoot, having been despoiled by our enemies—having suffered the loss of property to the extent of millions—having been reduced to the last degree of poverty. We came here—not into the midst of a land of cities and villages, not into the midst of a country where all was prepared for us beforehand; but we came into the heart of a desert, since, in some measure, reclaimed from its barrenness and sterility. We came because we had faith in our religion, because we not only believed, but most of us knew with a certainty, that God had spoken from on high and had commanded us to gather together. In this we have manifested a sincerity that ought to be convincing to all the world that we have embraced a religion in all of the depths of the sincerity of our hearts. We did not care for the riches and honors of the world; we did not care for the pleasures of our native countries, nor for the luxuries with which those countries abounded; but we came because we verily believed in our hearts that it was our duty to do so in obedience to the voice of the Lord through His servants. It is true that some of this people came to this land because they were forced hither by persecution; but whether obliged to come or not we, many of us, clearly understood from the spirit of prophecy and revelation, as manifested through our prophet and leader before his martyrdom, that we should be required to locate ourselves in the heart of this continent. We came here then to fulfil the commandments of the Lord our God, and to be free, in a measure, from the persecutions of our enemies, that we might have none to mob or molest us as they had done from the time of the rise of the Church until our flight to these mountains. We came here because we loved God, because we loved His laws—we loved the plan of salvation, we loved the principles that He had revealed, and because we knew that in process of time, in fulfillment of ancient prophecy respecting the Latter-day Zion and the Church of the Most High God, we should become a great and powerful people.
We are taught in the Jewish record, the Bible, that a little one shall become a thousand and a small one a strong nation. We believe these prophecies, we know this to be the kingdom of God. We well understood by the spirit of revelation that God intended to fulfil all that was spoken by the mouths of His ancient prophets, as well as that which had been delivered in our day in regard to the future glory and prosperity of Zion, or the Church of the living God. We understood that Zion was to be located in the mountains; we understood, as I have often repeated, from the 40th chapter of Isaiah, that the time would come when the Lord would command His people, saying unto Zion, “Get up into the high mountains.” These things had not been fulfilled in former ages, consequently, we know that they were yet in the future. We knew that the Zion of the latter days must be located in the mountains. We could read the ancient prophecies of that great prophet—Isaiah, in the 18th chapter, that a great work should be performed in the mountains, a work that should attract the attention of all the nations of the earth, so much so that the prophet, when gazing upon the work as shown to him by the spirit of prophecy, calls upon all the inhabitants of the world and the dwellers on the earth to see when the Lord should lift up an ensign upon the mountains. That ensign we knew must be reared, that great work must be accomplished, and all people—not only those on the American continent but all dwelling in the four quarters of the globe, however obscure, and however distant they might be from the place where the ensign was to be reared, would be required by the power of the Lord, and by the marvelous work that He should perform, to open their eyes and contemplate that ensign, understand its nature and comprehend, in some measure, its purpose.
We came here to fulfil these ancient prophecies. God has lifted up this Church—this kingdom, as a standard—as an ensign to which the nations are invited, and the ambassadors of the Most High are sent forth from these mountains carrying the glad tidings of salvation in their mouths—carrying forth the great and glorious principles that God has revealed in establishing his latter-day kingdom on the earth. Beautiful indeed are the feet of those who are sent forth from the mountains of Zion to publish glad tidings of great joy among the various nations and kingdoms of the earth; God is with them in very deed. His power is over them, and His arm encircles them round about. Their voice is lifted up to the nations; their hands are pointed to the West, to the heart of the American continent—to the everlasting hills, saying to mankind, “Yonder, in those mountains, is a kingdom that is never to be destroyed, a kingdom that must exist forever; while all earthly kingdoms and governments will crumble to the dust and will be blown away, like the chaff of the summer threshing floor, to the four winds of heaven.”
Jesus said on a certain occasion to his disciples, and to the multitudes, “If ye love me, keep my commandments.” There are tens of thousands, yes, hundreds of thousands, of people now upon our globe who profess to love Jesus Christ. Do they keep his commandments? Some of them no doubt strive to do so. But there are many things to be taken into consideration in connection with the keeping of the commandments of Jesus. In the first place, it is very essential and necessary that we should know what his commandments are before we can keep them. In the second place it is very important and essential that we should give heed to all those commandments, whether they appear great or small in our estimation.
Do this people, called Latter-day Saints, really love the Lord their God, or is it a mere profession? When God raised up His servant Joseph Smith and inspired him from on high to give commandments and revelations and to organize His Church, forty years ago, we were but few in number. I well recollect when I was but a boy of nineteen visiting the place where this Church was organized, and visiting the Prophet Joseph, who resided at that time in Fayette, Seneca County, New York, at the house where the Church was organized. I became acquainted more fully with that man and with the revelations and commandments that God had given to him; also with the few people who had been organized into a Church capacity. I saw the spirit of the people, that is, I saw there was a desire to do good, to love the Lord, and to be obedient to the commandments which the Prophet Joseph had delivered unto them.
On the 2nd day of January, 1831, a Conference was held in the same house where this Church was organized, and the various Branches in the State of New York were there gathered together. By the solicitations of the Conference, the Prophet Joseph enquired of the Lord to know what was His will concerning the few Latter-day Saints that were then in existence. The Lord hearkened to him, and gave on that occasion a revelation contained in the Book of Doctrine and Covenants, in which certain commandments were given, one being that all the Elders, Priests, Teachers, and Deacons of the various Branches of the Church, instead of going out to preach, should go to with all their might and labor for the gathering up of the people from the State of New York to the State of Ohio; that is, they were to assist those in the various Branches who had property to dispose of the same, and in regulating all their affairs, and to arrange business in such a manner that they might be able to keep this commandment to gather together.
Now, suppose the people had refused to comply with this commandment; suppose that the Elders, Priests, Teachers and Deacons had considered the physical labor which the carrying out of this command entailed upon them beneath their notice, and had refused to make preparations to flee from the State of New York and to gather up some six hundred miles to the State of Ohio, what would have been the result? Would the love of God have dwelt in their hearts? No. Would they have manifested before the heavens that they loved God with all their hearts? No. Would they have manifested to the Prophet, to the Priesthood and to one another that they really were sincere in their religion? No. There was no possible way for these Latter-day Saints to show their love to God, only by obeying His command that was given and written for their instruction on that occasion. If there were any who refused to do that, I will venture to say that they are not members of the Church today. If there were any who had so much means or property that they did not feel disposed to leave their pleasant homes and make a sacrifice of their wealth, in some measure, in order to fulfil the commandment of Jehovah, I will venture to say that they are not in the Church today. Why? Because God would withdraw His Holy Spirit from them. They might make great profession, and say how much they loved the Lord and His ways; how much they loved Jesus, who was crucified for the sins of the world, yet all this would be foolish and vain if they refused to keep his commandments, for, “If ye love me, keep my commandments,” saith the Savior. Again, it is written, “This is the love of God, that ye do keep His commandments, and His commandments are not grievous.” His commandments to most of the people of the Latter-day Saints were not grievous in the winter and spring of 1831. They rejoiced in having the privilege of obeying the Lord's commandments, through His servant, the Prophet. Hence they gathered up all the various Branches of the Church, with some few exceptions, to Kirtland, in the State of Ohio.
This is the right way to keep the Lord's commandments; but it is, in the first place, necessary to find what His commandments are. You might have taken this big book, the Jewish record, or Bible, and searched it from the beginning of Genesis to the end of Revelation to find out your duties as Saints, and you never could have found within it what the Lord required of His Saints at that time—namely, to remove from the State of New York to the State of Ohio. No such Scripture as that was given. That was the duty required of individuals in the nineteenth century. No other people were ever required to do that; it cannot be found within the lids of the Bible. That commandment was specially adapted to the circumstances of the few Latter-day Saints then existing, and they were the ones required to keep it. The ancients were not required to do that, neither are we; it was a commandment having relation to the time then being, and it was fulfilled. With that commandment we have nothing further to do, provided that we, or as many of us as were included among those to whom it was given, kept it. If we have not kept it we have something further to do with it—we shall have to meet it in the great judgment day.
When we came to Kirtland the Lord gave us further commandments, and He revealed a great many things through His servant Joseph. Among others, He gave one that the Latter-day Saints in Kirtland, Ohio, should go to with their might and build a house to His name, wherein He promised to bestow great and choice blessings upon His people. He revealed the pattern according to which that house should be built, pointing out the various courts and apartments, telling the size of the house, the order of the pulpits, and in fact everything pertaining to it was clearly pointed out by revelation. God gave a vision of these things, not only to Joseph, but to several others, and they were strictly commanded to build according to the pattern revealed from the heavens.
Now, then, no other people was ever commanded to do that work in Kirtland, Ohio, but the people then living there, called Latter-day Saints. It was not a work required of Noah, Abraham, Moses, Solomon, nor of any other man that ever existed on the earth, nor of any people but those to whom it was given, then living in the State of Ohio. Supposing they had said, “We will not build the house; we can meet in a common meetinghouse, after the order of the Gentiles, and we will take their forms of building, it does not matter, we do not think it necessary to be at all this expense, and we can hire a house.” Would that have been sufficient? No, the only way we could witness to one another and before the Lord of hosts that we loved Him with all our hearts was to go to and build a house just according to the pattern.
Well, when we did build it, did the Lord accept it, according to promise? He did, and He revealed great and important things in that house through His servant, Joseph the Prophet; and not only did Joseph have the privilege of seeing and understanding the mind and will of the Lord, but after the house was built many others had this great privilege given to them. For instance, the Lord had promised to reveal Himself unto many of His people and His Priesthood in that house. He did so. Among other great revelations and visions given there, was the revelation, which you will find recorded in our Church history, of Elijah, the Prophet, of him who was translated to heaven in a chariot of fire. That same personage came and stood in that temple and manifested certain keys, gave these keys to the servant of the Lord, the Prophet Joseph, and said unto him that that was the fulfillment of that which was spoken by the Prophet Malachi. What has Malachi said? He has told us of the great day of the Lord that should come, when it should burn as an oven, and when all the proud and they that do wickedly shall become as stubble and shall be burned up, leaving them neither root nor branch. He has told us that before that great and terrible day the Lord would send Elijah the Prophet. Or, to quote the words of Scripture, “Behold I will send you Elijah the Prophet before the great and terrible day of the Lord shall come.” What great object had the Lord in view in sending His ancient prophet as a ministering angel to His people on the earth? It is expressed in one sentence—“He shall turn the hearts of the fathers unto the children and the hearts of the children unto the fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.” In other words, there will be no flesh prepared to escape the day appointed—no flesh but what will become as stubble, no flesh will be able to abide the presence of the Lord until Elijah comes. He did come in that Kirtland Temple; he appeared in his glorious majesty, and there revealed the keys unto the servants of the Lord which should restore this union between the fathers and the children—something that we did not understand anything about, until the angel Elijah revealed it unto us. This was a great work to be accomplished in the latter days, in order that the fathers, from the days of the ancient Priesthood, or those who were in the spirit world—millions and millions of them, might be redeemed through the ordinance of baptism for the dead, turning the minds and thoughts and affections of the children, living on the earth, to search after their ancient fathers and to be baptized for them according to that which is contained in the New Testament about baptism for the dead. Moreover it turned the hearts of those ancient fathers to their children, for they looked to us, their children, to accomplish a work that is needful to be accomplished in their behalf, for God's house is a house of order; God's kingdom is a kingdom of order; and His ordinances were instituted from before the foundation of the world, and they are adapted to the condition of the living and the dead; and God revealed these things that our fathers, in all past generations, might rejoice with their children in the latter days, by being united in the same bonds, in the same New and Everlasting Covenants. They died without the Gospel, without understanding the plan of salvation. They were brought up in the midst of the sectarian world, where all was confusion and darkness; where no voice of God was heard; no voice of living prophets or Apostles to direct them, or to teach them in the mysteries of the kingdom of God. They went down to their graves as sincere, many of them, as you and I are. Must they be forever cast off? Must they always remain in prison and be forever deprived of the society of their children that should live on the earth in the latter days, when God should again open the heavens and send His angels to minister to His people? No; they without us cannot be made perfect; for there is no way for them to receive the Gospel only through their children. We have the work to do for them, and that work we could not commence until Elijah the Prophet was sent from heaven, holding the keys that were to be committed to the children in behalf of the fathers, in the last dispensation, before the great day of the Lord should come.
Then you see that even this one revelation, which God gave in that Temple, paid the people for the toil they had endured in erecting it. What a satisfaction it was to them to know that angels administered in that Temple! What a satisfaction it was for them to go into that Temple and have the heavens opened to them so that they could gaze on the glory of God! What a satisfaction it was for them to know that the Lord accepted, as His own, the house which they had built according to the pattern which He had given! And what a satisfaction it was for them to know that they loved God by keeping His commandments!
Elijah was not the only angel that administered in that house. Others holding keys pertaining to the last dispensation of the fullness of times came forth and manifested those keys and bestowed the authority upon the servants of God living in the flesh to carry out certain great and important purposes pertaining to this dispensation. These keys are still on the earth. Here are the servants of the living God, sitting on my right hand and on my left, who have had these keys committed into their hands by authority from the proper source, from those who received them from the heavenly messengers. These keys, being now in the hands of the Priesthood, never will be taken from them while the earth shall stand or eternal duration shall roll on. There may be apostates, those who fight against the anointed of the Lord and lift up their heel against those holding these keys; yet be it known to the Latter-day Saints and to all the ends of the earth that the almighty hand of the Great Jehovah is stretched out and He will accomplish the purposes ordained by Him in regard to this great and important work of the latter days.
Are these the only commandments that God has given for us to keep wherein we have manifested our love towards Him? No. God gave commandment to His people in the summer of 1831 that they should gather up from the Eastern lands, New York, the New England States, Pennsylvania and the Middle States, from Ohio and various parts of the United States, upon the western frontiers of Missouri; that is, that they should continue to gather, but not let their flight be in haste, and let all things be prepared before them. God led forth the Prophet that He had raised up to the western part of Missouri, and pointed out, by His own finger, where the great city of Zion should stand in the latter days, the great city of the New Jerusalem that should be built up on the American continent. I say He pointed out these things and gave direction to His people to gather to that land, and commanded them to lay the corner stone of a great and magnificent temple that was to be built during the generation in which the people then lived. The corner stone was laid in the summer of 1831, in Jackson County, State of Missouri. All these things were done by the people of God by commandment and revelation, and in this way they still further showed, one to another and to all people as well as to the heavens, that they did love the Lord their God.
Many commandments were given to the people about affairs there in Jackson County—how they should regulate their property and how they should become one—revelations that were intended to produce the greatest possible union that could exist among the people of God, if they had been complied with. The people complied with them in part, but yet, through inexperience, for the want of understanding, because of the weakness of mortality, and because of the wicked and corrupt traditions that they had imbibed in regard to property, they did not fully carry out the mind and will of God in relation to their consecrations and inheritances. It is true that they purchased the land from the American Government, or much of it, and paid their money into the land office in that county; but yet, not carrying out the command of God to the very letter, the Lord was not pleased, and before they had been located there fourteen months He threatened them very severely. Said He, “If you do not remember my commandments to keep them, and not only my commandments, but the Book of Mormon, which I have caused to come forth and to be written for your edification, as the New and Everlasting Covenant; if you do not give heed to the words of instruction and counsel, and the commandments written in that book, behold, saith the Lord, there remains a scourge and judgment to be poured out upon the inhabitants of Zion.”
We did not know what the judgment or scourging was. We had only been about fourteen months on the land, and we did not understand the nature of it. The Lord told us in another revelation, which is published in the Book of Doctrine and Covenants, that, inasmuch as we did not do just precisely as He told us to do in regard to obtaining our lands, we should be driven by our enemies—“Behold and lo, your enemies shall be upon you; you shall be persecuted and driven from city to city, and but few of you shall stand to receive an inheritance.” We could not comprehend all this. We thought perhaps we should be faithful enough that this prophecy might not be fulfilled upon our heads. Although they were the very best people on the earth, yet there was a lack among them, through want of experience or through the former traditions of the Gentiles which they had imbibed from their childhood; but the Lord required us to be very good and to give heed to every word that proceeded out of His mouth, and never disobey the least thing; and consequently when He found that we lacked in some of these things, He told us He would not suffer that land to be polluted by those who were called by His name; for it was a choice land—a holy land, and those who were called by His name, and professed to be His disciples, should not pollute it, and if they did they should be scourged and driven away and persecuted, and there would be few left who would receive their inheritance there.
In the year 1833, in the month of November, we began to feel this scourge that the Lord had forewarned us of. Yet so anxious was the Prophet Joseph that the scourge might be averted that he took a journey, in connection with some of the prominent Elders of the Church, from the State of Ohio, about one thousand miles, to the western frontiers of Missouri, to warn the people of the terrible judgment that would overtake them, if they were not more obedient. But, alas! their repentance was not sufficient, though they were such a good people—far better than any other people or Church on the face of the earth; but yet they did not come up to the letter of the law which God had revealed, consequently they did not manifest before Him that they loved Him with all their hearts, souls, might, mind and strength, and judgment came upon them and they were driven. Two hundred houses were burned, our haystacks were burned, our cattle were shot down by the mob, our merchandise were strewn in the streets, our household furniture broken up and scattered, and the people were driven forth on the bleak prairies in the cold month of November. Then they remembered the prophecies which the Lord had delivered by His servant Joseph; they remembered what had been written and published, which they had been warned of time and time again, both by letter and by the personal ministry of the servants of God in their midst.
They fled to Clay County and were driven thence in a few months, when they fled still further north into other unsettled portions of the State of Missouri, and again purchased lands of the Government, and entered them and continued there a few years; but by and by we were again driven, thus fulfilling the word of the Lord through His servant Joseph—that we should be persecuted and driven from place to place and from city to city unless we did as He told us. Finally, we were driven into the State of Illinois, where we purchased a beautiful spot of ground on the eastern bank of the Mississippi River, called Commerce, which we afterwards called Nauvoo, a Hebrew word which means beautiful for location.
After we had worked in Nauvoo for a few years, and had gathered together our people from various parts of the United States and some from Great Britain, to the number of some fifteen or twenty thousand souls, in Nauvoo and the regions round about, behold the mob was again upon us and we were driven again, thus fulfilling more fully the prophecies that had been made, and we were driven here to these mountains. We came here by the direction of the servant of God, being led by him on whom the Lord had placed the great responsibility of leading this people. He brought us here, and established us in the heart of this country. Here we have extended our settlements south, north, east and west, until the country is now populated with, as I suppose, some hundred thousand inhabitants. I do not know how many, it may be a hundred and fifty thousand for aught I know. Suffice it to say, we have over a hundred towns, cities and villages built up in the various portions of this great Basin, this desert country. We have beautified our inheritances; we have planted fruit trees in abundance and ornamental shade trees, so as to make our residences cheering and beautiful in the midst of a desert. God has been with us from the time that we came to this land, and I hope that the days of our tribulation are past. I hope this, because God promised in the year 1832 that we should, before the generation then living had passed away, return and build up the City of Zion in Jackson County; that we should return and build up the temple of the Most High where we formerly laid the corner stone. He promised us that He would manifest Himself on that temple, that the glory of God should be upon it; and not only upon the temple, but within it, even a cloud by day and a flaming fire by night.
We believe in these promises as much as we believe in any promise ever uttered by the mouth of Jehovah. The Latter-day Saints just as much expect to receive a fulfillment of that promise during the generation that was in existence in 1832 as they expect that the sun will rise and set tomorrow. Why? Because God cannot lie. He will fulfil all His promises. He has spoken, it must come to pass. This is our faith. It will depend upon the conduct of the Latter-day Saints whether we suffer more tribulation. We may suffer tribulation although we are righteous in every respect, though there were no sin found in the midst of the people. Why? Because the wicked always did persecute the righteous, they always did hate the principles and plan of salvation; still we have greater claim upon the arm of Jehovah for protection and assistance when we keep His commandments and love and serve Him.
Did you ever hear of the Elders of this Church getting up like the sectarian world and speaking about the love of God dwelling in their bosoms, and saying how much they loved Jesus, and at the same time transgressing his laws? No, we have no right to make any such declaration as this; hence we show to the heavens that we are determined to do the will of God. Then we may say that we love God; then we can say that we love His ways, and His Priesthood, and His Church, and His kingdom, and His Gospel which He has sent forth by His angels in the latter day.
I feel truly grateful to the Most High God that such a great improvement has been made among the Latter-day Saints in these mountains. I think I am able to judge. I have been with this people from my youth up. Forty years have almost expired since I was baptized into this Church and kingdom. I have known the former history of the Saints; and I know and understand, in some measure, their present condition, and I can contrast the two, and I see a decided improvement. Is there more union amongst them? Yes; far more than there was in the lifetime of Joseph; and all that the great mass of the people want is to know what God requires, and, with one heart and mind, they will do it. If God requires them to be baptized for their dead, as far as they can search and find out their ancestors' names, they will do it with all their hearts and souls. If He requires them to receive the sacred ordinance of the endowments, by which they may attain to greater blessings and glory in His presence, they will go to with one heart and mind to receive those ordinances. If God requires His people to take a plurality of wives and have them sealed to them for time and eternity, behold they will do these things. If God requires the young, middle-aged, or even the aged, Elders to start from their farms or from their various occupations and leave this Territory on a journey across the Plains or across the great ocean and to the different nations of the earth and study their language and preach to the people, behold they will do it. If God calls upon this people to go forth into the South country, which is still more barren and desolate than the northern portion of the Territory, behold they are willing to go and do it. If God requires anything at their hands there is a union, oneness and willingness to go forward and carry out His great designs and purposes in regard to the rolling forth of His kingdom in the last days. By all these acts, by all these manifestations, by the good feeling that exists in the bosoms of this people, we know that they have made great improvement and advancement in the things of the kingdom of God since our Prophet was called upon to offer his great and last testimony by the shedding of his blood.
This union will increase and become stronger and stronger; it will continue until this people shall be prepared and sanctified before the heavens, and be permitted to return and build up the waste places of Zion in the western frontiers of the United States. This people will wax stronger in faith, in love towards God, in the power of the Priesthood and in the demonstration of the Spirit, until they are able to build the city wherein God shall reveal Himself, as He did in ancient times before the flood, among the people of ancient Zion—the Zion built up by Enoch. This people will increase in union, faith, greatness and glory, until the heavens shall come down and embrace us, and we shall embrace them, and all the heavenly host shall be united together in one with the hosts of the Saints of God here on earth, and a union will be created such as exists nowhere but in the celestial kingdom of our God, for the Saints themselves will ere long become celestial. Amen.
The choir sang: "We thank Thee, O God, for a Prophet."
Prayer by Elder John Taylor.
Conference adjourned till to-morrow morning at 10 o'clock.
Friday, 10 a.m. (May 6)
Meeting was called to order by President Brigham Young.
The choir sang: "See how the morning sun."
Prayer by Elder John W. Young.
The choir sang: "Hark! listen to the gentle breeze."
Meeting was called to order by President Brigham Young.
The choir sang: "See how the morning sun."
Prayer by Elder John W. Young.
The choir sang: "Hark! listen to the gentle breeze."
Elder John Taylor.
All mankind need the guidance of the Almighty; without it, it is impossible for us to do right. The world, by wisdom, know not God. Yet they comprehend many things. Many entertain the idea that by advancing in the knowledge of science and philosophy, God can be known. That is not the case. No man knoweth the things of God, but by the spirit of God. Scientific knowledge has wonderfully increased during the present age, and has been a great benefit to mankind, as instanced in the utilization of steam, electricity, etc. Because of the progress made in those things, it has been supposed that the intellect of man is capable of grasping all things. Men get puffed up because of their discoveries, forgetting that they owe all to the Almighty, from whom proceeds every good gift, forgetting also that they are still grasping in the dark relating to God and His designs. There is a philosophy of the earth and there is a philosophy of the Heavens. The philosophy of the Heavens comprehends all things, but the philosophy of the earth cannot comprehend the nature and designs of God. Who among philosophers can tell how this earth was organized, by what power it moves, or what is the nature of the inhabitants of the worlds we behold above us? No man ever has or ever will comprehend those things by human philosophy or wisdom alone. They can only be understood as the knowledge of them is imparted by the Heavens. It is the greatest absurdity for man to boast of his superior intelligence. None of the principles that have been discovered by man were originated by human wisdom; they emanated from Nature's God. The boasting of men with regard to their intelligence reminds us of an infant who lifts its hand, and discovers for the first time that it has a hand, although the hand was there before it made the discovery. Notwithstanding the ignorance of mankind in relation to the knowledge of God, they would undertake to dictate what we shall and shall not believe in, and what shall be our code of morals, just as if they were immaculate. The gospel is everlasting; it brought an everlasting priesthood with it and has everlasting covenants connected with it. According to promise, when we obeyed, we received the Holy Ghost, which placed us in communication with the heavens. Things that, previous to our obedience to the gospel, we did not comprehend, were made plain to our minds. And although we were derided by the world, because of our acceptance of the plan of salvation, yet we knew that whereas we had been blind, to the things of God, we had been made to see. We care not for the opinions of men, but desire to be judged according to our works. We know that God has pointed out the path we should pursue and we will walk in it independent of all the powers of earth and hell. What did we know pertaining to the future before obeying the gospel? When we went to be married, the priests of the day said we were married till death did us part. Under the gospel dispensation we are married not only for time, but for all eternity. The gospel is eternal and so are its covenants.
Elder Taylor spoke eloquently and interestingly on the resurrection and bore a powerful testimony to the final success and triumph of the Kingdom of God on the earth. His remarks will be printed in full.
All mankind need the guidance of the Almighty; without it, it is impossible for us to do right. The world, by wisdom, know not God. Yet they comprehend many things. Many entertain the idea that by advancing in the knowledge of science and philosophy, God can be known. That is not the case. No man knoweth the things of God, but by the spirit of God. Scientific knowledge has wonderfully increased during the present age, and has been a great benefit to mankind, as instanced in the utilization of steam, electricity, etc. Because of the progress made in those things, it has been supposed that the intellect of man is capable of grasping all things. Men get puffed up because of their discoveries, forgetting that they owe all to the Almighty, from whom proceeds every good gift, forgetting also that they are still grasping in the dark relating to God and His designs. There is a philosophy of the earth and there is a philosophy of the Heavens. The philosophy of the Heavens comprehends all things, but the philosophy of the earth cannot comprehend the nature and designs of God. Who among philosophers can tell how this earth was organized, by what power it moves, or what is the nature of the inhabitants of the worlds we behold above us? No man ever has or ever will comprehend those things by human philosophy or wisdom alone. They can only be understood as the knowledge of them is imparted by the Heavens. It is the greatest absurdity for man to boast of his superior intelligence. None of the principles that have been discovered by man were originated by human wisdom; they emanated from Nature's God. The boasting of men with regard to their intelligence reminds us of an infant who lifts its hand, and discovers for the first time that it has a hand, although the hand was there before it made the discovery. Notwithstanding the ignorance of mankind in relation to the knowledge of God, they would undertake to dictate what we shall and shall not believe in, and what shall be our code of morals, just as if they were immaculate. The gospel is everlasting; it brought an everlasting priesthood with it and has everlasting covenants connected with it. According to promise, when we obeyed, we received the Holy Ghost, which placed us in communication with the heavens. Things that, previous to our obedience to the gospel, we did not comprehend, were made plain to our minds. And although we were derided by the world, because of our acceptance of the plan of salvation, yet we knew that whereas we had been blind, to the things of God, we had been made to see. We care not for the opinions of men, but desire to be judged according to our works. We know that God has pointed out the path we should pursue and we will walk in it independent of all the powers of earth and hell. What did we know pertaining to the future before obeying the gospel? When we went to be married, the priests of the day said we were married till death did us part. Under the gospel dispensation we are married not only for time, but for all eternity. The gospel is eternal and so are its covenants.
Elder Taylor spoke eloquently and interestingly on the resurrection and bore a powerful testimony to the final success and triumph of the Kingdom of God on the earth. His remarks will be printed in full.
How to Know the Things of God
Discourse by Elder John Taylor, delivered in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, May 6, 1870.
Reported by David W. Evans.
The Scriptures inform us “that no man knows the things of God, but by the Spirit of God;” and then no man can speak the things of God unless aided by the Spirit of the Lord; and no people can comprehend the things spoken unless inspired and guided by the same Spirit. We need this Spirit continually and so do all mankind, to guide us, to enable us to comprehend the laws of life, to regulate and concentrate our thoughts, to elevate and ennoble our feelings, to give force and vitality to our actions, and to place us in a position before God, before men, and before the holy angels, that will be right, acceptable and proper to all true intelligence, to the angelic host, and to our heavenly Father. It matters very little what we are engaged in, it is impossible for us to do right without the guidance of the Almighty; but aided and directed by the Spirit of the Lord, we can act in consonance with the dignity of our high position as immortal beings possessing the holy Priesthood, and participating in the new and everlasting covenant; by the aid of that unerring Spirit we can fulfil the measure of our creation and prepare ourselves for an inheritance in the celestial kingdom of our God.
We are told “that the world by wisdom knows not God;” yet they do comprehend a great many things, and because of the spread of general intelligence and the great progress of science, literature and the arts, they believe they can find out God. Like the framers of Babel's Tower, they seek to penetrate the heavens on natural principles. Like them they are mistaken, as all men have been who have sought to solve the problem of life through the influence of human wisdom. No man ever did understand God on this principle; neither can they by mortal agency alone understand the principles of life and salvation. No man in the present generation comprehends them on this principle; neither will human wisdom enable any man who ever will live to understand them. It is true that mankind, within a short time, have made great advances in the arts and sciences. During the last half century scientific research has made many wonderful developments; and many things which, before that time, were unknown to the human family, are now quite familiar. There was very little known of the application of the power of steam half a century ago. I remember, very well, the first steamboat and locomotive that were propelled by steam, and riding on the first railway. Before that, locomotion had to depend upon the winds and tides and horse power and a few other agencies. These are now supplanted by what all will acknowledge as a very superior agent—namely, the power of steam.
Electricity, or rather its application, so as to subserve the wants of man, was unknown until a comparatively recent period. I refer now more particularly to the electric telegraph. That has been a means of greatly facilitating the transmission of thought and the spread of intelligence among the human family, and has been a great advantage to the world at large. When we came to this valley, for instance, even so late as that, we had to depend upon ox teams to bring our mails and to convey intelligence from the East, and I have known it to be four, five, and sometimes as long as six months before we knew what President was elected. Now we can have it in fewer minutes; this exhibits a great improvement in such matters.
I can remember the time when we had to plod along at night, nearly in the dark, in our largest cities, the streets being lighted only by dim oil lamps. Now we have gas and various luminous oils, which we have made the earth teem forth by millions of gallons, that are almost equivalent to gas. Daguerreotyping, or as it is more generally called photography, is another great achievement of the human mind, conferring the power to take likenesses, landscapes and views in a moment, which formerly required days or months, even by the most eminent artists.
In machinery and chemistry, manufactures, and many other scientific developments connected with human life, wonderful advances have been made, and the world seems to have been progressing with great rapidity in the arts and sciences, in regard to manufactures. Some years ago every texture had to be spun by a single thread, now, by the aid of steam and machinery, it is done by thousands and hundreds of thousands. We might go on enumerating many other improvements which have taken place within the past few years; from which it is very evident that the progress of the present generation has far eclipsed that of any preceding it, of which we have any knowledge. Because of these things it has been supposed by many that the human intellect is capable of grasping everything in this world and the world to come—even eternal things, and many men have got puffed up and vain in their imaginations because of the discoveries they have made and the advancement in science, literature and the arts. They forget “that every good and perfect gift proceeds from God, the Father of light, in whom there is no variableness nor the shadow of a turning.” They forget that every particle of wisdom that any man possesses comes from God, and that without Him they would still continue to grope in the dark. They forget that, with all the increase of wisdom and intelligence and the expansion of the human mind, they are in the dark in regard to God, and that no man by wisdom can find Him out. The mystery which enshrouds Him is as high as heaven, as deep as hell and as wide as the universe; and it is unfathomable and incomprehensible by human intelligence, unaided by the inspiration of the Almighty.
There are men, it is true, who profess from the little knowledge they have of earthly things, by a series of deductions, to be able to find out heavenly things, but there is a very material difference between the two. There is a philosophy of the earth and a philosophy of the heavens; the latter can unravel all mysteries pertaining to earth; but the philosophy of the earth cannot enter into the mysteries of the kingdom of God, or the purposes of the Most High. But because of the advancement to which I have alluded, men set themselves up as teachers of things pertaining to spiritual matters, of which they know nothing. But the moment they do that, they exhibit their folly, vanity, imbecility and shortsightedness, for, as I have stated, they never did comprehend the things of God without the Spirit of God, and they never will. What folly it is, for men with the breath in their nostrils, who are but worms of the earth, existing as it were for a day, and tomorrow are cut down like the grass; or like the moth or butterfly, which flutters around for a brief space and then passes away into everlasting oblivion; I say what folly it is for beings so circumstanced, so weak, imbecile, circumscribed and controlled to set themselves forward, unaided by the Spirit of the Almighty, to fathom the designs of God, to unravel the principles of eternal life, to comprehend the relationship that subsists between God and man and to draw aside the curtain of futurity. Who is there who has seen God or can comprehend Him, His designs and purposes? No man is capable of fathoming these mysteries. Man, indeed, can comprehend some of the principles which are developed in nature, and only a few of these. But who can grasp the intelligence that dwells in the bosom of Jehovah? Who can unravel His designs and penetrate the unfathomable abyss of the future? Who can tell upon what principle this world was organized or anything about the denizens of those worlds that we see moving around us? It is true that by the science of astronomy nice calculation in regard to the heavenly bodies can be made; but none can tell who put those bodies in motion, how they are controlled, or by what class of people they are inhabited. As the Scriptures say, “What man, by his wisdom, can find out God?” No one can comprehend Him. We can find ourselves to be a remarkable enigma, both in regard to body and mind—each individual man, woman and child; but who can draw aside the veil and tell how or why we came here, and what awaits us when we lay aside this mortal coil? None can do this, unless God reveals it. There never was a man, neither is there a man now, nor ever will be, that can comprehend these things upon the principle of natural or human philosophy, and nothing short of the philosophy of heaven—the intelligence that flows from God, can unravel these mysteries.
Some men will stultify themselves with the idea that in ages gone and past the human race was in a semi-civilized or barbarous condition, and that any kind of a religion would do for the people in those days; but with the progress of intelligence, the march of intellect, the development of the arts and sciences and the expansion of the human mind, it is necessary that we should have something more elevated, refined and intellectual than that which existed then. To me such notions are perfect foolishness. If I read my Bible aright and believe in it, known unto God were all things from before the foundation of the world, and I do not think that the intelligence of the nineteenth century can enlighten His mind in relation to these matters. He that framed the body, shall He not know its structure? He that organized the mind, shall not He understand it? Before this world rolled into existence or the morning stars sang together for joy, the great Eloheim comprehended all things pertaining to the world that He organized and the people who should inhabit it; the position that they would occupy and the intelligence that they would possess; their future destiny and the destiny of the world that He then made. It is vanity, puerility and weakness for men to attempt to gainsay the designs of God, or to boast of their own intelligence. What do they know? Why, they discovered awhile ago that there is such a thing as electricity. Who made that electricity? Did man? Did he originate and place it among the nature's forces? Did it proceed from the acumen of man's intelligence and his expansive mind? No, it always existed, and the man who discovered it—a little smarter than his fellows—only found out one of the laws of nature that emanated from and originated with God. It is just so with steam—the properties which render it so useful in subserving man's purposes always existed, but man discovered them; if there had been no God to make these properties, no one could have found them out. It is so with the various gases and their properties, with minerals—their attractions and repulsions—they originated with God; man is incompetent to form anything of the kind. So we might go on through all man's boasted achievements; they amount to no more than the discovery of some of the active or latent laws of nature, not comprehended by men generally, but discovered by some who consider themselves, and they no doubt are, smarter than their fellows. Where, then, is the boasted intelligence of man? Science reveals the beauty and harmony of the world material; it unveils to us ten thousand mysteries in the kingdom of nature, and shows that all forms of life through fire and analogous decay are returned again to its bosom. It unfolds to us the mysteries of cloud and rains, dew and frost, growth and decay, and reveals the operation of those silent irresistible forces which give vitality to the world. It reveals to us the more wonderful operations of distant orbs and their relations to the forces of nature. It also reveals another grand principle, that the laws of nature are immutable and unchangeable as are all the works of God. Those principles and powers and forces have undergone no change since they were first organized, or, if changed, they have returned again to the original elements from which they were derived. All of the properties of nature were as perfect at the creation as now; all the elements of nature possessed the same specific properties, affinities and capacity of combination that they do at present. Trees, shrubs, plants, flowers, birds, beasts, fishes and man were as perfect then as now. God's works are all perfect and governed by eternal laws. It reminds me of an infant; I can compare it to nothing else. The new-born child is perfectly oblivious to anything and everything around it, although marvelous in its organization and perfect in its structure. By and by it holds up its hand and discovers for the first time that it has a hand. It had it before, but a new light bursts upon the brain of the child, and it discovers it has a hand, and no doubt thinks it is wonderful wise in finding it out, just as some of our philosophers do when they discover the properties of matter. But God made the child's hand, and it was in existence before its brain was capable of comprehending it. And so were all these things, about the discovery of which men boast so much. God made them and made them perfect. Yet men will boast that they know things independent of God, whereas unless they had been aided by the Spirit of the Lord, and unless the principles had existed they never could have been found out, for no man could have originated them himself. All that man has ever done, with all his boasted intelligence, has been simply to develop or find out a few of the common principles of nature that always have existed, and always will exist, for these things and every principle of nature are eternal. The Gospel is also eternal. But where is there a man who understands heavenly things? Who can unravel them? Who has been behind the veil and talked with the Gods? Who among the wise men, philosophers, divines, philanthropists, kings, rulers or authorities of the earth can comprehend God or His designs. If we can understand so imperfectly the laws of nature with which we are surrounded, with the privileges of seeing, feeling, comparing and analyzing, what do we know of things beyond our vision, hearing, or comprehension? We can read, in the history of the past, of the rise and fall of nations of the downfall of thrones and of the destruction of kingdoms; we can read of wars and rumors of wars. History points out what has transpired in relation to the nations of the earth and to men who have lived upon it, but who can penetrate into the future? Man is an immortal being: he is destined to live in time and throughout all eternity. He possesses not only a body, but a soul that will exist while “life or thought or being lasts, or immortality endures.” Who can tell in relation to this future? Who can tell things pertaining to our heavenly existence, or the object God had in view for creating this and other worlds, and the destiny of the human family? No man, except God reveals it to him. What has been and still is the position of the world in relation to these things? It has been governed by every kind of dogma and theory of religion. “Isms” of every kind have prevailed in turn—polytheism, infidelity, Christianity in its ten thousand forms, and every kind of theory and dogma that the human imagination could invent. Such contrarieties show definitely and positively that men, by wisdom, cannot find out God. And Christianity, at the present time, is no more enlightened than other systems have been. What does the Christian world know about God? Nothing; yet these very men assume the right and power to tell others what they shall and what they shall not believe in. Why, so far as the things of God are concerned, they are the veriest fools; they know neither God nor the things of God. Our Government is engaged just now in an act of this kind. Our legislators would tell me what I shall and shall not believe in, what shall be the course of my morals, as if they were immaculate and had been made perfect; as though they had inspiration from on high, and had found out the truth in all its richness, power and glory; as though they had conversed with the heavens and were acquainted with God. Oh, fools! What do they know about the truth? No more than a child about its hand. They are imbecile and ignorant and in the dark, and the greatest difficulty in the matter is—they are fools and don't know it.
We consider, and always have since this Church was organized, that that part of Scripture that I quoted before is true—namely, “No, man knows the things of God but by the Spirit of God.” We, as Latter-day Saints, understood no correct principle until it was revealed to us. I did not, nor have I ever met with anybody that did, and I have traveled very extensively over the world that we live in, and have met with all classes and grades of men in different nations. We, as Latter-day Saints, are indebted to the revelations of God, given unto Joseph Smith, for the knowledge of the very first principles of the doctrine of Christ, and he could not have known it unless it had been revealed to him. One thing I did know of myself before I came into this Church, and that is more than a great many know of themselves—namely, that I was a fool, and did not know anything unless God revealed it. It takes a great deal of hammering to get that into some men's minds. The main questions in my mind, when this Gospel came, were, “Is this true?” “Is this from God, or is it not?” “Has God, indeed, spoken as this man says He has?” If He has not, it is all a fiction, a farce and delusion, like the other “isms” that exist in the world; if He has, it is for me to obey, no matter what the consequences may be.
There is one thing that has always been satisfactory to my mind in relation to this Gospel—there has never been one principle revealed, at any time, but what has been instructive and in accordance with the Scriptures, which we consider to be of divine origin. Never one principle but what could be substantiated by the word of God, although we did not know it before, and the world does not know it now. And I may also say that there has never been a principle revealed but what has been strictly philosophical and is in accordance with good, sound common sense; and, furthermore, I will go on beyond that and say that no principle ever will be revealed but what will be in accordance with philosophy, if we can comprehend it. As there is a philosophy of the earth and a philosophy of the heavens, it needs heavenly instruction to comprehend the heavenly things. But, as I said before, “no man knows the things of God, but by the Spirit of God.” The Scriptures show unto us how we may obtain that Spirit, which will give us a knowledge for ourselves.
When this Gospel was revealed, it was declared unto us that it was an everlasting Gospel, that there was a Priesthood associated with it, and that that Priesthood was everlasting; so we were presented with an everlasting Priesthood, and with an everlasting Gospel. There was also an everlasting covenant associated with it. We were told how we might obtain a knowledge of this Gospel for ourselves—the promise being that if we would repent of our sins and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of them, by one having authority, we should receive the Holy Ghost. We were also told that Holy Ghost would place us in communication with God; that it would take of the things of God and show them unto us, and that we should know for a certainty, each of us for ourselves, of the truths that had been proclaimed unto us.
This was the position that we were placed in. We went forward and obeyed it, for we were told that God had revealed Himself from the heavens, that He had restored the Gospel by the means of a holy angel, as referred to by John the Revelator, and that He had restored, by authority direct from heaven, communication between Himself, the heavenly world and His creatures here. We were told that by obedience to that Gospel we should be made the recipients of a Spirit which would bring things past to our remembrance, that would lead us into all truth and show us things to come.
Believing in this message, this vast crowd of people before me today, went forth and bowed in obedience, and they received that Spirit, and they knew and do know that the Gospel they had preached unto them came not in word only, but, in power and in the demonstration of the Spirit, and that the Holy Ghost accompanied it. You know, and I know, that when you obeyed this Gospel and had hands laid upon you for the reception of the Holy Ghost, you received it. Who else knows anything about it? Nobody. Do any of these strangers around? No. Jesus said to Nicodemus, “Except, a man is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Then what do they know about it? You talk to a blind man about colors, and ask him to tell the difference between red and white, black and blue, and he would tell you perhaps that one was long and the other short, that one was light and the other heavy. He could not describe, nor his sense comprehend it. Jesus said a man could not see the kingdom of God unless he was born of the Spirit. Did he speak the truth? I think he did. And when you were born again of the water and of the Spirit, you saw and you entered into the kingdom of God, and things that you were ignorant of before, you then comprehended. Many of you felt a good deal like the blind man spoken of in the Scriptures, after he had been healed by our Savior. The Scribes and Pharisees, a learned and very holy body of men—spoke to his father, saying, “Give God the glory, for we know that this man is a sinner.” They knew that Jesus was an impostor, a deceiver, a false prophet, a blasphemer, and that he cast out devils through Beelzebub, the prince of devils, and that he was one of the wickedest, meanest curses in existence. “Give God the glory,” said they, “for we know this man is a sinner.” The father of him who had been healed of his blindness said, “Whether he is a sinner, I know not; but this I do know, that whereas this my son was once blind and now he sees.” Now a great many of you here are very much deluded in the estimation of the philosophers, wise men and priests of the world; but if you do not comprehend the philosophy of the whole matter, one thing you all know—that once you were blind, but now you see. You understood that years ago and you understand it today, and no man can deprive you of that knowledge, or strip you of that information. No man can rob you of that light: it is the gift of God, it emanates from Jehovah, and no man can take it away, or reason or legislate it away; it is an eternal principle, emanating from God, and that is something the worldly-wise and great know nothing about. You who are here today, who have obeyed this Gospel, are witnesses of the truth of which I speak; I am a witness and I bear witness to it.
We are told that Jesus said on a certain occasion to his disciples, “It is necessary that I go away, for if I go not away the Comforter will not come. If I go away I will send you a Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost.” What will it do for you? It will lead you into all truth, so that you will see eye to eye and comprehend the purposes of God; you will march in line; you will be under one instructor; you will have one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God who is in all and through all, will inspire and guide and dictate you; you will not be split up and divided as the sectarians are—every man taking his own course, every man for himself and the devil for the whole; it will not be setting up human intellect above the intelligence and inspiration of the Almighty. Instead of this, all will bow to the dictates of Jehovah; the aspiration of every heart will be, “O, God, thou that rulest in the heavens; O thou Supreme Governor of the universe, that created all things and controls all things, impart to me a small moiety of Thy wisdom! Inspire me with a little of that intelligence that dwells in Thy bosom! Give me a little of Thy Holy Spirit, that I may comprehend Thee and Thy laws, and walk in obedience to Thy commands!” This will be the feeling of that individual. “O God, teach me the paths of life and then give power to walk in them!”
Jesus told them they should have the Holy Ghost, the Comforter; the Spirit should bring things past to their remembrance, it should enable them to comprehend something about the world and why it was organized and by whom; why man was placed upon it; what the position of the human family is in relation to the present, past and future; find out what God's dealings had been with the human family in ages gone and past, and His designs in relation to the world. Then it should unfold things to come, it should draw back the curtain of futurity and by the inspiration and intelligence of that Spirit which proceeds from God, it should grasp the future. It should comprehend the destiny of the human family, and by the revelations which God should communicate, make known the life to come in the eternal worlds. This is the kind of thing that the everlasting Gospel communicates, and it is the revelation of God to man. But the world, as I said before, know not the things of God, and they cannot comprehend them.
I have had it asked me by philosophers, “Is this the only way you propose to ameliorate the condition of the human family—faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, baptism for the remission of sins and the laying on of hands for the reception of the Holy Ghost?” Yes, that is God's way of doing it; that is the way He has pointed out. I remember, on one occasion, being in the city of Paris, and a gentleman came to me to inquire concerning the Gospel. He was associated with a system of socialism, very common in France, called Icarianism. A company of them went to Nauvoo after we left. This gentleman was a philosopher, and the society was trying to carry out its philosophy in France, and they aimed to bring about the Millennium. They never prayed to God, they were going to do it by human intelligence. This gentleman, whose name was Krolikrosky, called upon me, when after a lengthy conversation on the principles of our faith, said he, referring to faith, repentance, baptism and the laying on of hands for the reception of the Holy Ghost, the first principles of our Gospel: “Is this all you propose to ameliorate the condition of the world?” “Yes.” He answered, “I hope you will succeed, but I am afraid you will not.” “Permit me,” I said, “to draw your attention to one or two things. I am a religionist.” “Yes.” “I profess to have had revelation from God; you do not.” “That is so,” said he. “You have sent out to Nauvoo a number of your most intellectual men, well provided with means of every kind and with talent of the first order. Now what is the result? They have gone to a place that we have deserted; they found houses built, gardens and farms enclosed, nothing to do but to take possession of them?” “Yes. They found buildings of all kinds, public and private, in which they could live and congregate.” “Yes. Was there ever a people better situated in regard to testing your natural philosophy? You could not have hit upon a better place. It is a fertile country, on the banks of the most magnificent stream in the United States—the Mississippi. Houses built, gardens made, fields enclosed and cultivated. You have wise men among you—the wisest, the creme de la creme of your society, yet with all this and the favorable circumstances under which your people commenced there, what have you done? Every time that I take up a paper of yours the cry from there is, ‘Send us means;’ ‘we want means;‘ we are in difficulty;’ ‘we want more money.’ This is their eternal cry, is it not?” “Yes.” “Now,” said I, “on the other hand, we left our farms, houses, gardens, fields, orchards, and everything we had, except what we took along in the shape of food, seeds, farming utensils, wagons, carts, and we wandered for from ten to fifteen hundred miles, with handcarts, ox teams and any way we could, and settled, finally, among the red savages of the forest. We had no fields to go to and no houses built; when we went there it was a desert—a howling wilderness, and the natives with which we were surrounded were as savage as the country itself. Now then, what is the result? We have only been there a few years, but what are we doing? We are sending money to bring in our emigration; we are sending hundreds of thousands of dollars, and have expended half a million a year in teams to bring in our poor from the nations. But what of you wise men who know not God, and think you know better than He does, what are you doing—you philosophers, intelligent men and philanthropists, crying out eternally, “Send us help?” “Which is the best?” Said he, “Mr. Taylor, I have nothing to say.”
We care nothing about the opinions of men, let them look upon us as they may. We can say as the old Apostle said, “We are living epistles, known and read of all men.” Judge us by our works. Do thieves, renegades, blacklegs and corrupt men accomplish the work done here? Where are your Gentile associations? Here we have a magnificent city called Corinne, instituted by you gentlemen Gentiles here. What a magnificent place it is! It looks as if Tophet has been spewed out to people it with honorable American citizens! Yet these men will prate to us about morality, the poor miserable curses! O, shame, if thou hadst any blood in thy body, thou wouldst blush for very shame at the transactions of this world in which we live.
But we believe in God, and you Latter-day Saints, your religion is as true as it was ten, twenty, thirty, or eighteen hundred or six thousand years ago. It has not changed, and I do not think that it will. It is everlasting; it is eternal in its nature and its consequences, and, whether other men know what they are doing or not, we do. If others do not attend to eternity, we do; if others know nothing about God, we do, and we know where we are going and how we are going. God has pointed out to us the path, and we intend to walk in it, in spite of all the powers of earth and hell.
God has taught us the relationship that should exist between us and the eternal worlds. That is a thing that is very much found fault with. He has unveiled the future to us and told us that man is not made for here alone, and then to die and rot and be forgotten, or to sing himself away somewhere beyond the bounds of time and space where nobody ever was nor ever will be. We have been taught something different from that. We are aiming at eternal exaltation, at thrones, principalities and powers in the eternal worlds. Being made in the image of God, male and female, and having had developed to us the laws of this life and the laws of the life to come, we take the privilege of walking according to these laws, despite the ideas and notions of men.
Who is there among the men of the world who know anything about the future? I know how it was with me, and how it was with you, Jew, Gentile, Mormon, everybody. What was it! If you applied to the priesthood of the day to be married, the priest told you he joined you in the holy bonds of matrimony until death. And what then? You had to find out the rest by your own ingenuity. No matter about the future. Is that all man was made for—to live, marry and die—and nothing pertaining to the future? Is man made in the image of God? Is God our Father? Is there a heaven above? Is there an eternity before us, and are we to prepare ourselves for it or not? We take the liberty of following the counsel of Jehovah, revealed to us in relation to it.
What man has a claim upon his wife in eternity? It is true that some of the writers of the yellow-backed literature have a philosophy a little in advance of the priests of the day. Some of them do tell us about eternal unions. They expect to be married here and hereafter. They know nothing about it, still they are in advance of the clergy. They follow the instincts of nature, and nature unperverted looks forward to a reunion. We are not governed by opinion in these matters. God has revealed the principle, and our wives are sealed to us for time and eternity. When we get through with this life we expect to be associated in the next, and therefore we pursue the course that we do, and no power this side of hell, nor there either, can stop it.
Our course is onward. The Lord has revealed to us the pearl of great price. We have sacrificed everything that the world calls good to purchase it; we are in possession and we will not part with it for worlds. We “fear not men, who can kill the body,” as Jesus said; and after that there is no more that they can do. We fear God who is able to cast both soul and body into hell. Yea, we fear Him.
We make our covenants, then, for eternity, because the Gospel is an everlasting Gospel. Every truth that ever did exist is everlasting. Man is an eternal being; his body is eternal. It may die and slumber, but it will burst the barriers of the tomb and come forth in the resurrection of the just. I know that some of our wise men, even some among us, profess to think that these things are only folly. However, I look at them differently. I believe the Bible; I believe in the revelations of God and in the manifestations of the Spirit of God. I would rather possess the feeling that Job had when he was afflicted, cast out, oppressed and despoiled, when he lay scraping himself with a potsherd, wallowing in ashes, than the proud and lofty folly that dwells in the heart of the unbeliever and scorner. Said Job, “I know that my Redeemer lives, and that He shall stand in the latter days upon the earth; and though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God; whom I shall see for myself and mine eyes shall behold, not for another; and though worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God.” Those were his feelings. This transpired in the “dark ages,” when men did not know so much about electricity, locomotives and a few other scientific discoveries, as they do in this enlightened age. I also read in the sayings of the prophets, given under the inspiration of the Almighty, that “the dead, small and great, shall rise, and that bone shall be joined to its bone, sinew to sinew, and they became a living army before God.” I knew a man, whom many of you knew, who built a tomb for himself in the city of Nauvoo. His name was Joseph Smith, and many of you heard him say what I shall now relate. Said he, “I expect when the time of the resurrection comes to rise up in my tomb there, and strike hands with my brethren, with my father and with my mother, and hail the day when we shall burst from the barriers of the tomb and awake to immortal life.” Have you never heard him talk thus? I have. Shall we reject from our belief the glorious principles of eternity—the resurrection of the just? Says John, when wrapt in prophetic vision, and clothed upon with the Spirit and power of God and the revelations of Jehovah, “I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them, and all nations stood before God.”
I want a part in the resurrection. The angel said, “Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection.” I want to have part in the first resurrection. It is that which leads me to hope. It is that hope which buoys me up under difficulties and sustains me while passing through tribulation, for I know as well as Job knew that my “Redeemer lives, and that He shall stand in the latter day upon the earth,” and I know that I shall stand upon it with him. I therefore bear this testimony.
Allow me to quote a little Scripture. You know that there is a saying, by one of the Apostles, that Jesus was a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek; and speaking further of this Melchizedek, the Apostle says he was “without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days nor end of years.” A very singular sort of man, was he not? Did you ever see a man like that? We are told that Jesus was a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. Now, there never was a man without father or mother, but this refers to his Priesthood, that was without beginning of days or end of years, and Jesus had the same kind of Priesthood that Melchizedek had.
Now we talk about the everlasting Gospel, and we will go back to some of these dark ages referred to. The Melchizedek Priesthood holds the mysteries of the revelations of God. Wherever that Priesthood exists, there also exists a knowledge of the laws of God; and wherever the Gospel has existed, there has always been revelation; and where there has been no revelation, there never has been the true Gospel. Let us go back to those times. We find that the Gospel was preached unto Abraham, and that Melchizedek was the man to whom Abraham paid tithes, and that Melchizedek blessed him. Paul tells us, “Verily the less is blessed of the better.” Now Abraham had the Gospel, and Melchizedek had it, and the law was added because of transgression; and by and by, when Jesus came, He was a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek, and he restored the Gospel, and consequently revelations, the opening of the heavens and the manifestation of the power of God; and whenever the Gospel has existed, in any age of the world, these same manifestations have existed with it; and whenever these have not been upon the earth, there has been no Gospel. The Gospel is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believes, for therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith.”
In addition to Melchizedek, the Bible also mentions a man called Moses, and he had the Gospel, for Paul tells us “that he preached it to the children of Israel in the wilderness, but that it profited them nothing, not being mixed with faith.” There was another man called Elijah, that we read of in the Bible. He was one of those fanatics who believe in revelation, and he had the Gospel. We come down to the time that Jesus was here on the earth; and on one occasion we read that he was on the mount with three of his disciples, Peter, James and John, and Jesus was transfigured before them. And Peter said, “Master, it is good for us to be here, let us make three tabernacles, one for thee, one for Moses and one for Elias.” What? Was Moses, that old fellow who led the children of Israel from Egypt, there? That shows that he had the everlasting Gospel and Priesthood; and having got rid of the affairs of this world, he returned to minister to Jesus when he was on the earth. Was Elias there too? So Peter said. What was he doing there? He died long before, but having held the everlasting Priesthood he lived again, and lives for evermore. We will go to another man. There are curious things in the Bible, if the people only believed them; but they do not, and that is the trouble. I refer to John, the beloved disciple. We are told that he was banished because he was a fanatic—I was going to say a Mormon—as John did not agree with the enlightenment, philosophy and intelligence that existed then. What did they do with him? They banished him and sent him to the Isle of Patmos; and compelled him to labor among the slaves in the lead mines; he was not fit for civilized society, but they could not deprive him of fellowship. While there with the Almighty, he was carried away in the Spirit, and that Spirit manifested to him things past, for generations gone; things present—the condition of the churches that then existed; and also things to come—the world with all its myriads of inhabitants down to the winding-up scene. He saw the dead, small and great, stand before God, and the books were opened; and another book was opened, called the Book of Life; and he saw a hundred and forty-four thousand, and a number that no man can number, who sang a new song, and the glories of eternity, and the past, present and future were unveiled before his vision. He saw the new Jerusalem descend from above, and the Zion from above meeting the Zion from below, and they were married and became one. He saw the end of the nations, and of the world. “Cloud-capped towers and gorgeous palaces were dissolved,” and everything passed away. He gazed upon the whole; and a mighty angel stood before him, and he was about to bow down before him and to worship him; but the angel said, “Stop, do not worship me!” “Why? Who are you? You are a glorious personage; you are filled with greatness, and surrounded by majesty, glory and power, and the visions of eternity seem to be at your command, for you have unfolded them to me. Will you not let me worship you?” “No.” “Who are you?” “I am one of thy fellowservants, the prophets, who kept the testimony of Jesus, and the word of God, while here upon the earth, and feared God and kept His commandments. Do not worship me, worship God.” Said he, “I am one of those old fellows who were buffeted, persecuted and misrepresented just as you are; despised as you are by fools who knew nothing about God or eternity.”
Well, now, we believe these things. We believe in a religion that will reach into eternity, that will bring us into connection with God. We believe that God has set up His kingdom on the earth; we believe and know that it will roll forth and spread and extend, that Zion will be built up, that the glory of God will rest upon it; that the arm of Jehovah will be made bare in its defense; that the power of God will be exerted in behalf of His people; that Zion will rise and shine, and that the glory of God will be manifested among His Saints. We know that this kingdom will grow and increase until the kingdoms of this world will become the kingdoms of our God and His Christ, and that He shall rule and reign forever and ever. And we expect to join in the universal anthem, “Hosanna, hosanna, for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth,” and will reign until all enemies are under His feet.
God bless Israel. God bless all His Saints, and let the wrath of God be upon the enemies of Zion from this time henceforth and forever, in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Discourse by Elder John Taylor, delivered in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, May 6, 1870.
Reported by David W. Evans.
The Scriptures inform us “that no man knows the things of God, but by the Spirit of God;” and then no man can speak the things of God unless aided by the Spirit of the Lord; and no people can comprehend the things spoken unless inspired and guided by the same Spirit. We need this Spirit continually and so do all mankind, to guide us, to enable us to comprehend the laws of life, to regulate and concentrate our thoughts, to elevate and ennoble our feelings, to give force and vitality to our actions, and to place us in a position before God, before men, and before the holy angels, that will be right, acceptable and proper to all true intelligence, to the angelic host, and to our heavenly Father. It matters very little what we are engaged in, it is impossible for us to do right without the guidance of the Almighty; but aided and directed by the Spirit of the Lord, we can act in consonance with the dignity of our high position as immortal beings possessing the holy Priesthood, and participating in the new and everlasting covenant; by the aid of that unerring Spirit we can fulfil the measure of our creation and prepare ourselves for an inheritance in the celestial kingdom of our God.
We are told “that the world by wisdom knows not God;” yet they do comprehend a great many things, and because of the spread of general intelligence and the great progress of science, literature and the arts, they believe they can find out God. Like the framers of Babel's Tower, they seek to penetrate the heavens on natural principles. Like them they are mistaken, as all men have been who have sought to solve the problem of life through the influence of human wisdom. No man ever did understand God on this principle; neither can they by mortal agency alone understand the principles of life and salvation. No man in the present generation comprehends them on this principle; neither will human wisdom enable any man who ever will live to understand them. It is true that mankind, within a short time, have made great advances in the arts and sciences. During the last half century scientific research has made many wonderful developments; and many things which, before that time, were unknown to the human family, are now quite familiar. There was very little known of the application of the power of steam half a century ago. I remember, very well, the first steamboat and locomotive that were propelled by steam, and riding on the first railway. Before that, locomotion had to depend upon the winds and tides and horse power and a few other agencies. These are now supplanted by what all will acknowledge as a very superior agent—namely, the power of steam.
Electricity, or rather its application, so as to subserve the wants of man, was unknown until a comparatively recent period. I refer now more particularly to the electric telegraph. That has been a means of greatly facilitating the transmission of thought and the spread of intelligence among the human family, and has been a great advantage to the world at large. When we came to this valley, for instance, even so late as that, we had to depend upon ox teams to bring our mails and to convey intelligence from the East, and I have known it to be four, five, and sometimes as long as six months before we knew what President was elected. Now we can have it in fewer minutes; this exhibits a great improvement in such matters.
I can remember the time when we had to plod along at night, nearly in the dark, in our largest cities, the streets being lighted only by dim oil lamps. Now we have gas and various luminous oils, which we have made the earth teem forth by millions of gallons, that are almost equivalent to gas. Daguerreotyping, or as it is more generally called photography, is another great achievement of the human mind, conferring the power to take likenesses, landscapes and views in a moment, which formerly required days or months, even by the most eminent artists.
In machinery and chemistry, manufactures, and many other scientific developments connected with human life, wonderful advances have been made, and the world seems to have been progressing with great rapidity in the arts and sciences, in regard to manufactures. Some years ago every texture had to be spun by a single thread, now, by the aid of steam and machinery, it is done by thousands and hundreds of thousands. We might go on enumerating many other improvements which have taken place within the past few years; from which it is very evident that the progress of the present generation has far eclipsed that of any preceding it, of which we have any knowledge. Because of these things it has been supposed by many that the human intellect is capable of grasping everything in this world and the world to come—even eternal things, and many men have got puffed up and vain in their imaginations because of the discoveries they have made and the advancement in science, literature and the arts. They forget “that every good and perfect gift proceeds from God, the Father of light, in whom there is no variableness nor the shadow of a turning.” They forget that every particle of wisdom that any man possesses comes from God, and that without Him they would still continue to grope in the dark. They forget that, with all the increase of wisdom and intelligence and the expansion of the human mind, they are in the dark in regard to God, and that no man by wisdom can find Him out. The mystery which enshrouds Him is as high as heaven, as deep as hell and as wide as the universe; and it is unfathomable and incomprehensible by human intelligence, unaided by the inspiration of the Almighty.
There are men, it is true, who profess from the little knowledge they have of earthly things, by a series of deductions, to be able to find out heavenly things, but there is a very material difference between the two. There is a philosophy of the earth and a philosophy of the heavens; the latter can unravel all mysteries pertaining to earth; but the philosophy of the earth cannot enter into the mysteries of the kingdom of God, or the purposes of the Most High. But because of the advancement to which I have alluded, men set themselves up as teachers of things pertaining to spiritual matters, of which they know nothing. But the moment they do that, they exhibit their folly, vanity, imbecility and shortsightedness, for, as I have stated, they never did comprehend the things of God without the Spirit of God, and they never will. What folly it is, for men with the breath in their nostrils, who are but worms of the earth, existing as it were for a day, and tomorrow are cut down like the grass; or like the moth or butterfly, which flutters around for a brief space and then passes away into everlasting oblivion; I say what folly it is for beings so circumstanced, so weak, imbecile, circumscribed and controlled to set themselves forward, unaided by the Spirit of the Almighty, to fathom the designs of God, to unravel the principles of eternal life, to comprehend the relationship that subsists between God and man and to draw aside the curtain of futurity. Who is there who has seen God or can comprehend Him, His designs and purposes? No man is capable of fathoming these mysteries. Man, indeed, can comprehend some of the principles which are developed in nature, and only a few of these. But who can grasp the intelligence that dwells in the bosom of Jehovah? Who can unravel His designs and penetrate the unfathomable abyss of the future? Who can tell upon what principle this world was organized or anything about the denizens of those worlds that we see moving around us? It is true that by the science of astronomy nice calculation in regard to the heavenly bodies can be made; but none can tell who put those bodies in motion, how they are controlled, or by what class of people they are inhabited. As the Scriptures say, “What man, by his wisdom, can find out God?” No one can comprehend Him. We can find ourselves to be a remarkable enigma, both in regard to body and mind—each individual man, woman and child; but who can draw aside the veil and tell how or why we came here, and what awaits us when we lay aside this mortal coil? None can do this, unless God reveals it. There never was a man, neither is there a man now, nor ever will be, that can comprehend these things upon the principle of natural or human philosophy, and nothing short of the philosophy of heaven—the intelligence that flows from God, can unravel these mysteries.
Some men will stultify themselves with the idea that in ages gone and past the human race was in a semi-civilized or barbarous condition, and that any kind of a religion would do for the people in those days; but with the progress of intelligence, the march of intellect, the development of the arts and sciences and the expansion of the human mind, it is necessary that we should have something more elevated, refined and intellectual than that which existed then. To me such notions are perfect foolishness. If I read my Bible aright and believe in it, known unto God were all things from before the foundation of the world, and I do not think that the intelligence of the nineteenth century can enlighten His mind in relation to these matters. He that framed the body, shall He not know its structure? He that organized the mind, shall not He understand it? Before this world rolled into existence or the morning stars sang together for joy, the great Eloheim comprehended all things pertaining to the world that He organized and the people who should inhabit it; the position that they would occupy and the intelligence that they would possess; their future destiny and the destiny of the world that He then made. It is vanity, puerility and weakness for men to attempt to gainsay the designs of God, or to boast of their own intelligence. What do they know? Why, they discovered awhile ago that there is such a thing as electricity. Who made that electricity? Did man? Did he originate and place it among the nature's forces? Did it proceed from the acumen of man's intelligence and his expansive mind? No, it always existed, and the man who discovered it—a little smarter than his fellows—only found out one of the laws of nature that emanated from and originated with God. It is just so with steam—the properties which render it so useful in subserving man's purposes always existed, but man discovered them; if there had been no God to make these properties, no one could have found them out. It is so with the various gases and their properties, with minerals—their attractions and repulsions—they originated with God; man is incompetent to form anything of the kind. So we might go on through all man's boasted achievements; they amount to no more than the discovery of some of the active or latent laws of nature, not comprehended by men generally, but discovered by some who consider themselves, and they no doubt are, smarter than their fellows. Where, then, is the boasted intelligence of man? Science reveals the beauty and harmony of the world material; it unveils to us ten thousand mysteries in the kingdom of nature, and shows that all forms of life through fire and analogous decay are returned again to its bosom. It unfolds to us the mysteries of cloud and rains, dew and frost, growth and decay, and reveals the operation of those silent irresistible forces which give vitality to the world. It reveals to us the more wonderful operations of distant orbs and their relations to the forces of nature. It also reveals another grand principle, that the laws of nature are immutable and unchangeable as are all the works of God. Those principles and powers and forces have undergone no change since they were first organized, or, if changed, they have returned again to the original elements from which they were derived. All of the properties of nature were as perfect at the creation as now; all the elements of nature possessed the same specific properties, affinities and capacity of combination that they do at present. Trees, shrubs, plants, flowers, birds, beasts, fishes and man were as perfect then as now. God's works are all perfect and governed by eternal laws. It reminds me of an infant; I can compare it to nothing else. The new-born child is perfectly oblivious to anything and everything around it, although marvelous in its organization and perfect in its structure. By and by it holds up its hand and discovers for the first time that it has a hand. It had it before, but a new light bursts upon the brain of the child, and it discovers it has a hand, and no doubt thinks it is wonderful wise in finding it out, just as some of our philosophers do when they discover the properties of matter. But God made the child's hand, and it was in existence before its brain was capable of comprehending it. And so were all these things, about the discovery of which men boast so much. God made them and made them perfect. Yet men will boast that they know things independent of God, whereas unless they had been aided by the Spirit of the Lord, and unless the principles had existed they never could have been found out, for no man could have originated them himself. All that man has ever done, with all his boasted intelligence, has been simply to develop or find out a few of the common principles of nature that always have existed, and always will exist, for these things and every principle of nature are eternal. The Gospel is also eternal. But where is there a man who understands heavenly things? Who can unravel them? Who has been behind the veil and talked with the Gods? Who among the wise men, philosophers, divines, philanthropists, kings, rulers or authorities of the earth can comprehend God or His designs. If we can understand so imperfectly the laws of nature with which we are surrounded, with the privileges of seeing, feeling, comparing and analyzing, what do we know of things beyond our vision, hearing, or comprehension? We can read, in the history of the past, of the rise and fall of nations of the downfall of thrones and of the destruction of kingdoms; we can read of wars and rumors of wars. History points out what has transpired in relation to the nations of the earth and to men who have lived upon it, but who can penetrate into the future? Man is an immortal being: he is destined to live in time and throughout all eternity. He possesses not only a body, but a soul that will exist while “life or thought or being lasts, or immortality endures.” Who can tell in relation to this future? Who can tell things pertaining to our heavenly existence, or the object God had in view for creating this and other worlds, and the destiny of the human family? No man, except God reveals it to him. What has been and still is the position of the world in relation to these things? It has been governed by every kind of dogma and theory of religion. “Isms” of every kind have prevailed in turn—polytheism, infidelity, Christianity in its ten thousand forms, and every kind of theory and dogma that the human imagination could invent. Such contrarieties show definitely and positively that men, by wisdom, cannot find out God. And Christianity, at the present time, is no more enlightened than other systems have been. What does the Christian world know about God? Nothing; yet these very men assume the right and power to tell others what they shall and what they shall not believe in. Why, so far as the things of God are concerned, they are the veriest fools; they know neither God nor the things of God. Our Government is engaged just now in an act of this kind. Our legislators would tell me what I shall and shall not believe in, what shall be the course of my morals, as if they were immaculate and had been made perfect; as though they had inspiration from on high, and had found out the truth in all its richness, power and glory; as though they had conversed with the heavens and were acquainted with God. Oh, fools! What do they know about the truth? No more than a child about its hand. They are imbecile and ignorant and in the dark, and the greatest difficulty in the matter is—they are fools and don't know it.
We consider, and always have since this Church was organized, that that part of Scripture that I quoted before is true—namely, “No, man knows the things of God but by the Spirit of God.” We, as Latter-day Saints, understood no correct principle until it was revealed to us. I did not, nor have I ever met with anybody that did, and I have traveled very extensively over the world that we live in, and have met with all classes and grades of men in different nations. We, as Latter-day Saints, are indebted to the revelations of God, given unto Joseph Smith, for the knowledge of the very first principles of the doctrine of Christ, and he could not have known it unless it had been revealed to him. One thing I did know of myself before I came into this Church, and that is more than a great many know of themselves—namely, that I was a fool, and did not know anything unless God revealed it. It takes a great deal of hammering to get that into some men's minds. The main questions in my mind, when this Gospel came, were, “Is this true?” “Is this from God, or is it not?” “Has God, indeed, spoken as this man says He has?” If He has not, it is all a fiction, a farce and delusion, like the other “isms” that exist in the world; if He has, it is for me to obey, no matter what the consequences may be.
There is one thing that has always been satisfactory to my mind in relation to this Gospel—there has never been one principle revealed, at any time, but what has been instructive and in accordance with the Scriptures, which we consider to be of divine origin. Never one principle but what could be substantiated by the word of God, although we did not know it before, and the world does not know it now. And I may also say that there has never been a principle revealed but what has been strictly philosophical and is in accordance with good, sound common sense; and, furthermore, I will go on beyond that and say that no principle ever will be revealed but what will be in accordance with philosophy, if we can comprehend it. As there is a philosophy of the earth and a philosophy of the heavens, it needs heavenly instruction to comprehend the heavenly things. But, as I said before, “no man knows the things of God, but by the Spirit of God.” The Scriptures show unto us how we may obtain that Spirit, which will give us a knowledge for ourselves.
When this Gospel was revealed, it was declared unto us that it was an everlasting Gospel, that there was a Priesthood associated with it, and that that Priesthood was everlasting; so we were presented with an everlasting Priesthood, and with an everlasting Gospel. There was also an everlasting covenant associated with it. We were told how we might obtain a knowledge of this Gospel for ourselves—the promise being that if we would repent of our sins and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of them, by one having authority, we should receive the Holy Ghost. We were also told that Holy Ghost would place us in communication with God; that it would take of the things of God and show them unto us, and that we should know for a certainty, each of us for ourselves, of the truths that had been proclaimed unto us.
This was the position that we were placed in. We went forward and obeyed it, for we were told that God had revealed Himself from the heavens, that He had restored the Gospel by the means of a holy angel, as referred to by John the Revelator, and that He had restored, by authority direct from heaven, communication between Himself, the heavenly world and His creatures here. We were told that by obedience to that Gospel we should be made the recipients of a Spirit which would bring things past to our remembrance, that would lead us into all truth and show us things to come.
Believing in this message, this vast crowd of people before me today, went forth and bowed in obedience, and they received that Spirit, and they knew and do know that the Gospel they had preached unto them came not in word only, but, in power and in the demonstration of the Spirit, and that the Holy Ghost accompanied it. You know, and I know, that when you obeyed this Gospel and had hands laid upon you for the reception of the Holy Ghost, you received it. Who else knows anything about it? Nobody. Do any of these strangers around? No. Jesus said to Nicodemus, “Except, a man is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Then what do they know about it? You talk to a blind man about colors, and ask him to tell the difference between red and white, black and blue, and he would tell you perhaps that one was long and the other short, that one was light and the other heavy. He could not describe, nor his sense comprehend it. Jesus said a man could not see the kingdom of God unless he was born of the Spirit. Did he speak the truth? I think he did. And when you were born again of the water and of the Spirit, you saw and you entered into the kingdom of God, and things that you were ignorant of before, you then comprehended. Many of you felt a good deal like the blind man spoken of in the Scriptures, after he had been healed by our Savior. The Scribes and Pharisees, a learned and very holy body of men—spoke to his father, saying, “Give God the glory, for we know that this man is a sinner.” They knew that Jesus was an impostor, a deceiver, a false prophet, a blasphemer, and that he cast out devils through Beelzebub, the prince of devils, and that he was one of the wickedest, meanest curses in existence. “Give God the glory,” said they, “for we know this man is a sinner.” The father of him who had been healed of his blindness said, “Whether he is a sinner, I know not; but this I do know, that whereas this my son was once blind and now he sees.” Now a great many of you here are very much deluded in the estimation of the philosophers, wise men and priests of the world; but if you do not comprehend the philosophy of the whole matter, one thing you all know—that once you were blind, but now you see. You understood that years ago and you understand it today, and no man can deprive you of that knowledge, or strip you of that information. No man can rob you of that light: it is the gift of God, it emanates from Jehovah, and no man can take it away, or reason or legislate it away; it is an eternal principle, emanating from God, and that is something the worldly-wise and great know nothing about. You who are here today, who have obeyed this Gospel, are witnesses of the truth of which I speak; I am a witness and I bear witness to it.
We are told that Jesus said on a certain occasion to his disciples, “It is necessary that I go away, for if I go not away the Comforter will not come. If I go away I will send you a Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost.” What will it do for you? It will lead you into all truth, so that you will see eye to eye and comprehend the purposes of God; you will march in line; you will be under one instructor; you will have one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God who is in all and through all, will inspire and guide and dictate you; you will not be split up and divided as the sectarians are—every man taking his own course, every man for himself and the devil for the whole; it will not be setting up human intellect above the intelligence and inspiration of the Almighty. Instead of this, all will bow to the dictates of Jehovah; the aspiration of every heart will be, “O, God, thou that rulest in the heavens; O thou Supreme Governor of the universe, that created all things and controls all things, impart to me a small moiety of Thy wisdom! Inspire me with a little of that intelligence that dwells in Thy bosom! Give me a little of Thy Holy Spirit, that I may comprehend Thee and Thy laws, and walk in obedience to Thy commands!” This will be the feeling of that individual. “O God, teach me the paths of life and then give power to walk in them!”
Jesus told them they should have the Holy Ghost, the Comforter; the Spirit should bring things past to their remembrance, it should enable them to comprehend something about the world and why it was organized and by whom; why man was placed upon it; what the position of the human family is in relation to the present, past and future; find out what God's dealings had been with the human family in ages gone and past, and His designs in relation to the world. Then it should unfold things to come, it should draw back the curtain of futurity and by the inspiration and intelligence of that Spirit which proceeds from God, it should grasp the future. It should comprehend the destiny of the human family, and by the revelations which God should communicate, make known the life to come in the eternal worlds. This is the kind of thing that the everlasting Gospel communicates, and it is the revelation of God to man. But the world, as I said before, know not the things of God, and they cannot comprehend them.
I have had it asked me by philosophers, “Is this the only way you propose to ameliorate the condition of the human family—faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, baptism for the remission of sins and the laying on of hands for the reception of the Holy Ghost?” Yes, that is God's way of doing it; that is the way He has pointed out. I remember, on one occasion, being in the city of Paris, and a gentleman came to me to inquire concerning the Gospel. He was associated with a system of socialism, very common in France, called Icarianism. A company of them went to Nauvoo after we left. This gentleman was a philosopher, and the society was trying to carry out its philosophy in France, and they aimed to bring about the Millennium. They never prayed to God, they were going to do it by human intelligence. This gentleman, whose name was Krolikrosky, called upon me, when after a lengthy conversation on the principles of our faith, said he, referring to faith, repentance, baptism and the laying on of hands for the reception of the Holy Ghost, the first principles of our Gospel: “Is this all you propose to ameliorate the condition of the world?” “Yes.” He answered, “I hope you will succeed, but I am afraid you will not.” “Permit me,” I said, “to draw your attention to one or two things. I am a religionist.” “Yes.” “I profess to have had revelation from God; you do not.” “That is so,” said he. “You have sent out to Nauvoo a number of your most intellectual men, well provided with means of every kind and with talent of the first order. Now what is the result? They have gone to a place that we have deserted; they found houses built, gardens and farms enclosed, nothing to do but to take possession of them?” “Yes. They found buildings of all kinds, public and private, in which they could live and congregate.” “Yes. Was there ever a people better situated in regard to testing your natural philosophy? You could not have hit upon a better place. It is a fertile country, on the banks of the most magnificent stream in the United States—the Mississippi. Houses built, gardens made, fields enclosed and cultivated. You have wise men among you—the wisest, the creme de la creme of your society, yet with all this and the favorable circumstances under which your people commenced there, what have you done? Every time that I take up a paper of yours the cry from there is, ‘Send us means;’ ‘we want means;‘ we are in difficulty;’ ‘we want more money.’ This is their eternal cry, is it not?” “Yes.” “Now,” said I, “on the other hand, we left our farms, houses, gardens, fields, orchards, and everything we had, except what we took along in the shape of food, seeds, farming utensils, wagons, carts, and we wandered for from ten to fifteen hundred miles, with handcarts, ox teams and any way we could, and settled, finally, among the red savages of the forest. We had no fields to go to and no houses built; when we went there it was a desert—a howling wilderness, and the natives with which we were surrounded were as savage as the country itself. Now then, what is the result? We have only been there a few years, but what are we doing? We are sending money to bring in our emigration; we are sending hundreds of thousands of dollars, and have expended half a million a year in teams to bring in our poor from the nations. But what of you wise men who know not God, and think you know better than He does, what are you doing—you philosophers, intelligent men and philanthropists, crying out eternally, “Send us help?” “Which is the best?” Said he, “Mr. Taylor, I have nothing to say.”
We care nothing about the opinions of men, let them look upon us as they may. We can say as the old Apostle said, “We are living epistles, known and read of all men.” Judge us by our works. Do thieves, renegades, blacklegs and corrupt men accomplish the work done here? Where are your Gentile associations? Here we have a magnificent city called Corinne, instituted by you gentlemen Gentiles here. What a magnificent place it is! It looks as if Tophet has been spewed out to people it with honorable American citizens! Yet these men will prate to us about morality, the poor miserable curses! O, shame, if thou hadst any blood in thy body, thou wouldst blush for very shame at the transactions of this world in which we live.
But we believe in God, and you Latter-day Saints, your religion is as true as it was ten, twenty, thirty, or eighteen hundred or six thousand years ago. It has not changed, and I do not think that it will. It is everlasting; it is eternal in its nature and its consequences, and, whether other men know what they are doing or not, we do. If others do not attend to eternity, we do; if others know nothing about God, we do, and we know where we are going and how we are going. God has pointed out to us the path, and we intend to walk in it, in spite of all the powers of earth and hell.
God has taught us the relationship that should exist between us and the eternal worlds. That is a thing that is very much found fault with. He has unveiled the future to us and told us that man is not made for here alone, and then to die and rot and be forgotten, or to sing himself away somewhere beyond the bounds of time and space where nobody ever was nor ever will be. We have been taught something different from that. We are aiming at eternal exaltation, at thrones, principalities and powers in the eternal worlds. Being made in the image of God, male and female, and having had developed to us the laws of this life and the laws of the life to come, we take the privilege of walking according to these laws, despite the ideas and notions of men.
Who is there among the men of the world who know anything about the future? I know how it was with me, and how it was with you, Jew, Gentile, Mormon, everybody. What was it! If you applied to the priesthood of the day to be married, the priest told you he joined you in the holy bonds of matrimony until death. And what then? You had to find out the rest by your own ingenuity. No matter about the future. Is that all man was made for—to live, marry and die—and nothing pertaining to the future? Is man made in the image of God? Is God our Father? Is there a heaven above? Is there an eternity before us, and are we to prepare ourselves for it or not? We take the liberty of following the counsel of Jehovah, revealed to us in relation to it.
What man has a claim upon his wife in eternity? It is true that some of the writers of the yellow-backed literature have a philosophy a little in advance of the priests of the day. Some of them do tell us about eternal unions. They expect to be married here and hereafter. They know nothing about it, still they are in advance of the clergy. They follow the instincts of nature, and nature unperverted looks forward to a reunion. We are not governed by opinion in these matters. God has revealed the principle, and our wives are sealed to us for time and eternity. When we get through with this life we expect to be associated in the next, and therefore we pursue the course that we do, and no power this side of hell, nor there either, can stop it.
Our course is onward. The Lord has revealed to us the pearl of great price. We have sacrificed everything that the world calls good to purchase it; we are in possession and we will not part with it for worlds. We “fear not men, who can kill the body,” as Jesus said; and after that there is no more that they can do. We fear God who is able to cast both soul and body into hell. Yea, we fear Him.
We make our covenants, then, for eternity, because the Gospel is an everlasting Gospel. Every truth that ever did exist is everlasting. Man is an eternal being; his body is eternal. It may die and slumber, but it will burst the barriers of the tomb and come forth in the resurrection of the just. I know that some of our wise men, even some among us, profess to think that these things are only folly. However, I look at them differently. I believe the Bible; I believe in the revelations of God and in the manifestations of the Spirit of God. I would rather possess the feeling that Job had when he was afflicted, cast out, oppressed and despoiled, when he lay scraping himself with a potsherd, wallowing in ashes, than the proud and lofty folly that dwells in the heart of the unbeliever and scorner. Said Job, “I know that my Redeemer lives, and that He shall stand in the latter days upon the earth; and though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God; whom I shall see for myself and mine eyes shall behold, not for another; and though worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God.” Those were his feelings. This transpired in the “dark ages,” when men did not know so much about electricity, locomotives and a few other scientific discoveries, as they do in this enlightened age. I also read in the sayings of the prophets, given under the inspiration of the Almighty, that “the dead, small and great, shall rise, and that bone shall be joined to its bone, sinew to sinew, and they became a living army before God.” I knew a man, whom many of you knew, who built a tomb for himself in the city of Nauvoo. His name was Joseph Smith, and many of you heard him say what I shall now relate. Said he, “I expect when the time of the resurrection comes to rise up in my tomb there, and strike hands with my brethren, with my father and with my mother, and hail the day when we shall burst from the barriers of the tomb and awake to immortal life.” Have you never heard him talk thus? I have. Shall we reject from our belief the glorious principles of eternity—the resurrection of the just? Says John, when wrapt in prophetic vision, and clothed upon with the Spirit and power of God and the revelations of Jehovah, “I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them, and all nations stood before God.”
I want a part in the resurrection. The angel said, “Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection.” I want to have part in the first resurrection. It is that which leads me to hope. It is that hope which buoys me up under difficulties and sustains me while passing through tribulation, for I know as well as Job knew that my “Redeemer lives, and that He shall stand in the latter day upon the earth,” and I know that I shall stand upon it with him. I therefore bear this testimony.
Allow me to quote a little Scripture. You know that there is a saying, by one of the Apostles, that Jesus was a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek; and speaking further of this Melchizedek, the Apostle says he was “without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days nor end of years.” A very singular sort of man, was he not? Did you ever see a man like that? We are told that Jesus was a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. Now, there never was a man without father or mother, but this refers to his Priesthood, that was without beginning of days or end of years, and Jesus had the same kind of Priesthood that Melchizedek had.
Now we talk about the everlasting Gospel, and we will go back to some of these dark ages referred to. The Melchizedek Priesthood holds the mysteries of the revelations of God. Wherever that Priesthood exists, there also exists a knowledge of the laws of God; and wherever the Gospel has existed, there has always been revelation; and where there has been no revelation, there never has been the true Gospel. Let us go back to those times. We find that the Gospel was preached unto Abraham, and that Melchizedek was the man to whom Abraham paid tithes, and that Melchizedek blessed him. Paul tells us, “Verily the less is blessed of the better.” Now Abraham had the Gospel, and Melchizedek had it, and the law was added because of transgression; and by and by, when Jesus came, He was a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek, and he restored the Gospel, and consequently revelations, the opening of the heavens and the manifestation of the power of God; and whenever the Gospel has existed, in any age of the world, these same manifestations have existed with it; and whenever these have not been upon the earth, there has been no Gospel. The Gospel is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believes, for therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith.”
In addition to Melchizedek, the Bible also mentions a man called Moses, and he had the Gospel, for Paul tells us “that he preached it to the children of Israel in the wilderness, but that it profited them nothing, not being mixed with faith.” There was another man called Elijah, that we read of in the Bible. He was one of those fanatics who believe in revelation, and he had the Gospel. We come down to the time that Jesus was here on the earth; and on one occasion we read that he was on the mount with three of his disciples, Peter, James and John, and Jesus was transfigured before them. And Peter said, “Master, it is good for us to be here, let us make three tabernacles, one for thee, one for Moses and one for Elias.” What? Was Moses, that old fellow who led the children of Israel from Egypt, there? That shows that he had the everlasting Gospel and Priesthood; and having got rid of the affairs of this world, he returned to minister to Jesus when he was on the earth. Was Elias there too? So Peter said. What was he doing there? He died long before, but having held the everlasting Priesthood he lived again, and lives for evermore. We will go to another man. There are curious things in the Bible, if the people only believed them; but they do not, and that is the trouble. I refer to John, the beloved disciple. We are told that he was banished because he was a fanatic—I was going to say a Mormon—as John did not agree with the enlightenment, philosophy and intelligence that existed then. What did they do with him? They banished him and sent him to the Isle of Patmos; and compelled him to labor among the slaves in the lead mines; he was not fit for civilized society, but they could not deprive him of fellowship. While there with the Almighty, he was carried away in the Spirit, and that Spirit manifested to him things past, for generations gone; things present—the condition of the churches that then existed; and also things to come—the world with all its myriads of inhabitants down to the winding-up scene. He saw the dead, small and great, stand before God, and the books were opened; and another book was opened, called the Book of Life; and he saw a hundred and forty-four thousand, and a number that no man can number, who sang a new song, and the glories of eternity, and the past, present and future were unveiled before his vision. He saw the new Jerusalem descend from above, and the Zion from above meeting the Zion from below, and they were married and became one. He saw the end of the nations, and of the world. “Cloud-capped towers and gorgeous palaces were dissolved,” and everything passed away. He gazed upon the whole; and a mighty angel stood before him, and he was about to bow down before him and to worship him; but the angel said, “Stop, do not worship me!” “Why? Who are you? You are a glorious personage; you are filled with greatness, and surrounded by majesty, glory and power, and the visions of eternity seem to be at your command, for you have unfolded them to me. Will you not let me worship you?” “No.” “Who are you?” “I am one of thy fellowservants, the prophets, who kept the testimony of Jesus, and the word of God, while here upon the earth, and feared God and kept His commandments. Do not worship me, worship God.” Said he, “I am one of those old fellows who were buffeted, persecuted and misrepresented just as you are; despised as you are by fools who knew nothing about God or eternity.”
Well, now, we believe these things. We believe in a religion that will reach into eternity, that will bring us into connection with God. We believe that God has set up His kingdom on the earth; we believe and know that it will roll forth and spread and extend, that Zion will be built up, that the glory of God will rest upon it; that the arm of Jehovah will be made bare in its defense; that the power of God will be exerted in behalf of His people; that Zion will rise and shine, and that the glory of God will be manifested among His Saints. We know that this kingdom will grow and increase until the kingdoms of this world will become the kingdoms of our God and His Christ, and that He shall rule and reign forever and ever. And we expect to join in the universal anthem, “Hosanna, hosanna, for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth,” and will reign until all enemies are under His feet.
God bless Israel. God bless all His Saints, and let the wrath of God be upon the enemies of Zion from this time henceforth and forever, in the name of Jesus. Amen.
The names of the following Elders were presented to the Conference by Elder George Q. Cannon, as having been called to go on missions. The vote in favor of their going was unanimous:
President Joseph Young,
Horace S. Eldredge,
Wm. C. Staines,
Wm. W. Cluff,
Geo. G. Bywater,
David Brinton,
Robert F. Neslen,
Joseph Parry, of Ogden,
Thomas Howell,
Eleazer Edwards, of Newton,
N. C. Edlefson,
Oliver Snow,
Peter Madsen, of Brigham City,
Joseph Argyle, Sen.,
Geo. Barber,
Peter Evans,
Ralph Thompson,
Edmund F. Bird,
Hezekiah Thatcher,
Geo. W. Thatcher,
Seymour B. Young,
Soren Christiansen Turd, of Ephraim, San Pete county.
The choir sang the anthem: "The earth is the Lord's."
Prayer by Elder Erastus Snow.
Conference adjourned till 2 p.m.
President Joseph Young,
Horace S. Eldredge,
Wm. C. Staines,
Wm. W. Cluff,
Geo. G. Bywater,
David Brinton,
Robert F. Neslen,
Joseph Parry, of Ogden,
Thomas Howell,
Eleazer Edwards, of Newton,
N. C. Edlefson,
Oliver Snow,
Peter Madsen, of Brigham City,
Joseph Argyle, Sen.,
Geo. Barber,
Peter Evans,
Ralph Thompson,
Edmund F. Bird,
Hezekiah Thatcher,
Geo. W. Thatcher,
Seymour B. Young,
Soren Christiansen Turd, of Ephraim, San Pete county.
The choir sang the anthem: "The earth is the Lord's."
Prayer by Elder Erastus Snow.
Conference adjourned till 2 p.m.
Friday, 2 p.m.
The choir sang: "Let every mortal ear attend."
Prayer by Elder Lorenzo Snow.
The choir sang: "Sweet is the peace the gospel brings."
The choir sang: "Let every mortal ear attend."
Prayer by Elder Lorenzo Snow.
The choir sang: "Sweet is the peace the gospel brings."
President Brigham Young
delivered an excellent, instructive discourse on the condition and practices of the Latter-day Saints, and compared them with the condition and practices of the world. In the course of his remarks, he alluded to the foolish practice of many of the Saints, in patterning after the world in relation to the absurd styles of fashionable dress. He showed that they who love the things of the world, are more or less destitute of the love of God. It is an imperative necessity for all the Saints to live in accordance with the word of wisdom. A portion of the discourse was devoted to instructing the Saints as to the best course to pursue in order to become more self-sustaining. His remarks were replete with plain, practical facts and instructions; they will shortly be published verbatim.
delivered an excellent, instructive discourse on the condition and practices of the Latter-day Saints, and compared them with the condition and practices of the world. In the course of his remarks, he alluded to the foolish practice of many of the Saints, in patterning after the world in relation to the absurd styles of fashionable dress. He showed that they who love the things of the world, are more or less destitute of the love of God. It is an imperative necessity for all the Saints to live in accordance with the word of wisdom. A portion of the discourse was devoted to instructing the Saints as to the best course to pursue in order to become more self-sustaining. His remarks were replete with plain, practical facts and instructions; they will shortly be published verbatim.
The Fashions of the World—Making Our Own Clothing & Fashions
Remarks by President Brigham Young, delivered in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, May 6, 1870.
Reported by David W. Evans.
If I can have the ears and attention of the people, I want to preach to them a short sermon on our present condition and on some particulars with regard to our customs. We, the Latter-day Saints, as a people, received a command many years ago to gather out from the wicked world and to gather ourselves together to stand in holy places, preparatory to the coming of the Son of Man. We have been gathered together promiscuously from the nations of the earth, and in many respects we are like the rest of the world. But I wish to make a few remarks on some points wherein we differ. We differ from the infidel world in our belief, and from the vulgar world in regard to the language we use. It is not common for the Latter-day Saints to take the name of the Deity in vain, while it is common and quite fashionable to do so in Christendom. Herein we disagree with the outside world, or we may call it the vulgar world, for no matter how high or how low their position may be, or how poor or how wealthy, when people use language which is unbecoming they descend to a very low level, and in this respect I am happy to say that the Latter-day Saints differ from the wicked or vulgar world. I will also put in the political world. It is a very common practice throughout the fashionable, political world to gamble; we differ also in this respect, for the Latter-day Saints are not in the habit of gambling at any game whatever; neither are they in the habit of drinking intoxicating liquors, which, throughout the world at large, and especially the Christian world, is such a prolific source of wretchedness and misery. In a great degree, I may also say that, as a people, we are not in the habit of lying and deceiving; but there is one thing that we are too much guilty of, and that is, evil speaking of our neighbors—bearing false witness against them. As a people we are too lavish in our conversation in this respect, our words come too easy and cheap, and we use them too freely in many instances.
This is one thing in which we do not differ so much from the world as I should wish. There is another point on which the same remark is true, and that is fashion in dress. Look over this congregation and we see this demonstrated before us, and on this particular item I wish to lay my views before the minds of the people.
To me a desire to follow the ever-varying fashions of the world manifests a great weakness of mind in either gentleman or lady. We are too apt to follow the foolish fashions of the world; and if means were plentiful, I do not think that there are many families among the Latter-day Saints but what would be up to the highest and latest fashions of the day. Perhaps there are a great many that would not follow these fashions had they ever so much means. But too many of this people follow after the foolish, giddy, vain fashions of the world. If any persons want proof of this they need only look over this congregation, and view the bonnets, hats or headdresses of our fashionable ladies. Do they wear bonnets that will screen their faces from the sun, or shelter their heads from the rain? Oh, no, it is not fashionable. Well what do they wear? Just such as the wicked would wear.
My discourse will have to be brief, and I am going to ask my sisters in particular to stop following these foolish fashions, and to introduce fashions of their own. This is the place, and this the time to make known the word of the Lord to the people.
It is vain and foolish, it does not evince godliness, and is inconsistent with the spirit of a saint to follow after the fashions of the world. I wish to impress these remarks especially on the minds of my young sisters—the daughters of the Elders of Israel. Not but what our wives as well as daughters follow many fashions that are uncomely, foolish and vain. What do you say? “Shall we introduce a fashion of our own, and what shall it be?” Do you want us to answer and tell you how to make your bonnets? Let me say to you that, in the works of God, you see an eternal variety, consequently we do not ask the people to become Quakers, and all the men wear wide-brimmed hats, and the ladies wear drab or cream-colored silk bonnets projecting in the front, perhaps six or seven inches, rounded on the corners, with a cape behind. This is Quakerism, that is, so far as headdresses are concerned for ladies and gentlemen. But while we do not ask this, we do ask the sisters to make their bonnets so as to shelter themselves from the storm and from the rays of the sun. I have heard a saying that three straws and a ribbon would make a headdress for a fashionable lady. This was a year or two ago; and the same varying, fantastic, foolish notions prevail with regard to other portions of a lady's habiliments as much as with her headdress. A few years ago it took about sixteen yards of common-width cloth to make a dress for a lady, for she wanted two or three yards to drag in the streets, to be smeared by every nuisance she walked over. Now I suppose they make their dresses out of five yards and a half, and then have abundance left for an apron. They put me now strongly in mind of the ladies I used to see in Canada some years ago, who made their dresses out of two breadths of tow and linen, and when they were in meeting they were all the time busy pulling them down, for they would draw up. The young ladies look now as if they needed somebody to walk after them to keep pulling down their dresses.
How foolish and unwise this is, and how contrary to the spirit of the Gospel that we have embraced! This Gospel is full of good sense, judgment, discretion and intelligence. Does this look intelligent? Suppose the ladies continue the fashion of shortening their dresses, how long will it be before three-quarters of a yard will be enough for them? You may say that such extravagant comparisons are ridiculous. I say, no more than your dresses and many of your habits and fashions now, only they may be a little exaggerated, that is all. Anything is ridiculous, more or less, that is not comely. I do beseech my sisters to stop their foolishness and to go to work and make their own headdresses. If they will they will be blessed. Do you say, “How shall we be blessed?” I will tell you—by introducing a spirit of industry into your families, and a spirit of contentment into your hearts, which will give you an interest in your domestic cares and affairs that you have not hitherto enjoyed. Doctor Young says that “Life's cares are comforts,” and they who take an interest in and try to promote their individual welfare, that of their neighbors or of the human family, will find a pleasure such as is derived from few other sources. They derive delight and pleasure from it, and are filled with peace. But when the eyes of people are like the fool's eyes—wandering to the ends of the earth, continually wishing, longing for and desiring that which they have not got, they are never happy. If we will take the course I have indicated, we shall be benefited in our spirits, and shall have more of the Spirit of the Lord.
I wish to say to you, and you may read it in the Bible if you wish, that he who has the love of the world within him hath not the love of the Father. They who love the things of this world are destitute of the love of the Gospel of the Son of God. This is my Scripture: They who long and lust after the fashions of the world are destitute of the Spirit of God. Every person of experience will testify that this is the truth. Now, my sisters, let me urge you to make your own headdresses. You have the material here, and if you wish to make your hat with a brim six, twelve, twenty, or three inches wide, we will not quarrel with you; but make your own headdresses, and do not hunt after the fashions of the wicked world. If you wish to make a cottage, or a corn-fan bonnet, or a hat, make it to suit yourselves, but do not run after the fashions of the world. I expect, by and by, if this taste for fashion be not checked, to see this house alive, more or less, with what are termed “shoo fly” hats, bonnets and headdresses, and what else you'll get I do not know. But no matter what the name nor what the fashion if we do not lust after the wicked world. And when you buy yourselves dresses do not purchase one for six or eight dollars, and then want about twenty more for trimmings. What is the use of it? I asked some of my wives the other evening, “What is the use of all this velvet ribbon—perhaps ten, fifteen, twenty, or thirty yards, on a linsey dress?” Said I, “What is the use of it? Does it do any good?” I was asked, very spiritedly and promptly, in return, “What good do those buttons do on the back of your coat?” Said I, “How many have I got?” and turning round I showed that there were none there.
This reform in fashion and extravagance in dress is needed. God has a purpose in it, and so have his servants. What is it? If the Lord has given me means and I spend it needlessly, in rings for my fingers, and jewelry for adornment, I deprive the Priesthood of that which they ought to have to gather the poor, to preach the Gospel, to build temples and to feed the hungry in our midst. I deprive a people, who will by and by inherit the earth, of so many blessings. Every yard of ribbon that I buy that is needless, every flounce, and every gewgaw that is purchased for my family needlessly, robs the Church of God of just so much. But it seems as though the people do not think of these things; they do not lay them to heart. Our wives and daughters seem to forget that they have responsibilities resting upon them in these respects. The conduct of a great many of them indicates a care for nothing but, “How much can I get? Can I get everything I want? I wish I could see something new, I want to pattern after it!” This manifests the spirit of the world, and a foolish, vain disposition. Not but that I am guilty myself, perhaps, of using means for my individual person that is not necessary; but if I do, will some of you kindly tell me? I recollect once, when preaching in England, that I passed through Smithfield Market, in Manchester, and I saw some very fine grapes just arrived from France. I spent a penny for some of them, but I had not taken half a dozen steps from the stand where I purchased them, before I saw an old lady passing along who, I could tell by her appearance, was starving to death. Said I, “I have done wrong in spending that penny, I should have given it to that old lady.” I made it a practice, before leaving my office, of going to a drawer, taking out a handful of pence, in order to give to the numerous beggars which everywhere meet the eye in walking the streets in the large towns in that country, and in this instance I felt guilty at having spent a penny on grapes, and I thought of it many times after. What else did I spend needlessly? Not much. “Well,” but say some, “Brother Brigham do not you have good horses?” Yes, I do. Do you know where I got them? But some of them were given to me, and I thank God and those who bestowed them, and I use them prudently. But I would as lief my poor brethren and sisters would ride in my carriage as to ride in it myself. Yet in many things I may be to blame, and do wrong, but in many things I know that we as a people do wrong.
“Well, Brother Brigham, what shall we do?” I say make your own headdresses; here is abundance of material to do it with, and it is not right for me to pay out hundreds and perhaps thousands of dollars annually for needless articles of dress for my family. The same is true of my brethren. If that means were to go to gather the poor this season, it would bring many from the old countries. About this, however, I will say that it is rather discouraging to bring people here and to put them in situations to live and accumulate, and then they, as soon as they make a little means, lift their heel against God and his anointed. Nevertheless it is our duty to feed nine persons who are unworthy rather than to turn away the tenth, if he be worthy. It is better to bring ninety-nine persons here who are unworthy than to leave one that is worthy to perish there, consequently we say we will do all we can. They, whom we bring here, are agents for themselves before God, and they act for themselves.
But now, brethren and sisters, let us stop and again consider and think. Can we not sustain ourselves more than we do? I do not ask my sisters to make themselves sunbonnets and wear them and nothing else. I do not say, all of you adopt some particular fashion and stick to that alone. This is not the question; the question is, will we stop wearing that that is so useless and needless? If we will, we can have scores of thousands annually to bestow upon the poor, to rear temples, to build tabernacles and schoolhouses, to endow schools, to educate our children, and to aid every charitable institution and every other purpose that will advance the kingdom of God on the earth.
This would be wisdom in us. What do we think about it? What do you say, young ladies—I mean all of you this side of a hundred years old—will you stop following the foolish fashions of the world, and begin to act like people possessing moral courage and good natural sense? If this is your mind, brethren and sisters, I ask you, young and old, to make it manifest, as I do, by raising your right hand. (A sea of hands was immediately raised.) Some, no doubt, feel ready to say, “Why, Brother Brigham, do not you know that your family is the most fashionable in the city?” No, I do not; but I am sure that my wives and children, in their fashions and gewgaws, cannot beat some of my neighbors. I will tell you what I have said to my wives and children; shall I? Shall I expose what I say to them on these points? Yes, I will. I have said to my wives, “If you will not stop these foolish fashions and customs I will give you a bill if you want it.” That is what I have said, and that is what I think. “Well, but you would not part with your wives?” Yes, indeed I would. I am not bound to wife or child, to house or farm, or anything else on the face of the earth, but the Gospel of the Son of God. I have enlisted all in this cause, and in it is my heart, and here is my treasure. Some may say, “Why, really, Brother Brigham, you almost worship your family; you think a great deal of your wives.” Yes, I do, but, from my youth up, I never had but one object in taking a wife, and that was to do her good. The first one I had was the poorest girl I could find in the town; and my object with the second, and third, and so on to the last one was to save them. You say,” Do I humor them?” Yes I do, and perhaps too much.
Now, my brethren and sisters, a few words more. We have been striving for some time to get the people to observe the Word of Wisdom. But why do they not observe it? Why will they cling to those habits that are inimical to life and health? “Well,” says a sister, “I cannot leave off my tea, I must have a cup of tea every morning, I feel so sick.” I say then, go to bed, and there lie until you are better. “Oh, but it will kill me if I quit it.” Then die, and die in the faith, instead of living and breaking the requests of Heaven. That is my mind about the sisters dying for the want of tea. With regard to drinking liquor, I am happy to say that we are improving. But there are some of our Elders who still drink a little liquor occasionally, I think, and use a little tobacco. They feel as though they would die without it, but I say they will die with it, and they will die transgressing the revelations and commands of Heaven, and the wishes of our heavenly Father, who has said hot drinks are not good.
Now let us observe the Word of Wisdom. Shall I take a vote on it? Everybody would vote, but who would observe it? A good many, but not all. I can say that a good many do observe their covenants in this thing. But who is it that understands wisdom before God? In some respects we have to define it for ourselves—each for himself—according to our own views, judgment and faith, and the observance of the Word of Wisdom, or the interpretation of God's requirements on this subject, must be left, partially, with the people. We cannot make laws like the Medes and Persians. We cannot say you shall never drink a cup of tea, or you shall never taste of this, or you shall never taste of that; but we can say that Wisdom is justified of her children. Brethren and sisters, hearken to these things. I do not know that we shall have much time to talk about them; but take the little counsel given, and observe it. This is the place to give counsel to the people. Go home, Bishops and Elders, when the Conference is over, and observe what has been told you here. If we commence making our own bonnets, we shall find that we shall increase in other directions besides making leather for our boots and shoes, and cloth for coats and pantaloons.
It is very pleasant in passing through the Territory to have brethren in the various settlements say, “Bro. Brigham, Brother Geo. A., or Brother Daniel, come and see our store, or our shop; here are boots and shoes made from leather of our own manufacture;” and some are as fine looking as you can see anywhere. They are doing a good deal in this city, and also in other places. Some are making straw hats and bonnets, and others are endeavoring to promote other branches of home manufacture. This is very pleasant, but we want to see it more general in this great community. If it were so this season in the one branch of straw hat and bonnet manufacture we should not see the scores and hundreds of five-dollar hats brought here and sold, that are good for nothing in the world. They have no strength about them. The manufacturers of these hats pick up old cloth that is rotten and good for nothing, and make hats of it, and the result is that the hats brought here have very little wear in them. They may look decent to begin with, but after being worn a few times they are shapeless and worthless. Let us go to work and make them for ourselves and save this expense. If we do this, we are wise; if we do it not, we are foolish.
We heard Brother Taylor's exposition of what is called Socialism this morning. What can they do? Live on each other and beg. It is a poor, unwise and very imbecile people who cannot take care of themselves. Well, we, in the providences of God, are forced to do a great many things that are very advantageous to us. Let us observe the Word of Wisdom, and also begin and manufacture our clothing. We are doing a good deal now, but let us do more. I have learned one fact that is very gratifying: A few years ago when we commenced our little factories here we could obtain no wool—the sheep were not taken care of. As soon as we commenced to manufacture cloth and to distribute it among the people, taking their wool in exchange, we found that the wool increased; and this season, if we had had the factory, in course of construction at Provo, finished, the supply of wool would have been so great that the factory would have been overstocked. Some idea may be formed of the great increase in the supply of wool when I state that the Provo factory, when running, will be capable of making perhaps ten or twelve hundred yards of cloth per day. This is pleasing. Let us get factories built. I find they are building South, and they are preparing to build North; and pretty soon you will see the brethren, as a general thing, dressed in homemade.
Some here are thinking, probably: “Brigham, why don't you dress in homemade?” I do. “Well, have you got it on today?” No, but I want to wear out, if I can, what I have on hand. I give away a suit every little while, and I would like to give some more away if I could find anybody my clothes would fit. I travel in homemade and wear it at home. As for fashion, it does not trouble me, my fashion is convenience and comfort. The most comfortable coat that a man can wear in my opinion is what the old Yankees and Eastern and Southern people call a “warmus.” Some of the people here know what I mean; it is something between an overshirt and a blouse, buttons round the neck and wrists. I have worked in one many a day. If I introduce the fashion of wearing them here who will follow it? I expect a good many would. I recollect that I wore one when Colonel Kane was here. Said he, “I am gratified to see that you do not ask any odds about the fashions, you have one of your own.” My feelings then, as now, were, whatever in Brother Brigham's judgment is comfortable and comely is the fashion with him, and he cares nothing about the fashions of the world. There is a style of pantaloons very generally worn, about which I would say something if there were no ladies here. When I first saw them I gave them a name. I never wore them; I consider them uncomely and indecent. But why is it that they are worn so generally by others? Because they are fashionable. If it were the fashion to go with them unbuttoned I expect you would see plenty of our Elders wearing them unbuttoned. This shows the power that fashion exerts over the majority of minds. You may see it in the theater; if you had attended ours recently you might have seen that that was not comely; you might have seen Mazeppa ride, with but a very small amount of clothing on. In New York, I am told it is much worse. I heard a gentleman say that a full dress for Mazeppa there was one Government stamp. I do not know whether it is so or not. Fashion has great influence everywhere, Salt Lake not excepted. No matter how ridiculous, the fashions must be followed. If it be for the ladies to have their dresses to drag along the streets, or so short that they show their garters, we see it here; the same is true if they are sixteen or twenty-four feet round, or so tight that they can hardly walk. A great many seem to regard and follow fashion, with all its follies and vagaries, far more fervently than duty. How foolish is such a course. I have talked long enough. God bless you.
Remarks by President Brigham Young, delivered in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, May 6, 1870.
Reported by David W. Evans.
If I can have the ears and attention of the people, I want to preach to them a short sermon on our present condition and on some particulars with regard to our customs. We, the Latter-day Saints, as a people, received a command many years ago to gather out from the wicked world and to gather ourselves together to stand in holy places, preparatory to the coming of the Son of Man. We have been gathered together promiscuously from the nations of the earth, and in many respects we are like the rest of the world. But I wish to make a few remarks on some points wherein we differ. We differ from the infidel world in our belief, and from the vulgar world in regard to the language we use. It is not common for the Latter-day Saints to take the name of the Deity in vain, while it is common and quite fashionable to do so in Christendom. Herein we disagree with the outside world, or we may call it the vulgar world, for no matter how high or how low their position may be, or how poor or how wealthy, when people use language which is unbecoming they descend to a very low level, and in this respect I am happy to say that the Latter-day Saints differ from the wicked or vulgar world. I will also put in the political world. It is a very common practice throughout the fashionable, political world to gamble; we differ also in this respect, for the Latter-day Saints are not in the habit of gambling at any game whatever; neither are they in the habit of drinking intoxicating liquors, which, throughout the world at large, and especially the Christian world, is such a prolific source of wretchedness and misery. In a great degree, I may also say that, as a people, we are not in the habit of lying and deceiving; but there is one thing that we are too much guilty of, and that is, evil speaking of our neighbors—bearing false witness against them. As a people we are too lavish in our conversation in this respect, our words come too easy and cheap, and we use them too freely in many instances.
This is one thing in which we do not differ so much from the world as I should wish. There is another point on which the same remark is true, and that is fashion in dress. Look over this congregation and we see this demonstrated before us, and on this particular item I wish to lay my views before the minds of the people.
To me a desire to follow the ever-varying fashions of the world manifests a great weakness of mind in either gentleman or lady. We are too apt to follow the foolish fashions of the world; and if means were plentiful, I do not think that there are many families among the Latter-day Saints but what would be up to the highest and latest fashions of the day. Perhaps there are a great many that would not follow these fashions had they ever so much means. But too many of this people follow after the foolish, giddy, vain fashions of the world. If any persons want proof of this they need only look over this congregation, and view the bonnets, hats or headdresses of our fashionable ladies. Do they wear bonnets that will screen their faces from the sun, or shelter their heads from the rain? Oh, no, it is not fashionable. Well what do they wear? Just such as the wicked would wear.
My discourse will have to be brief, and I am going to ask my sisters in particular to stop following these foolish fashions, and to introduce fashions of their own. This is the place, and this the time to make known the word of the Lord to the people.
It is vain and foolish, it does not evince godliness, and is inconsistent with the spirit of a saint to follow after the fashions of the world. I wish to impress these remarks especially on the minds of my young sisters—the daughters of the Elders of Israel. Not but what our wives as well as daughters follow many fashions that are uncomely, foolish and vain. What do you say? “Shall we introduce a fashion of our own, and what shall it be?” Do you want us to answer and tell you how to make your bonnets? Let me say to you that, in the works of God, you see an eternal variety, consequently we do not ask the people to become Quakers, and all the men wear wide-brimmed hats, and the ladies wear drab or cream-colored silk bonnets projecting in the front, perhaps six or seven inches, rounded on the corners, with a cape behind. This is Quakerism, that is, so far as headdresses are concerned for ladies and gentlemen. But while we do not ask this, we do ask the sisters to make their bonnets so as to shelter themselves from the storm and from the rays of the sun. I have heard a saying that three straws and a ribbon would make a headdress for a fashionable lady. This was a year or two ago; and the same varying, fantastic, foolish notions prevail with regard to other portions of a lady's habiliments as much as with her headdress. A few years ago it took about sixteen yards of common-width cloth to make a dress for a lady, for she wanted two or three yards to drag in the streets, to be smeared by every nuisance she walked over. Now I suppose they make their dresses out of five yards and a half, and then have abundance left for an apron. They put me now strongly in mind of the ladies I used to see in Canada some years ago, who made their dresses out of two breadths of tow and linen, and when they were in meeting they were all the time busy pulling them down, for they would draw up. The young ladies look now as if they needed somebody to walk after them to keep pulling down their dresses.
How foolish and unwise this is, and how contrary to the spirit of the Gospel that we have embraced! This Gospel is full of good sense, judgment, discretion and intelligence. Does this look intelligent? Suppose the ladies continue the fashion of shortening their dresses, how long will it be before three-quarters of a yard will be enough for them? You may say that such extravagant comparisons are ridiculous. I say, no more than your dresses and many of your habits and fashions now, only they may be a little exaggerated, that is all. Anything is ridiculous, more or less, that is not comely. I do beseech my sisters to stop their foolishness and to go to work and make their own headdresses. If they will they will be blessed. Do you say, “How shall we be blessed?” I will tell you—by introducing a spirit of industry into your families, and a spirit of contentment into your hearts, which will give you an interest in your domestic cares and affairs that you have not hitherto enjoyed. Doctor Young says that “Life's cares are comforts,” and they who take an interest in and try to promote their individual welfare, that of their neighbors or of the human family, will find a pleasure such as is derived from few other sources. They derive delight and pleasure from it, and are filled with peace. But when the eyes of people are like the fool's eyes—wandering to the ends of the earth, continually wishing, longing for and desiring that which they have not got, they are never happy. If we will take the course I have indicated, we shall be benefited in our spirits, and shall have more of the Spirit of the Lord.
I wish to say to you, and you may read it in the Bible if you wish, that he who has the love of the world within him hath not the love of the Father. They who love the things of this world are destitute of the love of the Gospel of the Son of God. This is my Scripture: They who long and lust after the fashions of the world are destitute of the Spirit of God. Every person of experience will testify that this is the truth. Now, my sisters, let me urge you to make your own headdresses. You have the material here, and if you wish to make your hat with a brim six, twelve, twenty, or three inches wide, we will not quarrel with you; but make your own headdresses, and do not hunt after the fashions of the wicked world. If you wish to make a cottage, or a corn-fan bonnet, or a hat, make it to suit yourselves, but do not run after the fashions of the world. I expect, by and by, if this taste for fashion be not checked, to see this house alive, more or less, with what are termed “shoo fly” hats, bonnets and headdresses, and what else you'll get I do not know. But no matter what the name nor what the fashion if we do not lust after the wicked world. And when you buy yourselves dresses do not purchase one for six or eight dollars, and then want about twenty more for trimmings. What is the use of it? I asked some of my wives the other evening, “What is the use of all this velvet ribbon—perhaps ten, fifteen, twenty, or thirty yards, on a linsey dress?” Said I, “What is the use of it? Does it do any good?” I was asked, very spiritedly and promptly, in return, “What good do those buttons do on the back of your coat?” Said I, “How many have I got?” and turning round I showed that there were none there.
This reform in fashion and extravagance in dress is needed. God has a purpose in it, and so have his servants. What is it? If the Lord has given me means and I spend it needlessly, in rings for my fingers, and jewelry for adornment, I deprive the Priesthood of that which they ought to have to gather the poor, to preach the Gospel, to build temples and to feed the hungry in our midst. I deprive a people, who will by and by inherit the earth, of so many blessings. Every yard of ribbon that I buy that is needless, every flounce, and every gewgaw that is purchased for my family needlessly, robs the Church of God of just so much. But it seems as though the people do not think of these things; they do not lay them to heart. Our wives and daughters seem to forget that they have responsibilities resting upon them in these respects. The conduct of a great many of them indicates a care for nothing but, “How much can I get? Can I get everything I want? I wish I could see something new, I want to pattern after it!” This manifests the spirit of the world, and a foolish, vain disposition. Not but that I am guilty myself, perhaps, of using means for my individual person that is not necessary; but if I do, will some of you kindly tell me? I recollect once, when preaching in England, that I passed through Smithfield Market, in Manchester, and I saw some very fine grapes just arrived from France. I spent a penny for some of them, but I had not taken half a dozen steps from the stand where I purchased them, before I saw an old lady passing along who, I could tell by her appearance, was starving to death. Said I, “I have done wrong in spending that penny, I should have given it to that old lady.” I made it a practice, before leaving my office, of going to a drawer, taking out a handful of pence, in order to give to the numerous beggars which everywhere meet the eye in walking the streets in the large towns in that country, and in this instance I felt guilty at having spent a penny on grapes, and I thought of it many times after. What else did I spend needlessly? Not much. “Well,” but say some, “Brother Brigham do not you have good horses?” Yes, I do. Do you know where I got them? But some of them were given to me, and I thank God and those who bestowed them, and I use them prudently. But I would as lief my poor brethren and sisters would ride in my carriage as to ride in it myself. Yet in many things I may be to blame, and do wrong, but in many things I know that we as a people do wrong.
“Well, Brother Brigham, what shall we do?” I say make your own headdresses; here is abundance of material to do it with, and it is not right for me to pay out hundreds and perhaps thousands of dollars annually for needless articles of dress for my family. The same is true of my brethren. If that means were to go to gather the poor this season, it would bring many from the old countries. About this, however, I will say that it is rather discouraging to bring people here and to put them in situations to live and accumulate, and then they, as soon as they make a little means, lift their heel against God and his anointed. Nevertheless it is our duty to feed nine persons who are unworthy rather than to turn away the tenth, if he be worthy. It is better to bring ninety-nine persons here who are unworthy than to leave one that is worthy to perish there, consequently we say we will do all we can. They, whom we bring here, are agents for themselves before God, and they act for themselves.
But now, brethren and sisters, let us stop and again consider and think. Can we not sustain ourselves more than we do? I do not ask my sisters to make themselves sunbonnets and wear them and nothing else. I do not say, all of you adopt some particular fashion and stick to that alone. This is not the question; the question is, will we stop wearing that that is so useless and needless? If we will, we can have scores of thousands annually to bestow upon the poor, to rear temples, to build tabernacles and schoolhouses, to endow schools, to educate our children, and to aid every charitable institution and every other purpose that will advance the kingdom of God on the earth.
This would be wisdom in us. What do we think about it? What do you say, young ladies—I mean all of you this side of a hundred years old—will you stop following the foolish fashions of the world, and begin to act like people possessing moral courage and good natural sense? If this is your mind, brethren and sisters, I ask you, young and old, to make it manifest, as I do, by raising your right hand. (A sea of hands was immediately raised.) Some, no doubt, feel ready to say, “Why, Brother Brigham, do not you know that your family is the most fashionable in the city?” No, I do not; but I am sure that my wives and children, in their fashions and gewgaws, cannot beat some of my neighbors. I will tell you what I have said to my wives and children; shall I? Shall I expose what I say to them on these points? Yes, I will. I have said to my wives, “If you will not stop these foolish fashions and customs I will give you a bill if you want it.” That is what I have said, and that is what I think. “Well, but you would not part with your wives?” Yes, indeed I would. I am not bound to wife or child, to house or farm, or anything else on the face of the earth, but the Gospel of the Son of God. I have enlisted all in this cause, and in it is my heart, and here is my treasure. Some may say, “Why, really, Brother Brigham, you almost worship your family; you think a great deal of your wives.” Yes, I do, but, from my youth up, I never had but one object in taking a wife, and that was to do her good. The first one I had was the poorest girl I could find in the town; and my object with the second, and third, and so on to the last one was to save them. You say,” Do I humor them?” Yes I do, and perhaps too much.
Now, my brethren and sisters, a few words more. We have been striving for some time to get the people to observe the Word of Wisdom. But why do they not observe it? Why will they cling to those habits that are inimical to life and health? “Well,” says a sister, “I cannot leave off my tea, I must have a cup of tea every morning, I feel so sick.” I say then, go to bed, and there lie until you are better. “Oh, but it will kill me if I quit it.” Then die, and die in the faith, instead of living and breaking the requests of Heaven. That is my mind about the sisters dying for the want of tea. With regard to drinking liquor, I am happy to say that we are improving. But there are some of our Elders who still drink a little liquor occasionally, I think, and use a little tobacco. They feel as though they would die without it, but I say they will die with it, and they will die transgressing the revelations and commands of Heaven, and the wishes of our heavenly Father, who has said hot drinks are not good.
Now let us observe the Word of Wisdom. Shall I take a vote on it? Everybody would vote, but who would observe it? A good many, but not all. I can say that a good many do observe their covenants in this thing. But who is it that understands wisdom before God? In some respects we have to define it for ourselves—each for himself—according to our own views, judgment and faith, and the observance of the Word of Wisdom, or the interpretation of God's requirements on this subject, must be left, partially, with the people. We cannot make laws like the Medes and Persians. We cannot say you shall never drink a cup of tea, or you shall never taste of this, or you shall never taste of that; but we can say that Wisdom is justified of her children. Brethren and sisters, hearken to these things. I do not know that we shall have much time to talk about them; but take the little counsel given, and observe it. This is the place to give counsel to the people. Go home, Bishops and Elders, when the Conference is over, and observe what has been told you here. If we commence making our own bonnets, we shall find that we shall increase in other directions besides making leather for our boots and shoes, and cloth for coats and pantaloons.
It is very pleasant in passing through the Territory to have brethren in the various settlements say, “Bro. Brigham, Brother Geo. A., or Brother Daniel, come and see our store, or our shop; here are boots and shoes made from leather of our own manufacture;” and some are as fine looking as you can see anywhere. They are doing a good deal in this city, and also in other places. Some are making straw hats and bonnets, and others are endeavoring to promote other branches of home manufacture. This is very pleasant, but we want to see it more general in this great community. If it were so this season in the one branch of straw hat and bonnet manufacture we should not see the scores and hundreds of five-dollar hats brought here and sold, that are good for nothing in the world. They have no strength about them. The manufacturers of these hats pick up old cloth that is rotten and good for nothing, and make hats of it, and the result is that the hats brought here have very little wear in them. They may look decent to begin with, but after being worn a few times they are shapeless and worthless. Let us go to work and make them for ourselves and save this expense. If we do this, we are wise; if we do it not, we are foolish.
We heard Brother Taylor's exposition of what is called Socialism this morning. What can they do? Live on each other and beg. It is a poor, unwise and very imbecile people who cannot take care of themselves. Well, we, in the providences of God, are forced to do a great many things that are very advantageous to us. Let us observe the Word of Wisdom, and also begin and manufacture our clothing. We are doing a good deal now, but let us do more. I have learned one fact that is very gratifying: A few years ago when we commenced our little factories here we could obtain no wool—the sheep were not taken care of. As soon as we commenced to manufacture cloth and to distribute it among the people, taking their wool in exchange, we found that the wool increased; and this season, if we had had the factory, in course of construction at Provo, finished, the supply of wool would have been so great that the factory would have been overstocked. Some idea may be formed of the great increase in the supply of wool when I state that the Provo factory, when running, will be capable of making perhaps ten or twelve hundred yards of cloth per day. This is pleasing. Let us get factories built. I find they are building South, and they are preparing to build North; and pretty soon you will see the brethren, as a general thing, dressed in homemade.
Some here are thinking, probably: “Brigham, why don't you dress in homemade?” I do. “Well, have you got it on today?” No, but I want to wear out, if I can, what I have on hand. I give away a suit every little while, and I would like to give some more away if I could find anybody my clothes would fit. I travel in homemade and wear it at home. As for fashion, it does not trouble me, my fashion is convenience and comfort. The most comfortable coat that a man can wear in my opinion is what the old Yankees and Eastern and Southern people call a “warmus.” Some of the people here know what I mean; it is something between an overshirt and a blouse, buttons round the neck and wrists. I have worked in one many a day. If I introduce the fashion of wearing them here who will follow it? I expect a good many would. I recollect that I wore one when Colonel Kane was here. Said he, “I am gratified to see that you do not ask any odds about the fashions, you have one of your own.” My feelings then, as now, were, whatever in Brother Brigham's judgment is comfortable and comely is the fashion with him, and he cares nothing about the fashions of the world. There is a style of pantaloons very generally worn, about which I would say something if there were no ladies here. When I first saw them I gave them a name. I never wore them; I consider them uncomely and indecent. But why is it that they are worn so generally by others? Because they are fashionable. If it were the fashion to go with them unbuttoned I expect you would see plenty of our Elders wearing them unbuttoned. This shows the power that fashion exerts over the majority of minds. You may see it in the theater; if you had attended ours recently you might have seen that that was not comely; you might have seen Mazeppa ride, with but a very small amount of clothing on. In New York, I am told it is much worse. I heard a gentleman say that a full dress for Mazeppa there was one Government stamp. I do not know whether it is so or not. Fashion has great influence everywhere, Salt Lake not excepted. No matter how ridiculous, the fashions must be followed. If it be for the ladies to have their dresses to drag along the streets, or so short that they show their garters, we see it here; the same is true if they are sixteen or twenty-four feet round, or so tight that they can hardly walk. A great many seem to regard and follow fashion, with all its follies and vagaries, far more fervently than duty. How foolish is such a course. I have talked long enough. God bless you.
Elder Wilford Woodruff.
No dispensation has ever been looked upon with so much interest as that which was ushered in through the instrumentality of Joseph Smith. The Zion of the latter-days has been before the face of God from before the foundations of the world. The hand of God sustained the Prophet Joseph, when he was encompassed by his foes. He knew that God lived. This has been the case also with President Young. Notwithstanding the machinations of his enemies, he has had faith in the Lord and the Lord has sustained him. Without the inspiration of the Almighty, President Young could not lead the church twenty-four hours. Neither could Joseph Smith have done so; nor any other man. I would say, in the name of the Lord, that no man who will operate against the counsel of Joseph Smith or Brigham Young will ever prosper. No man will ever gain honor or prosperity by fighting against the work of the Lord. If any man undertakes to stand in the way of the Kingdom of God, it will roll over him. Its progress cannot be stayed. If the ancient prophets have seen our day and rejoiced, what manner of men should we be? I rejoice to see manifested the faith that has been and is shown by those appointed to lead Israel. I trust that the Female Relief Societies will institute schools to instruct the young in the art of straw braiding, and other useful employments. It is necessary we should be united in all our temporal labors. In all matters, where the principle of co-operation can be applied, we ought to co-operate.
No dispensation has ever been looked upon with so much interest as that which was ushered in through the instrumentality of Joseph Smith. The Zion of the latter-days has been before the face of God from before the foundations of the world. The hand of God sustained the Prophet Joseph, when he was encompassed by his foes. He knew that God lived. This has been the case also with President Young. Notwithstanding the machinations of his enemies, he has had faith in the Lord and the Lord has sustained him. Without the inspiration of the Almighty, President Young could not lead the church twenty-four hours. Neither could Joseph Smith have done so; nor any other man. I would say, in the name of the Lord, that no man who will operate against the counsel of Joseph Smith or Brigham Young will ever prosper. No man will ever gain honor or prosperity by fighting against the work of the Lord. If any man undertakes to stand in the way of the Kingdom of God, it will roll over him. Its progress cannot be stayed. If the ancient prophets have seen our day and rejoiced, what manner of men should we be? I rejoice to see manifested the faith that has been and is shown by those appointed to lead Israel. I trust that the Female Relief Societies will institute schools to instruct the young in the art of straw braiding, and other useful employments. It is necessary we should be united in all our temporal labors. In all matters, where the principle of co-operation can be applied, we ought to co-operate.
The Work of God—Authority of President Young—Keeping the Commandments of God
Discourse by Elder Wilford Woodruff, delivered in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, May 6, 1870.
Reported by David W. Evans.
I believe this is the largest assembly of Saints or sinners, Jew or Gentile, that ever I saw together under one roof. There are very few of us capable of making such an assembly hear, unless it is very still; and when persons have come from twenty to two hundred and fifty miles to attend Conference, it certainly is important that we give them a chance to hear what is said.
It is true that God has set his hand in these latter days to bring to pass his act, his strange act, and to accomplish his work, his strange work—that truth should spring out of the earth, and righteousness look down from heaven; and it certainly would be strange if these things were not performed. The Supreme Ruler would not be like a God who had created a world like this and peopled it if he let it go at random, without any purpose or plan for the benefit and salvation of the children of men.
I want to say a few words on this subject. I consider that the work we now see taking place in these mountains, and which has been going on from the time this Church was organized, is but carrying out the great plan of our Father in heaven—that plan which was ordained from before the foundation of the world. In fact, there is no dispensation that has been looked upon with as much interest by all the prophets of God and inspired men, from the day of Joseph Smith, as that in which we live, in which the Zion of God is being built up, and the earth is being prepared for the coming of the Son of Man.
Isaiah, in looking by prophetic vision to this day, makes use of very strong language in endeavoring to express his feelings in relation to it. In one instance he says, “Sing, O heavens; and rejoice, O earth! Break forth into singing, O ye mountains, for the Lord has comforted his people, and will have mercy on his afflicted yet.” Zion says, “The Lord has forsaken me, my God has forgotten me.” “Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb?” “Yea,” the Lord says, “a woman may do that,” but he will not forget Zion. Says he, “Zion is engraven on the palms of my hands, her walls are continually before me.”
Now this Zion of God has been before his face from before the foundation of the world, and it is no more going to fail in the latter days than any of the purposes of God are going to fail, hence I look upon this work as the work of God, and it makes no difference to the Lord Almighty, nor to his Saints, what the world may think or do about it, or what course they may pursue with regard to it; they cannot stop its progress, because it is the work of God. If it were the work of man, it would not exist as it does today. If God had no hand in this work, we should not have seen this assembly here today in this Tabernacle, nor this Territory filled with cities and towns. But being the work of God, he asks no odds of any nation, kindred, tongue or people under the whole heavens, any further than they are willing to keep his commandments and do his will; for as the Lord God Almighty lives, so, too, will the work, the foundation of which has been laid in these latter days, increase and continue until its consummation is effected, and the great Zion of God is established in beauty, power and glory, and the dominion of the kingdom of our God extends over the whole earth.
Joseph Smith laid the foundation of this work; he was chosen by the Lord for that purpose, and was ordained by prophets and inspired men who formerly held the keys of the kingdom of God upon the earth. They laid their hands upon his head and ordained him to the Priesthood, and gave him power to unlock the heavens and to administer the ordinances of the house of God upon the earth. This work he performed in the face of difficulty, persecution, opposition and oppression; but the hand of God sustained him. He knew what few men or people on the whole face of the earth know—that God lives, and he also knew that the work whose foundations he laid was the work of God.
This is what has sustained President Young through all his labors. Many men have looked upon him, and, in consequence of outside pressure, have expected him to say this, that, and the other; but all the time he has taken a straightforward course, walking in the path pointed out by the God of heaven; and that same hand has sustained him and you and me and every good and virtuous man and woman on the face of the earth who has listened to the commandments of God.
Isaiah and other prophets saw in vision much concerning the building up and establishment of the latter-day Zion of God upon the earth. They saw the people gathering from the nations of the earth to the mountains of Israel; they speak of a great company coming up to Zion, the women with child and her that travailed with child together; and a great many other things in relation to the internal workings of the inhabitants of Zion in building up the kingdom of God they do not mention, whether they ever saw them or not. Isaiah has not written concerning many of these things, neither has anybody yet that we know of. Perhaps when the remainder of the plates, which were delivered to the Prophet Joseph, and which he was commanded not to translate, come forth, we may learn many more things pertaining to our labor on the earth which we do not know now. But be this as it may, all this internal work is left for the Holy Ghost to reveal to the living oracles, as they guide, lead, dictate and direct the people day by day. This is one thing I want to say to my friends and to the Saints of God, that without the Holy Ghost, without direct revelation and the inspiration of God continually, Brigham Young could not lead this people twenty-four hours. He could not lead them at all. Joseph could not have done it, neither could any man. This power is in the bosom of Almighty God, and he imparts it to his servants the prophets as they stand in need of it day by day to build up Zion.
I want to say to my brethren and sisters that President Young is our leader; he is our lawgiver in the Church and kingdom of God. He is called to this office; it is his prerogative to tell this people what to do, and it is our duty to obey the counsel that he has given today to the sisters and the brethren. We, as a people, should not treat lightly this counsel, for I will tell you in the name of the Lord—and I have watched it from the time I became a member of this Church—there is no man who undertakes to run counter to the counsel of the legally authorized leader of this people that ever prospers, and no such man ever will prosper. Many things I might name, if it were wisdom to do so, to prove the truth of this statement, but you may watch for yourselves, and you will find that all persons who take a stand against this counsel will never prosper.
A great deal has been said with regard to guiding this people in temporal matters. I ask you in the name of the Lord, who is called to guide the temporal affairs of this Church and kingdom, for its advantage, redemption and exaltation, as pure as a bride adorned for her husband, if it be not that man who is placed as the lawgiver and leader of Israel? There is no man on the footstool of God who has this authority but him who stands at the head; and his Counselors and the Apostles, Bishops and Elders ought to be coworkers with him, and they should work together in carrying out his counsel. And when counsel comes we should not treat it lightly, no matter to what subject it pertains, for if we do it will work evil unto us. Cooperation, it is well known to every Saint who has his eyes and ears open, has brought much good to Israel, yet from the very commencement of it there has been more or less discontent and dissatisfaction felt and manifested towards it; but there is not an individual who has attempted to work against it but who has lost the Spirit of God unless he has repented. It is so in all things, as every one of us who has had experience in this kingdom has seen over and over again. No man has ever prospered by this course, but if he has continued it he, by and by, has gone downward instead of upward; no such man ever received and gained to himself honor by taking such a course, and no man ever will. They may try it as often as they wish; no matter whether they are insiders or outsiders, every man who undertakes to fight against this work and people will, in God's own time, receive chastisement at his hand. Many who have done so, have been cut off, and others will follow. This is true, whether it is in regard to following counsel or not. We cannot treat lightly the counsel of God without incurring his displeasure.
Does any man or woman wonder that President Young leads out, and calls upon us to follow, in directing temporal affairs? What would become of us and Zion if there were no one to give counsel in temporal matters? We could not advance if such were the case; but we have been guided so far by the servants of God and the Spirit of God. We have been dull scholars perhaps in a great many things, but I thank God that it is as well as it is with us today. The organization of this Church took place forty years ago with six members, and here is a congregation that would make two thousand branches of the Church as large as the first branch that was established, and this is only one congregation, while we have 600 miles of towns, villages and settlements in this Territory. It is progress all the time. Why? Because it is the work of God. No one can stand in the way of the work of God in safety. The Lord is not dependent upon any man on his footstool; if one man will not do his bidding, another will. He gives his law to all men, and inasmuch as they reject it, they are under condemnation.
I fear not the world. We are the only people under heaven who are one, and we are not half as much one as we ought to be; we have to improve. We are the only people in the whole Christian world who make any pretensions to oneness in building up the Zion of God on the earth. We profess to be one in the Gospel, and we have to become so in temporal matters. We have to become of one heart and mind in giving attention and obedience to the counsel of God in all things, both spiritual and temporal. Zion has got to advance; she has got to rise and shine and put on her beautiful garments. She is advancing and has been from the time of the organization of this Church, and she will continue to do so until the winding up scene.
When I look at the blessing of the Gospel of Christ, and at the blessings which we as a people enjoy; when I look at the glorious principles which God has revealed for the exaltation and glory of man, I rejoice in them, and ask who will obey them? I feel that we ought to be thankful to God day and night; we should be humble and always ready to listen to counsel. Let us go to and carry out these principles. “If ye love me, keep my commandments,” says the Lord Jesus. President Young preached on that subject a few Sabbaths ago, showing that however great our professions as Saints may be, they are vain unless we keep the commandments and counsels of the Lord given unto us. What are they? We have the moral law and we have the Gospel in the Scriptures; but there are commandments and ordinances, and there is counsel which we have to observe which are not contained in the Bible, in the Book of Mormon, or in the Book of Doctrine and Covenants. In fact there is very little there in regard to our work and labors here as a people.
The Lord has put into our hands the power to build up this great Zion, which all the ancient prophets rejoiced in and prophesied about. What manner of people ought we to be who are called to carry out this work? We ought to be the Saints and children of God in very deed. Our hearts ought to be open and prepared to receive instruction, light and truth, and to carry out all principles which may be communicated unto us by the servants of the Lord. The counsels we have had today are of great value to the Latter-day Saints. By and by Babylon will fall; in a little while “no man will buy her merchandise,” and the sooner we are prepared for the changes which are about to take place in our nation and in the nations of the earth, the better for us. We are all interested in the welfare of Zion. Our wives, daughters and sons are interested in the welfare of the husbands and fathers, and the children in that of the parents; and we all should be interested in each other's temporal and spiritual labors, and there should not be a selfish feeling on the part of any portion of a family—“I do not care what becomes of this, that or the other, if I can only get what I want myself.” This is selfishness, it produces disunion and is inconsistent with the profession of a Saint of God. We should labor, each and every one of us to put such feelings from our hearts, and then we, in our family organizations, should strive to promote the general interest of the members thereof; but the interest of Zion and the kingdom of God should be first with us all the time, for we are all members of that kingdom and its welfare is ours.
I consider that we are in a position in which we have every chance to do a great deal of good in our day and generation, we have every chance to work with the Lord, every chance to fulfil our mission and calling here on the earth. We have every chance to build up the Zion of God. I rejoice in the faith that has been manifested by those who have charge of the affairs of the kingdom of God, in the revelations of God. By their works they have manifested their determination continually to carry out the commands of God. “Who am I,” saith the Lord, “that I command and am not obeyed?” “Who am I,” saith the Lord, “that I promise and do not fulfil?” The Lord has never made a promise to the children of men but what he has fulfilled it; and all the promises that the Lord has made and all the revelations that have been given by the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, will have their fulfillment, and we have nothing to fear. As President Young said a few Sabbaths ago, the only thing we need fear is that we shall not keep the commandments of the Lord. Let us keep the commandments of God and then we shall have power with him; the word of the Lord will sustain us and he will fight our battles. “Vengeance is mine, I will repay,” saith the Lord. We need have no fears with regard to the future. The Zion of God is before his face continually. He has laid a foundation and He will build upon it, and his Saints will build upon it; and thousands and tens of thousands of the meek of the earth will yet take hold and become co-workers in the great work of God. I feel, myself, as though we should lay these counsels that we receive to heart; we should not treat them lightly. We have been called upon by the Lord and his servants to keep the Word of Wisdom; it is time we did it. Wherein we have failed in these things in the past we should try to improve.
I rejoice in this work, I rejoice in the Gospel of Christ. I rejoice that we live in a day when we have inspiration, when we have prophets, Apostles and inspired men to lead us, and when we are made partakers of the blessings of the kingdom of God upon the earth. It is safe for us to pursue that course wherein we can walk in the light, and we need not find fault with the principles of the Gospel because any brother does that which we cannot endorse. It is for us, each of us, individually, to see to our own conduct, and never follow the errors of others. It is not difficult to find them in our own conduct. We should all bring this home to ourselves.
I do hope that the sisters, generally, and the Female Relief Societies in particular, will listen to the counsel that has been given today, and that they will go to and establish braiding schools in all their societies, where the young ladies may be taught to braid straw. President Young has called upon them to do it from time to time. It is true that he has not always commanded them, in the name of the Lord, to do thus and so, and this has been a great blessing to Israel. We have been governed by counsel instead of commandment in many things, which has been a blessing to the Saints, for “he that is commanded in all things” and obeyeth it with slothfulness and not a willing mind, is not qualified before the Lord as that man is who, having the power within him, bringeth to pass much righteousness without being commanded in all that he does.
I feel thankful for the blessings that we enjoy. The Prophet Joseph was called an idler and a gold digger. We have been called a great many things—such as lazy, indolent, and many other things discreditable. Why, every man possessing reason and judgment, who knows anything about the Territory of Utah, will at once pronounce such assertions nonsensical, for this city and every portion of the Territory bear witness to the untiring labor and industry of the Latter-day Saints, and the people, as a general thing outside, are beginning to give up the idea that we are an idle people. They formerly found a great deal of fault with Joseph Smith, because they said he was a gold digger; but since then, nearly all the Christian world have turned gold diggers. Hundreds of thousands of them have run into this western country to dig gold; and, while they formerly found fault with us for digging gold they have lately found fault because we do not dig it. I hope and trust that all the accusations of wrong brought against us in the future will be as groundless as those of the past. Let us show our faith by our works, let us show to the Lord our God that we have faith and confidence in his word and works.
We have to become united as a people in all our labors—in our agriculture, manufactures, and every branch of our temporal labors. It is of great importance to the Latter-day Saints that they should unite together on the principle of cooperation. Where this is not done we still ought to try individually to manufacture all we can. I was pleased, a few days ago, while paying a visit to Jenning's shoe factory, to see the large number of homemade boots and shoes, many of which were made with machinery which had been imported for the purpose. This should be done wherever it is possible; the people should cooperate and import labor-saving machinery, so as to be able to compete with foreign manufacturers of goods of all kinds. President Young has set an example in introducing carding machines and in establishing factories here. He has done all he could in this direction, and we should follow in the wake as far as we can. I know that God will bless the people by doing this.
I do not wish to occupy any more time. I feel to say God bless you. Lay these things to heart. Let us lay hold and build up Zion. Let us realize that we are the children of God, that he is at work with us and that we are at work with him. It has been said that the Lord and a good man are a great majority. He has got a great many good men on the earth, and he is gathering them together to build up Zion, to carry out his work and to do his will. He will also control the course of human events so as to forward his purposes.
He holds the destinies of the nations in his hands. He holds Zion in his hands and he will carry out his work and do all he has promised. Those who fight against Zion fight against God, and he will break every weapon formed against his kingdom, and will bring his people triumphant over every obstacle, and finally give them eternal life, which is the greatest of all the gifts of God. May God grant that it may be bestowed upon us by our faith, works, and labors, through his mercy and goodness, for Jesus' sake. Amen.
Discourse by Elder Wilford Woodruff, delivered in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, May 6, 1870.
Reported by David W. Evans.
I believe this is the largest assembly of Saints or sinners, Jew or Gentile, that ever I saw together under one roof. There are very few of us capable of making such an assembly hear, unless it is very still; and when persons have come from twenty to two hundred and fifty miles to attend Conference, it certainly is important that we give them a chance to hear what is said.
It is true that God has set his hand in these latter days to bring to pass his act, his strange act, and to accomplish his work, his strange work—that truth should spring out of the earth, and righteousness look down from heaven; and it certainly would be strange if these things were not performed. The Supreme Ruler would not be like a God who had created a world like this and peopled it if he let it go at random, without any purpose or plan for the benefit and salvation of the children of men.
I want to say a few words on this subject. I consider that the work we now see taking place in these mountains, and which has been going on from the time this Church was organized, is but carrying out the great plan of our Father in heaven—that plan which was ordained from before the foundation of the world. In fact, there is no dispensation that has been looked upon with as much interest by all the prophets of God and inspired men, from the day of Joseph Smith, as that in which we live, in which the Zion of God is being built up, and the earth is being prepared for the coming of the Son of Man.
Isaiah, in looking by prophetic vision to this day, makes use of very strong language in endeavoring to express his feelings in relation to it. In one instance he says, “Sing, O heavens; and rejoice, O earth! Break forth into singing, O ye mountains, for the Lord has comforted his people, and will have mercy on his afflicted yet.” Zion says, “The Lord has forsaken me, my God has forgotten me.” “Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb?” “Yea,” the Lord says, “a woman may do that,” but he will not forget Zion. Says he, “Zion is engraven on the palms of my hands, her walls are continually before me.”
Now this Zion of God has been before his face from before the foundation of the world, and it is no more going to fail in the latter days than any of the purposes of God are going to fail, hence I look upon this work as the work of God, and it makes no difference to the Lord Almighty, nor to his Saints, what the world may think or do about it, or what course they may pursue with regard to it; they cannot stop its progress, because it is the work of God. If it were the work of man, it would not exist as it does today. If God had no hand in this work, we should not have seen this assembly here today in this Tabernacle, nor this Territory filled with cities and towns. But being the work of God, he asks no odds of any nation, kindred, tongue or people under the whole heavens, any further than they are willing to keep his commandments and do his will; for as the Lord God Almighty lives, so, too, will the work, the foundation of which has been laid in these latter days, increase and continue until its consummation is effected, and the great Zion of God is established in beauty, power and glory, and the dominion of the kingdom of our God extends over the whole earth.
Joseph Smith laid the foundation of this work; he was chosen by the Lord for that purpose, and was ordained by prophets and inspired men who formerly held the keys of the kingdom of God upon the earth. They laid their hands upon his head and ordained him to the Priesthood, and gave him power to unlock the heavens and to administer the ordinances of the house of God upon the earth. This work he performed in the face of difficulty, persecution, opposition and oppression; but the hand of God sustained him. He knew what few men or people on the whole face of the earth know—that God lives, and he also knew that the work whose foundations he laid was the work of God.
This is what has sustained President Young through all his labors. Many men have looked upon him, and, in consequence of outside pressure, have expected him to say this, that, and the other; but all the time he has taken a straightforward course, walking in the path pointed out by the God of heaven; and that same hand has sustained him and you and me and every good and virtuous man and woman on the face of the earth who has listened to the commandments of God.
Isaiah and other prophets saw in vision much concerning the building up and establishment of the latter-day Zion of God upon the earth. They saw the people gathering from the nations of the earth to the mountains of Israel; they speak of a great company coming up to Zion, the women with child and her that travailed with child together; and a great many other things in relation to the internal workings of the inhabitants of Zion in building up the kingdom of God they do not mention, whether they ever saw them or not. Isaiah has not written concerning many of these things, neither has anybody yet that we know of. Perhaps when the remainder of the plates, which were delivered to the Prophet Joseph, and which he was commanded not to translate, come forth, we may learn many more things pertaining to our labor on the earth which we do not know now. But be this as it may, all this internal work is left for the Holy Ghost to reveal to the living oracles, as they guide, lead, dictate and direct the people day by day. This is one thing I want to say to my friends and to the Saints of God, that without the Holy Ghost, without direct revelation and the inspiration of God continually, Brigham Young could not lead this people twenty-four hours. He could not lead them at all. Joseph could not have done it, neither could any man. This power is in the bosom of Almighty God, and he imparts it to his servants the prophets as they stand in need of it day by day to build up Zion.
I want to say to my brethren and sisters that President Young is our leader; he is our lawgiver in the Church and kingdom of God. He is called to this office; it is his prerogative to tell this people what to do, and it is our duty to obey the counsel that he has given today to the sisters and the brethren. We, as a people, should not treat lightly this counsel, for I will tell you in the name of the Lord—and I have watched it from the time I became a member of this Church—there is no man who undertakes to run counter to the counsel of the legally authorized leader of this people that ever prospers, and no such man ever will prosper. Many things I might name, if it were wisdom to do so, to prove the truth of this statement, but you may watch for yourselves, and you will find that all persons who take a stand against this counsel will never prosper.
A great deal has been said with regard to guiding this people in temporal matters. I ask you in the name of the Lord, who is called to guide the temporal affairs of this Church and kingdom, for its advantage, redemption and exaltation, as pure as a bride adorned for her husband, if it be not that man who is placed as the lawgiver and leader of Israel? There is no man on the footstool of God who has this authority but him who stands at the head; and his Counselors and the Apostles, Bishops and Elders ought to be coworkers with him, and they should work together in carrying out his counsel. And when counsel comes we should not treat it lightly, no matter to what subject it pertains, for if we do it will work evil unto us. Cooperation, it is well known to every Saint who has his eyes and ears open, has brought much good to Israel, yet from the very commencement of it there has been more or less discontent and dissatisfaction felt and manifested towards it; but there is not an individual who has attempted to work against it but who has lost the Spirit of God unless he has repented. It is so in all things, as every one of us who has had experience in this kingdom has seen over and over again. No man has ever prospered by this course, but if he has continued it he, by and by, has gone downward instead of upward; no such man ever received and gained to himself honor by taking such a course, and no man ever will. They may try it as often as they wish; no matter whether they are insiders or outsiders, every man who undertakes to fight against this work and people will, in God's own time, receive chastisement at his hand. Many who have done so, have been cut off, and others will follow. This is true, whether it is in regard to following counsel or not. We cannot treat lightly the counsel of God without incurring his displeasure.
Does any man or woman wonder that President Young leads out, and calls upon us to follow, in directing temporal affairs? What would become of us and Zion if there were no one to give counsel in temporal matters? We could not advance if such were the case; but we have been guided so far by the servants of God and the Spirit of God. We have been dull scholars perhaps in a great many things, but I thank God that it is as well as it is with us today. The organization of this Church took place forty years ago with six members, and here is a congregation that would make two thousand branches of the Church as large as the first branch that was established, and this is only one congregation, while we have 600 miles of towns, villages and settlements in this Territory. It is progress all the time. Why? Because it is the work of God. No one can stand in the way of the work of God in safety. The Lord is not dependent upon any man on his footstool; if one man will not do his bidding, another will. He gives his law to all men, and inasmuch as they reject it, they are under condemnation.
I fear not the world. We are the only people under heaven who are one, and we are not half as much one as we ought to be; we have to improve. We are the only people in the whole Christian world who make any pretensions to oneness in building up the Zion of God on the earth. We profess to be one in the Gospel, and we have to become so in temporal matters. We have to become of one heart and mind in giving attention and obedience to the counsel of God in all things, both spiritual and temporal. Zion has got to advance; she has got to rise and shine and put on her beautiful garments. She is advancing and has been from the time of the organization of this Church, and she will continue to do so until the winding up scene.
When I look at the blessing of the Gospel of Christ, and at the blessings which we as a people enjoy; when I look at the glorious principles which God has revealed for the exaltation and glory of man, I rejoice in them, and ask who will obey them? I feel that we ought to be thankful to God day and night; we should be humble and always ready to listen to counsel. Let us go to and carry out these principles. “If ye love me, keep my commandments,” says the Lord Jesus. President Young preached on that subject a few Sabbaths ago, showing that however great our professions as Saints may be, they are vain unless we keep the commandments and counsels of the Lord given unto us. What are they? We have the moral law and we have the Gospel in the Scriptures; but there are commandments and ordinances, and there is counsel which we have to observe which are not contained in the Bible, in the Book of Mormon, or in the Book of Doctrine and Covenants. In fact there is very little there in regard to our work and labors here as a people.
The Lord has put into our hands the power to build up this great Zion, which all the ancient prophets rejoiced in and prophesied about. What manner of people ought we to be who are called to carry out this work? We ought to be the Saints and children of God in very deed. Our hearts ought to be open and prepared to receive instruction, light and truth, and to carry out all principles which may be communicated unto us by the servants of the Lord. The counsels we have had today are of great value to the Latter-day Saints. By and by Babylon will fall; in a little while “no man will buy her merchandise,” and the sooner we are prepared for the changes which are about to take place in our nation and in the nations of the earth, the better for us. We are all interested in the welfare of Zion. Our wives, daughters and sons are interested in the welfare of the husbands and fathers, and the children in that of the parents; and we all should be interested in each other's temporal and spiritual labors, and there should not be a selfish feeling on the part of any portion of a family—“I do not care what becomes of this, that or the other, if I can only get what I want myself.” This is selfishness, it produces disunion and is inconsistent with the profession of a Saint of God. We should labor, each and every one of us to put such feelings from our hearts, and then we, in our family organizations, should strive to promote the general interest of the members thereof; but the interest of Zion and the kingdom of God should be first with us all the time, for we are all members of that kingdom and its welfare is ours.
I consider that we are in a position in which we have every chance to do a great deal of good in our day and generation, we have every chance to work with the Lord, every chance to fulfil our mission and calling here on the earth. We have every chance to build up the Zion of God. I rejoice in the faith that has been manifested by those who have charge of the affairs of the kingdom of God, in the revelations of God. By their works they have manifested their determination continually to carry out the commands of God. “Who am I,” saith the Lord, “that I command and am not obeyed?” “Who am I,” saith the Lord, “that I promise and do not fulfil?” The Lord has never made a promise to the children of men but what he has fulfilled it; and all the promises that the Lord has made and all the revelations that have been given by the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, will have their fulfillment, and we have nothing to fear. As President Young said a few Sabbaths ago, the only thing we need fear is that we shall not keep the commandments of the Lord. Let us keep the commandments of God and then we shall have power with him; the word of the Lord will sustain us and he will fight our battles. “Vengeance is mine, I will repay,” saith the Lord. We need have no fears with regard to the future. The Zion of God is before his face continually. He has laid a foundation and He will build upon it, and his Saints will build upon it; and thousands and tens of thousands of the meek of the earth will yet take hold and become co-workers in the great work of God. I feel, myself, as though we should lay these counsels that we receive to heart; we should not treat them lightly. We have been called upon by the Lord and his servants to keep the Word of Wisdom; it is time we did it. Wherein we have failed in these things in the past we should try to improve.
I rejoice in this work, I rejoice in the Gospel of Christ. I rejoice that we live in a day when we have inspiration, when we have prophets, Apostles and inspired men to lead us, and when we are made partakers of the blessings of the kingdom of God upon the earth. It is safe for us to pursue that course wherein we can walk in the light, and we need not find fault with the principles of the Gospel because any brother does that which we cannot endorse. It is for us, each of us, individually, to see to our own conduct, and never follow the errors of others. It is not difficult to find them in our own conduct. We should all bring this home to ourselves.
I do hope that the sisters, generally, and the Female Relief Societies in particular, will listen to the counsel that has been given today, and that they will go to and establish braiding schools in all their societies, where the young ladies may be taught to braid straw. President Young has called upon them to do it from time to time. It is true that he has not always commanded them, in the name of the Lord, to do thus and so, and this has been a great blessing to Israel. We have been governed by counsel instead of commandment in many things, which has been a blessing to the Saints, for “he that is commanded in all things” and obeyeth it with slothfulness and not a willing mind, is not qualified before the Lord as that man is who, having the power within him, bringeth to pass much righteousness without being commanded in all that he does.
I feel thankful for the blessings that we enjoy. The Prophet Joseph was called an idler and a gold digger. We have been called a great many things—such as lazy, indolent, and many other things discreditable. Why, every man possessing reason and judgment, who knows anything about the Territory of Utah, will at once pronounce such assertions nonsensical, for this city and every portion of the Territory bear witness to the untiring labor and industry of the Latter-day Saints, and the people, as a general thing outside, are beginning to give up the idea that we are an idle people. They formerly found a great deal of fault with Joseph Smith, because they said he was a gold digger; but since then, nearly all the Christian world have turned gold diggers. Hundreds of thousands of them have run into this western country to dig gold; and, while they formerly found fault with us for digging gold they have lately found fault because we do not dig it. I hope and trust that all the accusations of wrong brought against us in the future will be as groundless as those of the past. Let us show our faith by our works, let us show to the Lord our God that we have faith and confidence in his word and works.
We have to become united as a people in all our labors—in our agriculture, manufactures, and every branch of our temporal labors. It is of great importance to the Latter-day Saints that they should unite together on the principle of cooperation. Where this is not done we still ought to try individually to manufacture all we can. I was pleased, a few days ago, while paying a visit to Jenning's shoe factory, to see the large number of homemade boots and shoes, many of which were made with machinery which had been imported for the purpose. This should be done wherever it is possible; the people should cooperate and import labor-saving machinery, so as to be able to compete with foreign manufacturers of goods of all kinds. President Young has set an example in introducing carding machines and in establishing factories here. He has done all he could in this direction, and we should follow in the wake as far as we can. I know that God will bless the people by doing this.
I do not wish to occupy any more time. I feel to say God bless you. Lay these things to heart. Let us lay hold and build up Zion. Let us realize that we are the children of God, that he is at work with us and that we are at work with him. It has been said that the Lord and a good man are a great majority. He has got a great many good men on the earth, and he is gathering them together to build up Zion, to carry out his work and to do his will. He will also control the course of human events so as to forward his purposes.
He holds the destinies of the nations in his hands. He holds Zion in his hands and he will carry out his work and do all he has promised. Those who fight against Zion fight against God, and he will break every weapon formed against his kingdom, and will bring his people triumphant over every obstacle, and finally give them eternal life, which is the greatest of all the gifts of God. May God grant that it may be bestowed upon us by our faith, works, and labors, through his mercy and goodness, for Jesus' sake. Amen.
President George A. Smith.
Soon after the organization of the Church, the Lord gave a command that the beauty of the garments of the Saints should be the workmanship of their hands. Many of the commandments of God that were given in the early rise of the Church are only now beginning to be fully considered. We have made slow progress, but we understand that it took Enoch three hundred and sixty-five years to prepare a people to dwell in a purer sphere than that of this earth: we therefore rejoice at the progress already made by the Zion of the last days. It is necessary that a people should be prepared to sustain themselves when Babylon shall have fallen; for that prophecy shall be fulfilled. Some years ago, many were called to go and build up settlements and cultivate the land in the southern parts of our Territory. Some had no faith that anything could be accomplished in that direction. Yet much has been done. I feel that those who have been called to go there and have not fulfilled their mission, have lost a blessing. If we co-operate in building factories and introduce all kinds of manufactures, we make ourselves independent. This is the only way in which we can become independent of the world. What has already been done in this direction is an evidence of what can still be accomplished. I have been astonished at the patience and perseverance of President Young in teaching the people their everyday labors and duties. We are still ignorant in regard to many things, therefore, never let us be too proud to be taught. May the Lord bless us all, Amen.
Soon after the organization of the Church, the Lord gave a command that the beauty of the garments of the Saints should be the workmanship of their hands. Many of the commandments of God that were given in the early rise of the Church are only now beginning to be fully considered. We have made slow progress, but we understand that it took Enoch three hundred and sixty-five years to prepare a people to dwell in a purer sphere than that of this earth: we therefore rejoice at the progress already made by the Zion of the last days. It is necessary that a people should be prepared to sustain themselves when Babylon shall have fallen; for that prophecy shall be fulfilled. Some years ago, many were called to go and build up settlements and cultivate the land in the southern parts of our Territory. Some had no faith that anything could be accomplished in that direction. Yet much has been done. I feel that those who have been called to go there and have not fulfilled their mission, have lost a blessing. If we co-operate in building factories and introduce all kinds of manufactures, we make ourselves independent. This is the only way in which we can become independent of the world. What has already been done in this direction is an evidence of what can still be accomplished. I have been astonished at the patience and perseverance of President Young in teaching the people their everyday labors and duties. We are still ignorant in regard to many things, therefore, never let us be too proud to be taught. May the Lord bless us all, Amen.
Home Manufactures—Union in Business Matters
Remarks by President George A. Smith, delivered in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, May 6, 1870.
Reported by David W. Evans.
In February, 1831, just after the organization of the Church, we received a revelation through Joseph Smith, commanding the members of the Church to let the beauty of their garments be the workmanship of their own hands. It reads as follows: “And again, thou shalt not be proud in thy heart; let all thy garments be plain, and their beauty the beauty of the work of thine own hands; and let all things be done in cleanliness before me. Thou shalt not be idle; for he that is idle shall not eat the bread nor wear the garments of the laborer.” This revelation was given almost forty years ago, but slowly, very slowly, have we advanced in fulfilling it; and it really seems that some of the first commandments given to the Church are amongst the last obeyed. I realize the reason of this, when reflecting upon the great work to be done in molding the children of God, gathered from the various nations and denominations, with all their prejudices, traditions, and varied habits of living. They come here filled with ideas averse to those of God and differing from each other; and under these circumstances, it is difficult for them to arrive at a oneness in their associations—to use an expression common amongst us at the present—it is difficult for them to cooperate to build up Zion in the last days. Enoch, the seventh from Adam, was three hundred and sixty-five years preparing the people, before the saying went forth: “Zion has fled.” “Enoch was 25 years old when he was ordained under the hand of Adam, and he was 65 and Adam blessed him, and he saw the Lord, and he walked with him, and was before his face continually; and he walked with God 365 years, making him 430 years old when he was translated.” Doc. and Cov., sec. 3, par. 24. Three hundred and sixty-five years teaching and instructing the people, and setting examples before them, and forming a city that should be a model city of Zion. It was in an age when men lived longer, and when, peradventure, they had not become so full of tradition as at the present day; yet when we consider the time that it took Enoch to accomplish this work, we have every reason to rejoice at the progress of Zion at the present time. Most of the efforts we have made to advance the cause of Zion, we have been able to carry through successfully. For instance, when in the temple of the Lord at Nauvoo, we entered into a covenant that we would, to the extent of our influence and property, do all in our power to help our poor brethren and sisters in emancipating themselves from tyranny and oppression, that they might come to the mountains, where they could enjoy religious liberty. Just as soon as food was raised in this Valley this work continued, and every effort and energy was used to fulfil this covenant. It required unity of effort, but it has been a success. Roads had to be constructed, bridges built, ways sought out, mountains, as it were, torn down, deserts turned into fruitful fields, and savages more wild than the mountain gorges they inhabit conciliated and controlled, and all this to effect a purpose. But it has been done by unity of effort, and hundreds and thousands of Latter-day Saints rejoice in the fact.
We extended our work of gathering the Saints across the mighty deep, and aided the poor brethren in Europe, continuing our donations in money, and, in addition to this, we went with our hundred, two hundred, three hundred or five hundred teams annually across the great desert plains, to bring home to Zion those who desired to be gathered. This was done by cooperation, by unity and a determined purpose.
It appears that we have gathered many to Zion who do not fully appreciate the great work of these days—namely, to place the people of God in a condition that they can sustain themselves, against the time that Babylon the Great shall fall. Some will say that it is ridiculous to suppose that Babylon, the “Mother of Harlots,” is going to fall. Ridiculous as it may seem, the time will come when no man will buy her merchandise, and when the Latter-day Saints will be under the necessity of providing for themselves, or going without. “This may be a wild idea,” but it is no more wild or wonderful than what has already transpired, and that before our eyes. When we are counseled to “provide for your wants within yourselves,” we are only told to prepare for that day. When we are told, “Unite your interests and establish every variety of business that may be necessary to supply your wants,” we are only told to lay a plan to enjoy liberty, peace and plenty.
Many years ago, efforts were made on the part of the Presidency to extend the settlements into the warm valleys south of the rim of the Basin. The country was very forbidding and sterile. Many were invited and called upon to go and settle there. Numbers went, but many of them returned disheartened; but the mass of those who went, confident that the blessings of God would be upon their labors, pushed forth their exertions and built up towns, cities and villages; they established cotton fields and erected factories, and supplied many wants which could not be supplied within the rim of the Basin.
It has been my lot to visit these regions recently, and I have felt to rejoice to see the kind spirit, genial dispositions and warm hearts that were manifested in all those settlements, where men and women had taken hold with all their hearts to obey the commandments of God, and to lay a foundation for Zion to become self-sustaining. I feel that those who have turned away from that country and swerved from the mission assigned them there have lost a great and glorious blessing, which it will be exceedingly difficult for them ever to regain. I am exceedingly gratified at the progress which has been made in that country, and I realize that our brethren, from year to year, are becoming more and more united.
Some tell us that we want capital, and that we should send abroad and get men to come here with money to build factories. This is not what we need. If the cotton lord and the millionaire come here and hire you to build factories and pay you their money for their work, when the factory is erected, they own it, and they set their price upon your labor and your wool or cotton—they have dominion over you. But if, by your own efforts and exertions, you cooperate together and build a factory, it is your own. You are the lords of the land, and if fortunes are made, the means is yours and it is used to oppress no one. The profits are divided among those whose labor produced it, and will be used to build up the country. Hence it is not capital, that is, it is not so much money that is needed. It is unity of effort on the part of the bone, sinew, skill and ingenuity which we have in our midst, and which, in whatever enterprise has been attempted hitherto, under the direction of the servants of the Lord, with whole-souled unity on the part of the people, has proved successful. Let us be diligent in these things. Why send abroad for our cloth when we have the necessary means and skill to manufacture it for ourselves? Why not let these mountains produce the fine wool? And why not let the low valleys produce the silk, flax, and all other articles that are necessary which it is possible to produce within the range of our climate, and thus secure to ourselves independence? I am very well aware that this has looked, and to many still looks, a wild undertaking; but that which has been accomplished gives abundant evidence of what may be. If we continue to import our hats, bonnets, boots, shoes and clothing, and send away all the gold, silver and currency that we can command to pay for them, we shall ever remain dependent upon the labor of others for many of the actual necessaries of life. If, on the other hand, we devise means to produce them from the elements by our own labor, we keep our money at home, and it can be used for other and more noble purposes, and we become independent.
Some may say, “We are willing that you should preach faith and repentance, and baptism for the remission of sins, but we do not want you to have anything to say about business matters.” No idea could be more delusive; this oversight in temporal matters being indispensably necessary; for the Latter-day Saints have been gathered from the old settled nations of the earth and are unacquainted with the manner of life in new and sparsely settled countries. An intelligent citizen of Provo, on his arrival in this country, came to my garden to work; he undertook to set out some vegetables—onions, carrots, and parsnips, and he set every one of them wrongside up. My wife went out, and, seeing what he was doing, she said, “You are foolish.” “Why so?” said he, “I thought I was pretty smart.” “Why you have planted these things all wrong end up.” “Have I? I did not know any better. I never saw such things planted before.” That man became a wealthy farmer. But he had to learn; he had never seen a carrot planted to produce seed in his life, and did not realize which end up to put it in the ground. We have tens of thousands of men, women and children who have had to learn how to get a living in this country, who perhaps had spent their days in painting a tea cup, turning a bowl, weaving a ribbon or spinning a thread, and knew nothing else. Here they have had to work at several kinds of work at once, and had to learn how, and it required all the power, energy and influence of the Elders of Israel to instruct them and tell them how to live. I have been astonished at the patience, perseverance, determination and incessant labor of President Young in giving these instructions—telling men how to build mills and houses, so that they would not fall over their own heads; telling them how to yoke cattle, harness horses, how to make fences, and, in fact, how to do almost every kind of business.
There are very few in our midst now who know how to make good bread. I advise the ladies' relief societies to teach all the sisters to make first-class bread. Many of them do not know how; and let every sister in Israel be thankful for instruction in relation to cooking or any other useful information that can be imparted unto her. Do not let pride and independence make you feel that you know how to do everything. There are a great many things that the smartest among us do not know how to do; then we should be anxious and willing to be taught, and go to work and learn.
Much of the sickness which is amongst our children is the result of improperly prepared food. We raise choice wheat; our millers make good flour, yet in many instances bread is so prepared that it is heavy and unpalatable, causing disease of the stomach and bowels, with which many of our little ones are afflicted, and find rest in premature graves. Give the children good, light bread that they may be healthy.
Brethren and sisters, may the blessings of Israel's God be upon you and may you continue to improve in everything useful and good. Seek after the Lord with all your hearts. Cooperate in building factories, importing merchandise and machinery, taking care of your cattle, and in every kind of business. Remember that, “United we stand, divided we fall.”
May God bless you forever. Amen.
The choir sang "Hail to the Prophet, ascending to Heaven."
Prayer by Elder Franklin D. Richards.
Conference adjourned till to-morrow morning at ten o'clock.
Remarks by President George A. Smith, delivered in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, May 6, 1870.
Reported by David W. Evans.
In February, 1831, just after the organization of the Church, we received a revelation through Joseph Smith, commanding the members of the Church to let the beauty of their garments be the workmanship of their own hands. It reads as follows: “And again, thou shalt not be proud in thy heart; let all thy garments be plain, and their beauty the beauty of the work of thine own hands; and let all things be done in cleanliness before me. Thou shalt not be idle; for he that is idle shall not eat the bread nor wear the garments of the laborer.” This revelation was given almost forty years ago, but slowly, very slowly, have we advanced in fulfilling it; and it really seems that some of the first commandments given to the Church are amongst the last obeyed. I realize the reason of this, when reflecting upon the great work to be done in molding the children of God, gathered from the various nations and denominations, with all their prejudices, traditions, and varied habits of living. They come here filled with ideas averse to those of God and differing from each other; and under these circumstances, it is difficult for them to arrive at a oneness in their associations—to use an expression common amongst us at the present—it is difficult for them to cooperate to build up Zion in the last days. Enoch, the seventh from Adam, was three hundred and sixty-five years preparing the people, before the saying went forth: “Zion has fled.” “Enoch was 25 years old when he was ordained under the hand of Adam, and he was 65 and Adam blessed him, and he saw the Lord, and he walked with him, and was before his face continually; and he walked with God 365 years, making him 430 years old when he was translated.” Doc. and Cov., sec. 3, par. 24. Three hundred and sixty-five years teaching and instructing the people, and setting examples before them, and forming a city that should be a model city of Zion. It was in an age when men lived longer, and when, peradventure, they had not become so full of tradition as at the present day; yet when we consider the time that it took Enoch to accomplish this work, we have every reason to rejoice at the progress of Zion at the present time. Most of the efforts we have made to advance the cause of Zion, we have been able to carry through successfully. For instance, when in the temple of the Lord at Nauvoo, we entered into a covenant that we would, to the extent of our influence and property, do all in our power to help our poor brethren and sisters in emancipating themselves from tyranny and oppression, that they might come to the mountains, where they could enjoy religious liberty. Just as soon as food was raised in this Valley this work continued, and every effort and energy was used to fulfil this covenant. It required unity of effort, but it has been a success. Roads had to be constructed, bridges built, ways sought out, mountains, as it were, torn down, deserts turned into fruitful fields, and savages more wild than the mountain gorges they inhabit conciliated and controlled, and all this to effect a purpose. But it has been done by unity of effort, and hundreds and thousands of Latter-day Saints rejoice in the fact.
We extended our work of gathering the Saints across the mighty deep, and aided the poor brethren in Europe, continuing our donations in money, and, in addition to this, we went with our hundred, two hundred, three hundred or five hundred teams annually across the great desert plains, to bring home to Zion those who desired to be gathered. This was done by cooperation, by unity and a determined purpose.
It appears that we have gathered many to Zion who do not fully appreciate the great work of these days—namely, to place the people of God in a condition that they can sustain themselves, against the time that Babylon the Great shall fall. Some will say that it is ridiculous to suppose that Babylon, the “Mother of Harlots,” is going to fall. Ridiculous as it may seem, the time will come when no man will buy her merchandise, and when the Latter-day Saints will be under the necessity of providing for themselves, or going without. “This may be a wild idea,” but it is no more wild or wonderful than what has already transpired, and that before our eyes. When we are counseled to “provide for your wants within yourselves,” we are only told to prepare for that day. When we are told, “Unite your interests and establish every variety of business that may be necessary to supply your wants,” we are only told to lay a plan to enjoy liberty, peace and plenty.
Many years ago, efforts were made on the part of the Presidency to extend the settlements into the warm valleys south of the rim of the Basin. The country was very forbidding and sterile. Many were invited and called upon to go and settle there. Numbers went, but many of them returned disheartened; but the mass of those who went, confident that the blessings of God would be upon their labors, pushed forth their exertions and built up towns, cities and villages; they established cotton fields and erected factories, and supplied many wants which could not be supplied within the rim of the Basin.
It has been my lot to visit these regions recently, and I have felt to rejoice to see the kind spirit, genial dispositions and warm hearts that were manifested in all those settlements, where men and women had taken hold with all their hearts to obey the commandments of God, and to lay a foundation for Zion to become self-sustaining. I feel that those who have turned away from that country and swerved from the mission assigned them there have lost a great and glorious blessing, which it will be exceedingly difficult for them ever to regain. I am exceedingly gratified at the progress which has been made in that country, and I realize that our brethren, from year to year, are becoming more and more united.
Some tell us that we want capital, and that we should send abroad and get men to come here with money to build factories. This is not what we need. If the cotton lord and the millionaire come here and hire you to build factories and pay you their money for their work, when the factory is erected, they own it, and they set their price upon your labor and your wool or cotton—they have dominion over you. But if, by your own efforts and exertions, you cooperate together and build a factory, it is your own. You are the lords of the land, and if fortunes are made, the means is yours and it is used to oppress no one. The profits are divided among those whose labor produced it, and will be used to build up the country. Hence it is not capital, that is, it is not so much money that is needed. It is unity of effort on the part of the bone, sinew, skill and ingenuity which we have in our midst, and which, in whatever enterprise has been attempted hitherto, under the direction of the servants of the Lord, with whole-souled unity on the part of the people, has proved successful. Let us be diligent in these things. Why send abroad for our cloth when we have the necessary means and skill to manufacture it for ourselves? Why not let these mountains produce the fine wool? And why not let the low valleys produce the silk, flax, and all other articles that are necessary which it is possible to produce within the range of our climate, and thus secure to ourselves independence? I am very well aware that this has looked, and to many still looks, a wild undertaking; but that which has been accomplished gives abundant evidence of what may be. If we continue to import our hats, bonnets, boots, shoes and clothing, and send away all the gold, silver and currency that we can command to pay for them, we shall ever remain dependent upon the labor of others for many of the actual necessaries of life. If, on the other hand, we devise means to produce them from the elements by our own labor, we keep our money at home, and it can be used for other and more noble purposes, and we become independent.
Some may say, “We are willing that you should preach faith and repentance, and baptism for the remission of sins, but we do not want you to have anything to say about business matters.” No idea could be more delusive; this oversight in temporal matters being indispensably necessary; for the Latter-day Saints have been gathered from the old settled nations of the earth and are unacquainted with the manner of life in new and sparsely settled countries. An intelligent citizen of Provo, on his arrival in this country, came to my garden to work; he undertook to set out some vegetables—onions, carrots, and parsnips, and he set every one of them wrongside up. My wife went out, and, seeing what he was doing, she said, “You are foolish.” “Why so?” said he, “I thought I was pretty smart.” “Why you have planted these things all wrong end up.” “Have I? I did not know any better. I never saw such things planted before.” That man became a wealthy farmer. But he had to learn; he had never seen a carrot planted to produce seed in his life, and did not realize which end up to put it in the ground. We have tens of thousands of men, women and children who have had to learn how to get a living in this country, who perhaps had spent their days in painting a tea cup, turning a bowl, weaving a ribbon or spinning a thread, and knew nothing else. Here they have had to work at several kinds of work at once, and had to learn how, and it required all the power, energy and influence of the Elders of Israel to instruct them and tell them how to live. I have been astonished at the patience, perseverance, determination and incessant labor of President Young in giving these instructions—telling men how to build mills and houses, so that they would not fall over their own heads; telling them how to yoke cattle, harness horses, how to make fences, and, in fact, how to do almost every kind of business.
There are very few in our midst now who know how to make good bread. I advise the ladies' relief societies to teach all the sisters to make first-class bread. Many of them do not know how; and let every sister in Israel be thankful for instruction in relation to cooking or any other useful information that can be imparted unto her. Do not let pride and independence make you feel that you know how to do everything. There are a great many things that the smartest among us do not know how to do; then we should be anxious and willing to be taught, and go to work and learn.
Much of the sickness which is amongst our children is the result of improperly prepared food. We raise choice wheat; our millers make good flour, yet in many instances bread is so prepared that it is heavy and unpalatable, causing disease of the stomach and bowels, with which many of our little ones are afflicted, and find rest in premature graves. Give the children good, light bread that they may be healthy.
Brethren and sisters, may the blessings of Israel's God be upon you and may you continue to improve in everything useful and good. Seek after the Lord with all your hearts. Cooperate in building factories, importing merchandise and machinery, taking care of your cattle, and in every kind of business. Remember that, “United we stand, divided we fall.”
May God bless you forever. Amen.
The choir sang "Hail to the Prophet, ascending to Heaven."
Prayer by Elder Franklin D. Richards.
Conference adjourned till to-morrow morning at ten o'clock.
Saturday, 10 a.m. (May 7)
The choir sang: "An Angel from on High."
Prayer by Elder Joseph F. Smith.
The choir sang: "Come ye that Love the Lord."
The choir sang: "An Angel from on High."
Prayer by Elder Joseph F. Smith.
The choir sang: "Come ye that Love the Lord."
Elder George Q. Cannon.
The congregation are probably aware, from reading the papers, that the Rev. Doctor Newman lately preached a discourse at Washington against plural marriage in reply to a speech made in the House of Representatives by Hon. W. H. Hooper, entitled "A Plea for Religious Liberty." Doctor Newman's discourse was delivered in the presence of President U. S. Grant, Vice-President S. Colfax, Chief Justice Chase, the Speaker of the House of Representatives and a large number of other distinguished personages. Doubtless Dr. Newman had taken considerable time and great care to prepare his discourse, as he had it announced two weeks before he preached it. Elder Orson Pratt had written a reply to Doctor Newman, which he had but a short time to prepare. Elder Cannon then read Elder Pratt's reply, to the Conference.
The congregation are probably aware, from reading the papers, that the Rev. Doctor Newman lately preached a discourse at Washington against plural marriage in reply to a speech made in the House of Representatives by Hon. W. H. Hooper, entitled "A Plea for Religious Liberty." Doctor Newman's discourse was delivered in the presence of President U. S. Grant, Vice-President S. Colfax, Chief Justice Chase, the Speaker of the House of Representatives and a large number of other distinguished personages. Doubtless Dr. Newman had taken considerable time and great care to prepare his discourse, as he had it announced two weeks before he preached it. Elder Orson Pratt had written a reply to Doctor Newman, which he had but a short time to prepare. Elder Cannon then read Elder Pratt's reply, to the Conference.
At the close of the reading of Elder Pratt's reply to the Rev. Dr. Newman, President Young arose and made the following remarks:
I feel to bear my testimony to the divine truths of Heaven and the revelations given upon the doctrine of celestial marriage. I wish to say a few words upon this subject. I will not appeal to the scriptures, you can read them for yourselves; but I will appeal to the reasoning of revelation direct from Heaven, saying nothing about the Old Testament or about any man's work.
We find ourselves on this earth, male and female. Whether there are just as many male born as there are females, or just as many females as males, it matters not; here are facts that we should understand. Man is the Lord of the creation, man is the head of the woman. Man is accountable to God; man is the transgressor, and man must be the restorer. The statistics of both past and present will sustain this. Take, for instance, those of one city in our own Government—I mean the city of New York. Since we came to these mountains, I suppose there have perished in the streets and sink-holes of that one city between two hundred and fifty and three hundred thousand females, from sixteen to twenty years of age. This number far exceeds the number of females in these mountains.
Some of the leading men of our own Government, the adjudicators and framers of the law, are more or less guilty; they suffer and permit it and have a share in it. Is this a sin? Yes, it is. It is a national and an individual sin; it is a sin that God will reckon with the people for, and for which He will call the nation to account.
Man is the transgressor. Will man repent of his sins? No. Man, the head, the king, the lawgiver and protector on this great earth, or little earth, whichever you have a mind to call it, is the lord of the vineyard, the lord of the earth now. Call upon men, the male portion of the inhabitants of the earth, to repent of their sins, and if they will do so and receive the gospel, how many women would be left who would reject it? They would be just about as scarce as white blackbirds: you would not find one, probably, to a million but what would receive the gospel; and if the husband, or father, was faithful to its principles, the wife or wives and daughters would be. But men will transgress the law of God; they have done it all the time, and changed the ordinances and broken the everlasting covenant. Take our own society and see men apostatize; and then women apostatize because the husband or father does so. If the husband and father were to remain faithful, do you think the wife or daughter would apostatize? I reckon not. Man is accountable and man will have to bear this sin; he will have to pay the debt. Women, generally, are inclined to believe and embrace the truth and live according to its dictates a great deal more than men are.
It is no matter with regard to the monogamy of father Adam and mother Eve: they were just enough to start the work of populating the earth; if man had lived as he ought to have lived, the earth would have been peopled quite soon enough, and to its utmost capacity, but there is enough upon it now; and if men will hearken to, obey the truth and will cease their adulterous practices and whoredomes, cease their wickedness with the sex, and repent of their sins, we will fling up at once and will have but one wife; and if there are two or three women left without husbands we will give them to the best man we can find. The reason the Lord requires His people to practice the principle of celestial marriage is to save those who are willing to be saved; to gather up the pure in heart, those who will hearken to and receive the gospel. We have a great many more women than men in this church, because more of them are inclined to believe the gospel. A great many more females than males leave their families and friends to gather with the Saints; for this reason there are more women than men here.
In the world, many men will not marry; and I am ashamed to say that in our own midst many young men are not inclined to marry. It is their duty to take to themselves wives. I would be willing, and should rejoice and be thankful, and would praise God if the men would be humble, repent of their sins, turn to God and take to themselves wives and save them without putting us to this great trouble. I should be very willing to part with mine and say "if you can only get better men, take them and give them to them." These are the reasons why God has called upon His people in the latter days to enter into the practice of plural marriage. They do not practice it because Abraham did it, or because Jacob did it, or because anybody else did: but they practice it because it is right, because it is a duty imposed upon them by Heaven, and it will save the souls of the children of men who receive it.
According to the reading of the Bible, Isaac was not a polygamist, that I am aware of. When he was about forty years old Abraham called one of his servants unto him, and said he: "Put your hand under my thigh and swear that you will go unto my country and my kindred, and take a wife unto my son Isaac." And the servant did get a wife for the lad; and though forty years of age, Isaac, in this and other places was called "the lad." He was not old enough to choose for himself, but the servant of Abraham must go to the house of a certain kinsman, and bring him a kinswoman to wife. But what Isaac did in regard to this matter we care nothing about, nor what anybody else did. God has revealed the fact that this is a celestial law, and he who receives this law shall be blessed; and whosoever receives not this law, and rejects it, is damned, no matter who, whether kings, princes, presidents, rulers, governors, legislators, or authorities, whether nations or individuals; all who reject this everlasting covenant are damned.
I have received it. I received it on this principle—because it was the commandment of the Lord,--because it was the will of the Lord, and I mean to save all I can. Whether I shall take any more wives or not I do not know. There may be something to be said on this principle, perhaps, before we get through with our Conference. I do not think anybody will have power to hinder this people going along serving God, and building up His kingdom on the earth. I rather think they will not. They may war, they may legislate, and they may take counsel together and devise mischief against God and His Anointed. But the work is the Lord's and I rather think He is able to carry it on if we will do our part. If we will not, we will be removed out of the way and others called to labor in this great work; and the Kingdom of God will prosper, for it is onward and upward in spite of earth and hell.
The choir sang: "Though Nations rise and Men Conspire."
Prayer by Elder Orson Pratt.
I feel to bear my testimony to the divine truths of Heaven and the revelations given upon the doctrine of celestial marriage. I wish to say a few words upon this subject. I will not appeal to the scriptures, you can read them for yourselves; but I will appeal to the reasoning of revelation direct from Heaven, saying nothing about the Old Testament or about any man's work.
We find ourselves on this earth, male and female. Whether there are just as many male born as there are females, or just as many females as males, it matters not; here are facts that we should understand. Man is the Lord of the creation, man is the head of the woman. Man is accountable to God; man is the transgressor, and man must be the restorer. The statistics of both past and present will sustain this. Take, for instance, those of one city in our own Government—I mean the city of New York. Since we came to these mountains, I suppose there have perished in the streets and sink-holes of that one city between two hundred and fifty and three hundred thousand females, from sixteen to twenty years of age. This number far exceeds the number of females in these mountains.
Some of the leading men of our own Government, the adjudicators and framers of the law, are more or less guilty; they suffer and permit it and have a share in it. Is this a sin? Yes, it is. It is a national and an individual sin; it is a sin that God will reckon with the people for, and for which He will call the nation to account.
Man is the transgressor. Will man repent of his sins? No. Man, the head, the king, the lawgiver and protector on this great earth, or little earth, whichever you have a mind to call it, is the lord of the vineyard, the lord of the earth now. Call upon men, the male portion of the inhabitants of the earth, to repent of their sins, and if they will do so and receive the gospel, how many women would be left who would reject it? They would be just about as scarce as white blackbirds: you would not find one, probably, to a million but what would receive the gospel; and if the husband, or father, was faithful to its principles, the wife or wives and daughters would be. But men will transgress the law of God; they have done it all the time, and changed the ordinances and broken the everlasting covenant. Take our own society and see men apostatize; and then women apostatize because the husband or father does so. If the husband and father were to remain faithful, do you think the wife or daughter would apostatize? I reckon not. Man is accountable and man will have to bear this sin; he will have to pay the debt. Women, generally, are inclined to believe and embrace the truth and live according to its dictates a great deal more than men are.
It is no matter with regard to the monogamy of father Adam and mother Eve: they were just enough to start the work of populating the earth; if man had lived as he ought to have lived, the earth would have been peopled quite soon enough, and to its utmost capacity, but there is enough upon it now; and if men will hearken to, obey the truth and will cease their adulterous practices and whoredomes, cease their wickedness with the sex, and repent of their sins, we will fling up at once and will have but one wife; and if there are two or three women left without husbands we will give them to the best man we can find. The reason the Lord requires His people to practice the principle of celestial marriage is to save those who are willing to be saved; to gather up the pure in heart, those who will hearken to and receive the gospel. We have a great many more women than men in this church, because more of them are inclined to believe the gospel. A great many more females than males leave their families and friends to gather with the Saints; for this reason there are more women than men here.
In the world, many men will not marry; and I am ashamed to say that in our own midst many young men are not inclined to marry. It is their duty to take to themselves wives. I would be willing, and should rejoice and be thankful, and would praise God if the men would be humble, repent of their sins, turn to God and take to themselves wives and save them without putting us to this great trouble. I should be very willing to part with mine and say "if you can only get better men, take them and give them to them." These are the reasons why God has called upon His people in the latter days to enter into the practice of plural marriage. They do not practice it because Abraham did it, or because Jacob did it, or because anybody else did: but they practice it because it is right, because it is a duty imposed upon them by Heaven, and it will save the souls of the children of men who receive it.
According to the reading of the Bible, Isaac was not a polygamist, that I am aware of. When he was about forty years old Abraham called one of his servants unto him, and said he: "Put your hand under my thigh and swear that you will go unto my country and my kindred, and take a wife unto my son Isaac." And the servant did get a wife for the lad; and though forty years of age, Isaac, in this and other places was called "the lad." He was not old enough to choose for himself, but the servant of Abraham must go to the house of a certain kinsman, and bring him a kinswoman to wife. But what Isaac did in regard to this matter we care nothing about, nor what anybody else did. God has revealed the fact that this is a celestial law, and he who receives this law shall be blessed; and whosoever receives not this law, and rejects it, is damned, no matter who, whether kings, princes, presidents, rulers, governors, legislators, or authorities, whether nations or individuals; all who reject this everlasting covenant are damned.
I have received it. I received it on this principle—because it was the commandment of the Lord,--because it was the will of the Lord, and I mean to save all I can. Whether I shall take any more wives or not I do not know. There may be something to be said on this principle, perhaps, before we get through with our Conference. I do not think anybody will have power to hinder this people going along serving God, and building up His kingdom on the earth. I rather think they will not. They may war, they may legislate, and they may take counsel together and devise mischief against God and His Anointed. But the work is the Lord's and I rather think He is able to carry it on if we will do our part. If we will not, we will be removed out of the way and others called to labor in this great work; and the Kingdom of God will prosper, for it is onward and upward in spite of earth and hell.
The choir sang: "Though Nations rise and Men Conspire."
Prayer by Elder Orson Pratt.
Saturday, 2 p.m.
The choir sang: "O God! our help in ages past."
Prayer by Elder Wilford Woodruff.
The choir sang: "How beautiful upon the mountains."
The choir sang: "O God! our help in ages past."
Prayer by Elder Wilford Woodruff.
The choir sang: "How beautiful upon the mountains."
President George A. Smith.
We have established in this city a University and also a branch of the same institution at Provo, that our young people may be educated. It is necessary we should be careful in the selection of teachers. We advise our young brethren and sisters to avail themselves of the opportunities afforded, in our University, of qualifying themselves to act as teachers. As we increase in wealth, we desire that our facilities for education be proportionately increased. We have heretofore labored under almost unparalleled difficulties with regard to educating our young. We are improving greatly in this direction, insomuch that none need be destitute of a knowledge of at least the rudiments of education. Parents should take an interest in the education of their children more than by merely sending them to school. The Sunday school is an excellent means of impressing proper sentiments and truths on the minds of the young. I would recommend to the Saints the Juvenile Instructor as a suitable periodical to put into the hands of children from which they can gain a great deal of suitable information.
We have established in this city a University and also a branch of the same institution at Provo, that our young people may be educated. It is necessary we should be careful in the selection of teachers. We advise our young brethren and sisters to avail themselves of the opportunities afforded, in our University, of qualifying themselves to act as teachers. As we increase in wealth, we desire that our facilities for education be proportionately increased. We have heretofore labored under almost unparalleled difficulties with regard to educating our young. We are improving greatly in this direction, insomuch that none need be destitute of a knowledge of at least the rudiments of education. Parents should take an interest in the education of their children more than by merely sending them to school. The Sunday school is an excellent means of impressing proper sentiments and truths on the minds of the young. I would recommend to the Saints the Juvenile Instructor as a suitable periodical to put into the hands of children from which they can gain a great deal of suitable information.
Elder Geo. Q. Cannon presented the Authorities of the Church to the Conference. The votes to sustain them in the following order 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, Joseph L. Barfoot, Samuel W. Richards, Nathaniel H. Felt, John H. Rumell, Miner G. Atwood, Hampton S. Beatie, Wm. Thorn, Dimick B. Huntington, Theodore McKean and Hosea Stout, members of the High Council.
Elias Smith, President of the High Priests' Quorum.
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, if they will keep the Word of Wisdom.
Benjamin L. Peart, President of the Elders' Quorum, Edward Davis and Abinadi Pratt, his counselors.
Samuel G. Ladd, President of the Priests' Quorum; Wm. McLachlan and James Latham, his counselors.
Adam Spiers, President of the Teachers' Quorum; Martin Lenzi and Henry I. Doremus, his Counselors.
James Leach, President of the Deacons' 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; Geo. 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.
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, Joseph L. Barfoot, Samuel W. Richards, Nathaniel H. Felt, John H. Rumell, Miner G. Atwood, Hampton S. Beatie, Wm. Thorn, Dimick B. Huntington, Theodore McKean and Hosea Stout, members of the High Council.
Elias Smith, President of the High Priests' Quorum.
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, if they will keep the Word of Wisdom.
Benjamin L. Peart, President of the Elders' Quorum, Edward Davis and Abinadi Pratt, his counselors.
Samuel G. Ladd, President of the Priests' Quorum; Wm. McLachlan and James Latham, his counselors.
Adam Spiers, President of the Teachers' Quorum; Martin Lenzi and Henry I. Doremus, his Counselors.
James Leach, President of the Deacons' 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; Geo. 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.
Elder Erastus Snow
alluded to the saying of Jesus "except ye are one, ye are none of mine." He spoke at some length on the necessity of the saints increasing in unity and in their efforts to develop home manufactures and to cease importing from abroad. This might be considered a hackneyed subject, but the Lord will never allow His servants to be silent with regard to it until the people thoroughly understand it and are willing to take hold of it in the right way. Capital should not be viewed as individual property, but should be devoted to the building up of the Kingdom of God. Our young men should not feel above entering the workshop; and our young folks, male and female, should have a practical as well as a theoretical education. Cooperation as applied to merchandizing is but an initiatory step towards its universal adoption. Zion's Co-operative Institution is now purchasing woolen goods manufactured at the Deseret Mills. This is a step in the right direction. When people wear good home-made cloth and discover that one pair of pants suffices where they previously had to have two pairs, they will probably cease to import foreign goods.
alluded to the saying of Jesus "except ye are one, ye are none of mine." He spoke at some length on the necessity of the saints increasing in unity and in their efforts to develop home manufactures and to cease importing from abroad. This might be considered a hackneyed subject, but the Lord will never allow His servants to be silent with regard to it until the people thoroughly understand it and are willing to take hold of it in the right way. Capital should not be viewed as individual property, but should be devoted to the building up of the Kingdom of God. Our young men should not feel above entering the workshop; and our young folks, male and female, should have a practical as well as a theoretical education. Cooperation as applied to merchandizing is but an initiatory step towards its universal adoption. Zion's Co-operative Institution is now purchasing woolen goods manufactured at the Deseret Mills. This is a step in the right direction. When people wear good home-made cloth and discover that one pair of pants suffices where they previously had to have two pairs, they will probably cease to import foreign goods.
Elder Lorenzo Snow
Spoke on the eternal nature of the Kingdom of God and the necessity of being planted on the rock of revelation.
Spoke on the eternal nature of the Kingdom of God and the necessity of being planted on the rock of revelation.
Elder Joseph Young, Sen.
My lungs are not so strong as they formerly were. The promise of Jesus was that "if any man will do my will he will know of the doctrine, whether it be of God or whether I speak of myself. For one I know this to be true. It is required of all men that they should be baptized for the remission of sins and receive the Holy Ghost. This is part of the will of the Lord. If we are faithful, God will take care of us.
The choir and congregation sang: "The spirit of God like a fire is burning."
Prayer by President Geo. A. Smith.
My lungs are not so strong as they formerly were. The promise of Jesus was that "if any man will do my will he will know of the doctrine, whether it be of God or whether I speak of myself. For one I know this to be true. It is required of all men that they should be baptized for the remission of sins and receive the Holy Ghost. This is part of the will of the Lord. If we are faithful, God will take care of us.
The choir and congregation sang: "The spirit of God like a fire is burning."
Prayer by President Geo. A. Smith.
Sunday, 10 a.m. (May 8)
The choir sang: "O God, thou good, thou great, thou wise."
Prayer by Elder John Taylor.
The choir sang: "How beauteous are their feet."
The choir sang: "O God, thou good, thou great, thou wise."
Prayer by Elder John Taylor.
The choir sang: "How beauteous are their feet."
President George A. Smith.
A very pleasant feature of our assembling here and one that is noticed by nearly every visitor, is our music. The material of which our grand organ is composed has been almost entirely obtained in these mountains, and it has been constructed by our own brethren. For one, I sincerely thank our brethren and sisters who have labored to attain to a sufficient knowledge of music so as to make it an important part of our worship. Our door keepers are deserving of our thanks for the way in which they have attended to their duties. It is gratifying to know that this building is so constructed as to be emptied of an assembly of twelve thousand persons in three minutes.
I have been asked by some of the brethren whether it would not be well for them to devote their time in discovering and developing gold mines in our Territory. Hitherto such pursuits have not proved advantageous to the brethren who have engaged in them. They can occupy themselves to better advantage by devoting themselves to agriculture and manufacture, in preference to mining. As soon as consistent, it is our intention to enter into the manufacture of iron.
I wish to notify the brethren that most of the land in their localities either has been or is being surveyed and is being made subject to entry. I advise them not to lose any time in obtaining the United States titles to their lands. It is advisable that all new comers should take steps to obtain their citizenship papers.
Our country is capable of sustaining a large silk production; therefore, this branch of industry should not be neglected. It has been remarked by Chief Justice Wilson that the culture of hops would prove a profitable trade in this Territory. The people should not neglect the culture of the peach. Let all the brethren leave off chewing tobacco and drinking hot drinks that our posterity may not inherit our weaknesses. It is the business of the Latter-day Saints to reclaim humanity from disease. Let the Saints be satisfied in wearing clothing made by themselves. Let those settlements that have not already done so obtain libraries, that we may obey revelation in obtaining knowledge from good books. The work continues to roll and will roll till Zion is built up on this continent.
A very pleasant feature of our assembling here and one that is noticed by nearly every visitor, is our music. The material of which our grand organ is composed has been almost entirely obtained in these mountains, and it has been constructed by our own brethren. For one, I sincerely thank our brethren and sisters who have labored to attain to a sufficient knowledge of music so as to make it an important part of our worship. Our door keepers are deserving of our thanks for the way in which they have attended to their duties. It is gratifying to know that this building is so constructed as to be emptied of an assembly of twelve thousand persons in three minutes.
I have been asked by some of the brethren whether it would not be well for them to devote their time in discovering and developing gold mines in our Territory. Hitherto such pursuits have not proved advantageous to the brethren who have engaged in them. They can occupy themselves to better advantage by devoting themselves to agriculture and manufacture, in preference to mining. As soon as consistent, it is our intention to enter into the manufacture of iron.
I wish to notify the brethren that most of the land in their localities either has been or is being surveyed and is being made subject to entry. I advise them not to lose any time in obtaining the United States titles to their lands. It is advisable that all new comers should take steps to obtain their citizenship papers.
Our country is capable of sustaining a large silk production; therefore, this branch of industry should not be neglected. It has been remarked by Chief Justice Wilson that the culture of hops would prove a profitable trade in this Territory. The people should not neglect the culture of the peach. Let all the brethren leave off chewing tobacco and drinking hot drinks that our posterity may not inherit our weaknesses. It is the business of the Latter-day Saints to reclaim humanity from disease. Let the Saints be satisfied in wearing clothing made by themselves. Let those settlements that have not already done so obtain libraries, that we may obey revelation in obtaining knowledge from good books. The work continues to roll and will roll till Zion is built up on this continent.
Elder Joseph Young, Sen.
bore testimony to the restoration of the gospel through Joseph Smith, and exhorted the Saints to faithfulness.
bore testimony to the restoration of the gospel through Joseph Smith, and exhorted the Saints to faithfulness.
Elder Charles C. Rich
spoke on the present as well as future benefits to be derived from a practical application of the principles of the gospel in this life.
spoke on the present as well as future benefits to be derived from a practical application of the principles of the gospel in this life.
Elder Franklin D. Richards
delivered an interesting discourse on the great causes for the gratitude of the Saints, to the Almighty, the nature of the power bestowed by God on His elders, and the difference betwixt the spirit of the world and that possessed by the Saints.
delivered an interesting discourse on the great causes for the gratitude of the Saints, to the Almighty, the nature of the power bestowed by God on His elders, and the difference betwixt the spirit of the world and that possessed by the Saints.
Elder Geo. Q. Cannon
read the names of the following brethren, as having been called to go on missions:
P. C. Thomassen,
Peter Brown, of Coalville,
Joseph Bean, 11th ward,
Peter Madsen, Provo,
Richard Smith,
Francis Fouk,
Thomas W. Ellerbeck,
Caleb Parry,
Daniel McAllister,
Thomas Woolley, Pleasant Grove.
read the names of the following brethren, as having been called to go on missions:
P. C. Thomassen,
Peter Brown, of Coalville,
Joseph Bean, 11th ward,
Peter Madsen, Provo,
Richard Smith,
Francis Fouk,
Thomas W. Ellerbeck,
Caleb Parry,
Daniel McAllister,
Thomas Woolley, Pleasant Grove.
Elder George Q. Cannon.
I have had peculiar reflections in witnessing the spirit of infidelity in the world, in seeing men who were once numbered among us calling light darkness and darkness light. Probably there never was a generation more inclined to yield to the spirit of infidelity than the present one. When men entertain the idea or believe that God is the same yesterday, today and forever, they are considered fanatical. Where is faith to be found? Go to any of the religious sects and enquire of them whether God is a God of revelation today, and they will inform you that He is not. They are united in this belief. This is infidelity. No wonder that men are divided and that sects are multiplied. How is it with those who have tasted of the good word of God and turned away and denied that which they have received? How great is the infidelity of such? They are like persons who, seeing the sunshine, say there is no light, and, tasting something which is sweet, call it bitter. When the light within a man becomes darkness, how great is that darkness! Such falling away from the grace of God is caused by the withdrawal of the good spirit of God. No person will abandon the truth unless he does something to cause the withdrawal of the Holy Spirit. No matter what may be the standing of men; they may even have had the Heavens opened to them, but if they do wickedly they will deny the faith. We ought therefore to be careful how we conduct ourselves. May God bless you all. Amen.
The choir sung "Jerusalem my Glorious Home."
Prayer by Elder Brigham Young, Jun.
I have had peculiar reflections in witnessing the spirit of infidelity in the world, in seeing men who were once numbered among us calling light darkness and darkness light. Probably there never was a generation more inclined to yield to the spirit of infidelity than the present one. When men entertain the idea or believe that God is the same yesterday, today and forever, they are considered fanatical. Where is faith to be found? Go to any of the religious sects and enquire of them whether God is a God of revelation today, and they will inform you that He is not. They are united in this belief. This is infidelity. No wonder that men are divided and that sects are multiplied. How is it with those who have tasted of the good word of God and turned away and denied that which they have received? How great is the infidelity of such? They are like persons who, seeing the sunshine, say there is no light, and, tasting something which is sweet, call it bitter. When the light within a man becomes darkness, how great is that darkness! Such falling away from the grace of God is caused by the withdrawal of the good spirit of God. No person will abandon the truth unless he does something to cause the withdrawal of the Holy Spirit. No matter what may be the standing of men; they may even have had the Heavens opened to them, but if they do wickedly they will deny the faith. We ought therefore to be careful how we conduct ourselves. May God bless you all. Amen.
The choir sung "Jerusalem my Glorious Home."
Prayer by Elder Brigham Young, Jun.
Sunday, 2 p.m.
The choir sung: "Sweet is the work, my God, my King."
Prayer by Elder Orson Pratt.
The choir sang: "Arise, my soul, arise."
The Sacrament of the Lord's Supper was administered to the congregation.
The choir sung: "Sweet is the work, my God, my King."
Prayer by Elder Orson Pratt.
The choir sang: "Arise, my soul, arise."
The Sacrament of the Lord's Supper was administered to the congregation.
Elder Brigham Young, Jr.
There are thousands of people in Europe and on the islands of the sea who are anxious to be gathered to these valleys. Many people who have gathered here, who were assisted to emigrate by their brethren, and who left, with those from whom they borrowed means, their written obligations to refund the money as soon as possible. A great deal of indebtedness of this kind remains yet unpaid. It is a gross wrong on the part of those thus indebted to delay the gathering of those who assisted them by keeping from them the means that rightly belongs to them. It is impossible for any to enjoy the Spirit of the Lord who thus forsake those who have substantially blessed them. Who are the enemies of this people? They are the enemies of God; for they are our enemies, because we are determined to serve God. A few have told the truth concerning us, as far as they knew it, but the many have spoken evil against us falsely.
Elder Young then read the 6th chapter of Daniel, from the 1st to the 26th verse. After which he sat down, as the passage which he read was a sermon of itself, and spoke volumes. No one could fail to see its applicability to the present situation of the Latter-day Saints.
There are thousands of people in Europe and on the islands of the sea who are anxious to be gathered to these valleys. Many people who have gathered here, who were assisted to emigrate by their brethren, and who left, with those from whom they borrowed means, their written obligations to refund the money as soon as possible. A great deal of indebtedness of this kind remains yet unpaid. It is a gross wrong on the part of those thus indebted to delay the gathering of those who assisted them by keeping from them the means that rightly belongs to them. It is impossible for any to enjoy the Spirit of the Lord who thus forsake those who have substantially blessed them. Who are the enemies of this people? They are the enemies of God; for they are our enemies, because we are determined to serve God. A few have told the truth concerning us, as far as they knew it, but the many have spoken evil against us falsely.
Elder Young then read the 6th chapter of Daniel, from the 1st to the 26th verse. After which he sat down, as the passage which he read was a sermon of itself, and spoke volumes. No one could fail to see its applicability to the present situation of the Latter-day Saints.
Elder Joseph F. Smith.
We believe in the atonement and resurrection of Christ and if we are obedient to the laws of God, we shall arise and be like him. All who have once been connected with the Church and now deny this, have apostatized and denied the faith. Should the world be arrayed against us to prevent our obeying the commands of God, there is but one alternative for the Latter-day Saints, that is to obey God rather than man. We will continue to preach Christ and Him crucified and Joseph and him martyred for the truth. I know that the power to unite on the earth for time and eternity has been revealed for the salvation of man. On the reception of this principle depends the power of eternal increase in the world to come, without which the future, to the mind of man, is but a blank.
We believe in the atonement and resurrection of Christ and if we are obedient to the laws of God, we shall arise and be like him. All who have once been connected with the Church and now deny this, have apostatized and denied the faith. Should the world be arrayed against us to prevent our obeying the commands of God, there is but one alternative for the Latter-day Saints, that is to obey God rather than man. We will continue to preach Christ and Him crucified and Joseph and him martyred for the truth. I know that the power to unite on the earth for time and eternity has been revealed for the salvation of man. On the reception of this principle depends the power of eternal increase in the world to come, without which the future, to the mind of man, is but a blank.
President Geo. A. Smith.
Let every Saint use his and her influence in having the Sabbath remembered that it may be kept holy. Also let us remember our fast days; remember our fast offerings to feed the hungry. It has been plainly manifested in all apostacies that they have resulted from a violation of the laws of God. They who defile the temple of God will deny the faith. When a man corrupts his way before the Lord, he denies the faith, and is soon found among those who would shed the blood of the Lord's anointed. The sin of shedding the blood of innocence is one of the hardest to wash out. Never get alarmed and jump out of the good ship Zion; stick to it and you will come safely to port.
Let every Saint use his and her influence in having the Sabbath remembered that it may be kept holy. Also let us remember our fast days; remember our fast offerings to feed the hungry. It has been plainly manifested in all apostacies that they have resulted from a violation of the laws of God. They who defile the temple of God will deny the faith. When a man corrupts his way before the Lord, he denies the faith, and is soon found among those who would shed the blood of the Lord's anointed. The sin of shedding the blood of innocence is one of the hardest to wash out. Never get alarmed and jump out of the good ship Zion; stick to it and you will come safely to port.
President Brigham Young
spoke upon the blessings that have accrued to the Latter-day Saints, from being thrown upon their own resources, upon infidelity, the personality of God and upon Celestial Marriage. His remarks were eloquent and encouraging. They will, in a short time, be published in full.
spoke upon the blessings that have accrued to the Latter-day Saints, from being thrown upon their own resources, upon infidelity, the personality of God and upon Celestial Marriage. His remarks were eloquent and encouraging. They will, in a short time, be published in full.
Character and Condition of the Latter-Day Saints—Infidelity—The Atonement—Celestial Marriage
Discourse by President Brigham Young, delivered in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, May 8, 1870.
Reported by David W. Evans.
We have now been together in a Conference capacity for four days. It seems a very short time; we would like to stay a little longer, if it were prudent. This is the place to give general instruction to the Latter-day Saints. It is good when the Saints meet together to look at each other, to hear the brethren bear testimony of the truth and to feel the fellowship of the Holy Ghost. This makes our hearts joyful and glad. It will be prudent for us now to bring our Conference to a close, and, after I have spent a few minutes in speaking, we shall adjourn until the 6th of next October, at ten o'clock in the morning, at this place.
There are many things which we would like to talk about; I would like to do a great deal of talking if I had the opportunity and were able to do so. There are many little items pertaining to what are called temporal matters, which it would be well for the people to understand in order to promote their happiness here on the earth and to aid them in securing eternal salvation. It is not those who are hearers of the word only who are blessed and who secure to themselves the blessings of eternal life; they who secure eternal life are doers of the word as well as hearers. If we hear the word and do not perform the labors indicated by it, it will profit us nothing. To hear the word, as the Latter-day Saints do, and then to perform the labor devolving upon them, requires a great deal of wisdom; and to bring the people up to this standard much labor and instruction from the Elders is necessary.
If we can remember what we have heard at this Conference, and carry it out in our lives, it will profit us. I hope and trust that we may. Let us apply our hearts to the wisdom that has been exhibited before the Conference, and observe the little duties of everyday life, that we may be prepared to receive more. It is not possible for a person to learn all the will of God in an hour, a day, or a week; it requires much time and attention to do this. The Lord gives a little here and a little there, a precept now and a precept again, and by close observance of these things in our lives we grow in grace and in a knowledge of the truth.
We are thankful for the privilege of talking a little. We ought all to be very thankful that we have the privilege of the Gospel and of the ordinances of the house of God, for, by applying them to the duties of life, we can increase in knowledge, wisdom and understanding. We are thankful to see the increase that there is in the midst of the people.
You very well know that it is said by many of those who wish to traduce the character of the Latter-day Saints that we are a poor, miserable, ignorant people. If we are, there is a great chance for improvement. We will acknowledge that we are very ignorant, and that the Lord has taken the weak things of the world to confound the wisdom of the wise. He has picked up the poor of the earth and brought them together, because they seek after him; while the hearts of the rich and the proud, the high and the noble, are lifted up, and they cannot hearken to the principles of the Gospel and receive them and obey them. They feel themselves too good; they know too much; while the poor and needy, those who suffer from hunger and nakedness, and from hard labor and taskmasters, are the ones who naturally seek after the Lord. The Lord is just as willing to bless and to pour out his Spirit upon the king on the throne as upon the beggar in the street; but the king has sufficient—he does not feel after the Lord; but the beggar cries unto the Lord for his daily bread. Hence the Lord gathers the poor. When we are gathered together, if we will improve ourselves by and by, we will be filled with wisdom.
When we look at the Latter-day Saints and remember that they have been taken from the coal pits, from the ironworks, from the streets, from the kitchens and from the barns and factories and from hard service in the countries where they formerly lived, we cannot wonder at their ignorance. But when they are brought together they soon become scholars. Many of them become farmers and merchants, and they soon learn to procure a sustenance for themselves and families, and gather around them the necessaries and comforts of life. They also learn the object of their being, of the creation of the earth, and how to organize the elements so as to subserve their own wants and necessities. This is a blessing, and we are proud to see the industry of the Latter-day Saints, and also their improvements and faithfulness. If we are ignorant, let us become wise; if we are poor, let us gather around us the comforts of life. I look around among my brethren and I see scholars. The world say we are ignorant; we acknowledge it, but we are not as ignorant as they are, although they have had opportunities of education perhaps that many of our brethren have not had. We study from the great book of nature. We are driven to this of necessity. Where is there another people who have done what this people have done in these mountains, by way of making improvements in their own midst—upon the soil and in their cities and towns. They are not to be found on the face of the earth. If this is not intelligence—if this is not good, hard, sound sense, I wish somebody would come and teach us a little. If we are taken from the poor, ignorant, low and degraded, and make ourselves wise and happy, it is a credit to us.
There are causes for this which some may not have thought about. I often think of them. You take, for instance, a father, who has, say, four, ten or twelve sons. He may have abundance to dispose of to each and every one; but he dislikes some particular one, and perhaps feeds and clothes eleven, but the twelfth, whom he hates and despises, he turns out of doors to provide for himself. This one son goes forth weeping, and says, “I am forsaken of my father and his house; now I have to look after myself. I have the earth before me; I have to live; I do not want to kill myself, and as I have life before me I certainly must make my own future. I will go to work and accumulate a little of something, so that I can purchase me a piece of land. When it is purchased, I will put improvements upon it. I will build me a house; I will fence my farm; I will set off my orchard and plant out my garden; and I will gather around me my horses, my cattle, my wagons and carriages, and I will get me a family.” Pretty soon here is a boy who knows how to live as well as his father does. How is it with the rest of the family? They are led and clothed by their father; they know not where it comes from nor how it is obtained, and they scarcely know their right hand from their left with regard to the things of the world.
This illustrates the history of this people. We have been under the necessity of learning every art—to cultivate the soil and how to provide for our own wants under the most adverse circumstances. We have been compelled to do this or go without, for none would do it for us. We have been forced to study mechanism, all kinds of machinery, how to build, and how to provide and take care of ourselves in every respect. I thank the parent and the boys for turning us out of doors. Why? Because it has thrown us on our own resources, and taught us to provide for ourselves. We have a future before us, and God will take care of us. In my meditations I say, “Shall I complain of father? No. I will not complain at all, he has done the best he could for me, though he knew it not. If he had made my house, opened my farm, planted my orchard, seen to my planting and ploughing as well as the gathering; and then had brought my food to my chamber and appointed a servant to feed me, what should I have known about getting my living? How could I have known anything about raising fruit or anything else? I could not have known. I might read books until Doomsday, and unless I apply the knowledge thus obtained I should know but little.” Without the application of knowledge acquired by reading, it makes mere machines of us; we can tell what others have done, but we know nothing ourselves. Then speak evil of no man, and acknowledge that it has been a blessing to us to be cast aside and compelled to take care of ourselves.
When we left our homes in the East and started for the Rocky Mountains the feeling in regard to us was, “There is starvation before you Mormons; but if you do not die of starvation the Indians will kill you.” We knew that they would do no such thing; we knew that we could live when we got here, and we also knew that we could travel twelve or fourteen hundred miles with our cows, calves, colts, lame cattle, our seed grain and provisions and farming utensils on wagons, carts and handcarts, without an ounce of iron on some of them. It was said that we could raise nothing when we got here; but I said, “We will wait and see; we know that God has led us out here, and we will wait and see what he will do for us.” You can see what he has done, and thank his name and be humble. Shall we speak evil of others? No. Why? Because the result of their treatment towards us has made us better and greater than we could have been otherwise. It has brought us closer together than we could possibly have come without a great deal more revelation than we have had. Our enemies have pushed us together; and it is excellent to be surrounded by circumstances that will bring us close together. We learn then whether we have fellowship one for another. Let us thank God, and speak evil of none; and instead of finding fault with father, let us thank him for turning us out of doors, for we have learned a great many useful lessons in life that we could not have learned without. We can read just as much as the inhabitants of the earth, and after reading we can practice a thousand times more than many of them.
I wish now to say a few words in relation to a subject which is attracting the attention of thousands of people in the world. I refer to what is termed infidelity. We are very well aware that a statement made in reference to this matter in this Conference is true—namely, that the inhabitants of the earth are drifting, as fast as time can roll, to infidelity. I do not profess to know a great deal; but some things I do know. Shall I take the liberty of telling you the story of the boy who went to the mill? He was looking at the miller's hogs, which were very fat, clean and fine. The miller came out, and, seeing the boy attentively observing the pigs, said to him, “What are you thinking about?” Said the boy, “I was thinking that millers have fat hogs.” “Were you thinking of anything else?” said the miller. “Yes.” “What was it?” “I do not know whose grain they are fed on,” said the boy. I take the liberty of telling this story for illustration. Some things I do know and some I do not know; if I do not know whose grain the pigs eat, I do know that there are some fat hogs.
What shall I say with regard to infidelity? I do not know a great deal, but I say that a man has not good common sense who denies his Maker; such a man is not endowed with reasoning powers. I hold this book in my hand, and I say that for its production from the crude element it required a type founder, paper maker, printer and a book binder, and by their united exertions the book was made. But the infidel bases his argument on the principle that the book is here without a producer—that no type founder, paper maker, printer, nor bookbinder was necessary. Is not a man who argues on this principle a fool? If he is not, he comes pretty near it.
There are a great many who say that there is no embodiment of the Deity. Our Christian brethren almost deny the existence of a God; but it is in word only; they do not feel it in their hearts, they do not mean any such thing. They are like the people of whom Paul speaks, who had temples reared to the unknown God. The Christians do not know anything about God, neither does the infidel. The Christian world say, “We believe in a God who has no body.” You do not believe in anything of the sort, Christian world! You think you believe it, but it is only tradition with you. Your fathers told you that God has no body; the priests told them; the schoolmasters have joined in the endorsement of the same ridiculous idea; it is also written in your church creeds; but, when you let common sense have place in your hearts, you do not believe in any such nonentity or nondescript as a God without body, parts or passions.
But foolish and absurd as is such an idea, it is not so ridiculous as that of the infidel. The Christian world, while virtually declaring that God is nothing, also declare that the world was created by him; but the infidel says the world had no creator, it is the result of chance. Now I defy any infidel, or any other person on the face of the earth, to prove that anything can be made or exist without a maker. The world and all its various grades of organized denizens, from the lowest forms of vegetable or animal life, up to man, the lord of creation, were framed and made, or they would not have been here.
I just want to say with regard to infidelity, it means nothing more nor less than to disbelieve anything we have a mind to. If we disbelieve in the existence of the Eternal, as an embodiment or personage, we are infidel on that point. If we disbelieve in the efficacy of the blood of the Savior and his atonement, we are infidels on that subject. I wish to say, however, to the Christian world, that the moment the atonement of the Savior is done away, that moment, at one sweep, the hopes of salvation entertained by the Christian world are destroyed, the foundation of their faith is taken away, and there is nothing left for them to stand upon. When this is gone, all the revelations God ever gave to the Jewish nation, to the Gentiles and to us are rendered valueless, and all hope is taken from us at one sweep.
What proof have you, Infidels, that Jesus is not the Christ? What proof have you of the negative of the existence of God the Father, or of Jesus as the Mediator, or of the Holy Ghost as God's minister, or of the gifts and graces that God has bestowed upon his people? None at all, not the least thing in the world. Is there anybody living on the earth that has the proof of the affirmative? Yes; we have. We have proof that God lives and that he has a body; that he has eyes, and ears to hear; that he has arms, hands and feet; that he can walk and does walk. He has declared himself to be a man of war—Jehovah, the great I Am, the Lord Almighty, and many other titles of a like import are used in reference to him in the Scriptures. But take away the atonement of the Son of God and the Scriptures fall useless to the ground.
How is it, Infidel, have you any proof that Jesus did not die for the sins of the world? No; not the least, any more than you have proof that there was no need to go to the mountains to cut the timber used in building this house, or to quarry the rock of which the pillars of this house are composed. How is it, Mr. Infidel, have you any proof of the nonexistence of Him who rules and reigns in heaven, and who controls the destinies of the earth? No; not the least. But you say, “I do not believe it.” That is your affair only, nobody cares about that.
Infidelity extends to other subjects besides the existence of God and the atonement of the Savior. Some are infidel on one point and some on another. I want to say that so far as a God without a body, parts and passions is concerned, I am a complete infidel. The God whom I serve has got eyes, ears, nose and mouth. He has hands to handle; his footsteps are seen in the midst of his people, and his goings forth among the nations; and he who has the Spirit of the Almighty can see the providences of God and behold his ways. I ask the infidel if he has any proof that I do not enjoy that Spirit? I have proof that I do. What is that proof? The peace, light and intelligence that I enjoy, which I have not obtained from the infidel, from reading books, from going to school, nor from studying the wisdom of any man that ever lived on the face of the earth. “Where did you obtain it?” says the infidel. From heaven, from the fountain of light and intelligence. “Where is your wisdom?” again says the infidel. Here, right before me, teaching the people how to be saved, how to live, and to live with each other; how to improve their minds; how to govern and control themselves. It was so with Joseph Smith, in his day. So it is today; how else could it be done? Who can gather the people from the nations in their poverty and ignorance and fill them with light and intelligence, teach them how to live, what the earth is and what it is for, make them understand that God is our father, Jesus the Mediator, and that we belong to the highest intelligence that there is in existence, and that we are the natural offspring of God the Father? God only can do this. Yet the infidel will say there is no God, that we are creatures of today, that we had no existence before this, and that when this is over there is nothing after. And following down the chain of his reasoning, he will say there was a time when there was no earth, no stars, no worlds, no anything. Well, I know there never was such a time. That is faith against faith, declaration against declaration. What a pitiful condition it would be for all space to contain nothing! To suppose that element, worlds, men, the grass of the fields, or the trees of the forest were created, is all folly! They are from eternity. It is equally vain to imagine space empty! There is no space without a kingdom, neither is there any kingdom without space, and they are from everlasting to everlasting. “How do you know it?” asks the unbeliever. By the revelations of God, by the revelations of the Lord Jesus Christ. “How do you know how to teach the people to control themselves and make them of one heart and one mind?” By the revelations of the Lord. Well, then, I guess we will sing and pray and serve our God and keep his commandments; and I rather think that Zion will prosper. That is my opinion.
While the chapter from the prophecies of Daniel was being read, showing the plans and schemes of those who sought to entrap Daniel, and their miserable end, I was thinking how wise (!) men were in those days. How wise were those great captains, counselors and presidents! Could they not foresee that they could not overthrow Daniel? No, they could see no further than to believe that if the King would sign the decree that no petition should be presented to any potentate, on, above, or around about the earth, but to himself, for the space of thirty days, they would entrap and destroy Daniel. What was the result? Just as quick as they commenced their special legislation against Daniel the Lord commenced special legislation for him and against those who got him into the lion's den. The final result was that Daniel lodged with the lions over night and came out unscathed, not injured in the least; the lions lay there peaceable when the stone was rolled away, and those who had caused him to be thrust there were condemned to take the place he left, and the lions devoured them. They could not foresee what Daniel could; he could have foretold their destiny, and that the legislation of the Lord Almighty would be a little above the special legislation of which they were the authors against him.
Brethren and sisters, will you keep the Word of Wisdom, say your prayers, observe the Sabbath, speak evil of no man, and strive to be humble and faithful in all things? If you will, we shall be one by and by; we are not yet. We must overcome the love of the world. He that hath the love of the world hath not the love of the Father. He that loves the things of the world loves not the kingdom of heaven on the earth. Whosoever serves mammon cannot serve God. We must let these things go out of our affections, then lay hold of the principles of eternal life and sustain the kingdom of God on the earth, or else we shall go by the board. If we jump over, we shall certainly sink, and if we stay aboard Zion's ship, we can do no more than sink, and it will be just as well if Zion's ship sink to be aboard as to jump overboard and sink. We had better stay aboard, she may go into harbor; and I can promise you in the name of Israel's God that she will go there safe and carry every one of her passengers. Will we be humble and faithful? I trust we will. I hope—I pray you, brethren and sisters, let us be humble, be faithful to our God, our religion, and each other.
I will say a few words on a subject which has been mentioned here—that is, celestial marriage. God has given a revelation to seal for time and for eternity, just as he did in days of old. In our own days he has commanded his people to receive the New and Everlasting Covenant, and he has said, “If ye abide not that covenant, then are ye damned.” We have received it. What is the result of it? I look at the world, or that small portion of it which believes in monogamy. It is only a small portion of the human family who do believe in it, for from nine to ten of the twelve hundred millions that live on the earth believe in and practice polygamy. Well, what is the result? Right in our land the doctrine and practice of plurality of wives tend to the preservation of life. Do you know it? Do you see it? What is our duty? To preserve life or destroy it? Can any of you answer? Why yes, it is to perpetuate and preserve life. But what principle do we see prevailing in our own land? What is that of which, in the East, West, North and South, ministers in their pulpits complain, and against which both gentlemen and ladies lecture? It is against taking life. They say, “Cease the destruction of prenatal life!” Our doctrine and practice make and preserve life; theirs destroy it. Which is the best, saying nothing about revelation, which is the best in a moral point of view, to preserve or to destroy the life which God designs to bring upon the earth. Just look at it and decide for yourselves.
This house is very large, but as a general thing the people have been very attentive, and they have tried to keep as still as possible. Still, I believe they can improve a little. I think that many of our sisters who have children can stay nearer the doors, and then, if they cannot prevent their children crying, they can step out. I do believe they can stop their whispering. When there is anything said from this Stand that pleases or displeases you, you turn to your neighbor and whisper, and the next one does the same, and directly there are a few thousand whispering, creating a noise like the rushing of many waters. Then you scrape your feet a little, and the many little noises are like the dust that composes the mountains and the whole earth. Every person should be silent when we meet here to worship God. Remember and try to keep perfectly quiet, and do not whisper, talk, nor scrape your feet; and do not let your children cry if you can help it. Twenty years ago I used to tell you that you might pinch your children to make them cry as loud as they could if you wished, and I could preach louder than they could cry. I could do it then, but now I want all to keep still.
I trust we shall long have the privilege of enjoying this shade which we have built; it is a cover from the burning sun in summer; and when the storm of rain comes, this umbrella will shelter us. I perceive that, in the gallery, there is a little more heat now than before; we shall open the ventilators and put in some skylights, then I think it will be as cool as in the past.
Brethren and sisters, I feel to bless you. I ask my Father in heaven to bless the Saints, to bless every quorum and organization of his kingdom, from the First Presidency down to the last organization to promote good in the midst of his people. I pray continually for the Bishops, presiding Elders, High Councilors, and the Female Relief Societies. I will bless you, my sisters, if you will hearken to the counsel which has been given you with regard to these fashions. Then, to my brethren, I say, I will bless you, if you will seek a little closer to sustain yourselves, by preserving and wisely using that which the Lord gives you, and not suffer your cattle and sheep to die on the prairies, but preserve them, that we may have the wherewithal to supply ourselves with the necessaries of life, by raising sheep, building factories, raising flax, the mulberry and silk and other things useful. I do not care how beautifully you are adorned, ladies, if you will only raise the silk and adorn yourselves with your own hands. That is the requirement of heaven. It was so almost forty years ago. The word of the Lord to his Saints then was, “Let the beauty of your apparel be the beauty of the work of your own hands.” If you will observe this, adorn yourselves as much as you please. Make your hats and bonnets, and also make hats for your brothers and sons. It is your duty to do it. Preserve that that the Lord has given you, and waste nothing. I can say to the Latter-day Saints that there is no man nor woman, person or persons, but what I would rather feed, clothe, and sustain than to see a particle wasted in the midst of my family or this people. God does not like it, his Spirit is grieved with it. Idleness and wastefulness are not according to the rules of heaven. Preserve all you can, that you may have abundance to bless your friends and your enemies, as we did in '49, '50 and '51. In those years, we fed thousands and thousands of poor, starving emigrants, who had gold so big in their eyes that, when they started for the Plains, they did not know whether they had anything to eat or not. By our instrumentality they were fed and sent on their way rejoicing. If we take the counsel now given we shall have abundance to bless our enemies if it be necessary. Shall we say that we have any? Yes, there are those who would delight to be our enemies if they knew how; but they do not know how. I do not suppose that there was a greater enemy to the Savior, when he was on the earth, than the devil. How he did plead with the Savior to worship him! Said he, “I will give you all you can see, if you will fall down and worship me.” But Jesus rebuked him. Yet the devil hunted and followed up Jews and Gentiles, that is, the Romans, until they betrayed the Redeemer into the hands of his enemies, who crucified him, and in doing that they consummated the great act for the salvation of the human family, which will cheat the devil out of pretty much all of them, one way or the other. If he had had any good sense about him—but he was as short of that as the infidels in our day—he would have said, “I am with you, I will go with you, pay your taxes, and will make you welcome to my house.” But no, the devil and his followers did not know enough to do this, neither do our enemies, and thank God for it!
Again I say, I feel to bless my brethren and sisters—every quorum, every authority; our brethren and sisters who have sung for us, or played on the organ. I thank you, doorkeepers, and you who have waited on the congregation, and I say God bless you, and in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I bless the whole house of Israel. I pray for the redemption of the Center Stake of Zion, and the upbuilding thereof. It is before us continually in our faith, and I hope that we shall live to see it. Amen.
Conference adjourned till the 6th of October next, to meet in the New Tabernacle.
The choir, joined by the congregation, sang: "Praise God from whom all blessings flow."
Benediction by President George A. Smith.
There are but few, if any, sights more grand, or more calculated to inspire sublime emotions and a high sense of the power of the Omnipotent Jehovah, than a vast multitude of people assembled for divine worship. Such a spectacle has been presented in the New Tabernacle during Conference. The huge building, at nearly all the meetings was filled in every part. At each meeting, before the people were fairly seated and called to order, the murmuring noise of the voices of the great assembly sounded, as aptly remarked by President Young, like the rushing of many waters or the roaring of the sea.
The spirit and power of God were abundantly manifested at Conference. And such an immense gathering of the Latter-day Saints and the feeling of unity that prevailed among them must have thrown a damper on those who have been so lavish in their prognostications of the downfall of the Kingdom of God. We are safe in saying that the Saints never felt more like adhering to the good ship Zion and sustaining the Lord's anointed than they do now.
The singing of the choir and the music of the grand Organ were interesting features of the Conference.
John Nicholson,
Clerk of Conference.
Discourse by President Brigham Young, delivered in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, May 8, 1870.
Reported by David W. Evans.
We have now been together in a Conference capacity for four days. It seems a very short time; we would like to stay a little longer, if it were prudent. This is the place to give general instruction to the Latter-day Saints. It is good when the Saints meet together to look at each other, to hear the brethren bear testimony of the truth and to feel the fellowship of the Holy Ghost. This makes our hearts joyful and glad. It will be prudent for us now to bring our Conference to a close, and, after I have spent a few minutes in speaking, we shall adjourn until the 6th of next October, at ten o'clock in the morning, at this place.
There are many things which we would like to talk about; I would like to do a great deal of talking if I had the opportunity and were able to do so. There are many little items pertaining to what are called temporal matters, which it would be well for the people to understand in order to promote their happiness here on the earth and to aid them in securing eternal salvation. It is not those who are hearers of the word only who are blessed and who secure to themselves the blessings of eternal life; they who secure eternal life are doers of the word as well as hearers. If we hear the word and do not perform the labors indicated by it, it will profit us nothing. To hear the word, as the Latter-day Saints do, and then to perform the labor devolving upon them, requires a great deal of wisdom; and to bring the people up to this standard much labor and instruction from the Elders is necessary.
If we can remember what we have heard at this Conference, and carry it out in our lives, it will profit us. I hope and trust that we may. Let us apply our hearts to the wisdom that has been exhibited before the Conference, and observe the little duties of everyday life, that we may be prepared to receive more. It is not possible for a person to learn all the will of God in an hour, a day, or a week; it requires much time and attention to do this. The Lord gives a little here and a little there, a precept now and a precept again, and by close observance of these things in our lives we grow in grace and in a knowledge of the truth.
We are thankful for the privilege of talking a little. We ought all to be very thankful that we have the privilege of the Gospel and of the ordinances of the house of God, for, by applying them to the duties of life, we can increase in knowledge, wisdom and understanding. We are thankful to see the increase that there is in the midst of the people.
You very well know that it is said by many of those who wish to traduce the character of the Latter-day Saints that we are a poor, miserable, ignorant people. If we are, there is a great chance for improvement. We will acknowledge that we are very ignorant, and that the Lord has taken the weak things of the world to confound the wisdom of the wise. He has picked up the poor of the earth and brought them together, because they seek after him; while the hearts of the rich and the proud, the high and the noble, are lifted up, and they cannot hearken to the principles of the Gospel and receive them and obey them. They feel themselves too good; they know too much; while the poor and needy, those who suffer from hunger and nakedness, and from hard labor and taskmasters, are the ones who naturally seek after the Lord. The Lord is just as willing to bless and to pour out his Spirit upon the king on the throne as upon the beggar in the street; but the king has sufficient—he does not feel after the Lord; but the beggar cries unto the Lord for his daily bread. Hence the Lord gathers the poor. When we are gathered together, if we will improve ourselves by and by, we will be filled with wisdom.
When we look at the Latter-day Saints and remember that they have been taken from the coal pits, from the ironworks, from the streets, from the kitchens and from the barns and factories and from hard service in the countries where they formerly lived, we cannot wonder at their ignorance. But when they are brought together they soon become scholars. Many of them become farmers and merchants, and they soon learn to procure a sustenance for themselves and families, and gather around them the necessaries and comforts of life. They also learn the object of their being, of the creation of the earth, and how to organize the elements so as to subserve their own wants and necessities. This is a blessing, and we are proud to see the industry of the Latter-day Saints, and also their improvements and faithfulness. If we are ignorant, let us become wise; if we are poor, let us gather around us the comforts of life. I look around among my brethren and I see scholars. The world say we are ignorant; we acknowledge it, but we are not as ignorant as they are, although they have had opportunities of education perhaps that many of our brethren have not had. We study from the great book of nature. We are driven to this of necessity. Where is there another people who have done what this people have done in these mountains, by way of making improvements in their own midst—upon the soil and in their cities and towns. They are not to be found on the face of the earth. If this is not intelligence—if this is not good, hard, sound sense, I wish somebody would come and teach us a little. If we are taken from the poor, ignorant, low and degraded, and make ourselves wise and happy, it is a credit to us.
There are causes for this which some may not have thought about. I often think of them. You take, for instance, a father, who has, say, four, ten or twelve sons. He may have abundance to dispose of to each and every one; but he dislikes some particular one, and perhaps feeds and clothes eleven, but the twelfth, whom he hates and despises, he turns out of doors to provide for himself. This one son goes forth weeping, and says, “I am forsaken of my father and his house; now I have to look after myself. I have the earth before me; I have to live; I do not want to kill myself, and as I have life before me I certainly must make my own future. I will go to work and accumulate a little of something, so that I can purchase me a piece of land. When it is purchased, I will put improvements upon it. I will build me a house; I will fence my farm; I will set off my orchard and plant out my garden; and I will gather around me my horses, my cattle, my wagons and carriages, and I will get me a family.” Pretty soon here is a boy who knows how to live as well as his father does. How is it with the rest of the family? They are led and clothed by their father; they know not where it comes from nor how it is obtained, and they scarcely know their right hand from their left with regard to the things of the world.
This illustrates the history of this people. We have been under the necessity of learning every art—to cultivate the soil and how to provide for our own wants under the most adverse circumstances. We have been compelled to do this or go without, for none would do it for us. We have been forced to study mechanism, all kinds of machinery, how to build, and how to provide and take care of ourselves in every respect. I thank the parent and the boys for turning us out of doors. Why? Because it has thrown us on our own resources, and taught us to provide for ourselves. We have a future before us, and God will take care of us. In my meditations I say, “Shall I complain of father? No. I will not complain at all, he has done the best he could for me, though he knew it not. If he had made my house, opened my farm, planted my orchard, seen to my planting and ploughing as well as the gathering; and then had brought my food to my chamber and appointed a servant to feed me, what should I have known about getting my living? How could I have known anything about raising fruit or anything else? I could not have known. I might read books until Doomsday, and unless I apply the knowledge thus obtained I should know but little.” Without the application of knowledge acquired by reading, it makes mere machines of us; we can tell what others have done, but we know nothing ourselves. Then speak evil of no man, and acknowledge that it has been a blessing to us to be cast aside and compelled to take care of ourselves.
When we left our homes in the East and started for the Rocky Mountains the feeling in regard to us was, “There is starvation before you Mormons; but if you do not die of starvation the Indians will kill you.” We knew that they would do no such thing; we knew that we could live when we got here, and we also knew that we could travel twelve or fourteen hundred miles with our cows, calves, colts, lame cattle, our seed grain and provisions and farming utensils on wagons, carts and handcarts, without an ounce of iron on some of them. It was said that we could raise nothing when we got here; but I said, “We will wait and see; we know that God has led us out here, and we will wait and see what he will do for us.” You can see what he has done, and thank his name and be humble. Shall we speak evil of others? No. Why? Because the result of their treatment towards us has made us better and greater than we could have been otherwise. It has brought us closer together than we could possibly have come without a great deal more revelation than we have had. Our enemies have pushed us together; and it is excellent to be surrounded by circumstances that will bring us close together. We learn then whether we have fellowship one for another. Let us thank God, and speak evil of none; and instead of finding fault with father, let us thank him for turning us out of doors, for we have learned a great many useful lessons in life that we could not have learned without. We can read just as much as the inhabitants of the earth, and after reading we can practice a thousand times more than many of them.
I wish now to say a few words in relation to a subject which is attracting the attention of thousands of people in the world. I refer to what is termed infidelity. We are very well aware that a statement made in reference to this matter in this Conference is true—namely, that the inhabitants of the earth are drifting, as fast as time can roll, to infidelity. I do not profess to know a great deal; but some things I do know. Shall I take the liberty of telling you the story of the boy who went to the mill? He was looking at the miller's hogs, which were very fat, clean and fine. The miller came out, and, seeing the boy attentively observing the pigs, said to him, “What are you thinking about?” Said the boy, “I was thinking that millers have fat hogs.” “Were you thinking of anything else?” said the miller. “Yes.” “What was it?” “I do not know whose grain they are fed on,” said the boy. I take the liberty of telling this story for illustration. Some things I do know and some I do not know; if I do not know whose grain the pigs eat, I do know that there are some fat hogs.
What shall I say with regard to infidelity? I do not know a great deal, but I say that a man has not good common sense who denies his Maker; such a man is not endowed with reasoning powers. I hold this book in my hand, and I say that for its production from the crude element it required a type founder, paper maker, printer and a book binder, and by their united exertions the book was made. But the infidel bases his argument on the principle that the book is here without a producer—that no type founder, paper maker, printer, nor bookbinder was necessary. Is not a man who argues on this principle a fool? If he is not, he comes pretty near it.
There are a great many who say that there is no embodiment of the Deity. Our Christian brethren almost deny the existence of a God; but it is in word only; they do not feel it in their hearts, they do not mean any such thing. They are like the people of whom Paul speaks, who had temples reared to the unknown God. The Christians do not know anything about God, neither does the infidel. The Christian world say, “We believe in a God who has no body.” You do not believe in anything of the sort, Christian world! You think you believe it, but it is only tradition with you. Your fathers told you that God has no body; the priests told them; the schoolmasters have joined in the endorsement of the same ridiculous idea; it is also written in your church creeds; but, when you let common sense have place in your hearts, you do not believe in any such nonentity or nondescript as a God without body, parts or passions.
But foolish and absurd as is such an idea, it is not so ridiculous as that of the infidel. The Christian world, while virtually declaring that God is nothing, also declare that the world was created by him; but the infidel says the world had no creator, it is the result of chance. Now I defy any infidel, or any other person on the face of the earth, to prove that anything can be made or exist without a maker. The world and all its various grades of organized denizens, from the lowest forms of vegetable or animal life, up to man, the lord of creation, were framed and made, or they would not have been here.
I just want to say with regard to infidelity, it means nothing more nor less than to disbelieve anything we have a mind to. If we disbelieve in the existence of the Eternal, as an embodiment or personage, we are infidel on that point. If we disbelieve in the efficacy of the blood of the Savior and his atonement, we are infidels on that subject. I wish to say, however, to the Christian world, that the moment the atonement of the Savior is done away, that moment, at one sweep, the hopes of salvation entertained by the Christian world are destroyed, the foundation of their faith is taken away, and there is nothing left for them to stand upon. When this is gone, all the revelations God ever gave to the Jewish nation, to the Gentiles and to us are rendered valueless, and all hope is taken from us at one sweep.
What proof have you, Infidels, that Jesus is not the Christ? What proof have you of the negative of the existence of God the Father, or of Jesus as the Mediator, or of the Holy Ghost as God's minister, or of the gifts and graces that God has bestowed upon his people? None at all, not the least thing in the world. Is there anybody living on the earth that has the proof of the affirmative? Yes; we have. We have proof that God lives and that he has a body; that he has eyes, and ears to hear; that he has arms, hands and feet; that he can walk and does walk. He has declared himself to be a man of war—Jehovah, the great I Am, the Lord Almighty, and many other titles of a like import are used in reference to him in the Scriptures. But take away the atonement of the Son of God and the Scriptures fall useless to the ground.
How is it, Infidel, have you any proof that Jesus did not die for the sins of the world? No; not the least, any more than you have proof that there was no need to go to the mountains to cut the timber used in building this house, or to quarry the rock of which the pillars of this house are composed. How is it, Mr. Infidel, have you any proof of the nonexistence of Him who rules and reigns in heaven, and who controls the destinies of the earth? No; not the least. But you say, “I do not believe it.” That is your affair only, nobody cares about that.
Infidelity extends to other subjects besides the existence of God and the atonement of the Savior. Some are infidel on one point and some on another. I want to say that so far as a God without a body, parts and passions is concerned, I am a complete infidel. The God whom I serve has got eyes, ears, nose and mouth. He has hands to handle; his footsteps are seen in the midst of his people, and his goings forth among the nations; and he who has the Spirit of the Almighty can see the providences of God and behold his ways. I ask the infidel if he has any proof that I do not enjoy that Spirit? I have proof that I do. What is that proof? The peace, light and intelligence that I enjoy, which I have not obtained from the infidel, from reading books, from going to school, nor from studying the wisdom of any man that ever lived on the face of the earth. “Where did you obtain it?” says the infidel. From heaven, from the fountain of light and intelligence. “Where is your wisdom?” again says the infidel. Here, right before me, teaching the people how to be saved, how to live, and to live with each other; how to improve their minds; how to govern and control themselves. It was so with Joseph Smith, in his day. So it is today; how else could it be done? Who can gather the people from the nations in their poverty and ignorance and fill them with light and intelligence, teach them how to live, what the earth is and what it is for, make them understand that God is our father, Jesus the Mediator, and that we belong to the highest intelligence that there is in existence, and that we are the natural offspring of God the Father? God only can do this. Yet the infidel will say there is no God, that we are creatures of today, that we had no existence before this, and that when this is over there is nothing after. And following down the chain of his reasoning, he will say there was a time when there was no earth, no stars, no worlds, no anything. Well, I know there never was such a time. That is faith against faith, declaration against declaration. What a pitiful condition it would be for all space to contain nothing! To suppose that element, worlds, men, the grass of the fields, or the trees of the forest were created, is all folly! They are from eternity. It is equally vain to imagine space empty! There is no space without a kingdom, neither is there any kingdom without space, and they are from everlasting to everlasting. “How do you know it?” asks the unbeliever. By the revelations of God, by the revelations of the Lord Jesus Christ. “How do you know how to teach the people to control themselves and make them of one heart and one mind?” By the revelations of the Lord. Well, then, I guess we will sing and pray and serve our God and keep his commandments; and I rather think that Zion will prosper. That is my opinion.
While the chapter from the prophecies of Daniel was being read, showing the plans and schemes of those who sought to entrap Daniel, and their miserable end, I was thinking how wise (!) men were in those days. How wise were those great captains, counselors and presidents! Could they not foresee that they could not overthrow Daniel? No, they could see no further than to believe that if the King would sign the decree that no petition should be presented to any potentate, on, above, or around about the earth, but to himself, for the space of thirty days, they would entrap and destroy Daniel. What was the result? Just as quick as they commenced their special legislation against Daniel the Lord commenced special legislation for him and against those who got him into the lion's den. The final result was that Daniel lodged with the lions over night and came out unscathed, not injured in the least; the lions lay there peaceable when the stone was rolled away, and those who had caused him to be thrust there were condemned to take the place he left, and the lions devoured them. They could not foresee what Daniel could; he could have foretold their destiny, and that the legislation of the Lord Almighty would be a little above the special legislation of which they were the authors against him.
Brethren and sisters, will you keep the Word of Wisdom, say your prayers, observe the Sabbath, speak evil of no man, and strive to be humble and faithful in all things? If you will, we shall be one by and by; we are not yet. We must overcome the love of the world. He that hath the love of the world hath not the love of the Father. He that loves the things of the world loves not the kingdom of heaven on the earth. Whosoever serves mammon cannot serve God. We must let these things go out of our affections, then lay hold of the principles of eternal life and sustain the kingdom of God on the earth, or else we shall go by the board. If we jump over, we shall certainly sink, and if we stay aboard Zion's ship, we can do no more than sink, and it will be just as well if Zion's ship sink to be aboard as to jump overboard and sink. We had better stay aboard, she may go into harbor; and I can promise you in the name of Israel's God that she will go there safe and carry every one of her passengers. Will we be humble and faithful? I trust we will. I hope—I pray you, brethren and sisters, let us be humble, be faithful to our God, our religion, and each other.
I will say a few words on a subject which has been mentioned here—that is, celestial marriage. God has given a revelation to seal for time and for eternity, just as he did in days of old. In our own days he has commanded his people to receive the New and Everlasting Covenant, and he has said, “If ye abide not that covenant, then are ye damned.” We have received it. What is the result of it? I look at the world, or that small portion of it which believes in monogamy. It is only a small portion of the human family who do believe in it, for from nine to ten of the twelve hundred millions that live on the earth believe in and practice polygamy. Well, what is the result? Right in our land the doctrine and practice of plurality of wives tend to the preservation of life. Do you know it? Do you see it? What is our duty? To preserve life or destroy it? Can any of you answer? Why yes, it is to perpetuate and preserve life. But what principle do we see prevailing in our own land? What is that of which, in the East, West, North and South, ministers in their pulpits complain, and against which both gentlemen and ladies lecture? It is against taking life. They say, “Cease the destruction of prenatal life!” Our doctrine and practice make and preserve life; theirs destroy it. Which is the best, saying nothing about revelation, which is the best in a moral point of view, to preserve or to destroy the life which God designs to bring upon the earth. Just look at it and decide for yourselves.
This house is very large, but as a general thing the people have been very attentive, and they have tried to keep as still as possible. Still, I believe they can improve a little. I think that many of our sisters who have children can stay nearer the doors, and then, if they cannot prevent their children crying, they can step out. I do believe they can stop their whispering. When there is anything said from this Stand that pleases or displeases you, you turn to your neighbor and whisper, and the next one does the same, and directly there are a few thousand whispering, creating a noise like the rushing of many waters. Then you scrape your feet a little, and the many little noises are like the dust that composes the mountains and the whole earth. Every person should be silent when we meet here to worship God. Remember and try to keep perfectly quiet, and do not whisper, talk, nor scrape your feet; and do not let your children cry if you can help it. Twenty years ago I used to tell you that you might pinch your children to make them cry as loud as they could if you wished, and I could preach louder than they could cry. I could do it then, but now I want all to keep still.
I trust we shall long have the privilege of enjoying this shade which we have built; it is a cover from the burning sun in summer; and when the storm of rain comes, this umbrella will shelter us. I perceive that, in the gallery, there is a little more heat now than before; we shall open the ventilators and put in some skylights, then I think it will be as cool as in the past.
Brethren and sisters, I feel to bless you. I ask my Father in heaven to bless the Saints, to bless every quorum and organization of his kingdom, from the First Presidency down to the last organization to promote good in the midst of his people. I pray continually for the Bishops, presiding Elders, High Councilors, and the Female Relief Societies. I will bless you, my sisters, if you will hearken to the counsel which has been given you with regard to these fashions. Then, to my brethren, I say, I will bless you, if you will seek a little closer to sustain yourselves, by preserving and wisely using that which the Lord gives you, and not suffer your cattle and sheep to die on the prairies, but preserve them, that we may have the wherewithal to supply ourselves with the necessaries of life, by raising sheep, building factories, raising flax, the mulberry and silk and other things useful. I do not care how beautifully you are adorned, ladies, if you will only raise the silk and adorn yourselves with your own hands. That is the requirement of heaven. It was so almost forty years ago. The word of the Lord to his Saints then was, “Let the beauty of your apparel be the beauty of the work of your own hands.” If you will observe this, adorn yourselves as much as you please. Make your hats and bonnets, and also make hats for your brothers and sons. It is your duty to do it. Preserve that that the Lord has given you, and waste nothing. I can say to the Latter-day Saints that there is no man nor woman, person or persons, but what I would rather feed, clothe, and sustain than to see a particle wasted in the midst of my family or this people. God does not like it, his Spirit is grieved with it. Idleness and wastefulness are not according to the rules of heaven. Preserve all you can, that you may have abundance to bless your friends and your enemies, as we did in '49, '50 and '51. In those years, we fed thousands and thousands of poor, starving emigrants, who had gold so big in their eyes that, when they started for the Plains, they did not know whether they had anything to eat or not. By our instrumentality they were fed and sent on their way rejoicing. If we take the counsel now given we shall have abundance to bless our enemies if it be necessary. Shall we say that we have any? Yes, there are those who would delight to be our enemies if they knew how; but they do not know how. I do not suppose that there was a greater enemy to the Savior, when he was on the earth, than the devil. How he did plead with the Savior to worship him! Said he, “I will give you all you can see, if you will fall down and worship me.” But Jesus rebuked him. Yet the devil hunted and followed up Jews and Gentiles, that is, the Romans, until they betrayed the Redeemer into the hands of his enemies, who crucified him, and in doing that they consummated the great act for the salvation of the human family, which will cheat the devil out of pretty much all of them, one way or the other. If he had had any good sense about him—but he was as short of that as the infidels in our day—he would have said, “I am with you, I will go with you, pay your taxes, and will make you welcome to my house.” But no, the devil and his followers did not know enough to do this, neither do our enemies, and thank God for it!
Again I say, I feel to bless my brethren and sisters—every quorum, every authority; our brethren and sisters who have sung for us, or played on the organ. I thank you, doorkeepers, and you who have waited on the congregation, and I say God bless you, and in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I bless the whole house of Israel. I pray for the redemption of the Center Stake of Zion, and the upbuilding thereof. It is before us continually in our faith, and I hope that we shall live to see it. Amen.
Conference adjourned till the 6th of October next, to meet in the New Tabernacle.
The choir, joined by the congregation, sang: "Praise God from whom all blessings flow."
Benediction by President George A. Smith.
There are but few, if any, sights more grand, or more calculated to inspire sublime emotions and a high sense of the power of the Omnipotent Jehovah, than a vast multitude of people assembled for divine worship. Such a spectacle has been presented in the New Tabernacle during Conference. The huge building, at nearly all the meetings was filled in every part. At each meeting, before the people were fairly seated and called to order, the murmuring noise of the voices of the great assembly sounded, as aptly remarked by President Young, like the rushing of many waters or the roaring of the sea.
The spirit and power of God were abundantly manifested at Conference. And such an immense gathering of the Latter-day Saints and the feeling of unity that prevailed among them must have thrown a damper on those who have been so lavish in their prognostications of the downfall of the Kingdom of God. We are safe in saying that the Saints never felt more like adhering to the good ship Zion and sustaining the Lord's anointed than they do now.
The singing of the choir and the music of the grand Organ were interesting features of the Conference.
John Nicholson,
Clerk of Conference.