April 1872
General Conference
Saturday Morning, April 6.
The Forty-second Annual General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints assembled in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, at 10 o’clock this morning.
On the stand were,
Of the First Presidency.
Geo. A. Smith and Daniel H. Wells.
Of the Twelve Apostles.
Orson Pratt, John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, Charles C. Rich, Lorenzo Snow, Erastus Snow, Franklin D. Richards, Brigham Young, Jr., Joseph F. Smith, Albert Carrington.
Patriarch—John Smith.
Of the First Seven Presidents of the Seventies.
Joseph Young, Albert P. Rockwood, John Van Cott and Horace S. Eldredge.
Of the Presidency of the High Priests’ Quorum.
Elias Smith, Edward Snelgrove and Elias Morris.
Of the Presidency of this Stake of Zion.
John W. Young, George B. Wallace and John T. Caine.
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 George A. Smith.
The choir sang: “An angel from on high.”
The opening prayer was offered by Elder Erastus Snow.
The choir sang: “See, all creation join To praise th’ Eternal God.”
Saturday Morning, April 6.
The Forty-second Annual General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints assembled in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, at 10 o’clock this morning.
On the stand were,
Of the First Presidency.
Geo. A. Smith and Daniel H. Wells.
Of the Twelve Apostles.
Orson Pratt, John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, Charles C. Rich, Lorenzo Snow, Erastus Snow, Franklin D. Richards, Brigham Young, Jr., Joseph F. Smith, Albert Carrington.
Patriarch—John Smith.
Of the First Seven Presidents of the Seventies.
Joseph Young, Albert P. Rockwood, John Van Cott and Horace S. Eldredge.
Of the Presidency of the High Priests’ Quorum.
Elias Smith, Edward Snelgrove and Elias Morris.
Of the Presidency of this Stake of Zion.
John W. Young, George B. Wallace and John T. Caine.
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 George A. Smith.
The choir sang: “An angel from on high.”
The opening prayer was offered by Elder Erastus Snow.
The choir sang: “See, all creation join To praise th’ Eternal God.”
President Geo. A. Smith
addressed the Conference. He said that owing to a spirit of persecution disgraceful to the age, our First President was not permitted to be with us. But notwithstanding the prevalence of religious bigotry, and its being brought to bear against us, we rejoiced in the blessings of God. It was not strange that men, in some respects probably illiterate, yet declaring that they possessed the principles calculated to exalt and elevate the human family, should be misunderstood. The persecutors of Jesus and his ancient disciples were men who were loud in their professions of religion and holiness. The same principle now existed and the Saints had to contend with it. From the time the church was organized in 1830 this spirit of persecution had been manifested toward the Saints. Abuse was a poor argument to use against a system of religion.
God had commenced a work to cause men to love one another and bring about a reign of peace. There was no doubt Satan stirred up the hearts of men to oppose the principles that would produce this result, and they followed his suggestions.
The brethren should free their minds from all business cares and pay attention to what might be said and done, and offer mighty prayer for the redemption of Zion, for the blessings of God to rest on President Brigham Young, that he might be strengthened in body and enabled to counsel and instruct in the kingdom of God. All should consider what they could do in aid of the Perpetual Emigrating Fund, that the poor might be gathered.
President Brigham Young, when on his last visit to St. George, selected and dedicated the ground for a Temple, that the ordinances of the holy gospel might be administered there. The work upon the Temple in this city should be forwarded with even greater rapidity than heretofore.
The principle of co-operation had been adopted in many ways in the settlements, and had been gratifyingly successful, and the Female Relief Societies had been productive of good, showing what could be accomplished by the people when they were united.
The speaker then bore a powerful testimony to the truth of the work of God. The Almighty had revealed it to him, and he therefore knew it to be true.
addressed the Conference. He said that owing to a spirit of persecution disgraceful to the age, our First President was not permitted to be with us. But notwithstanding the prevalence of religious bigotry, and its being brought to bear against us, we rejoiced in the blessings of God. It was not strange that men, in some respects probably illiterate, yet declaring that they possessed the principles calculated to exalt and elevate the human family, should be misunderstood. The persecutors of Jesus and his ancient disciples were men who were loud in their professions of religion and holiness. The same principle now existed and the Saints had to contend with it. From the time the church was organized in 1830 this spirit of persecution had been manifested toward the Saints. Abuse was a poor argument to use against a system of religion.
God had commenced a work to cause men to love one another and bring about a reign of peace. There was no doubt Satan stirred up the hearts of men to oppose the principles that would produce this result, and they followed his suggestions.
The brethren should free their minds from all business cares and pay attention to what might be said and done, and offer mighty prayer for the redemption of Zion, for the blessings of God to rest on President Brigham Young, that he might be strengthened in body and enabled to counsel and instruct in the kingdom of God. All should consider what they could do in aid of the Perpetual Emigrating Fund, that the poor might be gathered.
President Brigham Young, when on his last visit to St. George, selected and dedicated the ground for a Temple, that the ordinances of the holy gospel might be administered there. The work upon the Temple in this city should be forwarded with even greater rapidity than heretofore.
The principle of co-operation had been adopted in many ways in the settlements, and had been gratifyingly successful, and the Female Relief Societies had been productive of good, showing what could be accomplished by the people when they were united.
The speaker then bore a powerful testimony to the truth of the work of God. The Almighty had revealed it to him, and he therefore knew it to be true.
Persecution—Temples—Cooperation
Remarks by President George A. Smith, delivered in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Saturday Morning, April 6th, 1872.
Reported by David W. Evans.
Owing to a spirit of persecution and religious bigotry, alike disgraceful to the age, the enlightenment of the present generation and the nation in which we live, our First President is not permitted to be with us. While we regret such a state of affairs, we rejoice in the many liberties, privileges, blessings and powers which are extended unto us. It is not by any means strange that, while the world has been plunged in ignorance upon matters of religion and morality, and broken up into factions, on the appearance in the midst of the whole, of a small body of men, illiterate in their character, proclaiming to the world that they are inspired of the Lord, and undertake to introduce systems and principles calculated to elevate mankind from degradation and destruction, and exalt them to eternal glory and endless increase, they should be misunderstood; it has been so in all ages of the world. When our Savior visited the earth bringing the simple principles of salvation, he was misunderstood, misapprehended, persecuted, imprisoned, crowned with thorns, tortured, as a man who was opposed to the religion of the age, and dangerous to the State. He was accused of a great variety of crimes, of being a pestilent fellow, and was finally put to death by a class of men a great number of whom were zealous professors of religion—elders, high priests, rabbis, doctors of the law and others claiming to be exceedingly holy. Jesus, in referring to the history of the past, said that the fathers of those who persecuted him had slain the prophets, and such was the case; and we find that, in every age, when God inspired a man to proclaim the Gospel of salvation, all, or a large portion of mankind, were ready to denounce him and put him to death, to whip, imprison, annoy, lie about him, proclaim all manner of evil against him, and so on, until his influence should be annihilated from the earth. The same principle still exists, and the Latter-day Saints have had to contend with it. When Joseph Smith, in 1830, organized the Church with six members, the war, as it were, commenced; a few hours only had passed away when he was arrested, taken before a magistrate and accused of prophesying. He was discharged, arrested again, taken before another magistrate, and finally a declaration was made that if the law could not reach him, tar and feathers and mob power should. This is a very poor argument and shows the weakness of those who have recourse to it.
We live in an age of science, in an age when intelligence is being developed in a great many directions, and when the learning of man is vastly extended. The Apostle Paul cautioned the Saints in his day to beware lest any spoil them through philosophy and vain deceit; yet the religion of Jesus Christ embraces every true and perfect principle, every correct science, every principle of philosophy—that is every true principle, and is calculated to benefit mankind in every way; and yet the laws of life as revealed, explained and developed in the organization of the human family are trampled under foot and very little understood. God has commenced a work in these last days to elevate mankind, to save them, to increase them, to place them on a footing of independence; to cause them to love one another and to lay a foundation for peace and harmony, that bloodshed and war, contention and devastation shall cease; that the power of the oppressor shall be broken and that the honest in heart may have the privilege of dwelling together and building up Zion in all the earth, and of continuing the blessings and ordinances of exaltation for time and throughout all eternity.
There is no doubt but Satan stirs up the hearts of the children of man to disobedience and to war against the principles of righteousness; but they are true. Joseph Smith was a Prophet of God, he was a minister of the Most High; he brought forth pure and holy principles, principles which are calculated to save and exalt mankind. He was slain, and those who received his testimony were robbed of all they possessed and driven into the wilderness under the influence of religious fanaticism and bigotry, which apprehended nothing but their utter destruction. God preserved them, blessed them, and they spread abroad in the midst of these valleys; they converted the desert into fruitful fields, and laid a foundation for the redemption of the human race, and thank God for these privileges.
We want while we are here at Conference, to have our brethren collect in their minds—that is, leave their business out of doors. It is a good time to come to Conference, a splendid time to do business and all that; but while the hours of Conference are on, let us come to meeting, give strict attention to what is said and done, and call upon God in mighty prayer, that he will deliver Zion from her oppressors; that he will bless the efforts of his servants for the advancement of his work; that he will bless the Missionaries that are sent abroad, and those who are abroad among the nations, and the missions of the native elders in the various counties; that he will open the way that the poor may be gathered. And, by the way, while we are doing this, let us reflect how much we can do to aid the Perpetual Emigration Fund, in bringing home the Poor. Many of them have been scattered among the nations half a generation and more, and they are unable to gather home. Think of these things. Pray the Lord to give his servants wisdom; pray the Lord to strengthen the President of the Church—Brigham Young, heal his body, make him strong, sound and healthy, deliver him from the power of the oppressor and those who seek to destroy him, that he may have wisdom, intelligence and power to preach to and teach the Saints, and to counsel and guide the affairs of the great work which God has entrusted to him. Let us devote a few days, as the case may be, to counsel, to instruction, to bearing testimony, to acquiring a knowledge of the things of God, speaking of those things that are for the welfare of Zion; taking counsel together as to the best course to pursue on the various subjects that are before us—forwarding the building of Temples, &c.
After last Conference President Young and myself made a journey to St. George. His health was very poor and he was quite feeble when he left here. When he reached that mild climate, or rather, that even, dry climate, he seemed immediately to commence to recruit, and while we remained there—we were absent about ten weeks—he improved very much; but in consequence of the persecution which was inaugurated against the Latter-day Saints, aiming at him directly, it became necessary for him to return in the midst of a very cold and stormy season, and very muddy roads. While at St. George he selected a spot, laid out the foundation and dedicated the ground and made a commencement, to build a temple, which is being continued under the direction of President Erastus Snow, that the ordinances of the holy priesthood, which should be administered only in a Temple, may be attended to in that part of the Territory, in the neighborhood and vicinity of those settlements.
Our brethren can observe that a very handsome addition has been made to the foundation of the Temple here since the last Annual Conference, and they can now begin to form some idea of how the work is going to look. When you realize that all the granite that is in that immense foundation has been hauled some seventeen miles with oxen, mules and horses, you must realize that a very great job has been accomplished. But at the present time we have a railroad almost into the quarry, and the result is that the labor has been greatly lessened, and the rock and the sand and other building material can be brought here at vastly less expense than formerly, and consequently we will be able to push the work forward more rapidly. We want the brethren and sisters—all of them, to feel an interest in the tithes and offerings for the Temple, and in the labor upon it.
All must be aware that considerable expense and a great deal of time and disarrangement of business has been caused by the persecutions and prosecutions of the last year. But we are very glad that Cooperative Associations for mercantile, manufacturing, agricultural, grazing and other purposes that have been forming in this City and throughout this Territory for several years past, have proved in an eminent degree successful, manifesting what wonderful results can be accomplished by the Latter-day Saints when united in the exercise of their several duties and in the performance of their labors. The want of unity and organization causes the loss of a good deal of time, and hence the necessity of organization and united efforts.
The ladies relief societies in all the several settlements wherever they have existed have also been in many respects highly successful, and great blessings to the community—looking after the poor and introducing improvements, encouraging and enabling women to take charge of branches of business that are suited to their strength, knowledge and condition. It always did seem to me ridiculous to see a man six feet two and weighing two hundred and twenty measuring tape or ribbons in a store; and I shall be very thankful when I can see changes effected to such an extent that nimble fingers, suited to handle light goods will be permitted to follow that kind of employment, and so on throughout the whole organization of society. Let those great big men go and dig the rock, handle the saw log, or do something that their strength was made for, and not let their giant power wilt away in the shadow of a store. However these are things yet to come. It is not my design to offer many remarks, but merely as an introduction to the conference, to express my faith. I know that this is the work of God, and that all the efforts of wicked men to trample it under foot will be vain. I know the Lord has commenced his great work of the latter days, and that Zion will triumph. This is my testimony. I am not talking what I guess at, what I imagine or what I think, but what I verily know—God has revealed it unto me. Brethren, if you have not this knowledge within yourselves, seek it of the Lord by obedience to his laws, by observing his counsel, by walking in his ordinances, by laboring for the upbuilding of Zion, and you will obtain it, and it will be like a well of water springing up in your hearts unto everlasting life.
May the blessing of Israel's God be and abide upon you forever and ever. Amen.
Remarks by President George A. Smith, delivered in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Saturday Morning, April 6th, 1872.
Reported by David W. Evans.
Owing to a spirit of persecution and religious bigotry, alike disgraceful to the age, the enlightenment of the present generation and the nation in which we live, our First President is not permitted to be with us. While we regret such a state of affairs, we rejoice in the many liberties, privileges, blessings and powers which are extended unto us. It is not by any means strange that, while the world has been plunged in ignorance upon matters of religion and morality, and broken up into factions, on the appearance in the midst of the whole, of a small body of men, illiterate in their character, proclaiming to the world that they are inspired of the Lord, and undertake to introduce systems and principles calculated to elevate mankind from degradation and destruction, and exalt them to eternal glory and endless increase, they should be misunderstood; it has been so in all ages of the world. When our Savior visited the earth bringing the simple principles of salvation, he was misunderstood, misapprehended, persecuted, imprisoned, crowned with thorns, tortured, as a man who was opposed to the religion of the age, and dangerous to the State. He was accused of a great variety of crimes, of being a pestilent fellow, and was finally put to death by a class of men a great number of whom were zealous professors of religion—elders, high priests, rabbis, doctors of the law and others claiming to be exceedingly holy. Jesus, in referring to the history of the past, said that the fathers of those who persecuted him had slain the prophets, and such was the case; and we find that, in every age, when God inspired a man to proclaim the Gospel of salvation, all, or a large portion of mankind, were ready to denounce him and put him to death, to whip, imprison, annoy, lie about him, proclaim all manner of evil against him, and so on, until his influence should be annihilated from the earth. The same principle still exists, and the Latter-day Saints have had to contend with it. When Joseph Smith, in 1830, organized the Church with six members, the war, as it were, commenced; a few hours only had passed away when he was arrested, taken before a magistrate and accused of prophesying. He was discharged, arrested again, taken before another magistrate, and finally a declaration was made that if the law could not reach him, tar and feathers and mob power should. This is a very poor argument and shows the weakness of those who have recourse to it.
We live in an age of science, in an age when intelligence is being developed in a great many directions, and when the learning of man is vastly extended. The Apostle Paul cautioned the Saints in his day to beware lest any spoil them through philosophy and vain deceit; yet the religion of Jesus Christ embraces every true and perfect principle, every correct science, every principle of philosophy—that is every true principle, and is calculated to benefit mankind in every way; and yet the laws of life as revealed, explained and developed in the organization of the human family are trampled under foot and very little understood. God has commenced a work in these last days to elevate mankind, to save them, to increase them, to place them on a footing of independence; to cause them to love one another and to lay a foundation for peace and harmony, that bloodshed and war, contention and devastation shall cease; that the power of the oppressor shall be broken and that the honest in heart may have the privilege of dwelling together and building up Zion in all the earth, and of continuing the blessings and ordinances of exaltation for time and throughout all eternity.
There is no doubt but Satan stirs up the hearts of the children of man to disobedience and to war against the principles of righteousness; but they are true. Joseph Smith was a Prophet of God, he was a minister of the Most High; he brought forth pure and holy principles, principles which are calculated to save and exalt mankind. He was slain, and those who received his testimony were robbed of all they possessed and driven into the wilderness under the influence of religious fanaticism and bigotry, which apprehended nothing but their utter destruction. God preserved them, blessed them, and they spread abroad in the midst of these valleys; they converted the desert into fruitful fields, and laid a foundation for the redemption of the human race, and thank God for these privileges.
We want while we are here at Conference, to have our brethren collect in their minds—that is, leave their business out of doors. It is a good time to come to Conference, a splendid time to do business and all that; but while the hours of Conference are on, let us come to meeting, give strict attention to what is said and done, and call upon God in mighty prayer, that he will deliver Zion from her oppressors; that he will bless the efforts of his servants for the advancement of his work; that he will bless the Missionaries that are sent abroad, and those who are abroad among the nations, and the missions of the native elders in the various counties; that he will open the way that the poor may be gathered. And, by the way, while we are doing this, let us reflect how much we can do to aid the Perpetual Emigration Fund, in bringing home the Poor. Many of them have been scattered among the nations half a generation and more, and they are unable to gather home. Think of these things. Pray the Lord to give his servants wisdom; pray the Lord to strengthen the President of the Church—Brigham Young, heal his body, make him strong, sound and healthy, deliver him from the power of the oppressor and those who seek to destroy him, that he may have wisdom, intelligence and power to preach to and teach the Saints, and to counsel and guide the affairs of the great work which God has entrusted to him. Let us devote a few days, as the case may be, to counsel, to instruction, to bearing testimony, to acquiring a knowledge of the things of God, speaking of those things that are for the welfare of Zion; taking counsel together as to the best course to pursue on the various subjects that are before us—forwarding the building of Temples, &c.
After last Conference President Young and myself made a journey to St. George. His health was very poor and he was quite feeble when he left here. When he reached that mild climate, or rather, that even, dry climate, he seemed immediately to commence to recruit, and while we remained there—we were absent about ten weeks—he improved very much; but in consequence of the persecution which was inaugurated against the Latter-day Saints, aiming at him directly, it became necessary for him to return in the midst of a very cold and stormy season, and very muddy roads. While at St. George he selected a spot, laid out the foundation and dedicated the ground and made a commencement, to build a temple, which is being continued under the direction of President Erastus Snow, that the ordinances of the holy priesthood, which should be administered only in a Temple, may be attended to in that part of the Territory, in the neighborhood and vicinity of those settlements.
Our brethren can observe that a very handsome addition has been made to the foundation of the Temple here since the last Annual Conference, and they can now begin to form some idea of how the work is going to look. When you realize that all the granite that is in that immense foundation has been hauled some seventeen miles with oxen, mules and horses, you must realize that a very great job has been accomplished. But at the present time we have a railroad almost into the quarry, and the result is that the labor has been greatly lessened, and the rock and the sand and other building material can be brought here at vastly less expense than formerly, and consequently we will be able to push the work forward more rapidly. We want the brethren and sisters—all of them, to feel an interest in the tithes and offerings for the Temple, and in the labor upon it.
All must be aware that considerable expense and a great deal of time and disarrangement of business has been caused by the persecutions and prosecutions of the last year. But we are very glad that Cooperative Associations for mercantile, manufacturing, agricultural, grazing and other purposes that have been forming in this City and throughout this Territory for several years past, have proved in an eminent degree successful, manifesting what wonderful results can be accomplished by the Latter-day Saints when united in the exercise of their several duties and in the performance of their labors. The want of unity and organization causes the loss of a good deal of time, and hence the necessity of organization and united efforts.
The ladies relief societies in all the several settlements wherever they have existed have also been in many respects highly successful, and great blessings to the community—looking after the poor and introducing improvements, encouraging and enabling women to take charge of branches of business that are suited to their strength, knowledge and condition. It always did seem to me ridiculous to see a man six feet two and weighing two hundred and twenty measuring tape or ribbons in a store; and I shall be very thankful when I can see changes effected to such an extent that nimble fingers, suited to handle light goods will be permitted to follow that kind of employment, and so on throughout the whole organization of society. Let those great big men go and dig the rock, handle the saw log, or do something that their strength was made for, and not let their giant power wilt away in the shadow of a store. However these are things yet to come. It is not my design to offer many remarks, but merely as an introduction to the conference, to express my faith. I know that this is the work of God, and that all the efforts of wicked men to trample it under foot will be vain. I know the Lord has commenced his great work of the latter days, and that Zion will triumph. This is my testimony. I am not talking what I guess at, what I imagine or what I think, but what I verily know—God has revealed it unto me. Brethren, if you have not this knowledge within yourselves, seek it of the Lord by obedience to his laws, by observing his counsel, by walking in his ordinances, by laboring for the upbuilding of Zion, and you will obtain it, and it will be like a well of water springing up in your hearts unto everlasting life.
May the blessing of Israel's God be and abide upon you forever and ever. Amen.
Elder Wilford Woodruff
was the next speaker. He referred to the organization of the Church forty-two years ago by a prophet of the living God, and stated that we understood that on the 6th day of April, 1842 years ago, the Savior was crucified for the sins of the world. He quoted from the prophecies of Isaiah, showing that that prophet, in looking through futurity by the prophetic gift, could see the inauguration of the work that we, by the help of the Almighty, were engaged in forwarding. Whether men believed it or not, the predictions of holy men of old concerning the last days would follow each other in fulfillment in rapid succession from this time on. The progress of this kingdom had been onward, and its progress could not be retarded by the combined efforts of all existing powers. The set time had come to favor Zion and every weapon formed against it would fail. Every President, Judge, officer and priest who had exerted their power against this work in the past, had felt the chastening hand of God.
Joseph Smith was a prophet of the living God, and he lived long enough to receive all the keys and powers of the Holy Priesthood that had been held by any man of God that ever lived. He lived long enough to confer keys and powers and blessings on the Twelve Apostles and he sealed his testimony with his blood.
The blessing of God had been upon President Brigham Young, and although his liberties had been curtailed by the persecutors of the Saints, he had felt calm and collected throughout.
We had every reason to have faith that the blessings and protection of God would continue to be poured out on us as a people. Had we not come here we could not have fulfilled the predictions in the Bible, Book of Mormon, and Book of Doctrine and Covenants concerning us.
The speaker gave some excellent advice to mothers, showing the powerful influence they exercised over children, and the course they should take to properly educate them.
was the next speaker. He referred to the organization of the Church forty-two years ago by a prophet of the living God, and stated that we understood that on the 6th day of April, 1842 years ago, the Savior was crucified for the sins of the world. He quoted from the prophecies of Isaiah, showing that that prophet, in looking through futurity by the prophetic gift, could see the inauguration of the work that we, by the help of the Almighty, were engaged in forwarding. Whether men believed it or not, the predictions of holy men of old concerning the last days would follow each other in fulfillment in rapid succession from this time on. The progress of this kingdom had been onward, and its progress could not be retarded by the combined efforts of all existing powers. The set time had come to favor Zion and every weapon formed against it would fail. Every President, Judge, officer and priest who had exerted their power against this work in the past, had felt the chastening hand of God.
Joseph Smith was a prophet of the living God, and he lived long enough to receive all the keys and powers of the Holy Priesthood that had been held by any man of God that ever lived. He lived long enough to confer keys and powers and blessings on the Twelve Apostles and he sealed his testimony with his blood.
The blessing of God had been upon President Brigham Young, and although his liberties had been curtailed by the persecutors of the Saints, he had felt calm and collected throughout.
We had every reason to have faith that the blessings and protection of God would continue to be poured out on us as a people. Had we not come here we could not have fulfilled the predictions in the Bible, Book of Mormon, and Book of Doctrine and Covenants concerning us.
The speaker gave some excellent advice to mothers, showing the powerful influence they exercised over children, and the course they should take to properly educate them.
His Testimony—The Fulfilling of Prophecy—Advice to Mothers
Discourse by Elder Wilford Woodruff, delivered in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, April 6, 1872.
Reported by David W. Evans.
Through the mercy and loving kindness of our Father in the heavens we are again permitted to meet in a general conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Forty-two years ago this day, this church was organized with six members, by a prophet of the living God, raised up in these last days by the administration of angels from God, and ordained unto all the keys and powers of the Melchizedek Priesthood and apostleship, and of the kingdom of God on the earth. According to the best knowledge we have, 1842 years ago today, the Lord Jesus was crucified on Mount Calvary for the sins of the world. The 6th day of April is a very important day in many respects. It has certainly been very interesting to the Latter-day Saints to watch the history and progress of this Church and kingdom during the last forty-two years. This is one of the most important generations that men, or God, or angels have ever seen on the earth: it is a dispensation and generation when the whole flood of prophecy and revelation and vision given through inspired men for the last six thousand years is to have its fulfillment, and especially in relation to the establishment of the great kingdom and Zion of God on the earth. Joseph Smith was one of the greatest prophets God ever raised up on the earth, and the Lord has had his eye upon him from the foundation of the world. Any man who has ever read the book of Isaiah, which we frequently have quoted to us, can see that he, with other prophets, had his eye upon the latter-day Zion of God. He says in one place, “Sing O heavens, rejoice O earth, break forth into singing, O ye mountains, for the Lord hath comforted his people, he will have mercy upon his afflicted. But Zion said: The Lord hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten me;” “Ah,” says the Lord, “Can a woman forget her sucking child that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? Yea, they may forget, yet will not I forget thee. Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me.”
The Lord never created this world at random; he has never done any of his work at random. The earth was created for certain purposes; and one of these purposes was its final redemption, and the establishment of his government and kingdom upon it in the latter days, to prepare it for the reign of the Lord Jesus Christ, whose right it is to reign. That set time has come, that dispensation is before us, we are living in the midst of it. It is before the Latter-day Saints, it is before the world; whether or not the people have more faith in the promises of God now than they had in the days of Noah makes no difference, the unbelief of men will not make the truth of God without effect. The great and mighty events that the Lord Almighty has decreed from before the foundation of the world, to be performed in the latter days are resting upon us, and they will follow each other in quick succession, whether men believe or not, for no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, but holy men of God spake as they were moved upon by the Holy Ghost, and what they said will come to pass; though the heaven and the earth pass away not one jot or tittle of the word of the Lord will go unfulfilled.
Some of us have lived in and been intimately acquainted with this church for the last forty years, a very few more than that, and some less; but where is the Latter-day Saint or any other person who has ever seen this church or kingdom go backward? No matter what position we were in, whether exterminated by the order of Governor Boggs of Missouri, or whether we lay, sick and afflicted, on the muddy banks of the Missouri River; whether it was Zion's Camp going up for her redemption; whether it was the pioneers coming to these mountains, making the roads, building the bridges, killing the snakes and opening the way for the gathering of the people, no matter what our circumstances may have been, this kingdom has been onward and upward all the day long until the present hour. Will it ever go backward? No, it will not. This Zion of the Lord, in all its beauty, power and glory is engraven upon the hands of Almighty God, and it is before his face continually; his decrees are set and no man can turn them aside.
There never was a dispensation on the earth when prophets and apostles, the inspiration, revelation and power of God, the holy priesthood and the keys of the kingdom were needed more than they are in this generation. There never has been a dispensation when the friends of God and righteousness among the children of men needed more faith in the promises and prophecies than they do today; and there certainly never has been a generation of people on the earth that has had a greater work to perform than the inhabitants of the earth in the latter days. That is one reason why this church and kingdom has progressed from its commencement until today, in the midst of all the opposition, oppression and warfare which have been waged against it by men inspired by the evil one. If this had not been the dispensation of the fulness of times—the dispensation in which God has declared that he will establish his kingdom on the earth never more to be thrown down, the inhabitants of the earth would have been enabled to overcome the kingdom and Zion of God in this as well as in any former dispensation. But the set time has come to favor Zion, and the Lord Almighty has decreed in the heavens that every weapon formed against her shall be broken. And if we take the history of any man, from the days Joseph Smith received the plates from the hill Cumorah, and translated the Book of Mormon by the Urim and Thummim, until today, whoever has raised his hand against this work has felt the chastening hand of Almighty God upon him; and I am at the defiance of the world to show me a president, governor, judge, ruler, priest or anybody else on the earth who has taken a stand against this kingdom who is an exception, and you may search their whole history. We have outlived several generations of our persecutors. Where are the men who tarred and feathered Joseph Smith in Portage County, Ohio? Where are the men who drove this people from Kirtland? Where are the men who drove the Church and kingdom from Jackson County, Missouri? Where are the men who undertook to kidnap the prophet while in Illinois? Where are they who drove the Latter-day Saints from Illinois into these mountains? Trace their whole history and see for yourselves. The fact is many of them are in their graves, awaiting their final judgment. And in the whole history of this people and their remarkable preservation, the invisible hand of God is as plainly to be seen as it has been in the history of the Jews from the days of Christ until now; and it will continue until this scene is wound up.
We are led by men who are filled with inspiration. Joseph Smith was a man of God, through the loins of the ancient Joseph who, through the wisdom which God gave him, redeemed his father's house after having been sold by his brethren into Egypt. All the blessings that old father Jacob pronounced upon Joseph and upon the sons of Ephraim, his son and grandsons have rested upon them until this day. Joseph Smith was through that lineage. In his youth he was inspired of God, and was administered to by angels. Under their guidance and counsel he laid the foundation of this work, and lived long enough to receive all the keys necessary for bearing off this dispensation. He lived long enough to have these individuals administer unto him—John the Baptist, Peter, James and John the Apostles, Elisha and Elijah, who held the keys of turning the hearts of the fathers to the children and the hearts of the children to the fathers; and Moroni, who held the keys of the stick of Joseph in the hands of Ephraim to come forth in the latter day, administered in person to Joseph Smith, and gave him these records and instructed him in the things of God from time to time until he was qualified and prepared to lay the foundation of this work. The Prophet Joseph lived to see the Church organized with apostles and prophets, patriarchs, pastors, teachers, helps, governments, and all the gifts and graces of the spirit of God; to give the Twelve Apostles their endowments and to seal upon their heads all the authority and power that were necessary to enable them to fulfil their missions. Why did the Lord take him away? He laid down his life, and sealed his testimony with his blood that it might be in force upon the heads of this generation, and that he might be crowned with crowns of glory, immortality and eternal life; that he might go to the other side of the veil, and there organize the Church and kingdom in this last dispensation. He and his two brothers were taken away into the spirit world, and they are at work there, while Brigham Young and the quorum of the Twelve were preserved on the earth for a special purpose in the hands of God. These things are true, and the hand of the Lord has been over Brigham Young, although now he is under bonds and a prisoner, and has his privileges curtailed for the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. Yet in the midst of all this he is calm and composed before the Lord, and has his mind open to the things of God. He still lives in the midst of this people and will live as long as the Lord wishes him to remain in the flesh to guide the affairs of Zion.
I will say to the Latter-day Saints that we have been more blessed in this land than has any other dispensation or generation of men. The Lord has been at work for the last three hundred years preparing this land, with a government and constitution which would guarantee equal rights and privileges to the inhabitants thereof, in the midst of which he could establish his kingdom. The kingdom is established, the work of God is manifest in the earth, the Saints have come up here into the valleys of the mountains, and they are erecting the house of God in the tops thereof, for the nations to flow unto. A standard of truth has been lifted up to the people, and from the commencement of this work, the Latter-day Saints have been fulfilling that flood of revelation and prophecy which was given formerly concerning this great work in the last days. I rejoice in this, and also because we have every reason to expect a continuation of these blessings unto Zion. We have always had a veil over us, we have had to walk by faith all the day long until the present time: this is the decree of God. When we were driven from Jackson County, Clay County, Caldwell County, Kirtland, and finally from Nauvoo into these mountains, we did not see and understand what lay before us: there was a veil over our faces, in a measure. It has been the same with the people of God in all ages. At that time we could not see this tabernacle, and the five hundred miles of villages, towns, cities, gardens, orchards, fields, or the desert blossoming as the rose as we see them today. We came here and found a barren desert: we were led hither by inspiration, by a lawgiver, by a man of God; the Lord was with him, he was with the pioneers. If we had not come here we could not have fulfilled the prophecies which the prophets have left on record in the stick of Judah as well as in the stick of Ephraim—the Bible and the Book of Mormon. We have done that, and we can look back twenty-four years and see the change that has been effected since our arrival; but who can see the change that will be effected in the next twenty-four years? No man can see it unless the vision of his mind is opened by the power of God. The Lord told Joseph Smith to lay the foundation of this work; he told him that the day had come when the harvest was ready, and to thrust in the sickle and reap; and every man who would do so was called of God and had this privilege.
The Lord has sent forth the Gospel, and it is offered to the children of men as it was in ancient days; men are required to have faith in Jesus Christ, repent of their sins, and to be baptized for the remission of them, and the promise is that they shall receive the Holy Ghost, which shall teach them the things of God, bring things past to their remembrance, and show them things to come.
What principle has sustained the Elders of Israel for the last forty years in their travels? They have gone forth without purse or scrip, preached without money or price; they have swam rivers, waded swamps, and traveled hundreds of thousands of miles on foot to bear record of this work to the nations of the earth. What has sustained them? It has been this power of God, this Holy Ghost, the spirit of inspiration from the God of Israel that has been given to his friends on the earth in these latter days. The blood of Israel has flowed in the veins of the children of men, mixed among the Gentile nations, and when they have heard the sound of the Gospel of Christ it has been like vivid lightning to them; it has opened their understandings, enlarged their minds, and enabled them to see the things of God. They have been born of the Spirit, and then they could behold the kingdom of God; they have been baptized in water and had hands laid upon them for the reception of the Holy Ghost, and they have received that Holy Ghost among every Gentile nation under heaven wherever the Gospel has been permitted to be preached; and here they are today, from all those nations, gathered in the valleys of the mountains. And this is but the beginning; it is like a mustard seed, it is very small; but the little one is to become a thousand, and the small one a strong nation. The Lord will hasten it in his own time. Zion shall be called a “City sought out.” The Lord is watching over us.
I wish to say to the Latter-day Saints, we must not forget our position, nor the blessings that we hope for. All that we expect, we have got to inquire of the Lord for. Some of our brethren, as has been said here, have suffered a little through the spirit of bigotry and persecution that is in the world. I wonder many times there is not a great deal more of it. The Lord Almighty is going to make a short work in the earth; lest no flesh should be saved he will cut his work short in righteousness. The Lord is putting his hook into the jaws of the nations. He holds Great Babylon in his hands as well as Zion. He will control the children of men; and, as the Lord God lives, if the Latter-day Saints do their duty—live their religion and keep their covenants, Zion will arise, put on her beautiful garments, be clothed with the glory of God, have power in the earth, and the law will go forth from Zion and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. Then let our prayers ascend into the ears of the Lord God of Sabbaoth, for he will hear them, that the wisdom of the wise may perish and the understanding of the prudent be hid. Our weapons are faith, prayer, and confidence in God, for he is our friend if we have any, and we are his if he has any on the face of the earth. The Lord will work with us, and we should work with him; therefore, brethren, let us live by faith, walk by faith, overcome by faith, so that we may enjoy the Holy Spirit to guide and direct us. All the institutions pertaining to the work of God in these latter days are going to progress, Zion is bound to arise, and to arrive at that position in our great future that the Prophets have seen by prophecy and revelation.
I want to say a few words to the sisters, who have been referred to this morning—the Female Relief Societies. Our mothers, sisters, wives and daughters occupy a very important position in this generation, far more so than they realize or understand. You are raising up your sons and daughters as plants of renown in the house of Israel in these latter days. Upon the shoulders of you mothers rests, in a great measure, the responsibility of correctly developing the mental and moral powers of the rising generation, whether in infancy, childhood, or still riper years. Your husbands—the fathers of your children, are messengers to the nations of the earth, or they are engaged in business, and cannot be at home to attend to the children. No mother in Israel should let a day pass over her head without teaching her children to pray. You should pray yourselves, and teach your children to do the same, and you should bring them up in this way, that when you have passed away and they take your places in bearing off the great work of God, they may have principles instilled into their minds that will sustain them in time and in eternity. I have often said it is the mother who forms the mind of the child. Take men anywhere, at sea, sinking with their ship, dying in battle, lying down in death almost under any circumstances, and the last thing they think of, the last word they say, is “mother.” Such is the influence of woman. Our children should not be neglected; they should receive a proper education in both spiritual and temporal things. That is the best legacy any parents can leave to their children. We should teach them to pray, and instil into their minds while young every correct principle. Ninety-nine out of every hundred children who are taught by their parents the principles of honesty and integrity, truth and virtue, will observe them through life. Such principles will exalt any people or nation who make them the rule of their conduct. Show me a mother who prays, who has passed through the trials of life by prayer, who has trusted in the Lord God of Israel in her trials and difficulties, and her children will follow in the same path. These things will not forsake them when they come to act in the kingdom of God.
I want to say to our mothers in Israel, your children are approaching a very important day and age of the world. In a few more years their parents will pass away. We will go where our brethren have gone—to the other side of the veil. Our children will remain and will possess this kingdom when God's judgments await the nations of the earth, when war, calamity, sword, fire, famine, pestilence and earthquake will stalk abroad and distress the people. Our children should be prepared to build up the kingdom of God. Then qualify them in the days of childhood for the great duties they will be called upon to perform; and that God may enable us to do so is my prayer for Christ's sake. Amen.
Discourse by Elder Wilford Woodruff, delivered in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, April 6, 1872.
Reported by David W. Evans.
Through the mercy and loving kindness of our Father in the heavens we are again permitted to meet in a general conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Forty-two years ago this day, this church was organized with six members, by a prophet of the living God, raised up in these last days by the administration of angels from God, and ordained unto all the keys and powers of the Melchizedek Priesthood and apostleship, and of the kingdom of God on the earth. According to the best knowledge we have, 1842 years ago today, the Lord Jesus was crucified on Mount Calvary for the sins of the world. The 6th day of April is a very important day in many respects. It has certainly been very interesting to the Latter-day Saints to watch the history and progress of this Church and kingdom during the last forty-two years. This is one of the most important generations that men, or God, or angels have ever seen on the earth: it is a dispensation and generation when the whole flood of prophecy and revelation and vision given through inspired men for the last six thousand years is to have its fulfillment, and especially in relation to the establishment of the great kingdom and Zion of God on the earth. Joseph Smith was one of the greatest prophets God ever raised up on the earth, and the Lord has had his eye upon him from the foundation of the world. Any man who has ever read the book of Isaiah, which we frequently have quoted to us, can see that he, with other prophets, had his eye upon the latter-day Zion of God. He says in one place, “Sing O heavens, rejoice O earth, break forth into singing, O ye mountains, for the Lord hath comforted his people, he will have mercy upon his afflicted. But Zion said: The Lord hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten me;” “Ah,” says the Lord, “Can a woman forget her sucking child that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? Yea, they may forget, yet will not I forget thee. Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me.”
The Lord never created this world at random; he has never done any of his work at random. The earth was created for certain purposes; and one of these purposes was its final redemption, and the establishment of his government and kingdom upon it in the latter days, to prepare it for the reign of the Lord Jesus Christ, whose right it is to reign. That set time has come, that dispensation is before us, we are living in the midst of it. It is before the Latter-day Saints, it is before the world; whether or not the people have more faith in the promises of God now than they had in the days of Noah makes no difference, the unbelief of men will not make the truth of God without effect. The great and mighty events that the Lord Almighty has decreed from before the foundation of the world, to be performed in the latter days are resting upon us, and they will follow each other in quick succession, whether men believe or not, for no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, but holy men of God spake as they were moved upon by the Holy Ghost, and what they said will come to pass; though the heaven and the earth pass away not one jot or tittle of the word of the Lord will go unfulfilled.
Some of us have lived in and been intimately acquainted with this church for the last forty years, a very few more than that, and some less; but where is the Latter-day Saint or any other person who has ever seen this church or kingdom go backward? No matter what position we were in, whether exterminated by the order of Governor Boggs of Missouri, or whether we lay, sick and afflicted, on the muddy banks of the Missouri River; whether it was Zion's Camp going up for her redemption; whether it was the pioneers coming to these mountains, making the roads, building the bridges, killing the snakes and opening the way for the gathering of the people, no matter what our circumstances may have been, this kingdom has been onward and upward all the day long until the present hour. Will it ever go backward? No, it will not. This Zion of the Lord, in all its beauty, power and glory is engraven upon the hands of Almighty God, and it is before his face continually; his decrees are set and no man can turn them aside.
There never was a dispensation on the earth when prophets and apostles, the inspiration, revelation and power of God, the holy priesthood and the keys of the kingdom were needed more than they are in this generation. There never has been a dispensation when the friends of God and righteousness among the children of men needed more faith in the promises and prophecies than they do today; and there certainly never has been a generation of people on the earth that has had a greater work to perform than the inhabitants of the earth in the latter days. That is one reason why this church and kingdom has progressed from its commencement until today, in the midst of all the opposition, oppression and warfare which have been waged against it by men inspired by the evil one. If this had not been the dispensation of the fulness of times—the dispensation in which God has declared that he will establish his kingdom on the earth never more to be thrown down, the inhabitants of the earth would have been enabled to overcome the kingdom and Zion of God in this as well as in any former dispensation. But the set time has come to favor Zion, and the Lord Almighty has decreed in the heavens that every weapon formed against her shall be broken. And if we take the history of any man, from the days Joseph Smith received the plates from the hill Cumorah, and translated the Book of Mormon by the Urim and Thummim, until today, whoever has raised his hand against this work has felt the chastening hand of Almighty God upon him; and I am at the defiance of the world to show me a president, governor, judge, ruler, priest or anybody else on the earth who has taken a stand against this kingdom who is an exception, and you may search their whole history. We have outlived several generations of our persecutors. Where are the men who tarred and feathered Joseph Smith in Portage County, Ohio? Where are the men who drove this people from Kirtland? Where are the men who drove the Church and kingdom from Jackson County, Missouri? Where are the men who undertook to kidnap the prophet while in Illinois? Where are they who drove the Latter-day Saints from Illinois into these mountains? Trace their whole history and see for yourselves. The fact is many of them are in their graves, awaiting their final judgment. And in the whole history of this people and their remarkable preservation, the invisible hand of God is as plainly to be seen as it has been in the history of the Jews from the days of Christ until now; and it will continue until this scene is wound up.
We are led by men who are filled with inspiration. Joseph Smith was a man of God, through the loins of the ancient Joseph who, through the wisdom which God gave him, redeemed his father's house after having been sold by his brethren into Egypt. All the blessings that old father Jacob pronounced upon Joseph and upon the sons of Ephraim, his son and grandsons have rested upon them until this day. Joseph Smith was through that lineage. In his youth he was inspired of God, and was administered to by angels. Under their guidance and counsel he laid the foundation of this work, and lived long enough to receive all the keys necessary for bearing off this dispensation. He lived long enough to have these individuals administer unto him—John the Baptist, Peter, James and John the Apostles, Elisha and Elijah, who held the keys of turning the hearts of the fathers to the children and the hearts of the children to the fathers; and Moroni, who held the keys of the stick of Joseph in the hands of Ephraim to come forth in the latter day, administered in person to Joseph Smith, and gave him these records and instructed him in the things of God from time to time until he was qualified and prepared to lay the foundation of this work. The Prophet Joseph lived to see the Church organized with apostles and prophets, patriarchs, pastors, teachers, helps, governments, and all the gifts and graces of the spirit of God; to give the Twelve Apostles their endowments and to seal upon their heads all the authority and power that were necessary to enable them to fulfil their missions. Why did the Lord take him away? He laid down his life, and sealed his testimony with his blood that it might be in force upon the heads of this generation, and that he might be crowned with crowns of glory, immortality and eternal life; that he might go to the other side of the veil, and there organize the Church and kingdom in this last dispensation. He and his two brothers were taken away into the spirit world, and they are at work there, while Brigham Young and the quorum of the Twelve were preserved on the earth for a special purpose in the hands of God. These things are true, and the hand of the Lord has been over Brigham Young, although now he is under bonds and a prisoner, and has his privileges curtailed for the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. Yet in the midst of all this he is calm and composed before the Lord, and has his mind open to the things of God. He still lives in the midst of this people and will live as long as the Lord wishes him to remain in the flesh to guide the affairs of Zion.
I will say to the Latter-day Saints that we have been more blessed in this land than has any other dispensation or generation of men. The Lord has been at work for the last three hundred years preparing this land, with a government and constitution which would guarantee equal rights and privileges to the inhabitants thereof, in the midst of which he could establish his kingdom. The kingdom is established, the work of God is manifest in the earth, the Saints have come up here into the valleys of the mountains, and they are erecting the house of God in the tops thereof, for the nations to flow unto. A standard of truth has been lifted up to the people, and from the commencement of this work, the Latter-day Saints have been fulfilling that flood of revelation and prophecy which was given formerly concerning this great work in the last days. I rejoice in this, and also because we have every reason to expect a continuation of these blessings unto Zion. We have always had a veil over us, we have had to walk by faith all the day long until the present time: this is the decree of God. When we were driven from Jackson County, Clay County, Caldwell County, Kirtland, and finally from Nauvoo into these mountains, we did not see and understand what lay before us: there was a veil over our faces, in a measure. It has been the same with the people of God in all ages. At that time we could not see this tabernacle, and the five hundred miles of villages, towns, cities, gardens, orchards, fields, or the desert blossoming as the rose as we see them today. We came here and found a barren desert: we were led hither by inspiration, by a lawgiver, by a man of God; the Lord was with him, he was with the pioneers. If we had not come here we could not have fulfilled the prophecies which the prophets have left on record in the stick of Judah as well as in the stick of Ephraim—the Bible and the Book of Mormon. We have done that, and we can look back twenty-four years and see the change that has been effected since our arrival; but who can see the change that will be effected in the next twenty-four years? No man can see it unless the vision of his mind is opened by the power of God. The Lord told Joseph Smith to lay the foundation of this work; he told him that the day had come when the harvest was ready, and to thrust in the sickle and reap; and every man who would do so was called of God and had this privilege.
The Lord has sent forth the Gospel, and it is offered to the children of men as it was in ancient days; men are required to have faith in Jesus Christ, repent of their sins, and to be baptized for the remission of them, and the promise is that they shall receive the Holy Ghost, which shall teach them the things of God, bring things past to their remembrance, and show them things to come.
What principle has sustained the Elders of Israel for the last forty years in their travels? They have gone forth without purse or scrip, preached without money or price; they have swam rivers, waded swamps, and traveled hundreds of thousands of miles on foot to bear record of this work to the nations of the earth. What has sustained them? It has been this power of God, this Holy Ghost, the spirit of inspiration from the God of Israel that has been given to his friends on the earth in these latter days. The blood of Israel has flowed in the veins of the children of men, mixed among the Gentile nations, and when they have heard the sound of the Gospel of Christ it has been like vivid lightning to them; it has opened their understandings, enlarged their minds, and enabled them to see the things of God. They have been born of the Spirit, and then they could behold the kingdom of God; they have been baptized in water and had hands laid upon them for the reception of the Holy Ghost, and they have received that Holy Ghost among every Gentile nation under heaven wherever the Gospel has been permitted to be preached; and here they are today, from all those nations, gathered in the valleys of the mountains. And this is but the beginning; it is like a mustard seed, it is very small; but the little one is to become a thousand, and the small one a strong nation. The Lord will hasten it in his own time. Zion shall be called a “City sought out.” The Lord is watching over us.
I wish to say to the Latter-day Saints, we must not forget our position, nor the blessings that we hope for. All that we expect, we have got to inquire of the Lord for. Some of our brethren, as has been said here, have suffered a little through the spirit of bigotry and persecution that is in the world. I wonder many times there is not a great deal more of it. The Lord Almighty is going to make a short work in the earth; lest no flesh should be saved he will cut his work short in righteousness. The Lord is putting his hook into the jaws of the nations. He holds Great Babylon in his hands as well as Zion. He will control the children of men; and, as the Lord God lives, if the Latter-day Saints do their duty—live their religion and keep their covenants, Zion will arise, put on her beautiful garments, be clothed with the glory of God, have power in the earth, and the law will go forth from Zion and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. Then let our prayers ascend into the ears of the Lord God of Sabbaoth, for he will hear them, that the wisdom of the wise may perish and the understanding of the prudent be hid. Our weapons are faith, prayer, and confidence in God, for he is our friend if we have any, and we are his if he has any on the face of the earth. The Lord will work with us, and we should work with him; therefore, brethren, let us live by faith, walk by faith, overcome by faith, so that we may enjoy the Holy Spirit to guide and direct us. All the institutions pertaining to the work of God in these latter days are going to progress, Zion is bound to arise, and to arrive at that position in our great future that the Prophets have seen by prophecy and revelation.
I want to say a few words to the sisters, who have been referred to this morning—the Female Relief Societies. Our mothers, sisters, wives and daughters occupy a very important position in this generation, far more so than they realize or understand. You are raising up your sons and daughters as plants of renown in the house of Israel in these latter days. Upon the shoulders of you mothers rests, in a great measure, the responsibility of correctly developing the mental and moral powers of the rising generation, whether in infancy, childhood, or still riper years. Your husbands—the fathers of your children, are messengers to the nations of the earth, or they are engaged in business, and cannot be at home to attend to the children. No mother in Israel should let a day pass over her head without teaching her children to pray. You should pray yourselves, and teach your children to do the same, and you should bring them up in this way, that when you have passed away and they take your places in bearing off the great work of God, they may have principles instilled into their minds that will sustain them in time and in eternity. I have often said it is the mother who forms the mind of the child. Take men anywhere, at sea, sinking with their ship, dying in battle, lying down in death almost under any circumstances, and the last thing they think of, the last word they say, is “mother.” Such is the influence of woman. Our children should not be neglected; they should receive a proper education in both spiritual and temporal things. That is the best legacy any parents can leave to their children. We should teach them to pray, and instil into their minds while young every correct principle. Ninety-nine out of every hundred children who are taught by their parents the principles of honesty and integrity, truth and virtue, will observe them through life. Such principles will exalt any people or nation who make them the rule of their conduct. Show me a mother who prays, who has passed through the trials of life by prayer, who has trusted in the Lord God of Israel in her trials and difficulties, and her children will follow in the same path. These things will not forsake them when they come to act in the kingdom of God.
I want to say to our mothers in Israel, your children are approaching a very important day and age of the world. In a few more years their parents will pass away. We will go where our brethren have gone—to the other side of the veil. Our children will remain and will possess this kingdom when God's judgments await the nations of the earth, when war, calamity, sword, fire, famine, pestilence and earthquake will stalk abroad and distress the people. Our children should be prepared to build up the kingdom of God. Then qualify them in the days of childhood for the great duties they will be called upon to perform; and that God may enable us to do so is my prayer for Christ's sake. Amen.
Elder C. C. Rich
said we were so constituted that we needed continual instruction upon the principles of truth, in order to impress them upon our minds. We were laboring for salvation, and it was the only thing we should strive for. As fast as we learned truth and applied it to our lives, we were saved from error.
The speaker spoke of the effects of obedience to the gospel of Christ, all which were a sure testimony of the correctness of that which was obeyed, and alluded to the glorious results that would accrue were the people all over the world to cease doing wrong, and to the fact that we should form a nucleus of righteousness. It was a little over forty years since he had embraced the gospel and he knew it to be true. He had proved it for himself.
said we were so constituted that we needed continual instruction upon the principles of truth, in order to impress them upon our minds. We were laboring for salvation, and it was the only thing we should strive for. As fast as we learned truth and applied it to our lives, we were saved from error.
The speaker spoke of the effects of obedience to the gospel of Christ, all which were a sure testimony of the correctness of that which was obeyed, and alluded to the glorious results that would accrue were the people all over the world to cease doing wrong, and to the fact that we should form a nucleus of righteousness. It was a little over forty years since he had embraced the gospel and he knew it to be true. He had proved it for himself.
President George A. Smith
requested the people present to tell their friends that there was plenty of room here for all who wished to come and hear the gospel preached.
The choir sang: “Sing ye Jehovah’s praises.”
President Daniel H. Wells offered prayer and Conference adjourned till 2 p. m.
requested the people present to tell their friends that there was plenty of room here for all who wished to come and hear the gospel preached.
The choir sang: “Sing ye Jehovah’s praises.”
President Daniel H. Wells offered prayer and Conference adjourned till 2 p. m.
Saturday, April 6th, 2 p. m.
The choir sang: “Jehovah, Lord of heaven and earth.”
Prayer was offered by Elder John Van Cott.
“Hosannah to the great Messiah,” was sung by the choir.
The choir sang: “Jehovah, Lord of heaven and earth.”
Prayer was offered by Elder John Van Cott.
“Hosannah to the great Messiah,” was sung by the choir.
Bishop A. O. Smoot
addressed the assemblage. He spoke of the earthly mission of the Savior, stating that he came to revolutionize the world. He organized a kingdom with its officers, immunities and privileges. He was persecuted and reviled. The speaker next touched upon the progress of the Church of Christ in these latter days, and of the growth of persecution in proportion. Persecution was first manifested in the capacity of a neighborhood and has extended gradually until it has reached what we now see. It was similar in Jesus’ day. Herod issued a proclamation—not exactly a fourth of July proclamation (the Bishop here desired to be excused for the allusion), but a proclamation that the male children of a certain age should be slain, that the child Christ might be destroyed.
The speaker next alluded to the blessings promised to those obedient to the principles of the gospel, and, in illustration of his discourse, mentioned the day of Pentecost, when power was sent from heaven upon the ancient disciple. The same spirit and blessings were enjoyed by the Latter-day Saints. It was through great tribulation that eternal life could be obtained. We enjoyed a very inspiring hope—the kingdom of God now set up would never fail, but would stand for ever. Our mission was not only one of a spiritual nature, but it partook of every element of life, and was both temporal and spiritual. The principles the Latter-day Saints had embraced would revolutionize the whole world eventually. Our mission was not only to disabuse the minds of people of religious error. “Mormonism,” in its broad platform embraces every truth.
The speaker concluded by bearing testimony to the truth of the great latter-day work. He knew that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God, and that President Brigham Young was his legal successor.
addressed the assemblage. He spoke of the earthly mission of the Savior, stating that he came to revolutionize the world. He organized a kingdom with its officers, immunities and privileges. He was persecuted and reviled. The speaker next touched upon the progress of the Church of Christ in these latter days, and of the growth of persecution in proportion. Persecution was first manifested in the capacity of a neighborhood and has extended gradually until it has reached what we now see. It was similar in Jesus’ day. Herod issued a proclamation—not exactly a fourth of July proclamation (the Bishop here desired to be excused for the allusion), but a proclamation that the male children of a certain age should be slain, that the child Christ might be destroyed.
The speaker next alluded to the blessings promised to those obedient to the principles of the gospel, and, in illustration of his discourse, mentioned the day of Pentecost, when power was sent from heaven upon the ancient disciple. The same spirit and blessings were enjoyed by the Latter-day Saints. It was through great tribulation that eternal life could be obtained. We enjoyed a very inspiring hope—the kingdom of God now set up would never fail, but would stand for ever. Our mission was not only one of a spiritual nature, but it partook of every element of life, and was both temporal and spiritual. The principles the Latter-day Saints had embraced would revolutionize the whole world eventually. Our mission was not only to disabuse the minds of people of religious error. “Mormonism,” in its broad platform embraces every truth.
The speaker concluded by bearing testimony to the truth of the great latter-day work. He knew that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God, and that President Brigham Young was his legal successor.
Elder John Nicholson
spoke of the antipathy and bitterness manifested by the people of the world generally to the work of God, and of the liberal and comprehensive nature of the gospel showing that it was destined to save not only the living, but its provisions were also applicable to those who had gone before into the spirit world. He dwelt on the importance of the work we had to perform in behalf of the dead in building temples, attending to holy ordinances, &c., and concluded by bearing testimony that God was doing a work on the earth, and the Latter-day Saints were engaged in forwarding its interests.
spoke of the antipathy and bitterness manifested by the people of the world generally to the work of God, and of the liberal and comprehensive nature of the gospel showing that it was destined to save not only the living, but its provisions were also applicable to those who had gone before into the spirit world. He dwelt on the importance of the work we had to perform in behalf of the dead in building temples, attending to holy ordinances, &c., and concluded by bearing testimony that God was doing a work on the earth, and the Latter-day Saints were engaged in forwarding its interests.
Elder John W. Young
next addressed the Conference. He was not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, and was willing to bear testimony to its truthfulness. He knew that Joseph Smith was a prophet, and that our present leaders were also inspired and lead by the Almighty. If any thought the work of God was less potent now than heretofore it was they who were wrong and not the work.
next addressed the Conference. He was not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, and was willing to bear testimony to its truthfulness. He knew that Joseph Smith was a prophet, and that our present leaders were also inspired and lead by the Almighty. If any thought the work of God was less potent now than heretofore it was they who were wrong and not the work.
Elder Charles W. Penrose
bore testimony to the work of the Lord. Our knowledge of the truth was the cause of our coming to Utah. We did not come to learn that “Mormonism” was true, for we already knew it. It was comforting to know that God was at the helm of this work. We ought to acknowledge the hand of God in all things that transpire. If we do so, all things will be overruled for our good, and his kingdom will ultimately gain the victory. Arguments had been adduced by men to show that it was a fallacy for the Latter-day Saints to trust in God, but none who ever trusted in him ever trusted in vain; not even if they died thus trusting, for the principles that men and women of God had died for would live, spread and accomplish their high destiny.
The speaker said he had no principles to sacrifice. The principles of truth had brought him to Utah and he intended to stand by them; to live, and, if necessary, to die for them. He could not give up any principle of the gospel for any earthly fear or consideration. His experience had been that when he had gone forth to perform any duty connected with the work of God, the Lord had sustained him.
He continued at some length, and concluded by exhorting the people to maintain their integrity to God and his servants.
The choir sang: “Great is the Lord.”
Prayer by Elder John Taylor.
Adjourned till 10 a.m. to-morrow.
bore testimony to the work of the Lord. Our knowledge of the truth was the cause of our coming to Utah. We did not come to learn that “Mormonism” was true, for we already knew it. It was comforting to know that God was at the helm of this work. We ought to acknowledge the hand of God in all things that transpire. If we do so, all things will be overruled for our good, and his kingdom will ultimately gain the victory. Arguments had been adduced by men to show that it was a fallacy for the Latter-day Saints to trust in God, but none who ever trusted in him ever trusted in vain; not even if they died thus trusting, for the principles that men and women of God had died for would live, spread and accomplish their high destiny.
The speaker said he had no principles to sacrifice. The principles of truth had brought him to Utah and he intended to stand by them; to live, and, if necessary, to die for them. He could not give up any principle of the gospel for any earthly fear or consideration. His experience had been that when he had gone forth to perform any duty connected with the work of God, the Lord had sustained him.
He continued at some length, and concluded by exhorting the people to maintain their integrity to God and his servants.
The choir sang: “Great is the Lord.”
Prayer by Elder John Taylor.
Adjourned till 10 a.m. to-morrow.
Second Day.
Sunday, April 7, 10 a.m.
The choir sang: “When earth in bondage long had lain.”
Prayer by Elder Joseph W. Young.
“Behold the mountain of the Lord,” was sung by the choir.
Sunday, April 7, 10 a.m.
The choir sang: “When earth in bondage long had lain.”
Prayer by Elder Joseph W. Young.
“Behold the mountain of the Lord,” was sung by the choir.
President George A. Smith
said he had been requested by President Young to state to the conference that he was in comfortable health and good spirits, and that he regretted the circumstances which prevented him from meeting with the people this morning. He hoped, however, at no distant day, to meet again with the people and bear testimony of the goodness of God, and of the principles of truth.
We need not be surprised at the feeling of malignity manifested towards the work of God when pulpit and press were given over to lying, slandering, and misrepresenting.
The speaker desired to call the attention of the brethren who had been on missions to Europe to the fact that some of them, when they returned home, seemed to forget that they were missionaries. At times the people who had treated them with kindness while on their missions were forgotten by them. This should not be. We should continue to be missionaries and instruct the people after they came here, that they might not be lead away by wrong influences.
The Elders should remember those who entertained them while on their missions, at a sacrifice to themselves. Those who could, should extend a helping hand to them. It should be made a point to do something handsome annually to help to emigrate the poor. Here were a hundred thousand Saints in Utah and could they not assist in emigrating the few thousand who wanted to come here? If they apostatized after they came here, all right. If we did our duty, the responsibility rested with them.
When President Young returned from St. George and gave himself up voluntarily into the hands of the U. S. Marshal, he, the speaker, received a letter from a prominent gentleman of Massachusetts, who stated that it was nothing but a put up job, and that President Young had done more than any other living man, to benefit large bodies of people, and this was true. God bless such a man and God bless every man and woman engaged in so good a work.
The history of the Perpetual Emigrating Fund was one of great interest. The people had in the past sent 200, 300, 400 and 500 wagons and teams in four separate years to the Missouri river to help the poor. This was the work of Brigham Young in conjunction with the efforts of a free-hearted, generous people.
said he had been requested by President Young to state to the conference that he was in comfortable health and good spirits, and that he regretted the circumstances which prevented him from meeting with the people this morning. He hoped, however, at no distant day, to meet again with the people and bear testimony of the goodness of God, and of the principles of truth.
We need not be surprised at the feeling of malignity manifested towards the work of God when pulpit and press were given over to lying, slandering, and misrepresenting.
The speaker desired to call the attention of the brethren who had been on missions to Europe to the fact that some of them, when they returned home, seemed to forget that they were missionaries. At times the people who had treated them with kindness while on their missions were forgotten by them. This should not be. We should continue to be missionaries and instruct the people after they came here, that they might not be lead away by wrong influences.
The Elders should remember those who entertained them while on their missions, at a sacrifice to themselves. Those who could, should extend a helping hand to them. It should be made a point to do something handsome annually to help to emigrate the poor. Here were a hundred thousand Saints in Utah and could they not assist in emigrating the few thousand who wanted to come here? If they apostatized after they came here, all right. If we did our duty, the responsibility rested with them.
When President Young returned from St. George and gave himself up voluntarily into the hands of the U. S. Marshal, he, the speaker, received a letter from a prominent gentleman of Massachusetts, who stated that it was nothing but a put up job, and that President Young had done more than any other living man, to benefit large bodies of people, and this was true. God bless such a man and God bless every man and woman engaged in so good a work.
The history of the Perpetual Emigrating Fund was one of great interest. The people had in the past sent 200, 300, 400 and 500 wagons and teams in four separate years to the Missouri river to help the poor. This was the work of Brigham Young in conjunction with the efforts of a free-hearted, generous people.
Persecution—Missionaries—Emigration
Remarks by President George A. Smith, delivered in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Sunday Morning, April 7, 1872.
Reported by David W. Evans.
We are again assembled this morning to continue the duties and services of our Conference, and I am requested by President Young to state that he is in the enjoyment of comfortable health and in excellent spirits. He regrets very much the circumstances which render it inexpedient for him to meet with you this morning, and hopes the time may soon come when he will again enjoy that privilege, also the privilege of bearing testimony to the glorious work of the last days, in the public congregation. He desires and appreciates the prayers and faith of the Saints; he thinks that it is quite proper that any man before he is thoroughly qualified to rule shall learn to be ruled—that he shall learn to obey before he learns to command. All these lessons in their time and in their season are proper for us to learn.
When we realize the malignity of the spirit of persecution which is aimed at the Latter-day Saints in these valleys, we need not wonder that we have to contend with vexatious lawsuits and with illegal and unjustifiable prosecutions, for the influence of the pulpit and the press when controlled by the spirit of lying is very great for evil, but God is greater—his power is more omnipotent; and although thousands of prophets, priests and wise men in the earth have been compelled to lay down their lives for the cause of Zion, and for the sake of the principles of the gospel of peace, and in doing so they have acquired honors that could not be attained in any other way; their reward is certain, eternal and sure.
I wish to call the attention of the elders who have been in years past, on missions, to one important item of duty. It is well known that our emigration annually brings some thousands of persons among whom our missionaries have labored and with whom they are acquainted, and among whom are many who still look to them for fatherly advice and encouragement, but many of the elders who return immediately forget that they have been missionaries. When they reach home they perhaps find their affairs a little deranged, business having stopped in their absence, money making or procuring the means of living having gone rather behind hand, they drop right into a groove as it were to catch up, and they forget their duties, and the people whom they have been acquainted with and who have treated them with kindness and generosity are also frequently forgotten and neglected. The emigrants come into these valleys and fall perhaps under influences that are wrong and wicked, for men inspired with a spirit of hostility to the work of God will take more pains to poison their minds than those who feel all right do to give them correct information. I wish to say to all such elders and to all the brethren, that when they get home their mission is not consummated, and that when newcomers arrive we should take pains to look after their welfare, give them counsel and instruction, aid and comfort, and realize that we are missionaries all our lives, and that it is our duty to instruct such in the things of the kingdom, to encourage them and set before them principles of intelligence, such as will be for their benefit.
I wish further to say to the Elders and to the brethren who have emigrated, that they should remember their friends they visited before they came here, or when they were on missions in the old world. Remember the poor family that went without their provision, perhaps, to give you a feast, or the family that to make you warm and comfortable gave up their beds to you, themselves enduring cold, discomfort and inconvenience to do so; or the family that opened their doors to shelter you from the storm when their neighbors hooted and scouted them, as it were, for entertaining a stranger. You missionaries in your experience have all met with such families, and many of them are there yet without the means to get here. Perhaps they have said to you, “Will you help me when you get home?” and you may have given them a look of encouragement, a half promise, or expressed a hope that you might be able to do so. Have you forgotten it? Perhaps a little effort on your part and on the part of your neighbors might bring these families to this country and place them in a position to acquire lots, farms, and homes of their own, redeem them from thralldom and bondage worse than slavery, and place them in a position of independence on their own soil, enjoy the fruits of their own labors and help to build up and develop the rising, spreading glory of Zion.
I have heard there is an Elder who, when on a mission borrowed some money of a widow that had not means enough to get away, but had a little she could spare until she could acquire enough to bring her family here; and that Elder, peradventure, has forgotten to pay it. I have heard there is such an Elder in Utah. Shame on him if there is! Under such circumstances we should not only pay punctually and faithfully what we owe, with good and reasonable interest, but all of us European missionaries should be prepared to do something handsome annually to help those from the bondage and thralldom in which we found them, and where they must remain until means are obtained to deliver them. I am calling now for the donation to the Perpetual Emigration Fund. A hundred thousand Latter-day Saints in Utah, and can we not help a few thousand that yet remain in the old missions, and bring them here? “Well,” some may say, “they will apostatize if they come.” That is all right, they must have the privilege. I understand that we have brought some men here with the Fund that have apostatized, betrayed the Saints and done all in their power to stain their garments in the blood of the prophets; but that is not our fault, it is theirs. We should gather the Saints and they themselves are responsible for the use they make of the blessings which God bestows upon them, even if they come through our hands and exertions. Look at the tens of thousands of families now in Utah in comfortable circumstances with houses, farms, wagons, cattle and horses of their own, many of them with carriages, and these families taken by the contributions of the Latter-day Saints from the most abject servitude and poverty from the bowels of the earth, from within the walls of factories, where but for this fund they must have remained for their lives; but now they are in comparative independence and enjoying the blessings of freemen.
After President Young returned from St. George for the purpose of voluntarily placing himself in the custody of United States Officers, as is well known, I received a letter from an eminent gentleman in the State of Massachusetts, who said that the prosecution against him could be nothing more nor less than a put-up job, and that the people of the country understood it as such; “and the fact is,” said he, “Brigham Young has done more for the benefit of large bodies of people than any other living man on the earth.” That is true. By the inspiration of Almighty God through his servant Brigham Young, this Fund was organized, and he has been the President of it, and through his energy and enterprise and the aid of the Latter-day Saints—his friends—he has gathered tens of thousands that could never have owned a rod of ground or a house as long as they lived, but would have been at the mercy of employers who looked upon them only as a portion of their property, and the question with them has been how much of this man's labor can I get for the smallest pittance; but through the exertions and counsels of President Young and his brethren they have been delivered from this bondage and placed in comparative independence. I say God bless such a man, (Congregation said Amen) and God bless every man and every woman who will contribute to carry out this glorious purpose.
I am very anxious to wake up the Elders to labor at home, to keep alive in the hearts of the Saints the spirit of truth. While all those who so desire are free to apostatize, it should not be for the want of proper information, care and instruction, or in consequence of the neglect of the Elders to do their duty. I exhort the Latter-day Saints to unite in carrying on the work of gathering. A few years ago we thought that we would gather them all. When we had raised what means we could, and had expended it, we found the Elders were baptizing about as fast as we were bringing the Saints away. That is all right. Let us get the old and faithful Latter-day Saints away, and keep baptizing all that desire to be baptized. In the Scandinavian Mission, the number of baptisms keep up, and some years a little more than keep up, with the emigration. There are families from year to year that can be brought away by a little assistance; they have part means, and only need a little more to emigrate. I do think that the history of the Perpetual Emigration Fund is a wonderful one. The Latter-day Saints in Utah sent from here two hundred wagons one year, three hundred another year, four hundred the next, and for two years five hundred wagons each year, each wagon having four yoke of oxen, or their equivalent in mules and horses, and bore all the expenses consequent upon bringing people across the Plains, bringing from one to four thousand persons a season. This is certainly creditable, and it has been done through the influence of Brigham Young and the united efforts of a free-hearted and noble people. We have got a railroad now and do not have to send the wagons; the business assumes another shape. The emigration is brought here with less labor and in less time, but with more outlay.
I have now laid before you my views on the emigration of the poor Saints from abroad. Consider upon and think about them. Make your calculations, and feel in your pockets and contribute to help on the work, and carry with you to all the settlements of the Saints a spirit that shall bring home to Zion the brethren and sisters from abroad. In that way the work can continue. May God bless all who aid in this glorious work is my prayer in the name of Jesus. Amen
Remarks by President George A. Smith, delivered in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Sunday Morning, April 7, 1872.
Reported by David W. Evans.
We are again assembled this morning to continue the duties and services of our Conference, and I am requested by President Young to state that he is in the enjoyment of comfortable health and in excellent spirits. He regrets very much the circumstances which render it inexpedient for him to meet with you this morning, and hopes the time may soon come when he will again enjoy that privilege, also the privilege of bearing testimony to the glorious work of the last days, in the public congregation. He desires and appreciates the prayers and faith of the Saints; he thinks that it is quite proper that any man before he is thoroughly qualified to rule shall learn to be ruled—that he shall learn to obey before he learns to command. All these lessons in their time and in their season are proper for us to learn.
When we realize the malignity of the spirit of persecution which is aimed at the Latter-day Saints in these valleys, we need not wonder that we have to contend with vexatious lawsuits and with illegal and unjustifiable prosecutions, for the influence of the pulpit and the press when controlled by the spirit of lying is very great for evil, but God is greater—his power is more omnipotent; and although thousands of prophets, priests and wise men in the earth have been compelled to lay down their lives for the cause of Zion, and for the sake of the principles of the gospel of peace, and in doing so they have acquired honors that could not be attained in any other way; their reward is certain, eternal and sure.
I wish to call the attention of the elders who have been in years past, on missions, to one important item of duty. It is well known that our emigration annually brings some thousands of persons among whom our missionaries have labored and with whom they are acquainted, and among whom are many who still look to them for fatherly advice and encouragement, but many of the elders who return immediately forget that they have been missionaries. When they reach home they perhaps find their affairs a little deranged, business having stopped in their absence, money making or procuring the means of living having gone rather behind hand, they drop right into a groove as it were to catch up, and they forget their duties, and the people whom they have been acquainted with and who have treated them with kindness and generosity are also frequently forgotten and neglected. The emigrants come into these valleys and fall perhaps under influences that are wrong and wicked, for men inspired with a spirit of hostility to the work of God will take more pains to poison their minds than those who feel all right do to give them correct information. I wish to say to all such elders and to all the brethren, that when they get home their mission is not consummated, and that when newcomers arrive we should take pains to look after their welfare, give them counsel and instruction, aid and comfort, and realize that we are missionaries all our lives, and that it is our duty to instruct such in the things of the kingdom, to encourage them and set before them principles of intelligence, such as will be for their benefit.
I wish further to say to the Elders and to the brethren who have emigrated, that they should remember their friends they visited before they came here, or when they were on missions in the old world. Remember the poor family that went without their provision, perhaps, to give you a feast, or the family that to make you warm and comfortable gave up their beds to you, themselves enduring cold, discomfort and inconvenience to do so; or the family that opened their doors to shelter you from the storm when their neighbors hooted and scouted them, as it were, for entertaining a stranger. You missionaries in your experience have all met with such families, and many of them are there yet without the means to get here. Perhaps they have said to you, “Will you help me when you get home?” and you may have given them a look of encouragement, a half promise, or expressed a hope that you might be able to do so. Have you forgotten it? Perhaps a little effort on your part and on the part of your neighbors might bring these families to this country and place them in a position to acquire lots, farms, and homes of their own, redeem them from thralldom and bondage worse than slavery, and place them in a position of independence on their own soil, enjoy the fruits of their own labors and help to build up and develop the rising, spreading glory of Zion.
I have heard there is an Elder who, when on a mission borrowed some money of a widow that had not means enough to get away, but had a little she could spare until she could acquire enough to bring her family here; and that Elder, peradventure, has forgotten to pay it. I have heard there is such an Elder in Utah. Shame on him if there is! Under such circumstances we should not only pay punctually and faithfully what we owe, with good and reasonable interest, but all of us European missionaries should be prepared to do something handsome annually to help those from the bondage and thralldom in which we found them, and where they must remain until means are obtained to deliver them. I am calling now for the donation to the Perpetual Emigration Fund. A hundred thousand Latter-day Saints in Utah, and can we not help a few thousand that yet remain in the old missions, and bring them here? “Well,” some may say, “they will apostatize if they come.” That is all right, they must have the privilege. I understand that we have brought some men here with the Fund that have apostatized, betrayed the Saints and done all in their power to stain their garments in the blood of the prophets; but that is not our fault, it is theirs. We should gather the Saints and they themselves are responsible for the use they make of the blessings which God bestows upon them, even if they come through our hands and exertions. Look at the tens of thousands of families now in Utah in comfortable circumstances with houses, farms, wagons, cattle and horses of their own, many of them with carriages, and these families taken by the contributions of the Latter-day Saints from the most abject servitude and poverty from the bowels of the earth, from within the walls of factories, where but for this fund they must have remained for their lives; but now they are in comparative independence and enjoying the blessings of freemen.
After President Young returned from St. George for the purpose of voluntarily placing himself in the custody of United States Officers, as is well known, I received a letter from an eminent gentleman in the State of Massachusetts, who said that the prosecution against him could be nothing more nor less than a put-up job, and that the people of the country understood it as such; “and the fact is,” said he, “Brigham Young has done more for the benefit of large bodies of people than any other living man on the earth.” That is true. By the inspiration of Almighty God through his servant Brigham Young, this Fund was organized, and he has been the President of it, and through his energy and enterprise and the aid of the Latter-day Saints—his friends—he has gathered tens of thousands that could never have owned a rod of ground or a house as long as they lived, but would have been at the mercy of employers who looked upon them only as a portion of their property, and the question with them has been how much of this man's labor can I get for the smallest pittance; but through the exertions and counsels of President Young and his brethren they have been delivered from this bondage and placed in comparative independence. I say God bless such a man, (Congregation said Amen) and God bless every man and every woman who will contribute to carry out this glorious purpose.
I am very anxious to wake up the Elders to labor at home, to keep alive in the hearts of the Saints the spirit of truth. While all those who so desire are free to apostatize, it should not be for the want of proper information, care and instruction, or in consequence of the neglect of the Elders to do their duty. I exhort the Latter-day Saints to unite in carrying on the work of gathering. A few years ago we thought that we would gather them all. When we had raised what means we could, and had expended it, we found the Elders were baptizing about as fast as we were bringing the Saints away. That is all right. Let us get the old and faithful Latter-day Saints away, and keep baptizing all that desire to be baptized. In the Scandinavian Mission, the number of baptisms keep up, and some years a little more than keep up, with the emigration. There are families from year to year that can be brought away by a little assistance; they have part means, and only need a little more to emigrate. I do think that the history of the Perpetual Emigration Fund is a wonderful one. The Latter-day Saints in Utah sent from here two hundred wagons one year, three hundred another year, four hundred the next, and for two years five hundred wagons each year, each wagon having four yoke of oxen, or their equivalent in mules and horses, and bore all the expenses consequent upon bringing people across the Plains, bringing from one to four thousand persons a season. This is certainly creditable, and it has been done through the influence of Brigham Young and the united efforts of a free-hearted and noble people. We have got a railroad now and do not have to send the wagons; the business assumes another shape. The emigration is brought here with less labor and in less time, but with more outlay.
I have now laid before you my views on the emigration of the poor Saints from abroad. Consider upon and think about them. Make your calculations, and feel in your pockets and contribute to help on the work, and carry with you to all the settlements of the Saints a spirit that shall bring home to Zion the brethren and sisters from abroad. In that way the work can continue. May God bless all who aid in this glorious work is my prayer in the name of Jesus. Amen
Elder John Taylor
addressed the conference. We had met in our present capacity to be instructed in matters pertaining to our faith and practice in the building up of the church of God upon the earth. We were under the guidance of the Almighty, for he has revealed to us the everlasting gospel, and we had been gathered here under its auspices, and to help to fulfill the designs of the Lord which were in his mind before the world was.
The speaker commented upon the church of Christ as it existed in the Savior’s day, its priesthood, offices, blessings, &c., and upon the other religious systems and people cotemporaneous with it, showing points of similarity to things as they existed in these days. He spoke of the necessity for our manifesting an appreciation of the incalculable blessings we had received. We should cast aside all sluggishness and be active in honoring our great calling. It was to the principle of revelation that we were indebted for all the light and intelligence in the possession of man in relation to God and eternity, and every system not founded upon it was destined to pass away. The people of the world did not understand the principles which God had revealed to us, therefore they could not appreciate our feelings. They did not have revelation from God. They did not profess to have it. They therefore could not do as our elders had done. Their ministers would not, like them, go forth among strangers and preach without purse or scrip. They would not sufficiently trust in God.
“Mormonism” was an enigma to the world. The United States had been endeavoring to solve it for years, but they had not yet done it, and they never would. It was incomprehensible to the world, for it was as high, deep, wide and comprehensive as eternity. Our faith was the same as the faith of the Saints of all ages. Men differed from us in views and practice and they had a right to do so, and we had no objection.
The speaker predicted that no power could stay the fulfillment of the purposes of God, commented upon the future glorious destiny of Zion, and upon the prophecies of the ancient prophets, relating to the work of the latter days.
addressed the conference. We had met in our present capacity to be instructed in matters pertaining to our faith and practice in the building up of the church of God upon the earth. We were under the guidance of the Almighty, for he has revealed to us the everlasting gospel, and we had been gathered here under its auspices, and to help to fulfill the designs of the Lord which were in his mind before the world was.
The speaker commented upon the church of Christ as it existed in the Savior’s day, its priesthood, offices, blessings, &c., and upon the other religious systems and people cotemporaneous with it, showing points of similarity to things as they existed in these days. He spoke of the necessity for our manifesting an appreciation of the incalculable blessings we had received. We should cast aside all sluggishness and be active in honoring our great calling. It was to the principle of revelation that we were indebted for all the light and intelligence in the possession of man in relation to God and eternity, and every system not founded upon it was destined to pass away. The people of the world did not understand the principles which God had revealed to us, therefore they could not appreciate our feelings. They did not have revelation from God. They did not profess to have it. They therefore could not do as our elders had done. Their ministers would not, like them, go forth among strangers and preach without purse or scrip. They would not sufficiently trust in God.
“Mormonism” was an enigma to the world. The United States had been endeavoring to solve it for years, but they had not yet done it, and they never would. It was incomprehensible to the world, for it was as high, deep, wide and comprehensive as eternity. Our faith was the same as the faith of the Saints of all ages. Men differed from us in views and practice and they had a right to do so, and we had no objection.
The speaker predicted that no power could stay the fulfillment of the purposes of God, commented upon the future glorious destiny of Zion, and upon the prophecies of the ancient prophets, relating to the work of the latter days.
Revelation—Former and Latter-Day Dispensations—The Sure Triumph of the Cause of Zion
Discourse by Elder John Taylor, delivered in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Sunday Morning, April 7, 1872.
Reported by David W. Evans.
We are again met, in our Annual Conference, for the purpose of hearing the words of life, and of being instructed in the various duties and responsibilities that rest upon us, and that we, as Latter-day Saints, may be taught principles pertaining to our holy faith, and be instructed in the duties devolving upon us in the various positions that we occupy; that by a unity of faith, purpose and action, we may be able to accomplish something that will promote truth, advance the interests of Zion and the establishment of the kingdom of God upon the earth.
We are told that it is not in man to direct his steps, and we stand here in a peculiar position under the guidance and direction of the Almighty.
The Lord has seen fit to reveal unto us the everlasting Gospel, and we have been enabled, by the grace of God, to appreciate that message of life which he has communicated unto us, and we have been gathered from the nations of the earth under the influences and auspices of that Gospel. We are gathered here for the accomplishment of certain objects relative both to ourselves and others, the great leading principle of which is—to help to fulfil the designs that existed in the mind of the Almighty before the world was, relative to the earth and humanity; and I presume that that exhortation which was made eighteen hundred years ago to certain Saints, would be just as applicable to us today as it was to them. They were exhorted to “contend earnestly for the faith once delivered to the Saints.” That, no doubt, sounded very strange to them in that day and age of the world; they had had Jesus among them, he had preached his Gospel unto them; the light of eternal truth had been made manifest, and they had participated in the blessings of the Gospel; and yet, under these peculiar circumstances, blessed, as it were, with the light of revelation, with Apostles in their midst, with a complete Church organization, with everything that was calculated to enlighten, instruct and lead them on in the path of righteousness, they were told to contend earnestly for that faith once delivered to the Saints.
It seems that in the different ages of the world in the past, there has existed, as there does today, a species of self-righteousness, self-complacence, a reliance upon the wisdom, intelligence and virtue of man. In that day, the Scribes and Pharisees, the lawyers and doctors, the great Sanhedrin, the pious men, thought they were the peculiar elect of God, and that wisdom would die with them. Jesus came among them and told them very many unpalatable truths; among others, that they were “whited walls and painted sepulchres; that they appeared fair on the outside, but inwardly there was nothing but rottenness and dead men's bones.” He told them that for a pretence they made long prayers; not that they had any reference to God at all, for God had very little to do with them. They did it, he told them, in order that “they might be heard of men.” They made broad their phylacteries (that is a species of writing which they bound on all their garments), with certain passages of Scripture. They made them very broad, that they might be considered extra pure, virtuous and holy. Jesus called these very pure, holy, virtuous people, painted sepulchres.
But there is something else associated with these matters very peculiar. Jesus taught the principles of life and salvation—the everlasting Gospel. He introduced men into the kingdom of God; he organized a pure Church, based upon correct principles, according to the order of God. Men were baptized into that Church; they had hands laid upon them for the reception of the Holy Ghost, and they received it. They had among them Apostles and Prophets, Pastors and Teachers, Evangelists and inspired men. The Church enjoyed among themselves the gift of tongues, visions, prophecy; the sick were healed, the blind received their sight, the deaf heard, and the lame leaped for joy; the visions of heaven were unfolded to their view, and they had a knowledge of many things pertaining to eternity; and yet, with all their light, intelligence and blessings, with all their Apostles, with the fulness of the Gospel in their midst, they were advised to contend earnestly for the faith once delivered to the Saints. The Lord has revealed to us many blessings, and I sometimes think that we hardly appreciate the light of truth which has been developed, the glory that is connected with the Gospel which has been restored, the light of revelation which has been communicated, the position that we occupy in relation to God, angels, our posterity and our progenitors, the hope that the Gospel has implanted in the bosom of every faithful Latter-day Saint, which blooms with immortality and eternal life; and sometimes, when exposed to the various trials with which we are encompassed, to the opprobrium and reproach frequently heaped upon us by ignorant and evil disposed persons, some of us, perhaps, think that our religion is something like that with which we are surrounded. We sometimes forget our prayers, responsibilities, duties and covenants, and we give way in many instances to things which have a tendency to darken the mind, becloud the understanding, weaken our faith, and deprive us of the Spirit of God. We forget the pit whence we were dug, and the rock from which we were hewn, and it is necessary that we should reflect on the position that we occupy, upon the relationship we sustain to God, to each other and to our families, that our minds may be drawn back again to the God who made us—our Father in the heavens, who hears our prayers, and who is ready at all times to supply the wants of his faithful Saints. And it is sometimes necessary that we should reflect upon the position we hold in relation to the earth on which we live, to the existence that we had before we came here, and to the eternities to come. We should not be sluggish and dull and careless and indifferent; but as the ancient Saints were exhorted, so let us exhort you today—contend earnestly for the faith once delivered to the Saints.
The religion of the everlasting gospel did not originate with any man or any set of men. It is wide as the world and originated with the Great Eloheim. It is a plan ordained by him before the world was for the salvation and redemption of the human family. It is a thing that men, in various dispensations, under the influence and inspiration of the Almighty, have possessed more or less; and it is to that that we are indebted for all the knowledge, and the light, and all the intelligence in relation to eternity. The gospel which you have received you received not of man, neither by man, but on the same principle as they received it in former days—by the revelation of Jesus Christ, by the communication of God to man, and any religion that has not this for its foundation amounts to nothing, and any superstructure built upon any other foundation will fade and vanish away like the baseless fabric of a vision, and leave not a wreck behind.
One of old in speaking of these things said: If any man build with wood, or hay, or stubble, or anything perishable, the day would come when it would be burned up and there would be left neither root nor branch. But we, as eternal beings, associated with an eternal God, having a religion that leads to that God, are desirous, as the ancients were, to know something about him, to be brought into communication with him, to fulfil the measure of our creation and our destiny on the earth, and to help the Lord to bring to pass those things that he designed from before the foundation of the world, in regard to the human family. God has designed to redeem the earth whereon we live. Mankind were placed on this earth for a certain purpose, and however erratic, foolish and visionary the course of man may have been, the Almighty has never altered his purpose, never changed his designs nor abrogated his laws; but with one steady, undeviating course from the time the morning stars first sang together for joy, until the earth shall be redeemed from under the curse and every creature in heaven and on the earth shall be heard to say: “Blessing and glory, honor and power, might, majesty and dominion be ascribed unto Him who sits upon the throne and to the Lamb forever;” and throughout all the successive ages that have been and that will be, his course is one eternal round. He has had one object in view, and that object will be accomplished in regard to man and the earth whereon he lives. The only question with us is whether we will cooperate with God, or whether we will individually work out our own salvation or not; whether we will individually fulfil the various responsibilities that devolve upon us or not; whether we will attend to the ordinances that God has introduced or not; for ourselves to begin with, for our families, for the living and for the dead. Whether we will cooperate in building temples and administering in them; whether we will unite with the Almighty, under the direction of his holy priesthood, in bringing to pass things that have been spoken of by the holy prophets since the world was; whether we will contend earnestly for the faith once delivered to the Saints. These things rest with us to a certain extent. God has communicated to the Latter-day Saints principles that the world are ignorant of, and being ignorant of them they know not how to appreciate our feelings. They call good evil, light darkness, error truth, and truth error, because they have not the means of seeing the difference between one and the other. “But you are a chosen people, a royal generation, a holy priesthood,” separate and set apart by the Almighty for the accomplishment of his purposes. God has ordained among you presidents, apostles, prophets, high priests, seventies, bishops and other authorities; they are of his appointment, empowered and directed by him, under his influence, teaching his law, unfolding the principles of life, and are organized and ordained expressly to lead the people in the path of exaltation and eternal glory. The world know nothing about these things—we are not talking to them today, they cannot comprehend them. Their religion teaches them nothing about any such things—they are simply a phantasm to them. They have not any revelation, they do not profess it. All that they have is their Bible given by ancient men of God, who spoke as they were moved upon by the Holy Ghost. They repudiate the Holy Ghost, not in name, but in reality. Many of them are very sincere; we give them credit for that. That is all right, but they do not understand our principles, views, or ideas. They could not do as we have done; they could not trust in God as our Elders do. Their ideas are more material. Ask any of them to go to the ends of the earth, as these Elders have done, without purse or scrip, trusting in God, would they do it? No, they would not, they would see the gospel damned first, and then they would not. They do not understand the principle by which we are actuated, we have done it and we will do it again, and we will keep doing it; we believe in a living God, in a living religion, in the living, vital, eternal principles which God has communicated; this is the reason why we act as we do, why we talk and believe as we do. Men are not supposed to understand our principles. The Scripture says that no man knows the things of God but by the Spirit of God. And how are they to get that? Just as you got it. And how was that? By repenting of your sins, being baptized in the name of Jesus for their remission; by having hands laid upon you by those having authority for the reception of the Holy Ghost. This is the way God appointed in former days, this is the way he has appointed in our day.
And what brought you here? Why the light of revelation—the light of truth, the gift of the Holy Ghost, the power of God. That is what brought you here. The Gospel you received you received not of men, but by the revelations of Jesus Christ; and consequently how can men outside comprehend these things? They cannot do it, it is beyond their reach. They can reason on natural principles; they have their own peculiar ideas, but they cannot comprehend the Latter-day Saints. “Mormonism” is an enigma to the world. Why, the United States have been trying to solve the problem of “Mormonism” for years and years; but with all their sagacity and intelligence they have not made it out yet; and they never will. Philosophy cannot comprehend it; it is beyond the reach of natural philosophy. It is the philosophy of heaven, it is the revelation of God to man. It is philosophical, but it is heavenly philosophy, and beyond the ken of human judgment, beyond the reach of human intelligence. They cannot grasp it, it is as high as heaven, what can they know about it? It is deeper than hell, they cannot fathom it. It is as wide as the universe, it extends over all creation. It goes back into eternity and forward into eternity. It associates with the past, present and future; it is connected with time and eternity, with men, angels, and Gods, with beings that were, that are and that are to come.
The Saints of God in all ages had the kind of faith that we have today. You Latter-day Saints know it, but other men do not. They will talk about their nonsense, their ideas and theories, and call it the religion of God and the gospel of Jesus Christ. Well, I am quite willing they should enjoy their notions. It is all right; we would not interfere with them if we could. Our feelings in regard to that are just the same as the Lord's. And what are his? His ideas are not bound in a nutshell, there is nothing contracted about the Almighty.
He makes his sun shine on the evil and on the good; he sends his rain on the just and on the unjust. He is liberal, free, generous, philanthropic, full of benevolence and kindness to the human family, and he hopes and desires that all men may be saved, and he will save them all as far as they are capable of being saved. But he desires that his people shall contend earnestly for the faith once delivered to the Saints, that as immortal beings they may act in unison with the Almighty, that they may be inspired by the principle of revelation; that they should comprehend something of their dignity and manhood; of their relationship to eternity, to the world that we live in as it is and as it will be, and to the worlds that are to come. The Lord has no such idea as some of these narrow, contracted sectarian people have that we read of. They remind me of a prayer of a man I once heard of, who in his prayer said: “Lord bless me and my wife, my son John and his wife, us four and no more, amen.” I do not believe in any such thing as that. I think the world on which we live was organized for a certain purpose. I think that man was made for a certain purpose, and so do you as Latter-day Saints. We think that the spirit of man, possessing a body, will through the medium of the everlasting Gospel, be exalted; and that man, inasmuch as he is faithful, will, by and by, be associated with the Gods in the eternal worlds; and while we plant and sow and reap, and pursue the common avocations of life, as other men do, our main object is eternal lives and exaltations; our main object is to prepare ourselves, our posterity and our progenitors for thrones, principalities and powers in the eternal worlds.
This is what we are after, and what the ancient Saints were after. This is what Adam, Noah, Enoch, Abraham and the Prophets were after, that they might fulfil their destiny on the earth, and, as one of the old Prophets said, “stand in their lot in the end of days,” when the books should be opened, when the great white throne should appear and he who sits upon it, before whose face the heavens and the earth fled away; that we and they, and they and we might be prepared, having fulfilled the measure of our creation on the earth, to associate with the intelligences that exist in the eternal worlds; be admitted again to the presence of our Father, whence we came, and participate in those eternal realities which mankind, without revelation, know nothing about. We are here for that purpose; we left our homes for that purpose; we came here for that purpose; we are building temples for that purpose; we are receiving endowments for that purpose; we are making covenants for that purpose; we are administering for the living and the dead for that purpose, and all our objects, and all our aims, like the object and aim of inspired men in former days, are altogether with reference to eternal realities as well as to time. We have a Zion to build up, and we shall build it. We shall build it. WE SHALL BUILD IT. No power can stop it. God has established his kingdom, it is in his hands, and no influence, no power, no combination of whatever kind it may be can stop the progress of the work of God. You Latter-day Saints know very well that you have not received a cunningly devised fable, concocted by the wisdom, ingenuity, talent or caprice of man. All of you who comprehend the Gospel comprehend this; you all, male and female, if you are living your religion, know this. Men of old knew it as well as you; and by and by we expect to live and associate with them, with Patriarchs, Prophets and men of God, who had faith in him, the accomplishment of his purposes in former times, and we are contending for the faith which they possessed. For instance, old Moses and Elias, you know, came to Peter, James, John and Jesus while they were on the mount. They did not think they were very old fogies that it was not worth while to listen to; but said they, “Let us make three tabernacles, one for thee, one for Moses and one for Elias. It is good to be here, why here is old Moses, and old Elias.” Who was Moses? A man who had the ancient Gospel in former times. Who was Elias? A man who had the ancient Gospel in former times. They came and administered unto Jesus, and his Apostles would have liked to stay with them forever. But they could not do it at that time.
Then again we read of John on the Isle of Patmos. You know he was in vision, and the Lord revealed unto him many great things, and there was a personage appeared, one of the old Prophets that used to be led around probably by a marshal. John thought he was an angel, and he was about to fall down and worship him after he had unfolded to him the glories of eternity. “But,” says he, “do not do it.” “Why?” “Because I am one of thy fellowservants, the Prophets; I am one of those old fellows that used to have to wander about in my day in sheepskins and goatskins. The priests, hypocrites, &c., of that day persecuted me; but now I am exalted, and have come to minister unto you John.”
While the world was wrapped in superstition, ignorance and darkness, the angels of God came and ministered to Joseph Smith, and unfolded to him the purposes of God and made known his designs. Joseph told it to the people, and through this means you are gathered together as you are today. What did men, the best of them, know about the Gospel, or about Apostles or Prophets, when the Prophet Joseph made his appearance? Nothing at all, and yet there have been good men. Old John Wesley, for instance, in his day, was very anxious to see something of this kind, but he could not see it. Says he--
“From chosen Abraham's seed,
The old apostles choose,
O'er isles and continents to spread
The dead reviving news.”
He would have been glad to see something of that kind, but he could not. It was reserved for Joseph Smith and the Latter-day Saints; it was reserved for our day. Well, then, what will we do? Fulfil the measure of our creation; go to work and redeem those men who had not the Gospel, be baptized for them, as the Scriptures tell us, and bring them up, for they without us cannot be made perfect, neither can we be made perfect without them. And we will fulfil and accomplish the purposes of God, and bring to pass the things which were spoken of by the Prophets.
This is what we are after, and we shall accomplish it, and no man can stop it, no organization, no power, no authority, for God is at the helm, and his kingdom is onward, onward, onward, and it will continue, and grow and increase until the kingdoms of this world shall become the kingdoms of our God and his Christ.
May God help us to be faithful, in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Discourse by Elder John Taylor, delivered in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Sunday Morning, April 7, 1872.
Reported by David W. Evans.
We are again met, in our Annual Conference, for the purpose of hearing the words of life, and of being instructed in the various duties and responsibilities that rest upon us, and that we, as Latter-day Saints, may be taught principles pertaining to our holy faith, and be instructed in the duties devolving upon us in the various positions that we occupy; that by a unity of faith, purpose and action, we may be able to accomplish something that will promote truth, advance the interests of Zion and the establishment of the kingdom of God upon the earth.
We are told that it is not in man to direct his steps, and we stand here in a peculiar position under the guidance and direction of the Almighty.
The Lord has seen fit to reveal unto us the everlasting Gospel, and we have been enabled, by the grace of God, to appreciate that message of life which he has communicated unto us, and we have been gathered from the nations of the earth under the influences and auspices of that Gospel. We are gathered here for the accomplishment of certain objects relative both to ourselves and others, the great leading principle of which is—to help to fulfil the designs that existed in the mind of the Almighty before the world was, relative to the earth and humanity; and I presume that that exhortation which was made eighteen hundred years ago to certain Saints, would be just as applicable to us today as it was to them. They were exhorted to “contend earnestly for the faith once delivered to the Saints.” That, no doubt, sounded very strange to them in that day and age of the world; they had had Jesus among them, he had preached his Gospel unto them; the light of eternal truth had been made manifest, and they had participated in the blessings of the Gospel; and yet, under these peculiar circumstances, blessed, as it were, with the light of revelation, with Apostles in their midst, with a complete Church organization, with everything that was calculated to enlighten, instruct and lead them on in the path of righteousness, they were told to contend earnestly for that faith once delivered to the Saints.
It seems that in the different ages of the world in the past, there has existed, as there does today, a species of self-righteousness, self-complacence, a reliance upon the wisdom, intelligence and virtue of man. In that day, the Scribes and Pharisees, the lawyers and doctors, the great Sanhedrin, the pious men, thought they were the peculiar elect of God, and that wisdom would die with them. Jesus came among them and told them very many unpalatable truths; among others, that they were “whited walls and painted sepulchres; that they appeared fair on the outside, but inwardly there was nothing but rottenness and dead men's bones.” He told them that for a pretence they made long prayers; not that they had any reference to God at all, for God had very little to do with them. They did it, he told them, in order that “they might be heard of men.” They made broad their phylacteries (that is a species of writing which they bound on all their garments), with certain passages of Scripture. They made them very broad, that they might be considered extra pure, virtuous and holy. Jesus called these very pure, holy, virtuous people, painted sepulchres.
But there is something else associated with these matters very peculiar. Jesus taught the principles of life and salvation—the everlasting Gospel. He introduced men into the kingdom of God; he organized a pure Church, based upon correct principles, according to the order of God. Men were baptized into that Church; they had hands laid upon them for the reception of the Holy Ghost, and they received it. They had among them Apostles and Prophets, Pastors and Teachers, Evangelists and inspired men. The Church enjoyed among themselves the gift of tongues, visions, prophecy; the sick were healed, the blind received their sight, the deaf heard, and the lame leaped for joy; the visions of heaven were unfolded to their view, and they had a knowledge of many things pertaining to eternity; and yet, with all their light, intelligence and blessings, with all their Apostles, with the fulness of the Gospel in their midst, they were advised to contend earnestly for the faith once delivered to the Saints. The Lord has revealed to us many blessings, and I sometimes think that we hardly appreciate the light of truth which has been developed, the glory that is connected with the Gospel which has been restored, the light of revelation which has been communicated, the position that we occupy in relation to God, angels, our posterity and our progenitors, the hope that the Gospel has implanted in the bosom of every faithful Latter-day Saint, which blooms with immortality and eternal life; and sometimes, when exposed to the various trials with which we are encompassed, to the opprobrium and reproach frequently heaped upon us by ignorant and evil disposed persons, some of us, perhaps, think that our religion is something like that with which we are surrounded. We sometimes forget our prayers, responsibilities, duties and covenants, and we give way in many instances to things which have a tendency to darken the mind, becloud the understanding, weaken our faith, and deprive us of the Spirit of God. We forget the pit whence we were dug, and the rock from which we were hewn, and it is necessary that we should reflect on the position that we occupy, upon the relationship we sustain to God, to each other and to our families, that our minds may be drawn back again to the God who made us—our Father in the heavens, who hears our prayers, and who is ready at all times to supply the wants of his faithful Saints. And it is sometimes necessary that we should reflect upon the position we hold in relation to the earth on which we live, to the existence that we had before we came here, and to the eternities to come. We should not be sluggish and dull and careless and indifferent; but as the ancient Saints were exhorted, so let us exhort you today—contend earnestly for the faith once delivered to the Saints.
The religion of the everlasting gospel did not originate with any man or any set of men. It is wide as the world and originated with the Great Eloheim. It is a plan ordained by him before the world was for the salvation and redemption of the human family. It is a thing that men, in various dispensations, under the influence and inspiration of the Almighty, have possessed more or less; and it is to that that we are indebted for all the knowledge, and the light, and all the intelligence in relation to eternity. The gospel which you have received you received not of man, neither by man, but on the same principle as they received it in former days—by the revelation of Jesus Christ, by the communication of God to man, and any religion that has not this for its foundation amounts to nothing, and any superstructure built upon any other foundation will fade and vanish away like the baseless fabric of a vision, and leave not a wreck behind.
One of old in speaking of these things said: If any man build with wood, or hay, or stubble, or anything perishable, the day would come when it would be burned up and there would be left neither root nor branch. But we, as eternal beings, associated with an eternal God, having a religion that leads to that God, are desirous, as the ancients were, to know something about him, to be brought into communication with him, to fulfil the measure of our creation and our destiny on the earth, and to help the Lord to bring to pass those things that he designed from before the foundation of the world, in regard to the human family. God has designed to redeem the earth whereon we live. Mankind were placed on this earth for a certain purpose, and however erratic, foolish and visionary the course of man may have been, the Almighty has never altered his purpose, never changed his designs nor abrogated his laws; but with one steady, undeviating course from the time the morning stars first sang together for joy, until the earth shall be redeemed from under the curse and every creature in heaven and on the earth shall be heard to say: “Blessing and glory, honor and power, might, majesty and dominion be ascribed unto Him who sits upon the throne and to the Lamb forever;” and throughout all the successive ages that have been and that will be, his course is one eternal round. He has had one object in view, and that object will be accomplished in regard to man and the earth whereon he lives. The only question with us is whether we will cooperate with God, or whether we will individually work out our own salvation or not; whether we will individually fulfil the various responsibilities that devolve upon us or not; whether we will attend to the ordinances that God has introduced or not; for ourselves to begin with, for our families, for the living and for the dead. Whether we will cooperate in building temples and administering in them; whether we will unite with the Almighty, under the direction of his holy priesthood, in bringing to pass things that have been spoken of by the holy prophets since the world was; whether we will contend earnestly for the faith once delivered to the Saints. These things rest with us to a certain extent. God has communicated to the Latter-day Saints principles that the world are ignorant of, and being ignorant of them they know not how to appreciate our feelings. They call good evil, light darkness, error truth, and truth error, because they have not the means of seeing the difference between one and the other. “But you are a chosen people, a royal generation, a holy priesthood,” separate and set apart by the Almighty for the accomplishment of his purposes. God has ordained among you presidents, apostles, prophets, high priests, seventies, bishops and other authorities; they are of his appointment, empowered and directed by him, under his influence, teaching his law, unfolding the principles of life, and are organized and ordained expressly to lead the people in the path of exaltation and eternal glory. The world know nothing about these things—we are not talking to them today, they cannot comprehend them. Their religion teaches them nothing about any such things—they are simply a phantasm to them. They have not any revelation, they do not profess it. All that they have is their Bible given by ancient men of God, who spoke as they were moved upon by the Holy Ghost. They repudiate the Holy Ghost, not in name, but in reality. Many of them are very sincere; we give them credit for that. That is all right, but they do not understand our principles, views, or ideas. They could not do as we have done; they could not trust in God as our Elders do. Their ideas are more material. Ask any of them to go to the ends of the earth, as these Elders have done, without purse or scrip, trusting in God, would they do it? No, they would not, they would see the gospel damned first, and then they would not. They do not understand the principle by which we are actuated, we have done it and we will do it again, and we will keep doing it; we believe in a living God, in a living religion, in the living, vital, eternal principles which God has communicated; this is the reason why we act as we do, why we talk and believe as we do. Men are not supposed to understand our principles. The Scripture says that no man knows the things of God but by the Spirit of God. And how are they to get that? Just as you got it. And how was that? By repenting of your sins, being baptized in the name of Jesus for their remission; by having hands laid upon you by those having authority for the reception of the Holy Ghost. This is the way God appointed in former days, this is the way he has appointed in our day.
And what brought you here? Why the light of revelation—the light of truth, the gift of the Holy Ghost, the power of God. That is what brought you here. The Gospel you received you received not of men, but by the revelations of Jesus Christ; and consequently how can men outside comprehend these things? They cannot do it, it is beyond their reach. They can reason on natural principles; they have their own peculiar ideas, but they cannot comprehend the Latter-day Saints. “Mormonism” is an enigma to the world. Why, the United States have been trying to solve the problem of “Mormonism” for years and years; but with all their sagacity and intelligence they have not made it out yet; and they never will. Philosophy cannot comprehend it; it is beyond the reach of natural philosophy. It is the philosophy of heaven, it is the revelation of God to man. It is philosophical, but it is heavenly philosophy, and beyond the ken of human judgment, beyond the reach of human intelligence. They cannot grasp it, it is as high as heaven, what can they know about it? It is deeper than hell, they cannot fathom it. It is as wide as the universe, it extends over all creation. It goes back into eternity and forward into eternity. It associates with the past, present and future; it is connected with time and eternity, with men, angels, and Gods, with beings that were, that are and that are to come.
The Saints of God in all ages had the kind of faith that we have today. You Latter-day Saints know it, but other men do not. They will talk about their nonsense, their ideas and theories, and call it the religion of God and the gospel of Jesus Christ. Well, I am quite willing they should enjoy their notions. It is all right; we would not interfere with them if we could. Our feelings in regard to that are just the same as the Lord's. And what are his? His ideas are not bound in a nutshell, there is nothing contracted about the Almighty.
He makes his sun shine on the evil and on the good; he sends his rain on the just and on the unjust. He is liberal, free, generous, philanthropic, full of benevolence and kindness to the human family, and he hopes and desires that all men may be saved, and he will save them all as far as they are capable of being saved. But he desires that his people shall contend earnestly for the faith once delivered to the Saints, that as immortal beings they may act in unison with the Almighty, that they may be inspired by the principle of revelation; that they should comprehend something of their dignity and manhood; of their relationship to eternity, to the world that we live in as it is and as it will be, and to the worlds that are to come. The Lord has no such idea as some of these narrow, contracted sectarian people have that we read of. They remind me of a prayer of a man I once heard of, who in his prayer said: “Lord bless me and my wife, my son John and his wife, us four and no more, amen.” I do not believe in any such thing as that. I think the world on which we live was organized for a certain purpose. I think that man was made for a certain purpose, and so do you as Latter-day Saints. We think that the spirit of man, possessing a body, will through the medium of the everlasting Gospel, be exalted; and that man, inasmuch as he is faithful, will, by and by, be associated with the Gods in the eternal worlds; and while we plant and sow and reap, and pursue the common avocations of life, as other men do, our main object is eternal lives and exaltations; our main object is to prepare ourselves, our posterity and our progenitors for thrones, principalities and powers in the eternal worlds.
This is what we are after, and what the ancient Saints were after. This is what Adam, Noah, Enoch, Abraham and the Prophets were after, that they might fulfil their destiny on the earth, and, as one of the old Prophets said, “stand in their lot in the end of days,” when the books should be opened, when the great white throne should appear and he who sits upon it, before whose face the heavens and the earth fled away; that we and they, and they and we might be prepared, having fulfilled the measure of our creation on the earth, to associate with the intelligences that exist in the eternal worlds; be admitted again to the presence of our Father, whence we came, and participate in those eternal realities which mankind, without revelation, know nothing about. We are here for that purpose; we left our homes for that purpose; we came here for that purpose; we are building temples for that purpose; we are receiving endowments for that purpose; we are making covenants for that purpose; we are administering for the living and the dead for that purpose, and all our objects, and all our aims, like the object and aim of inspired men in former days, are altogether with reference to eternal realities as well as to time. We have a Zion to build up, and we shall build it. We shall build it. WE SHALL BUILD IT. No power can stop it. God has established his kingdom, it is in his hands, and no influence, no power, no combination of whatever kind it may be can stop the progress of the work of God. You Latter-day Saints know very well that you have not received a cunningly devised fable, concocted by the wisdom, ingenuity, talent or caprice of man. All of you who comprehend the Gospel comprehend this; you all, male and female, if you are living your religion, know this. Men of old knew it as well as you; and by and by we expect to live and associate with them, with Patriarchs, Prophets and men of God, who had faith in him, the accomplishment of his purposes in former times, and we are contending for the faith which they possessed. For instance, old Moses and Elias, you know, came to Peter, James, John and Jesus while they were on the mount. They did not think they were very old fogies that it was not worth while to listen to; but said they, “Let us make three tabernacles, one for thee, one for Moses and one for Elias. It is good to be here, why here is old Moses, and old Elias.” Who was Moses? A man who had the ancient Gospel in former times. Who was Elias? A man who had the ancient Gospel in former times. They came and administered unto Jesus, and his Apostles would have liked to stay with them forever. But they could not do it at that time.
Then again we read of John on the Isle of Patmos. You know he was in vision, and the Lord revealed unto him many great things, and there was a personage appeared, one of the old Prophets that used to be led around probably by a marshal. John thought he was an angel, and he was about to fall down and worship him after he had unfolded to him the glories of eternity. “But,” says he, “do not do it.” “Why?” “Because I am one of thy fellowservants, the Prophets; I am one of those old fellows that used to have to wander about in my day in sheepskins and goatskins. The priests, hypocrites, &c., of that day persecuted me; but now I am exalted, and have come to minister unto you John.”
While the world was wrapped in superstition, ignorance and darkness, the angels of God came and ministered to Joseph Smith, and unfolded to him the purposes of God and made known his designs. Joseph told it to the people, and through this means you are gathered together as you are today. What did men, the best of them, know about the Gospel, or about Apostles or Prophets, when the Prophet Joseph made his appearance? Nothing at all, and yet there have been good men. Old John Wesley, for instance, in his day, was very anxious to see something of this kind, but he could not see it. Says he--
“From chosen Abraham's seed,
The old apostles choose,
O'er isles and continents to spread
The dead reviving news.”
He would have been glad to see something of that kind, but he could not. It was reserved for Joseph Smith and the Latter-day Saints; it was reserved for our day. Well, then, what will we do? Fulfil the measure of our creation; go to work and redeem those men who had not the Gospel, be baptized for them, as the Scriptures tell us, and bring them up, for they without us cannot be made perfect, neither can we be made perfect without them. And we will fulfil and accomplish the purposes of God, and bring to pass the things which were spoken of by the Prophets.
This is what we are after, and we shall accomplish it, and no man can stop it, no organization, no power, no authority, for God is at the helm, and his kingdom is onward, onward, onward, and it will continue, and grow and increase until the kingdoms of this world shall become the kingdoms of our God and his Christ.
May God help us to be faithful, in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Elder Joseph W. Young
bore testimony that God had spoken by the voice of revelation and of holy angels, and had bestowed divine authority on Joseph Smith. Those who did not know any better had ascribed the great work accomplished by the Latter-day Saints to the shrewdness and intelligence of the leaders of this people. This was not altogether the case, for although credit was due to those leaders for what had been done, still what had been accomplished had been done by the power and efficacy of the principles of the gospel. When the people first settled these valleys, they were comparatively destitute of the necessaries, and almost entirely so of the comforts of life, and there was no source of supply nearer than a thousand miles, What was it that brought us here? Was it that we might become rich by development of mineral resources? No. It was that we might find a home where we would be free from the persecution of bigots, and live in peace unmolested. It took a great concentration of faith to accomplish this.
Allusion had been made to the labors of our elders who had willingly gone forth preaching the gospel, trusting in God, trusting that their families would be provided for in their absence. This was considered fanaticism by some. No important truths, however, had ever been introduced among men but the promulgators of those truths had been considered fanatics.
Elder Young, in conclusion, predicted the ultimate and sure triumph of the work of God.
The choir sang: “When the Lord shall build up Zion.”
Adjourned till 2 p.m.
Elder Brigham Young, Jun., pronounced the benedictory prayer.
bore testimony that God had spoken by the voice of revelation and of holy angels, and had bestowed divine authority on Joseph Smith. Those who did not know any better had ascribed the great work accomplished by the Latter-day Saints to the shrewdness and intelligence of the leaders of this people. This was not altogether the case, for although credit was due to those leaders for what had been done, still what had been accomplished had been done by the power and efficacy of the principles of the gospel. When the people first settled these valleys, they were comparatively destitute of the necessaries, and almost entirely so of the comforts of life, and there was no source of supply nearer than a thousand miles, What was it that brought us here? Was it that we might become rich by development of mineral resources? No. It was that we might find a home where we would be free from the persecution of bigots, and live in peace unmolested. It took a great concentration of faith to accomplish this.
Allusion had been made to the labors of our elders who had willingly gone forth preaching the gospel, trusting in God, trusting that their families would be provided for in their absence. This was considered fanaticism by some. No important truths, however, had ever been introduced among men but the promulgators of those truths had been considered fanatics.
Elder Young, in conclusion, predicted the ultimate and sure triumph of the work of God.
The choir sang: “When the Lord shall build up Zion.”
Adjourned till 2 p.m.
Elder Brigham Young, Jun., pronounced the benedictory prayer.
Sunday, 2 p. m.
The choir sang: “Arise, O glorious Zion.”
Opening prayer by Elder Joseph F. Smith.
“Behold the great Redeemer die,” was sung by the choir.
The sacrament of the Lord’s Supper was administered.
The choir sang: “Arise, O glorious Zion.”
Opening prayer by Elder Joseph F. Smith.
“Behold the great Redeemer die,” was sung by the choir.
The sacrament of the Lord’s Supper was administered.
Elder Orson Pratt
delivered a powerful and elaborate discourse on the restoration of the gospel in these days and its effects, as illustrated in the work accomplished by the Latter-day Saints, and the judgments of God which would be poured out upon those who rejected the message of salvation. He quoted a large number of prophecies in the course of his address, showing their literal fulfillment. He showed in a lucid manner how the saving power of the gospel reached the dead who had departed from the earth without a knowledge of its principles, and also treated upon the eternal nature of marriage. It would be impossible to give a definite idea of the discourse in a short synopsis. It was reported in full, for publication.
delivered a powerful and elaborate discourse on the restoration of the gospel in these days and its effects, as illustrated in the work accomplished by the Latter-day Saints, and the judgments of God which would be poured out upon those who rejected the message of salvation. He quoted a large number of prophecies in the course of his address, showing their literal fulfillment. He showed in a lucid manner how the saving power of the gospel reached the dead who had departed from the earth without a knowledge of its principles, and also treated upon the eternal nature of marriage. It would be impossible to give a definite idea of the discourse in a short synopsis. It was reported in full, for publication.
The Latter-day Kingdom—The Present Fulfilment of Ancient Prophecy
Discourse by Elder Orson Pratt, delivered in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, April 7, 1872.
Reported by David W. Evans.
When I look over this vast congregation, assembled in the body of this house as well as in the gallery, it seems to be an impossibility to make all hear; and to give all an opportunity to do so it will be necessary that the closest attention be given and that shuffling of feet and whispering cease. I suppose there must be congregated here something in the neighborhood of twelve thousand persons, and there are but very few voices or lungs that are able to reach such a multitude, and edify and instruct them. I know from former experience in speaking from this stand, that it requires a great exertion of the lungs and body to speak so as to be understood, and this great exertion of the physical system is calculated in a very short time to weary also the mind, therefore I may not be able to address you for any great length of time.
It is now forty-two years since the organization of the Church of Jesus Christ on the earth. Forty-two years ago, on the 6th day of April, the Prophet Joseph Smith was commanded by the Lord Almighty to organize the Kingdom of God on the earth for the last time—to set up and make a beginning—to form the nucleus of a Government that never should be destroyed from the earth, or, in other words, that should stand forever. The founding of governments, of whatsoever nature they may be, may be considered in the estimation of some, very honorable; but there is no special honor attached to a man who is called upon by the Almighty to found a Government on the earth, for it is the Lord who works by him as an instrument, using him for that purpose. That, of course, is honorable. Perhaps there never was a work accomplished among men of so great and important a nature as that of the foundation of a kingdom that never is to be destroyed. About six thousand years have passed away since the Government established by the Patriarchs, or by the first man, was commenced here on the earth. From that time until the present vast numbers and descriptions of Governments, some Patriarchal in their nature, others taking the form of kingdoms, others of empires and so forth, have been organized here on the earth. During that long interval of time whenever a man has founded a Government he has been greatly honored, not only by the generation among whom he lived, and in which he formed the Government, but he has been honored generally by after generations. But nearly all the Governments that have been established have been thrown down—they have been only temporary in their nature—existing for a few centuries perhaps, and then overthrown. It is not my intention this afternoon to examine the nature and forms of these various human Governments, but to state in a few words that there is now organized on the earth a Government which never will be broken as former Governments have been. This will stand forever. It began very small—only six members were organized in this Government on Tuesday the 6th day of April, 1830, that is according to the vulgar era; according to the true era it was some two or three years longer. The Christian era, that is in common use now among the human family is called the vulgar era, because it is incorrect. Jesus, it is acknowledged by the most learned men at the present day, was born two or three years before the period that is now commonly called the vulgar Christian era. It is also acknowledged by the greater portion of the learned men of the day, who have carefully examined the subject, that Jesus was crucified on the 6th day of April; and according to the true Christian era, it was precisely eighteen hundred years from the day of his crucifixion until the day that this Church was organized. Why the Lord chose this particular period—the anniversary of the day of his crucifixion for the organization of his kingdom on the earth, I do not know. I do know that he has a set time in his own mind for accomplishing his great purposes; but why he should purpose in his own mind that precisely eighteen hundred years should elapse from the day of the crucifixion until the day of the organization of his church, we do not know. Suffice it to say that this is the interval that elapsed. The Book of Mormon gives the exact interval from the day of his birth to the day of the crucifixion, and by putting these two periods together we can ascertain the true Christian era. There is a great dispute, however, among chronologists in regard to this matter; many of them say Jesus was born one year before the vulgar era, others that he was born two years before that. Four different chronologists, mentioned by name in Smith's Bible Dictionary, place the period three years before the vulgar era; others place it at four years before, some five, and some have placed it seven years before the present vulgar era. If we take a medium between these combined with the testimony of a great many who have written upon the subject, we find, as I said before, that it makes precisely eighteen hundred years between the two great events that took place, namely the crucifixion and the building up of his kingdom in these latter days.
God has seen proper in the progress of this kingdom to restore to his servants holding the priesthood every key and power pertaining to the restitution of all things spoken of by the mouth of all the Holy Prophets since the world began. One of the first things that he condescended to restore was the fullness of the everlasting Gospel, just according to the prediction of the ancient Prophets—by the coming of an angel from heaven. Mr. Smith fulfilled that prediction, or rather it was fulfilled to him. He declares, in language most plain and positive, that God did send an angel from heaven and committed to him the everlasting Gospel on plates of gold; or in other words, he had it revealed to him by this angel, where the plates of gold were deposited containing the everlasting Gospel, as it was preached to the ancient inhabitants of this American continent, by the personal ministry of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. This was the restoration predicted by John in the 14th chapter of Revelation, where it is declared that such an event should take place. John says that he saw, in vision, an angel come from heaven to earth, to restore the everlasting Gospel. No people on earth, prior to the advent of the Prophet Joseph Smith, ever testified to the fulfilment of John's prediction. If you make the inquiry of the various Christian denominations, whether Catholic, Greek or Dissenters, they will tell you unitedly that no such event characterized the rise of their churches; we have therefore their testimony, proving that God never fulfilled this portion of his word through them; but on the contrary the united voice and testimony of all these Christians, from one end of the earth to the other is that the Bible contains the Gospel, “And we have preached the Gospel,” say they, “as we found it recorded in the Bible, and no angel to restore the authority to preach the Gospel, to baptize, to confirm by the laying on of hands, to administer the Lord's Supper, or to restore or give authority to organize the kingdom of God on the earth, was necessary.” To this we reply, the history of the Gospel is one thing, and the authority to preach it and administer its ordinances is another. We can read its history in the New Testament; and we can also read there how the ancient servants of God organized the Church in their day; we can read what ordinances they performed or administered among the children of men; we can read what was needful for the organization of the Christian Church eighteen hundred years ago. We have the history of all these things in the Scriptures, but for some seventeen centuries past, prior to the coming of this angel, there has been no authority to preach it; no Apostles, no Prophets, no Revelators, no visions from heaven, no inspiration from heaven; no voice of the Lord has been heard among the nations during the long interval that has elapsed since the putting to death of the ancient servants of God, and the destruction of the ancient Christian Church. Joseph Smith came to this generation testifying to the fulfillment of that which God predicted in the Revelation of Saint John—the restoration of the Gospel. But says John the Revelator, “when it is restored it shall be preached to every nation, kindred, tongue and people.”
Is there any prospect of this Gospel being thus extensively preached among the inhabitants of the earth in this generation? We need not refer you to the missions that have been taken by the Elders of this Church. Their works speak for themselves. Behold this vast congregation of people assembled here, and nearly all who inhabit this Territory. Why are they here? Because the angel has brought the everlasting Gospel, and because the servants of God have been commissioned and sent forth with the sound of the Gospel among the various nations and kingdoms of the earth; and because they have succeeded in preaching it among vast numbers of people, and gathering them out from the midst of the nations. But it has not yet gone to all nations, kindreds, tongues and people; but wait a little longer, it will shortly go, for just as sure as it has already been preached to nearly all the nations of Christendom, so will it go to every other people—heathen, Mahomedan, and every class, whether in Europe, Asia, Africa, or the uttermost parts of South America, the frozen regions in the north, or the numerous islands in the great western and eastern oceans. Every people must be warned that the great day of the Lord is close at hand; every people must know that the Lord God has spoken in these latter times; every people must know something concerning the purposes of the Great Jehovah in fulfilling and accomplishing the great preparatory work for the second advent of the Son of God from the heavens. Here then is the fulfillment of one prophecy. Let us now come to another.
John, who saw this angel restore the everlasting Gospel to be preached to all the nations, declares that another proclamation was closely connected with the preaching of the Gospel. What was it? “The hour of his judgment has come”—the eleventh hour, the last time that God will warn the nations of the earth. “The hour of God's judgment has come,” and that is the reason why the Gospel is to be so extensively preached among all people, nations and tongues, because the Lord intends through this warning to prepare them, if they will, to escape the hour of his judgment, which must come upon all people who will refuse to receive the divine message of the everlasting Gospel.
We will now pass on to another prophecy. Another angel followed. What was his proclamation? Another angel followed, and he cried with a loud voice, saying: “Babylon is fallen, is fallen. She has made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication,” &c. Spiritual Babylon the Great, “the mother of harlots and abominations of the earth.” “Mystery Babylon”—that great power that has held sway over the nations of the earth—that great ecclesiastical power which has ruled over the consciences of the children of men, she is to fall and is to be destroyed from the face of the earth. Will the righteous fall with her? No. Why not? Because there is a way for their escape.
Now mark another prophecy. “I heard a great voice,” says John, “from heaven, saying, ‘Come out of her, O my people!’” Out of where? “Mystery Babylon, the Great”—out of this great confusion that exists throughout all the nations and multitudes of Christendom. “Come out of her, O my people, that ye partake not of her sins, that ye receive not of her plagues; for her sins have reached to the heavens, and God hath remembered her iniquities!” Is this being fulfilled? Do you see any indications of the people of God coming out from “Mystery Babylon the Great?” Yes, for forty-two years, and upwards, God has commanded his people, not by something devised by a congregation of divines, or by human ingenuity, but by a voice from heaven which has been published and printed, requiring all who receive the everlasting Gospel to come out from the midst of great Babylon. One hundred thousand Latter-day Saints, approximately speaking, now inherit these mountain regions. They are here because of this prediction of John, because of its being fulfilled, because of the voice that has come from heaven—the proclamation of the Almighty for his people to flee from amongst the nations of the earth. I need not say any more in regard to this prophecy; it is in the Bible, and is being fulfilled before the eyes of all people.
Let me refer now to another prophecy. Daniel the Prophet has told us that in the latter days after the great image that was seen in dream by Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, representing the various kingdoms of the world, should be destroyed, and those nations should pass away and become like the chaff of the summer threshingfloor, the Lord would establish an everlasting Government here upon the earth. The Lord God saw proper to reveal to his servant Daniel the nature of this Government. He represented it as having a very small beginning—as a stone cut out of the mountain without hands, which stone should fall upon the feet of the image, and they should be broken in pieces. After the destruction of the feet all the image should fall—the legs of iron, the belly and thighs of brass, the breast and arms of silver, the head of gold—representing the remnants of all those ancient nations—the Babylonians, Medes and Persians, and the Greeks; also the remnants of those that once constituted the great Roman empire—those now in Europe and those of European origin which have come across the great ocean and established themselves here on the vast continent of the west, all, all were to be destroyed by the force of this little kingdom to be established by the power of truth, and by the authority that should characterize the nature of the stone cut out of the mountains. “In the days of these kings,” says the Prophet, “shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, neither shall it be left to any other people, but it shall stand forever,” etc. The Prophet Daniel uttered the prophecy; Joseph Smith, by authority of the Almighty, fulfilled it, so far as the organization or setting up of the kingdom was concerned.
Let me refer now to some other prophecies. I do not want to dwell long upon any of them. We are told in the prophecies of Isaiah that before the time of the second advent, when the glory of the Lord should be revealed and all flesh should see it together, there should be a Zion built up on the earth. The Prophet gives the following exhortation to that Zion—“O Zion, thou that bringest good tidings, get thee up into the high mountain.” Here then is a prophecy that, in the latter days, God would have a Zion on the earth before he should reveal himself from heaven and manifest his glory to all people; and the people called Zion are exhorted, in the 40th chapter of Isaiah, to get up into the high mountain. Here we are in this great mountain region, in a Territory called the mountain Territory. Here we are on the great backbone, as it were, of the western hemisphere, located among the valleys of this great ridge of mountains, which extends for thousands of miles—from the frozen regions in the north, almost to the southern extremity of South America. Here are the people called Zion, gone up into the high mountain, according to the prediction of the Prophet Isaiah. Isaiah uttered the prophecy; Joseph Smith also prophesied the same thing, but died without seeing it fulfilled. His successor, Brigham Young, lived to be the favored instrument in the hands of God, of taking the people from those countries down in the States, those countries upon the low elevations of our globe, and bringing them up here into this vast mountain region. Thus the prophecy was uttered—thus it has been fulfilled.
We will pass on to some other prophecies. In the eighteenth chapter of the prophecies of Isaiah we have a prediction about a time when the Lord should make a great destruction upon a certain portion of the earth. The Prophet begins the chapter by saying, “woe to the land shadowing with wings, which is beyond the rivers of Ethiopia. Recollect where the Prophet dwelt when he uttered this prophecy—in Palestine, east of the Mediterranean Sea. Where was Ethiopia? Southwest from Palestine. Where was there a land located beyond the rivers of Ethiopia. Every person acquainted with the geography of our globe knows that this American continent was beyond the rivers of Ethiopia from the land of Palestine, where the prophecy was uttered. A woe was pronounced upon that land, and that woe is this: “For afore the harvest, when the bud is perfect and the sour grape is ripening in the flower, he shall both cut off the sprigs with pruninghooks, and take away and cut down the branches. They shall be left together unto the fowls of the mountains, and to the beasts of the earth. And the fowls shall summer upon them, and all the beasts of the earth shall winter upon them.” But first, before this destruction, there is a remarkable prophecy. Says the Prophet: “All ye inhabitants of the world, and dwellers on the earth, see ye when he lifteth up an ensign on the mountains, and when he bloweth a trumpet, hear ye.” From this we learn that, before this great destruction, there is to be an ensign lifted up on the mountains, and this, too, beyond the rivers of Ethiopia, from Palestine. This is the reason why Zion in the latter days goes up into the mountains, in order that an ensign might be lifted up on the mountains. This prophecy was uttered some twenty-five hundred years ago, and has been fulfilled before the eyes of the people in our day.
But more in regard to this ensign; we find that it was not an ensign to be lifted up in Palestine, for in the fifth chapter of his prophecies, Isaiah, speaking of it says—“The Lord shall lift up an ensign for the nations from afar.” What does this mean? It means a land far distant from where the Prophet Isaiah lived—the land of Palestine. Now there is no land of magnitude or greatness that is far off from Palestine that would answer the description of this prophecy any better than this great western hemisphere; it is located almost on the opposite side of the globe from Palestine. The Lord, then, was to lift the ensign on a land that was far off from where the Prophet lived; and that ensign, we are told, should be set up on the mountains, and that, too, on a land shadowing with wings. When looking on the map of North and South America it has oftentimes suggested to my own mind the two wings of a great bird. No doubt the Prophet Isaiah saw this great western continent in vision, and recognized the resemblance to the wings of a bird in the general outline of the two branches of the continent. On such a land, on the mountains afar off from Palestine, an ensign was to be raised. But remember another thing in connection with this ensign—See how extensive the proclamation was to be—“All ye inhabitants of the world and dwellers on the earth, see ye when he lifts up an ensign on the mountains.” It was to be a work that was to attract the attention of all people, unto the ends of the world.
“But,” enquires one, “what do you call an ensign?” Webster gives the definition of an ensign or standard—“Something to which the people gather; a notice for the people to assemble.” In other words it is the great standard of the Almighty—the great ensign that he is lifting up in the shape of his Church and kingdom, on the mountains in the latter days, with all the order and form of his ancient system of church government, with its inspired Apostles and Prophets and with all the gifts, powers and blessings characterizing the Christian Church in ancient days. That is an ensign that should attract the people unto the very ends of the world.
With the establishment of this ensign, God has not only restored the Gospel, but the keys of gathering the people together and building up Zion, and he has also restored other keys and blessings that were to characterize the great and last dispensation of the fullness of times. What are they? The same as predicted in the last chapter of the prophecy of Malachi. That Prophet, speaking of the great day of burning says, “Behold the day shall come that shall burn as an oven, and all the proud and they that do wickedly shall become as stubble, and the day that cometh shall burn them up saith the Lord of Hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.” This is something that has never been fulfilled yet. But mark! Before the Lord burns all the proud and those who do wickedly, he has told us he would send Elijah the Prophet. He says, “Behold, I will send unto you Elijah the Prophet, he shall turn the hearts of the fathers to the children and the hearts of the children to the fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.” Recollect, this is to be just before the day of burning, before the great and notable day of the Lord should come.
Elijah, the Prophet, then, must come from heaven—that same man who was translated in a chariot of fire, and who had such power while on the earth that he could fight, as it were, all the enemies of Israel that came against him; he could call down fire from heaven and consume the fifties as they came by companies to take him. That same man was to be sent in the last days, before the great and notable day of the Lord. What for? To restore a very important principle—a principle which will turn the hearts of the children to the fathers, and the hearts of the fathers to the children. Has that Prophet been sent to the earth, according to the prediction? Yes. When did he come, and to whom did he come? He came to that despised young man, Joseph Smith. According to the testimony of Joseph Smith, the Prophet Elijah stood before him, in the presence of Oliver Cowdery, and gave them these keys. What is included in this turning of the hearts of the children to the fathers and the hearts of the fathers to the children? There is included in it a principle for the salvation of the fathers that are dead, as well as for the children who are living. You have heard, Latter-day Saints, for years and years, that God has given keys, by which the living in this Church might do, not only the works necessary for their own salvation, but also certain works necessary to the salvation of their ancestors as far back as they could obtain their genealogies. What can be done by us for our fathers who have lived and died during the last seventeen hundred years, without hearing the Gospel in its fullness and power? Hundreds and thousands, and millions of them were sincere and honest, and served the Lord the best they knew; but they lived in the midst of apostate Christendom, and never heard the Gospel preached by inspired men, neither had they the chance of having its ordinances administered to them by men having authority from God. Must they be shut out from the kingdom of God, and be deprived of the glory, joys and blessings of celestial life because of this? No, God is an impartial being, and when he sent Elijah the Prophet to confer the keys I have referred to upon Joseph Smith, he intended that this people should work for the generations of the dead, as well as for the generations of the living; that these ordinances which pertain to men here in the flesh might be administered in their behalf by those of their kindred living in this day and generation. In this way the Latter-day Saints will be baptized and receive the various ordinances of the Gospel of the Son of God for their forefathers, as far as they can trace them; and when we have traced them as far back as we can possibly go, the Lord God has promised that he will reveal our ancestry back until it shall connect with the ancient priesthood, so that there will be no link wanting in the great chain of redemption.
Here then was a restoration in fulfillment of the prediction of Malachi, and for this reason Temples are being built. The Temple, of which the foundation is laid on this block, is intended for that purpose among others. It is not intended for the assembling of vast congregations of the Saints, but it is intended to be for the administration of sacred and holy ordinances. There will be a font for baptism, in its proper place, built according to the pattern that God shall give unto his servants. It is intended that, in these sacred and holy places, appointed, set apart and dedicated by the command of the Almighty, genealogies shall be revealed, and that the living shall officiate for the dead, that those who have not had the opportunity while in the flesh in past generations to obey the Gospel, might have their friends now living, officiate for them. This does not destroy their agency, for although they laid down their bodies and went to their graves in a day of darkness, and they are now mingled with the hosts of spirits in the eternal worlds, their agency still continues, and that agency gives them power to believe in Jesus Christ there, just as well as we can who are here. Those spirits on the other side of the veil can repent just the same as we, in the flesh, can repent. Faith in God and in his son Jesus Christ, and repentance are acts of the mind—mental operations—but when it comes to baptism for the remission of sins, they cannot perform that, we act for them, that having been ordained to be performed in the flesh. They can receive the benefit of whatever is done for them here, and whatever the Lord God commands his people here in the flesh to do for them will be published to them there by those holding the everlasting Priesthood of the Son of God. If, when the Gospel is preached to them there, they will believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, they will receive the benefits of the ordinances performed on their behalf here, and they will be partakers, with their kindred, of all the blessings of the fullness of the Gospel of the Son of God; but if they will not do this, they will be bound over in chains of darkness until the judgment of the great day, when they will be judged according to men in the flesh. We are here in the flesh, and the same Gospel that condemns the disobedient and the sinner here, will, by the same law, condemn those who are on the other side of the veil.
We have an account of baptism for the dead, as it was administered among the ancient Saints. Paul refers to it in his epistle to the Corinthians, to prove to them that the resurrection was a reality, “Else,” says he, “what shall they do who are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all? why then are they baptized for the dead?” It was a strong argument that Paul brought forward, and one that the Corinthians well understood. It was a practice among them to be baptized for their dead, and Paul, knowing that they understood this principle, uses an argument to show that the dead would have a resurrection, and that baptism or immersion in water, a being buried in and the coming forth out of the water, was a simile of the resurrection from the dead. The same doctrine is taught in one of Peter's epistles. About preaching to those who are dead, Peter says that “Jesus was put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit, by which also he went and preached to the spirits in prison, which sometimes were disobedient, when once the long-suffering of God waited in the days of Noah while the ark was preparing.” Indeed! Jesus himself go to the dead and preach to them? Yes. Go to the old antediluvian spirits, and preach to them? Yes, preach to spirits who had lain in prison over two thousand years, shut up and deprived of entering into the fulness of the kingdom of God because of their disobedience. Jesus went and preached to them. “What did he preach?” He did not preach eternal damnation, for that would have been no use. He did not go and say to them, “You antediluvian spirits, I have come here to torment you.” He did not declare that “I have opened your prison doors to tell you there is no hope for you, your case is past recovery, you must be damned to everlasting despair.” This was not his preaching. He went there to declare glad tidings. When he entered the prison of those antediluvians, Peter says he preached the Gospel. “For for this cause was the Gospel preached to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, and live according to God in the spirit.” Yes, the inhabitants of the spirit world—far more numerous than those in the flesh—must hear the glad tidings of the Gospel of the Son of God, that all may be judged by the same Gospel and the same law; and if they will receive it, be blessed, exalted from their prison house, and brought into the presence of the Father and the Son, and inherit celestial glory.
This, therefore, is among the greatest of all the keys that God has revealed in the last dispensation—the saving of the generations of the dead, as well as the generations of the living, inasmuch as they will repent. Shall we stop here? Perhaps I have spoken sufficiently long. There are other principles, just as important in their nature, that must be restored in the latter days, but I have not time to dwell upon them. I have reference now to the restoration of that eternal principle—the marriage covenant, which once was on the earth in the days of our first parents, the eternal union of husband and wife, according to the law of God, in the first pattern of marriage that is given to the children of men. That must also be restored, and everything in its time and in its season must be restored, in order that all things spoken of by the mouth of all the holy Prophets since the world began may be fulfilled. But we will leave this subject for some future time. There must, however, be a restoration of the eternal covenant of marriage, and also of that order of marriage which existed among the old Patriarchs, before the prophecies can be fulfilled, wherein seven women shall take hold of one man, saying, “we will eat our own bread, and wear our own apparel, only let us be called by thy name to take away our reproach.” That must be restored, or the prophecies of Isaiah never can be fulfilled. A great many other things might be named which must be restored in the dispensation of the fulness of times. It is a dispensation to restore all things, it is the dispensation of the spirit and power of Elias or Elijah, “to seal all things unto the end of all things” preparatory to the coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
The wicked as well as the righteous will feel the power of these keys. The wicked as well as the righteous must be sealed to that end for which they have lived. The wicked, who have disobeyed the law of God, must be sealed over unto darkness, until they have been punished and beaten with many stripes, until the last resurrection, until the last trump shall sound. But the righteous, in the flesh and behind the veil, will come forth in the first resurrection, but prior to that great event they will cooperate in their labors for the consummation of the purposes of the Almighty so far as necessary to prepare the way for the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ to reign here, personally, on the earth for the space of one thousand years. Amen.
Discourse by Elder Orson Pratt, delivered in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, April 7, 1872.
Reported by David W. Evans.
When I look over this vast congregation, assembled in the body of this house as well as in the gallery, it seems to be an impossibility to make all hear; and to give all an opportunity to do so it will be necessary that the closest attention be given and that shuffling of feet and whispering cease. I suppose there must be congregated here something in the neighborhood of twelve thousand persons, and there are but very few voices or lungs that are able to reach such a multitude, and edify and instruct them. I know from former experience in speaking from this stand, that it requires a great exertion of the lungs and body to speak so as to be understood, and this great exertion of the physical system is calculated in a very short time to weary also the mind, therefore I may not be able to address you for any great length of time.
It is now forty-two years since the organization of the Church of Jesus Christ on the earth. Forty-two years ago, on the 6th day of April, the Prophet Joseph Smith was commanded by the Lord Almighty to organize the Kingdom of God on the earth for the last time—to set up and make a beginning—to form the nucleus of a Government that never should be destroyed from the earth, or, in other words, that should stand forever. The founding of governments, of whatsoever nature they may be, may be considered in the estimation of some, very honorable; but there is no special honor attached to a man who is called upon by the Almighty to found a Government on the earth, for it is the Lord who works by him as an instrument, using him for that purpose. That, of course, is honorable. Perhaps there never was a work accomplished among men of so great and important a nature as that of the foundation of a kingdom that never is to be destroyed. About six thousand years have passed away since the Government established by the Patriarchs, or by the first man, was commenced here on the earth. From that time until the present vast numbers and descriptions of Governments, some Patriarchal in their nature, others taking the form of kingdoms, others of empires and so forth, have been organized here on the earth. During that long interval of time whenever a man has founded a Government he has been greatly honored, not only by the generation among whom he lived, and in which he formed the Government, but he has been honored generally by after generations. But nearly all the Governments that have been established have been thrown down—they have been only temporary in their nature—existing for a few centuries perhaps, and then overthrown. It is not my intention this afternoon to examine the nature and forms of these various human Governments, but to state in a few words that there is now organized on the earth a Government which never will be broken as former Governments have been. This will stand forever. It began very small—only six members were organized in this Government on Tuesday the 6th day of April, 1830, that is according to the vulgar era; according to the true era it was some two or three years longer. The Christian era, that is in common use now among the human family is called the vulgar era, because it is incorrect. Jesus, it is acknowledged by the most learned men at the present day, was born two or three years before the period that is now commonly called the vulgar Christian era. It is also acknowledged by the greater portion of the learned men of the day, who have carefully examined the subject, that Jesus was crucified on the 6th day of April; and according to the true Christian era, it was precisely eighteen hundred years from the day of his crucifixion until the day that this Church was organized. Why the Lord chose this particular period—the anniversary of the day of his crucifixion for the organization of his kingdom on the earth, I do not know. I do know that he has a set time in his own mind for accomplishing his great purposes; but why he should purpose in his own mind that precisely eighteen hundred years should elapse from the day of the crucifixion until the day of the organization of his church, we do not know. Suffice it to say that this is the interval that elapsed. The Book of Mormon gives the exact interval from the day of his birth to the day of the crucifixion, and by putting these two periods together we can ascertain the true Christian era. There is a great dispute, however, among chronologists in regard to this matter; many of them say Jesus was born one year before the vulgar era, others that he was born two years before that. Four different chronologists, mentioned by name in Smith's Bible Dictionary, place the period three years before the vulgar era; others place it at four years before, some five, and some have placed it seven years before the present vulgar era. If we take a medium between these combined with the testimony of a great many who have written upon the subject, we find, as I said before, that it makes precisely eighteen hundred years between the two great events that took place, namely the crucifixion and the building up of his kingdom in these latter days.
God has seen proper in the progress of this kingdom to restore to his servants holding the priesthood every key and power pertaining to the restitution of all things spoken of by the mouth of all the Holy Prophets since the world began. One of the first things that he condescended to restore was the fullness of the everlasting Gospel, just according to the prediction of the ancient Prophets—by the coming of an angel from heaven. Mr. Smith fulfilled that prediction, or rather it was fulfilled to him. He declares, in language most plain and positive, that God did send an angel from heaven and committed to him the everlasting Gospel on plates of gold; or in other words, he had it revealed to him by this angel, where the plates of gold were deposited containing the everlasting Gospel, as it was preached to the ancient inhabitants of this American continent, by the personal ministry of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. This was the restoration predicted by John in the 14th chapter of Revelation, where it is declared that such an event should take place. John says that he saw, in vision, an angel come from heaven to earth, to restore the everlasting Gospel. No people on earth, prior to the advent of the Prophet Joseph Smith, ever testified to the fulfilment of John's prediction. If you make the inquiry of the various Christian denominations, whether Catholic, Greek or Dissenters, they will tell you unitedly that no such event characterized the rise of their churches; we have therefore their testimony, proving that God never fulfilled this portion of his word through them; but on the contrary the united voice and testimony of all these Christians, from one end of the earth to the other is that the Bible contains the Gospel, “And we have preached the Gospel,” say they, “as we found it recorded in the Bible, and no angel to restore the authority to preach the Gospel, to baptize, to confirm by the laying on of hands, to administer the Lord's Supper, or to restore or give authority to organize the kingdom of God on the earth, was necessary.” To this we reply, the history of the Gospel is one thing, and the authority to preach it and administer its ordinances is another. We can read its history in the New Testament; and we can also read there how the ancient servants of God organized the Church in their day; we can read what ordinances they performed or administered among the children of men; we can read what was needful for the organization of the Christian Church eighteen hundred years ago. We have the history of all these things in the Scriptures, but for some seventeen centuries past, prior to the coming of this angel, there has been no authority to preach it; no Apostles, no Prophets, no Revelators, no visions from heaven, no inspiration from heaven; no voice of the Lord has been heard among the nations during the long interval that has elapsed since the putting to death of the ancient servants of God, and the destruction of the ancient Christian Church. Joseph Smith came to this generation testifying to the fulfillment of that which God predicted in the Revelation of Saint John—the restoration of the Gospel. But says John the Revelator, “when it is restored it shall be preached to every nation, kindred, tongue and people.”
Is there any prospect of this Gospel being thus extensively preached among the inhabitants of the earth in this generation? We need not refer you to the missions that have been taken by the Elders of this Church. Their works speak for themselves. Behold this vast congregation of people assembled here, and nearly all who inhabit this Territory. Why are they here? Because the angel has brought the everlasting Gospel, and because the servants of God have been commissioned and sent forth with the sound of the Gospel among the various nations and kingdoms of the earth; and because they have succeeded in preaching it among vast numbers of people, and gathering them out from the midst of the nations. But it has not yet gone to all nations, kindreds, tongues and people; but wait a little longer, it will shortly go, for just as sure as it has already been preached to nearly all the nations of Christendom, so will it go to every other people—heathen, Mahomedan, and every class, whether in Europe, Asia, Africa, or the uttermost parts of South America, the frozen regions in the north, or the numerous islands in the great western and eastern oceans. Every people must be warned that the great day of the Lord is close at hand; every people must know that the Lord God has spoken in these latter times; every people must know something concerning the purposes of the Great Jehovah in fulfilling and accomplishing the great preparatory work for the second advent of the Son of God from the heavens. Here then is the fulfillment of one prophecy. Let us now come to another.
John, who saw this angel restore the everlasting Gospel to be preached to all the nations, declares that another proclamation was closely connected with the preaching of the Gospel. What was it? “The hour of his judgment has come”—the eleventh hour, the last time that God will warn the nations of the earth. “The hour of God's judgment has come,” and that is the reason why the Gospel is to be so extensively preached among all people, nations and tongues, because the Lord intends through this warning to prepare them, if they will, to escape the hour of his judgment, which must come upon all people who will refuse to receive the divine message of the everlasting Gospel.
We will now pass on to another prophecy. Another angel followed. What was his proclamation? Another angel followed, and he cried with a loud voice, saying: “Babylon is fallen, is fallen. She has made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication,” &c. Spiritual Babylon the Great, “the mother of harlots and abominations of the earth.” “Mystery Babylon”—that great power that has held sway over the nations of the earth—that great ecclesiastical power which has ruled over the consciences of the children of men, she is to fall and is to be destroyed from the face of the earth. Will the righteous fall with her? No. Why not? Because there is a way for their escape.
Now mark another prophecy. “I heard a great voice,” says John, “from heaven, saying, ‘Come out of her, O my people!’” Out of where? “Mystery Babylon, the Great”—out of this great confusion that exists throughout all the nations and multitudes of Christendom. “Come out of her, O my people, that ye partake not of her sins, that ye receive not of her plagues; for her sins have reached to the heavens, and God hath remembered her iniquities!” Is this being fulfilled? Do you see any indications of the people of God coming out from “Mystery Babylon the Great?” Yes, for forty-two years, and upwards, God has commanded his people, not by something devised by a congregation of divines, or by human ingenuity, but by a voice from heaven which has been published and printed, requiring all who receive the everlasting Gospel to come out from the midst of great Babylon. One hundred thousand Latter-day Saints, approximately speaking, now inherit these mountain regions. They are here because of this prediction of John, because of its being fulfilled, because of the voice that has come from heaven—the proclamation of the Almighty for his people to flee from amongst the nations of the earth. I need not say any more in regard to this prophecy; it is in the Bible, and is being fulfilled before the eyes of all people.
Let me refer now to another prophecy. Daniel the Prophet has told us that in the latter days after the great image that was seen in dream by Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, representing the various kingdoms of the world, should be destroyed, and those nations should pass away and become like the chaff of the summer threshingfloor, the Lord would establish an everlasting Government here upon the earth. The Lord God saw proper to reveal to his servant Daniel the nature of this Government. He represented it as having a very small beginning—as a stone cut out of the mountain without hands, which stone should fall upon the feet of the image, and they should be broken in pieces. After the destruction of the feet all the image should fall—the legs of iron, the belly and thighs of brass, the breast and arms of silver, the head of gold—representing the remnants of all those ancient nations—the Babylonians, Medes and Persians, and the Greeks; also the remnants of those that once constituted the great Roman empire—those now in Europe and those of European origin which have come across the great ocean and established themselves here on the vast continent of the west, all, all were to be destroyed by the force of this little kingdom to be established by the power of truth, and by the authority that should characterize the nature of the stone cut out of the mountains. “In the days of these kings,” says the Prophet, “shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, neither shall it be left to any other people, but it shall stand forever,” etc. The Prophet Daniel uttered the prophecy; Joseph Smith, by authority of the Almighty, fulfilled it, so far as the organization or setting up of the kingdom was concerned.
Let me refer now to some other prophecies. I do not want to dwell long upon any of them. We are told in the prophecies of Isaiah that before the time of the second advent, when the glory of the Lord should be revealed and all flesh should see it together, there should be a Zion built up on the earth. The Prophet gives the following exhortation to that Zion—“O Zion, thou that bringest good tidings, get thee up into the high mountain.” Here then is a prophecy that, in the latter days, God would have a Zion on the earth before he should reveal himself from heaven and manifest his glory to all people; and the people called Zion are exhorted, in the 40th chapter of Isaiah, to get up into the high mountain. Here we are in this great mountain region, in a Territory called the mountain Territory. Here we are on the great backbone, as it were, of the western hemisphere, located among the valleys of this great ridge of mountains, which extends for thousands of miles—from the frozen regions in the north, almost to the southern extremity of South America. Here are the people called Zion, gone up into the high mountain, according to the prediction of the Prophet Isaiah. Isaiah uttered the prophecy; Joseph Smith also prophesied the same thing, but died without seeing it fulfilled. His successor, Brigham Young, lived to be the favored instrument in the hands of God, of taking the people from those countries down in the States, those countries upon the low elevations of our globe, and bringing them up here into this vast mountain region. Thus the prophecy was uttered—thus it has been fulfilled.
We will pass on to some other prophecies. In the eighteenth chapter of the prophecies of Isaiah we have a prediction about a time when the Lord should make a great destruction upon a certain portion of the earth. The Prophet begins the chapter by saying, “woe to the land shadowing with wings, which is beyond the rivers of Ethiopia. Recollect where the Prophet dwelt when he uttered this prophecy—in Palestine, east of the Mediterranean Sea. Where was Ethiopia? Southwest from Palestine. Where was there a land located beyond the rivers of Ethiopia. Every person acquainted with the geography of our globe knows that this American continent was beyond the rivers of Ethiopia from the land of Palestine, where the prophecy was uttered. A woe was pronounced upon that land, and that woe is this: “For afore the harvest, when the bud is perfect and the sour grape is ripening in the flower, he shall both cut off the sprigs with pruninghooks, and take away and cut down the branches. They shall be left together unto the fowls of the mountains, and to the beasts of the earth. And the fowls shall summer upon them, and all the beasts of the earth shall winter upon them.” But first, before this destruction, there is a remarkable prophecy. Says the Prophet: “All ye inhabitants of the world, and dwellers on the earth, see ye when he lifteth up an ensign on the mountains, and when he bloweth a trumpet, hear ye.” From this we learn that, before this great destruction, there is to be an ensign lifted up on the mountains, and this, too, beyond the rivers of Ethiopia, from Palestine. This is the reason why Zion in the latter days goes up into the mountains, in order that an ensign might be lifted up on the mountains. This prophecy was uttered some twenty-five hundred years ago, and has been fulfilled before the eyes of the people in our day.
But more in regard to this ensign; we find that it was not an ensign to be lifted up in Palestine, for in the fifth chapter of his prophecies, Isaiah, speaking of it says—“The Lord shall lift up an ensign for the nations from afar.” What does this mean? It means a land far distant from where the Prophet Isaiah lived—the land of Palestine. Now there is no land of magnitude or greatness that is far off from Palestine that would answer the description of this prophecy any better than this great western hemisphere; it is located almost on the opposite side of the globe from Palestine. The Lord, then, was to lift the ensign on a land that was far off from where the Prophet lived; and that ensign, we are told, should be set up on the mountains, and that, too, on a land shadowing with wings. When looking on the map of North and South America it has oftentimes suggested to my own mind the two wings of a great bird. No doubt the Prophet Isaiah saw this great western continent in vision, and recognized the resemblance to the wings of a bird in the general outline of the two branches of the continent. On such a land, on the mountains afar off from Palestine, an ensign was to be raised. But remember another thing in connection with this ensign—See how extensive the proclamation was to be—“All ye inhabitants of the world and dwellers on the earth, see ye when he lifts up an ensign on the mountains.” It was to be a work that was to attract the attention of all people, unto the ends of the world.
“But,” enquires one, “what do you call an ensign?” Webster gives the definition of an ensign or standard—“Something to which the people gather; a notice for the people to assemble.” In other words it is the great standard of the Almighty—the great ensign that he is lifting up in the shape of his Church and kingdom, on the mountains in the latter days, with all the order and form of his ancient system of church government, with its inspired Apostles and Prophets and with all the gifts, powers and blessings characterizing the Christian Church in ancient days. That is an ensign that should attract the people unto the very ends of the world.
With the establishment of this ensign, God has not only restored the Gospel, but the keys of gathering the people together and building up Zion, and he has also restored other keys and blessings that were to characterize the great and last dispensation of the fullness of times. What are they? The same as predicted in the last chapter of the prophecy of Malachi. That Prophet, speaking of the great day of burning says, “Behold the day shall come that shall burn as an oven, and all the proud and they that do wickedly shall become as stubble, and the day that cometh shall burn them up saith the Lord of Hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.” This is something that has never been fulfilled yet. But mark! Before the Lord burns all the proud and those who do wickedly, he has told us he would send Elijah the Prophet. He says, “Behold, I will send unto you Elijah the Prophet, he shall turn the hearts of the fathers to the children and the hearts of the children to the fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.” Recollect, this is to be just before the day of burning, before the great and notable day of the Lord should come.
Elijah, the Prophet, then, must come from heaven—that same man who was translated in a chariot of fire, and who had such power while on the earth that he could fight, as it were, all the enemies of Israel that came against him; he could call down fire from heaven and consume the fifties as they came by companies to take him. That same man was to be sent in the last days, before the great and notable day of the Lord. What for? To restore a very important principle—a principle which will turn the hearts of the children to the fathers, and the hearts of the fathers to the children. Has that Prophet been sent to the earth, according to the prediction? Yes. When did he come, and to whom did he come? He came to that despised young man, Joseph Smith. According to the testimony of Joseph Smith, the Prophet Elijah stood before him, in the presence of Oliver Cowdery, and gave them these keys. What is included in this turning of the hearts of the children to the fathers and the hearts of the fathers to the children? There is included in it a principle for the salvation of the fathers that are dead, as well as for the children who are living. You have heard, Latter-day Saints, for years and years, that God has given keys, by which the living in this Church might do, not only the works necessary for their own salvation, but also certain works necessary to the salvation of their ancestors as far back as they could obtain their genealogies. What can be done by us for our fathers who have lived and died during the last seventeen hundred years, without hearing the Gospel in its fullness and power? Hundreds and thousands, and millions of them were sincere and honest, and served the Lord the best they knew; but they lived in the midst of apostate Christendom, and never heard the Gospel preached by inspired men, neither had they the chance of having its ordinances administered to them by men having authority from God. Must they be shut out from the kingdom of God, and be deprived of the glory, joys and blessings of celestial life because of this? No, God is an impartial being, and when he sent Elijah the Prophet to confer the keys I have referred to upon Joseph Smith, he intended that this people should work for the generations of the dead, as well as for the generations of the living; that these ordinances which pertain to men here in the flesh might be administered in their behalf by those of their kindred living in this day and generation. In this way the Latter-day Saints will be baptized and receive the various ordinances of the Gospel of the Son of God for their forefathers, as far as they can trace them; and when we have traced them as far back as we can possibly go, the Lord God has promised that he will reveal our ancestry back until it shall connect with the ancient priesthood, so that there will be no link wanting in the great chain of redemption.
Here then was a restoration in fulfillment of the prediction of Malachi, and for this reason Temples are being built. The Temple, of which the foundation is laid on this block, is intended for that purpose among others. It is not intended for the assembling of vast congregations of the Saints, but it is intended to be for the administration of sacred and holy ordinances. There will be a font for baptism, in its proper place, built according to the pattern that God shall give unto his servants. It is intended that, in these sacred and holy places, appointed, set apart and dedicated by the command of the Almighty, genealogies shall be revealed, and that the living shall officiate for the dead, that those who have not had the opportunity while in the flesh in past generations to obey the Gospel, might have their friends now living, officiate for them. This does not destroy their agency, for although they laid down their bodies and went to their graves in a day of darkness, and they are now mingled with the hosts of spirits in the eternal worlds, their agency still continues, and that agency gives them power to believe in Jesus Christ there, just as well as we can who are here. Those spirits on the other side of the veil can repent just the same as we, in the flesh, can repent. Faith in God and in his son Jesus Christ, and repentance are acts of the mind—mental operations—but when it comes to baptism for the remission of sins, they cannot perform that, we act for them, that having been ordained to be performed in the flesh. They can receive the benefit of whatever is done for them here, and whatever the Lord God commands his people here in the flesh to do for them will be published to them there by those holding the everlasting Priesthood of the Son of God. If, when the Gospel is preached to them there, they will believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, they will receive the benefits of the ordinances performed on their behalf here, and they will be partakers, with their kindred, of all the blessings of the fullness of the Gospel of the Son of God; but if they will not do this, they will be bound over in chains of darkness until the judgment of the great day, when they will be judged according to men in the flesh. We are here in the flesh, and the same Gospel that condemns the disobedient and the sinner here, will, by the same law, condemn those who are on the other side of the veil.
We have an account of baptism for the dead, as it was administered among the ancient Saints. Paul refers to it in his epistle to the Corinthians, to prove to them that the resurrection was a reality, “Else,” says he, “what shall they do who are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all? why then are they baptized for the dead?” It was a strong argument that Paul brought forward, and one that the Corinthians well understood. It was a practice among them to be baptized for their dead, and Paul, knowing that they understood this principle, uses an argument to show that the dead would have a resurrection, and that baptism or immersion in water, a being buried in and the coming forth out of the water, was a simile of the resurrection from the dead. The same doctrine is taught in one of Peter's epistles. About preaching to those who are dead, Peter says that “Jesus was put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit, by which also he went and preached to the spirits in prison, which sometimes were disobedient, when once the long-suffering of God waited in the days of Noah while the ark was preparing.” Indeed! Jesus himself go to the dead and preach to them? Yes. Go to the old antediluvian spirits, and preach to them? Yes, preach to spirits who had lain in prison over two thousand years, shut up and deprived of entering into the fulness of the kingdom of God because of their disobedience. Jesus went and preached to them. “What did he preach?” He did not preach eternal damnation, for that would have been no use. He did not go and say to them, “You antediluvian spirits, I have come here to torment you.” He did not declare that “I have opened your prison doors to tell you there is no hope for you, your case is past recovery, you must be damned to everlasting despair.” This was not his preaching. He went there to declare glad tidings. When he entered the prison of those antediluvians, Peter says he preached the Gospel. “For for this cause was the Gospel preached to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, and live according to God in the spirit.” Yes, the inhabitants of the spirit world—far more numerous than those in the flesh—must hear the glad tidings of the Gospel of the Son of God, that all may be judged by the same Gospel and the same law; and if they will receive it, be blessed, exalted from their prison house, and brought into the presence of the Father and the Son, and inherit celestial glory.
This, therefore, is among the greatest of all the keys that God has revealed in the last dispensation—the saving of the generations of the dead, as well as the generations of the living, inasmuch as they will repent. Shall we stop here? Perhaps I have spoken sufficiently long. There are other principles, just as important in their nature, that must be restored in the latter days, but I have not time to dwell upon them. I have reference now to the restoration of that eternal principle—the marriage covenant, which once was on the earth in the days of our first parents, the eternal union of husband and wife, according to the law of God, in the first pattern of marriage that is given to the children of men. That must also be restored, and everything in its time and in its season must be restored, in order that all things spoken of by the mouth of all the holy Prophets since the world began may be fulfilled. But we will leave this subject for some future time. There must, however, be a restoration of the eternal covenant of marriage, and also of that order of marriage which existed among the old Patriarchs, before the prophecies can be fulfilled, wherein seven women shall take hold of one man, saying, “we will eat our own bread, and wear our own apparel, only let us be called by thy name to take away our reproach.” That must be restored, or the prophecies of Isaiah never can be fulfilled. A great many other things might be named which must be restored in the dispensation of the fulness of times. It is a dispensation to restore all things, it is the dispensation of the spirit and power of Elias or Elijah, “to seal all things unto the end of all things” preparatory to the coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
The wicked as well as the righteous will feel the power of these keys. The wicked as well as the righteous must be sealed to that end for which they have lived. The wicked, who have disobeyed the law of God, must be sealed over unto darkness, until they have been punished and beaten with many stripes, until the last resurrection, until the last trump shall sound. But the righteous, in the flesh and behind the veil, will come forth in the first resurrection, but prior to that great event they will cooperate in their labors for the consummation of the purposes of the Almighty so far as necessary to prepare the way for the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ to reign here, personally, on the earth for the space of one thousand years. Amen.
Elder Albert Carrington read over the names of the following brethren as having been called to go on missions. The motion to sustain their going was unanimous.
TO EUROPE.
David O. Calder, Salt Lake City.
Samuel S. Jones, Provo.
James G. Bleak, St. George.
Jesse Gardiner, Springville.
W. H. Kelsey, Springville.
David Cazier, Nephi.
John Neff, Mill Creek.
Erastus W. Snow, St. George.
Junius F. Wells, Salt Lake City.
David Duncanson, Salt Lake City.
John A. Lewis, Spanish Fork.
John Reese, Wales, Sanpete County.
C. F. Schade, Huntsville.
P. C. Cartensen, Ogden.
P. C. Christiansen, Manti.
Jens Mickelsen, Spanish Fork.
John Keller, Santa Clara.
Henry Riser, Salt Lake City.
TO THE WESTERN ISLANDS.
William Moody, Dry Valley.
John A. West, Parowan.
F. A. Mitchell, Salt Lake City.
TO THE UNITED STATES.
Charles C. Rich, Paris, Rich Co.
Joseph C. Rich, Paris, Rich Co.
Charles S. Cram, Salt Lake City.
Joshua Clark, Grantsville.
TO EUROPE.
David O. Calder, Salt Lake City.
Samuel S. Jones, Provo.
James G. Bleak, St. George.
Jesse Gardiner, Springville.
W. H. Kelsey, Springville.
David Cazier, Nephi.
John Neff, Mill Creek.
Erastus W. Snow, St. George.
Junius F. Wells, Salt Lake City.
David Duncanson, Salt Lake City.
John A. Lewis, Spanish Fork.
John Reese, Wales, Sanpete County.
C. F. Schade, Huntsville.
P. C. Cartensen, Ogden.
P. C. Christiansen, Manti.
Jens Mickelsen, Spanish Fork.
John Keller, Santa Clara.
Henry Riser, Salt Lake City.
TO THE WESTERN ISLANDS.
William Moody, Dry Valley.
John A. West, Parowan.
F. A. Mitchell, Salt Lake City.
TO THE UNITED STATES.
Charles C. Rich, Paris, Rich Co.
Joseph C. Rich, Paris, Rich Co.
Charles S. Cram, Salt Lake City.
Joshua Clark, Grantsville.
Elder Carrington
then briefly addressed the conference. He knew for himself that the work we were engaged in was true, that Joseph Smith was a prophet of the living God, and that Brigham Young was his legal successor and also a prophet of the living God, and the contradiction of all the world would not invalidate those great truths. He also spoke of the founding of the work of the latter days by the Prophet Joseph Smith, showing that the Lord undoubtedly operated through him.
then briefly addressed the conference. He knew for himself that the work we were engaged in was true, that Joseph Smith was a prophet of the living God, and that Brigham Young was his legal successor and also a prophet of the living God, and the contradiction of all the world would not invalidate those great truths. He also spoke of the founding of the work of the latter days by the Prophet Joseph Smith, showing that the Lord undoubtedly operated through him.
President George A. Smith
said the conference had only about just begun, and he invited all to come and fill the Tabernacle, that all might be strengthened and encouraged by the instructions given and the blessing of God which was being poured out upon us.
The choir sang, “How beautiful upon the mountains.”
Prayer by Elder Albert Carrington.
Adjourned till to-morrow at 10 a.m.
The congregations to-day were very large, there being probably from eight to ten thousand persons present in the forenoon, and in the afternoon the large building appeared to be filled to its utmost seating capacity, there being from ten to twelve thousand in attendance.
said the conference had only about just begun, and he invited all to come and fill the Tabernacle, that all might be strengthened and encouraged by the instructions given and the blessing of God which was being poured out upon us.
The choir sang, “How beautiful upon the mountains.”
Prayer by Elder Albert Carrington.
Adjourned till to-morrow at 10 a.m.
The congregations to-day were very large, there being probably from eight to ten thousand persons present in the forenoon, and in the afternoon the large building appeared to be filled to its utmost seating capacity, there being from ten to twelve thousand in attendance.
Third Day
Monday, April 8th, 10 a.m.
“See, the morning sun Pursues his shining way,” was sung by the choir.
The opening prayer was offered by President Joseph Young, Senr.
The choir sang: “Come we that love the Lord, And let our joys be known.”
Monday, April 8th, 10 a.m.
“See, the morning sun Pursues his shining way,” was sung by the choir.
The opening prayer was offered by President Joseph Young, Senr.
The choir sang: “Come we that love the Lord, And let our joys be known.”
President George A. Smith
addressed the assemblage. He felt gratified for the privilege of continuing the conference and for the good spirit that had been thus far manifested. There were many subjects to lay before the brethren. A great responsibility rested upon our heads, and we should be accordingly diligent in magnifying our priesthood. One item of responsibility was the education of our children, not only in branches of book learning, but in the principles of our holy religion. The report of school superintendent R. L. Campbell showed that there were about 30,000 school children in the Territory, between the ages of four and sixteen years. It seemed to be the policy of government to give no assistance to Territories in educational matters, but to States the government was liberal. Therefore whatever improvements were made in the Territories in this direction depended entirely on the energy of the people thereof. The school report for the Territory also showed that the children generally attended school for a longer period than in places where greater educational facilities were enjoyed. Notwithstanding this, there was considerable in our school system that was faulty. A free school system had not yet been inaugurated, and any man who would view the matter clearly and deliberately could see that it would not be wise to do so until we enjoyed the privileges and immunities of a state form of government. There might, however, be some counties where such a system could be adopted, but in others it could scarcely operate.
The building of good, substantial, well-ventilated school-houses was a matter which should receive a great deal of attention, and to have them furnished with suitable benches, which should be arranged, with regard to height, &c., to suit the size of the children. There were numbers of Elder who were willing to take missions to the nations of the earth, but were unwilling to take a mission to teach a common school, yet the latter was probably as important a mission as the former. It was of no use to whip “Mormon” children, for they could not be coerced. In most cases they could be ruled and governed by kindness, but not otherwise.
A considerable number of young men had been under the necessity of going to universities abroad to obtain an education that we should have the facilities to give them here. It was a noble mission to educate the rising generation.
A great deal of labor and attention should be bestowed on the subject of Sunday Schools. Dr. Vincent and Mr. Moody, two gentlemen interested in Sunday Schools, who visited here last summer and who attended some of the ward Sunday schools here, said they were free to admit that our system of this class of schools was most excellent, although those gentlemen were strongly prejudiced against the Latter-day Saints. The brethren should continue this work. Those who wished to see the destruction of the Saints said that their only hope was to lead the “Mormon” children. The Juvenile Instructor and the standard publication of the church should be taken and widely disseminated among the people.
President Smith next spoke of the influences of the so-called civilization which was being manifested in this Territory, and which, unless care were taken, might tend to lead our children astray. The moral influence would be likely however still to maintain a good hold in these valleys.
addressed the assemblage. He felt gratified for the privilege of continuing the conference and for the good spirit that had been thus far manifested. There were many subjects to lay before the brethren. A great responsibility rested upon our heads, and we should be accordingly diligent in magnifying our priesthood. One item of responsibility was the education of our children, not only in branches of book learning, but in the principles of our holy religion. The report of school superintendent R. L. Campbell showed that there were about 30,000 school children in the Territory, between the ages of four and sixteen years. It seemed to be the policy of government to give no assistance to Territories in educational matters, but to States the government was liberal. Therefore whatever improvements were made in the Territories in this direction depended entirely on the energy of the people thereof. The school report for the Territory also showed that the children generally attended school for a longer period than in places where greater educational facilities were enjoyed. Notwithstanding this, there was considerable in our school system that was faulty. A free school system had not yet been inaugurated, and any man who would view the matter clearly and deliberately could see that it would not be wise to do so until we enjoyed the privileges and immunities of a state form of government. There might, however, be some counties where such a system could be adopted, but in others it could scarcely operate.
The building of good, substantial, well-ventilated school-houses was a matter which should receive a great deal of attention, and to have them furnished with suitable benches, which should be arranged, with regard to height, &c., to suit the size of the children. There were numbers of Elder who were willing to take missions to the nations of the earth, but were unwilling to take a mission to teach a common school, yet the latter was probably as important a mission as the former. It was of no use to whip “Mormon” children, for they could not be coerced. In most cases they could be ruled and governed by kindness, but not otherwise.
A considerable number of young men had been under the necessity of going to universities abroad to obtain an education that we should have the facilities to give them here. It was a noble mission to educate the rising generation.
A great deal of labor and attention should be bestowed on the subject of Sunday Schools. Dr. Vincent and Mr. Moody, two gentlemen interested in Sunday Schools, who visited here last summer and who attended some of the ward Sunday schools here, said they were free to admit that our system of this class of schools was most excellent, although those gentlemen were strongly prejudiced against the Latter-day Saints. The brethren should continue this work. Those who wished to see the destruction of the Saints said that their only hope was to lead the “Mormon” children. The Juvenile Instructor and the standard publication of the church should be taken and widely disseminated among the people.
President Smith next spoke of the influences of the so-called civilization which was being manifested in this Territory, and which, unless care were taken, might tend to lead our children astray. The moral influence would be likely however still to maintain a good hold in these valleys.
Our Schools
Remarks by President George A. Smith, delivered in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Monday Morning, April 8th, 1872.
Reported by David W. Evans.
I am gratified in the enjoyment of the privilege of continuing our Conference, and rejoice in the instructions and testimonies of the Elders which have been given during the two days past. There are a few subjects I feel anxious to lay before the brethren and sisters. I should be glad, had I strength and opportunity, to explain many things more minutely. I feel that God is with us, but that a great and fearful responsibility rests upon our heads. In order that we may be prepared to enjoy the blessings of our high and holy calling, we should be diligent, humble, faithful, and constantly unite our powers of mind to magnify our Priesthood.
One great responsibility which rests upon us is the education of our children—the proper forming of their minds and understandings, not only in the ordinary branches of education, but in the principles of our holy religion.
I understand from the reports of Mr. Robert L. Campbell, Superintendent of common schools for the Territory, that there are about thirty thousand school children in the Territory, between the ages of four and sixteen.
Our golden browed neighbors here in Nevada, who have for several years enjoyed all the benefits and blessings accruing to common schools from a State government, have about four thousand, if I am rightly informed, and no doubt, with the means which they possess, they are enabled to get up excellent schools.
It appears to be a portion of the policy of the national government never to do anything for schools in a Territory. When a Territory becomes a State, the policy of Congress, in years past, and it will probably continue to be so in years to come, has been to extend liberal privileges and immunities, in the donation of lands and of the percents from the sales of public lands within the State for educational purposes—the support of common schools and universities. This parsimonious policy towards Territories may be an enlightened one, and it may not; having lived in a Territory most of my life, I may not be considered a proper judge. Suffice it to say, however, that so far as legislation for education is concerned, or any encouragement or assistance extended from the United States to the people of the Territories, their children must be raised in absolute ignorance. The result is, that whatever progress is made or improvement attained in these directions in the Territories is due entirely to the energy, enterprise and enlightenment of the inhabitants—the hardy pioneers who break the ground, make the roads, fight the Indians and create the State.
The report of the Superintendent of Common Schools for this Territory goes to show, not only that there are about thirty thousand school children, but that they have attended school a greater portion of the time than is sometimes reported in the new States, and in some of the older ones, where they have all the advantages granted by the general government. This speaks well for the pioneers of Utah; it is a proud record, and one of which the Latter-day Saints may justly boast. It is true that most of our schools are simply primary schools; but, from what I have seen while visiting a good many of them, I know they are vastly superior to schools which I attended, more or less, in my earlier years in other States and Territories. I am proud of these facts; but at the same time there is a great deal in our system that is not by any means up to the mark. All that has been done has been done voluntarily. The school laws of Utah Territory authorize districts to establish free schools, if they choose to do so, by a two-thirds vote of the inhabitants of the district, and a number of districts have adopted this system with satisfactory results. Otherwise, the schools are sustained by the tuition fees of the pupils, with the exception that taxes are generally levied on the property in the school districts to assist to build schoolhouses and to supply a portion of the expenses and extend some little aid to the more indigent, that all may have the privilege of going to school. A general free school system has not been inaugurated, and any man who will coolly, deliberately and wisely consider the condition, associations and changeable nature of the government of our Territory, will see the wisdom of not entering upon such a system until it can be done under the regulations and privileges which a State government would bring. At least, that is my judgment on the subject, though we have advocates for the establishment of a general free school system now. I want to say in relation to this, that perhaps there are counties where such a system might be adopted with advantage; but if it were adopted generally throughout the Territory, it would have to contend with difficulties and dangers which I would wish to avoid. As I am not here to deliver a political speech, I shall not, of course, undertake to explain what these are. I will simply refer you to certain little difficulties that have occurred in neighboring States in relation to the handling of school funds, and other important items, which show the delicacy of these matters unless they are in the hands of the most reliable men, who are absolutely responsible to the people by whom they are appointed and elected.
I feel satisfied, notwithstanding this good record, that there is a very great necessity for the minds of many people to be stirred up in relation to the education of their children, the building of good, healthy, well-ventilated schoolhouses, and the sending of the children to school, providing suitable books and seats. I remember once, in a new country, going into a schoolhouse, and finding the children packed almost like herrings in a box, some on the floor, some on seats, little fellows with short legs sitting on high benches, and all breathing air that, perhaps, might not inaptly be compared to that of the black hole of Calcutta. A couple of men, ignorant even of the most simple principles of ventilation, were laboring to teach these children, and I have sometimes taken the liberty to carry a carpenter's saw into a school to saw off the legs of the benches to make them a proper height to correspond with the length of the children's legs, for I do despise the idea of putting small children upon a high bench and large children upon a low one. I am very fond of seeing straight, erect, well-formed boys and girls, and in three months a little inattention on the part of teachers, trustees, and school superintendents in matters of this kind, will crook the necks, crook the backs, weaken the stomachs, produce deformity, lay a foundation for consumption, and shorten the children's lives ten years. I suggest to the brethren from all parts of the Territory—go into your schoolrooms, measure the children's legs, if you please, and the benches, and see how they correspond. See whether the little fellows sit up straight, or humped up as if they were trying to imitate the back of a camel or dromedary, and give particular attention to the manner in which the schoolrooms are ventilated. Do not deprive the little fellows of the most necessary and the cheapest of all elements—atmospheric air, in its purity, and thereby sow in their systems the seeds of premature death.
There are many persons come into the Territory who do not speak the English language. I think more institutions should be got up in all the neighborhoods to encourage the learning of our tongue. I know young people generally learn it pretty quickly; but as the laws and most of the public speeches are made in the English language, it is important even in Welsh, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, German and French settlements, that the language in which law and justice are administered, and in which public meetings are generally conducted, should be well and properly understood.
It occurs not only with some of the foreign emigration, but with some other persons, that they fail to appreciate the necessity of education, and of sending their children to school. Good and wholesome influences, exercised through teachers, Elders and Bishops, should be brought to bear on all this class of people, to show them the importance of educating their children. There are Elders who seem willing and ready to take missions to the most distant foreign countries, but when they are invited to go into a schoolroom to teach a school, they will say, “Well, I can make more money at something else, I would rather be land speculating, go a lumbering, or set up merchandising.” Let me say to you, brethren, that there is no calling in which a missionary can do more good, either man or woman, than to teach a common school, if he or she is qualified to do so.
We are very well aware that it is but little use to whip “Mormon” children. You undertake to thrash anything into them, and you will most surely thrash it out of them. It was never any use to undertake to drive or coerce Latter-day Saints, they never could be coerced in their religious faith or practice. It is not their nature, and the mountain air our children breathe inspires them with the idea that they are not to be whipped like dogs to make them learn. The manner in which it must be done is by moral suasion, superior intellect, wisdom, prudence and good straightforward management in forming the judgment of the pupil by cultivating his manly qualities. This principle should be carried out in all our schools. In my boyhood discipline was enforced by the application of the blue beech switch. The blue beech does not grow in this country, but many schoolmasters in former times in New York and New England were provided with these tough limber switches, and I have seen them used among the scholars with fearful effect, and in cases where I am satisfied the pupil was less at fault than the preceptor. I know they say Solomon declared if you spare the rod you will spoil the child. My opinion is that the use of the rod is very frequently the result of a want of understanding on the part of a spoiled parent or teacher in guiding, directing and controlling the feelings and affections of children, though of course the use of the rod in some cases might be necessary; but I have seen children abused when they ought not to have been, because King Solomon is believed to have made that remark, which, if he did, in nine cases out of ten referred to mental rather than physical correction. I will, however, allow other men who have taught school, as a profession, to offer their suggestions on these subjects; but I will say that I have known Professor Dusenberry teach a hundred scholars—the wildest, roughest boys we had in a frontier town, and never lay a stick on one of them. He has done it term after term, and the children liked and respected him and would mind him, and there was nothing on the face of the earth that seemed to hurt their feelings more than to feel that they had lost the confidence of their preceptor. This was simply the result of cultivating reasoning powers in the minds of the children, and I am happy to say there are many such teachers now in Utah.
I will say a few words in relation to normal schools. As I said before, we have had nothing to encourage primary schools but what we ourselves with our bone, sinew, energy and enterprise have done. So it is with the more advanced branches. The Deseret University has made efforts to establish graded schools for the education of teachers. This has been done by small appropriations from the Legislative Assembly and Salt Lake City and County; but the great mass of the work has been done by individual enterprise. There are many at the present time in Utah who have been thus educated, who devote the winter season, and many of them the summer, to teaching schools. The energy of Superintendent Campbell in introducing suitable books and apparatus, and to improve the condition of our schools has been commendable; and the Timpanogos branch of the University of Deseret, at Provo, one at St. George and several others established in the Territory for the education of teachers have had their good effects. But their effects are limited, compared with what they might be, and I am sorry to say that several of our young men have been under the necessity of going to universities in other parts of the world to obtain an education, which it is desirable we should have the facilities to give them here. Brethren and sisters, take this matter to your hearts, for it is one of the great missions of the Latter-day Saints to do all in their power to educate the rising generation and to teach them the principles of eternal truth.
I have had the pleasure of visiting a good many Sunday schools, from time to time, from a very early period after they were established in this Territory, and I can speak highly of their influence and the benefits they have produced. I visited a Bible class while at St. George, composed of young gentlemen and ladies, and I found that they were as well instructed in relation to the principles of the Gospel, as laid down in the Bible and in the revelations of the Lord, as a very large portion of the Elders. I was very glad to see it. I visited Sunday schools when I could in the course of my travels, and I was gratified to see the progress that has been made. I want to stir up parents to the necessity of fitting up and encouraging their children to attend Sunday school. I also want to encourage them to attend themselves and act as teachers; and for the young men and young women, whenever they can, or those whose family arrangements are such that they can attend to it, to volunteer and contribute their exertions in carrying on Sunday schools. A great many Elders have devoted much time to this useful and important subject, and have labored to teach, encourage and strengthen Sunday schools. Last summer, two weeks previous to the celebrated Methodist camp meeting that was held in this city, Dr. Vincent, a Methodist minister, and two others connected with Sunday schools, by their own request, addressed in this Tabernacle about four thousand Sunday school children. They told me they had visited the Sunday school in the 13th Ward, and had addressed the scholars there, and they said that that Sunday school was highly creditable. But although they gave us so much credit, they went away feeling very bitter towards us. I asked them if they had not been treated as well here as we would be in their society. “O, yes,” said they, “We were invited to attend Sunday schools and we did so. We were allowed to address the children, and at our request four or five thousand were brought together for us to talk to.” And they went on and told how well they were treated; but notwithstanding that, they said they had been told from the most reliable sources that a great many men had been killed in this country for not being “Mormons.” Said I, “You have been most foully gulled by somebody.” Dr. Vincent replied, “The authority is most reliable, for it came from our officers.” I said to him, “The officers change so often that they can have no personal knowledge on these subjects. Some of them are interested in promoting difficulty with the people of Utah. No man was ever killed in Utah for his religion; and if the few cases of murder that have occurred here were thoroughly investigated they would be found to be the result of private quarrels; and there have been five hundred percent less of such cases here than in any other new State or Territory with which I have been acquainted; and the country cannot be found on the face of the earth where the population is scattered over such a large area which has maintained such perfect police regulations, and these statements are simply scandal.”
I name this circumstance from the fact that a man who had been so liberally treated by the Latter-day Saints, who had had the privilege of speaking to the largest collection of school children that he probably ever saw in his life, would believe lies told him by renegades, and carry them away and publish them rather than the real facts which he had the privilege of seeing, hearing and learning from reliable authority while here.
I wish to stir up our brethren to continue their labor in Sunday schools, and, in doing so, to continue to sustain liberally the Juvenile Instructor. Place it in the hands of your children, it contains some of the best reading matter for them I know of, and its circulation should be widely extended. I notice from pieces published by Protestant ministers who have established churches in this city, that their principal hope of converting the “Mormons” is by leading, (I call it misleading) away their children. They despair of converting the old ones who are perfectly established in their religious faith; and their hope appears to be in misleading their children by getting them into their schools. By so doing they can probably draw them away from the Latter-day faith, and through the children they may also succeed in gaining over some of their parents. The enemy of all righteousness is sagacious, and so are his servants, and I think it quite honest, but not very creditable to Christian ministers to frankly acknowledge that their business here is to try and entice children from their parents. But so far as this is concerned our brethren and sisters should learn a lesson by it, and see that the persons who educate their children do not plant in their hearts falsehood, deception, wickedness and corruption. They should place them under the tuition of those who will teach them the principles they are employed to teach, and not instil into their minds those things that will lead them to destruction. The catechism for children, exhibiting the prominent doctrines of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, should be in every family, school and Bible class.
I think measures should be taken to increase the circulation among the people of the Deseret News, and the standard works of the Church. A great many read them, and many do not; and if in the various neighborhoods, a little more pains were taken, the information they contain could be more widely disseminated. I know the enemies of Zion are willing take any pains in the world almost to circulate lies; why should we not take a little pains to circulate truth, and to spread and to disseminate abroad pure and holy principles? I call the attention of Elders of the various stakes to these subjects.
Peace to the faithful. Amen.
Remarks by President George A. Smith, delivered in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Monday Morning, April 8th, 1872.
Reported by David W. Evans.
I am gratified in the enjoyment of the privilege of continuing our Conference, and rejoice in the instructions and testimonies of the Elders which have been given during the two days past. There are a few subjects I feel anxious to lay before the brethren and sisters. I should be glad, had I strength and opportunity, to explain many things more minutely. I feel that God is with us, but that a great and fearful responsibility rests upon our heads. In order that we may be prepared to enjoy the blessings of our high and holy calling, we should be diligent, humble, faithful, and constantly unite our powers of mind to magnify our Priesthood.
One great responsibility which rests upon us is the education of our children—the proper forming of their minds and understandings, not only in the ordinary branches of education, but in the principles of our holy religion.
I understand from the reports of Mr. Robert L. Campbell, Superintendent of common schools for the Territory, that there are about thirty thousand school children in the Territory, between the ages of four and sixteen.
Our golden browed neighbors here in Nevada, who have for several years enjoyed all the benefits and blessings accruing to common schools from a State government, have about four thousand, if I am rightly informed, and no doubt, with the means which they possess, they are enabled to get up excellent schools.
It appears to be a portion of the policy of the national government never to do anything for schools in a Territory. When a Territory becomes a State, the policy of Congress, in years past, and it will probably continue to be so in years to come, has been to extend liberal privileges and immunities, in the donation of lands and of the percents from the sales of public lands within the State for educational purposes—the support of common schools and universities. This parsimonious policy towards Territories may be an enlightened one, and it may not; having lived in a Territory most of my life, I may not be considered a proper judge. Suffice it to say, however, that so far as legislation for education is concerned, or any encouragement or assistance extended from the United States to the people of the Territories, their children must be raised in absolute ignorance. The result is, that whatever progress is made or improvement attained in these directions in the Territories is due entirely to the energy, enterprise and enlightenment of the inhabitants—the hardy pioneers who break the ground, make the roads, fight the Indians and create the State.
The report of the Superintendent of Common Schools for this Territory goes to show, not only that there are about thirty thousand school children, but that they have attended school a greater portion of the time than is sometimes reported in the new States, and in some of the older ones, where they have all the advantages granted by the general government. This speaks well for the pioneers of Utah; it is a proud record, and one of which the Latter-day Saints may justly boast. It is true that most of our schools are simply primary schools; but, from what I have seen while visiting a good many of them, I know they are vastly superior to schools which I attended, more or less, in my earlier years in other States and Territories. I am proud of these facts; but at the same time there is a great deal in our system that is not by any means up to the mark. All that has been done has been done voluntarily. The school laws of Utah Territory authorize districts to establish free schools, if they choose to do so, by a two-thirds vote of the inhabitants of the district, and a number of districts have adopted this system with satisfactory results. Otherwise, the schools are sustained by the tuition fees of the pupils, with the exception that taxes are generally levied on the property in the school districts to assist to build schoolhouses and to supply a portion of the expenses and extend some little aid to the more indigent, that all may have the privilege of going to school. A general free school system has not been inaugurated, and any man who will coolly, deliberately and wisely consider the condition, associations and changeable nature of the government of our Territory, will see the wisdom of not entering upon such a system until it can be done under the regulations and privileges which a State government would bring. At least, that is my judgment on the subject, though we have advocates for the establishment of a general free school system now. I want to say in relation to this, that perhaps there are counties where such a system might be adopted with advantage; but if it were adopted generally throughout the Territory, it would have to contend with difficulties and dangers which I would wish to avoid. As I am not here to deliver a political speech, I shall not, of course, undertake to explain what these are. I will simply refer you to certain little difficulties that have occurred in neighboring States in relation to the handling of school funds, and other important items, which show the delicacy of these matters unless they are in the hands of the most reliable men, who are absolutely responsible to the people by whom they are appointed and elected.
I feel satisfied, notwithstanding this good record, that there is a very great necessity for the minds of many people to be stirred up in relation to the education of their children, the building of good, healthy, well-ventilated schoolhouses, and the sending of the children to school, providing suitable books and seats. I remember once, in a new country, going into a schoolhouse, and finding the children packed almost like herrings in a box, some on the floor, some on seats, little fellows with short legs sitting on high benches, and all breathing air that, perhaps, might not inaptly be compared to that of the black hole of Calcutta. A couple of men, ignorant even of the most simple principles of ventilation, were laboring to teach these children, and I have sometimes taken the liberty to carry a carpenter's saw into a school to saw off the legs of the benches to make them a proper height to correspond with the length of the children's legs, for I do despise the idea of putting small children upon a high bench and large children upon a low one. I am very fond of seeing straight, erect, well-formed boys and girls, and in three months a little inattention on the part of teachers, trustees, and school superintendents in matters of this kind, will crook the necks, crook the backs, weaken the stomachs, produce deformity, lay a foundation for consumption, and shorten the children's lives ten years. I suggest to the brethren from all parts of the Territory—go into your schoolrooms, measure the children's legs, if you please, and the benches, and see how they correspond. See whether the little fellows sit up straight, or humped up as if they were trying to imitate the back of a camel or dromedary, and give particular attention to the manner in which the schoolrooms are ventilated. Do not deprive the little fellows of the most necessary and the cheapest of all elements—atmospheric air, in its purity, and thereby sow in their systems the seeds of premature death.
There are many persons come into the Territory who do not speak the English language. I think more institutions should be got up in all the neighborhoods to encourage the learning of our tongue. I know young people generally learn it pretty quickly; but as the laws and most of the public speeches are made in the English language, it is important even in Welsh, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, German and French settlements, that the language in which law and justice are administered, and in which public meetings are generally conducted, should be well and properly understood.
It occurs not only with some of the foreign emigration, but with some other persons, that they fail to appreciate the necessity of education, and of sending their children to school. Good and wholesome influences, exercised through teachers, Elders and Bishops, should be brought to bear on all this class of people, to show them the importance of educating their children. There are Elders who seem willing and ready to take missions to the most distant foreign countries, but when they are invited to go into a schoolroom to teach a school, they will say, “Well, I can make more money at something else, I would rather be land speculating, go a lumbering, or set up merchandising.” Let me say to you, brethren, that there is no calling in which a missionary can do more good, either man or woman, than to teach a common school, if he or she is qualified to do so.
We are very well aware that it is but little use to whip “Mormon” children. You undertake to thrash anything into them, and you will most surely thrash it out of them. It was never any use to undertake to drive or coerce Latter-day Saints, they never could be coerced in their religious faith or practice. It is not their nature, and the mountain air our children breathe inspires them with the idea that they are not to be whipped like dogs to make them learn. The manner in which it must be done is by moral suasion, superior intellect, wisdom, prudence and good straightforward management in forming the judgment of the pupil by cultivating his manly qualities. This principle should be carried out in all our schools. In my boyhood discipline was enforced by the application of the blue beech switch. The blue beech does not grow in this country, but many schoolmasters in former times in New York and New England were provided with these tough limber switches, and I have seen them used among the scholars with fearful effect, and in cases where I am satisfied the pupil was less at fault than the preceptor. I know they say Solomon declared if you spare the rod you will spoil the child. My opinion is that the use of the rod is very frequently the result of a want of understanding on the part of a spoiled parent or teacher in guiding, directing and controlling the feelings and affections of children, though of course the use of the rod in some cases might be necessary; but I have seen children abused when they ought not to have been, because King Solomon is believed to have made that remark, which, if he did, in nine cases out of ten referred to mental rather than physical correction. I will, however, allow other men who have taught school, as a profession, to offer their suggestions on these subjects; but I will say that I have known Professor Dusenberry teach a hundred scholars—the wildest, roughest boys we had in a frontier town, and never lay a stick on one of them. He has done it term after term, and the children liked and respected him and would mind him, and there was nothing on the face of the earth that seemed to hurt their feelings more than to feel that they had lost the confidence of their preceptor. This was simply the result of cultivating reasoning powers in the minds of the children, and I am happy to say there are many such teachers now in Utah.
I will say a few words in relation to normal schools. As I said before, we have had nothing to encourage primary schools but what we ourselves with our bone, sinew, energy and enterprise have done. So it is with the more advanced branches. The Deseret University has made efforts to establish graded schools for the education of teachers. This has been done by small appropriations from the Legislative Assembly and Salt Lake City and County; but the great mass of the work has been done by individual enterprise. There are many at the present time in Utah who have been thus educated, who devote the winter season, and many of them the summer, to teaching schools. The energy of Superintendent Campbell in introducing suitable books and apparatus, and to improve the condition of our schools has been commendable; and the Timpanogos branch of the University of Deseret, at Provo, one at St. George and several others established in the Territory for the education of teachers have had their good effects. But their effects are limited, compared with what they might be, and I am sorry to say that several of our young men have been under the necessity of going to universities in other parts of the world to obtain an education, which it is desirable we should have the facilities to give them here. Brethren and sisters, take this matter to your hearts, for it is one of the great missions of the Latter-day Saints to do all in their power to educate the rising generation and to teach them the principles of eternal truth.
I have had the pleasure of visiting a good many Sunday schools, from time to time, from a very early period after they were established in this Territory, and I can speak highly of their influence and the benefits they have produced. I visited a Bible class while at St. George, composed of young gentlemen and ladies, and I found that they were as well instructed in relation to the principles of the Gospel, as laid down in the Bible and in the revelations of the Lord, as a very large portion of the Elders. I was very glad to see it. I visited Sunday schools when I could in the course of my travels, and I was gratified to see the progress that has been made. I want to stir up parents to the necessity of fitting up and encouraging their children to attend Sunday school. I also want to encourage them to attend themselves and act as teachers; and for the young men and young women, whenever they can, or those whose family arrangements are such that they can attend to it, to volunteer and contribute their exertions in carrying on Sunday schools. A great many Elders have devoted much time to this useful and important subject, and have labored to teach, encourage and strengthen Sunday schools. Last summer, two weeks previous to the celebrated Methodist camp meeting that was held in this city, Dr. Vincent, a Methodist minister, and two others connected with Sunday schools, by their own request, addressed in this Tabernacle about four thousand Sunday school children. They told me they had visited the Sunday school in the 13th Ward, and had addressed the scholars there, and they said that that Sunday school was highly creditable. But although they gave us so much credit, they went away feeling very bitter towards us. I asked them if they had not been treated as well here as we would be in their society. “O, yes,” said they, “We were invited to attend Sunday schools and we did so. We were allowed to address the children, and at our request four or five thousand were brought together for us to talk to.” And they went on and told how well they were treated; but notwithstanding that, they said they had been told from the most reliable sources that a great many men had been killed in this country for not being “Mormons.” Said I, “You have been most foully gulled by somebody.” Dr. Vincent replied, “The authority is most reliable, for it came from our officers.” I said to him, “The officers change so often that they can have no personal knowledge on these subjects. Some of them are interested in promoting difficulty with the people of Utah. No man was ever killed in Utah for his religion; and if the few cases of murder that have occurred here were thoroughly investigated they would be found to be the result of private quarrels; and there have been five hundred percent less of such cases here than in any other new State or Territory with which I have been acquainted; and the country cannot be found on the face of the earth where the population is scattered over such a large area which has maintained such perfect police regulations, and these statements are simply scandal.”
I name this circumstance from the fact that a man who had been so liberally treated by the Latter-day Saints, who had had the privilege of speaking to the largest collection of school children that he probably ever saw in his life, would believe lies told him by renegades, and carry them away and publish them rather than the real facts which he had the privilege of seeing, hearing and learning from reliable authority while here.
I wish to stir up our brethren to continue their labor in Sunday schools, and, in doing so, to continue to sustain liberally the Juvenile Instructor. Place it in the hands of your children, it contains some of the best reading matter for them I know of, and its circulation should be widely extended. I notice from pieces published by Protestant ministers who have established churches in this city, that their principal hope of converting the “Mormons” is by leading, (I call it misleading) away their children. They despair of converting the old ones who are perfectly established in their religious faith; and their hope appears to be in misleading their children by getting them into their schools. By so doing they can probably draw them away from the Latter-day faith, and through the children they may also succeed in gaining over some of their parents. The enemy of all righteousness is sagacious, and so are his servants, and I think it quite honest, but not very creditable to Christian ministers to frankly acknowledge that their business here is to try and entice children from their parents. But so far as this is concerned our brethren and sisters should learn a lesson by it, and see that the persons who educate their children do not plant in their hearts falsehood, deception, wickedness and corruption. They should place them under the tuition of those who will teach them the principles they are employed to teach, and not instil into their minds those things that will lead them to destruction. The catechism for children, exhibiting the prominent doctrines of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, should be in every family, school and Bible class.
I think measures should be taken to increase the circulation among the people of the Deseret News, and the standard works of the Church. A great many read them, and many do not; and if in the various neighborhoods, a little more pains were taken, the information they contain could be more widely disseminated. I know the enemies of Zion are willing take any pains in the world almost to circulate lies; why should we not take a little pains to circulate truth, and to spread and to disseminate abroad pure and holy principles? I call the attention of Elders of the various stakes to these subjects.
Peace to the faithful. Amen.
Elder Erastus Snow
was the next speaker. He had been preaching thirty-eight years and could not speak so loud now as formerly. He had seen the time when all the Latter-day Saints could have been comfortably seated in one of our ordinary primary school houses. He had witnessed the rise and progress of the church in its various stages from that time to the present. During that time, some had lifted their puny arms and voices against the work in order to cover up their own cupidity and folly. All such had but shown their own weakness and mendacity, while those who had maintained their integrity had grown with the work of the latter days. All the Latter-day Saints had to fear was that they might forget the testimonies they had received, the glitterings of wealth and the allurements of crime. Too much care could not possibly be bestowed on the moral and intellectual education of children. Our boys who had been accustomed to the hardships of frontier life, were being brought in contact with influences that were strange to them. They might be somewhat uncouth in manners, yet they would generally fight for their religion, but they did not generally pay sufficient attention to living it, and were probably too apt to strike hands with the wicked, especially in the vicinity of mining camps.
We were waging a war against wickedness of every kind. We were not blindly led in the work that we had undertaken, but our leaders saw, and so did they who followed them. The opposition manifested towards us to-day was because of our consolidation and unity, for we were the best ordered community, so far as the old citizens were concerned, in the land. He said this knowingly, having traversed this continent from one end to the other, and many of the countries of Europe. In this city, it was true, under the auspices of a federal and judicial ring, crime was beginning to manifest itself. There was a time in this city when locks and keys were unneeded, but that time was past.
It was probable that the people would be tried by circumstances, and many would be found wanting. Not by prisons or persecutions of that kind, but by the allurements of wealth, crime and corruption. There were many who had not yet learned the proper uses of the good things of the world. If we would use all things for the forwarding of the interests of the kingdom of God, we would be permitted to live long upon the land which the Lord had given us.
Should the government continue to listen to slanders and lies concerning us, and refuse to admit Deseret, we would still go onward and upward, for Zion must and would be built up and redeemed.
The choir sang: “Jerusalem, my Glorious Home.”
Adjourned till 2 p.m.
Prayer by Elder Lorenzo Snow.
was the next speaker. He had been preaching thirty-eight years and could not speak so loud now as formerly. He had seen the time when all the Latter-day Saints could have been comfortably seated in one of our ordinary primary school houses. He had witnessed the rise and progress of the church in its various stages from that time to the present. During that time, some had lifted their puny arms and voices against the work in order to cover up their own cupidity and folly. All such had but shown their own weakness and mendacity, while those who had maintained their integrity had grown with the work of the latter days. All the Latter-day Saints had to fear was that they might forget the testimonies they had received, the glitterings of wealth and the allurements of crime. Too much care could not possibly be bestowed on the moral and intellectual education of children. Our boys who had been accustomed to the hardships of frontier life, were being brought in contact with influences that were strange to them. They might be somewhat uncouth in manners, yet they would generally fight for their religion, but they did not generally pay sufficient attention to living it, and were probably too apt to strike hands with the wicked, especially in the vicinity of mining camps.
We were waging a war against wickedness of every kind. We were not blindly led in the work that we had undertaken, but our leaders saw, and so did they who followed them. The opposition manifested towards us to-day was because of our consolidation and unity, for we were the best ordered community, so far as the old citizens were concerned, in the land. He said this knowingly, having traversed this continent from one end to the other, and many of the countries of Europe. In this city, it was true, under the auspices of a federal and judicial ring, crime was beginning to manifest itself. There was a time in this city when locks and keys were unneeded, but that time was past.
It was probable that the people would be tried by circumstances, and many would be found wanting. Not by prisons or persecutions of that kind, but by the allurements of wealth, crime and corruption. There were many who had not yet learned the proper uses of the good things of the world. If we would use all things for the forwarding of the interests of the kingdom of God, we would be permitted to live long upon the land which the Lord had given us.
Should the government continue to listen to slanders and lies concerning us, and refuse to admit Deseret, we would still go onward and upward, for Zion must and would be built up and redeemed.
The choir sang: “Jerusalem, my Glorious Home.”
Adjourned till 2 p.m.
Prayer by Elder Lorenzo Snow.
THIRD DAY.
Monday, April 8th, 2 p.m.
The choir sang: “Mortals awake! with angels join, And chant the solemn lay.”
Prayer by Elder Franklin D. Richards.
The choir sang: “Sweet is the work, my God, my King.
Monday, April 8th, 2 p.m.
The choir sang: “Mortals awake! with angels join, And chant the solemn lay.”
Prayer by Elder Franklin D. Richards.
The choir sang: “Sweet is the work, my God, my King.
President Joseph Young
addressed the Conference. He had listened with great pleasure to the testimonies and preaching of the brethren who had preceded him in speaking. We lived in a world whose history furnished many problems, which could only be solved by revelation from God. God himself could see it all, and could we but do so we would be more willing than we were to extend charity toward our brethren and sisters who had sprung from the same parent source as ourselves. Mankind had become fallen, and consequently generally unbelieving and dark, but God had at different periods of the history of the world sent messengers to the human race and proclamations of mercy had been published, yet those proclamations had almost invariably been rejected by those unto whom they were sent.
The speaker continued at some length, dwelling especially upon the different gospel dispensations of God to man, and the consequences which invariably attended the rejection of man of heavenly messages.
We did not believe in coercion, and it was the speaker’s belief that we could exist as a religious organization under a republican form of government without infringing upon anybody’s privileges. We were willing all other people should enjoy their rights.
Brother Young concluded by exhorting the Saints to be faithful to their religion.
addressed the Conference. He had listened with great pleasure to the testimonies and preaching of the brethren who had preceded him in speaking. We lived in a world whose history furnished many problems, which could only be solved by revelation from God. God himself could see it all, and could we but do so we would be more willing than we were to extend charity toward our brethren and sisters who had sprung from the same parent source as ourselves. Mankind had become fallen, and consequently generally unbelieving and dark, but God had at different periods of the history of the world sent messengers to the human race and proclamations of mercy had been published, yet those proclamations had almost invariably been rejected by those unto whom they were sent.
The speaker continued at some length, dwelling especially upon the different gospel dispensations of God to man, and the consequences which invariably attended the rejection of man of heavenly messages.
We did not believe in coercion, and it was the speaker’s belief that we could exist as a religious organization under a republican form of government without infringing upon anybody’s privileges. We were willing all other people should enjoy their rights.
Brother Young concluded by exhorting the Saints to be faithful to their religion.
Elder Albert Carrington presented the authorities of the Church in the following order, the vote to sustain them in their various positions being 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 councilor.
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 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 councilors.
William Eddington, John L. Blythe, Howard O. Spencer, John Squires, Wm. H. Folsom, Thomas E. Jeremy, Joseph L. Barfoot, John H. Rumell, Miner G. Attwood, Wm. Thorn, Dimick B. Huntington, Theodore McKean and Hosea Stout, members of the High Council.
Elias Smith, President of the High Priests’ Quorum, and Edward Snelgrove and Elias Morris, his councilors.
Joseph Young, President of the first seven Presidents of the Seventies, and Levi W. Hancock, Henry Harriman, Albert P. Rockwood, Horace S. Eldredge and John Van Cott, members of the first seven Presidents of the Seventies.
President George A. Smith made a motion that the presentation of the name of Jacob Gates to the Conference, as one of the first seven Presidents of the Seventies, be deferred until certain matters of business were investigated and an understanding arrived at, which was carried unanimously.
Benjamin L. Peart, President of the Elders’ Quorum; Edward Davis and Abinadi Pratt, his councilors.
Edward Hunter, Presiding Bishop; Leonard W. Hardy and Jesse C. Little, his councilors.
Samuel G. Ladd, President of the Priests’ Quorum; Wm. McLachlan and James Latham his councilors.
Adam Spears, President of the Teachers’ Quorum; Martin Lenzi and Henry I. Doremus, his councilors.
James Leach, President of the Deacon’s Quorum; Peter Johnson and Chas. S. Cram his councilors.
Brigham Young, Trustee-in-Trust for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Truman O. Angell, Architect for the Church.
Horace S. Eldredge, President of the Perpetual Emigration Fund to Gather the Poor.
Albert Carrington, 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 councilor.
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 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 councilors.
William Eddington, John L. Blythe, Howard O. Spencer, John Squires, Wm. H. Folsom, Thomas E. Jeremy, Joseph L. Barfoot, John H. Rumell, Miner G. Attwood, Wm. Thorn, Dimick B. Huntington, Theodore McKean and Hosea Stout, members of the High Council.
Elias Smith, President of the High Priests’ Quorum, and Edward Snelgrove and Elias Morris, his councilors.
Joseph Young, President of the first seven Presidents of the Seventies, and Levi W. Hancock, Henry Harriman, Albert P. Rockwood, Horace S. Eldredge and John Van Cott, members of the first seven Presidents of the Seventies.
President George A. Smith made a motion that the presentation of the name of Jacob Gates to the Conference, as one of the first seven Presidents of the Seventies, be deferred until certain matters of business were investigated and an understanding arrived at, which was carried unanimously.
Benjamin L. Peart, President of the Elders’ Quorum; Edward Davis and Abinadi Pratt, his councilors.
Edward Hunter, Presiding Bishop; Leonard W. Hardy and Jesse C. Little, his councilors.
Samuel G. Ladd, President of the Priests’ Quorum; Wm. McLachlan and James Latham his councilors.
Adam Spears, President of the Teachers’ Quorum; Martin Lenzi and Henry I. Doremus, his councilors.
James Leach, President of the Deacon’s Quorum; Peter Johnson and Chas. S. Cram his councilors.
Brigham Young, Trustee-in-Trust for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Truman O. Angell, Architect for the Church.
Horace S. Eldredge, President of the Perpetual Emigration Fund to Gather the Poor.
Albert Carrington, Historian and General Church Recorder, and Wilford Woodruff, his assistant.
The names of the following brethren were then presented, and unanimously sustained, to go on missions--
TO EUROPE.
N. P. Lindelof, Plain City.
John Mendenhall, Springville.
Joseph Wadley, Pleasant Grove.
TO THE UNITED STATES.
James S. Brown, Salt Lake City.
Moroni Brown, Ogden.
TO EUROPE.
N. P. Lindelof, Plain City.
John Mendenhall, Springville.
Joseph Wadley, Pleasant Grove.
TO THE UNITED STATES.
James S. Brown, Salt Lake City.
Moroni Brown, Ogden.
President George A. Smith
said he hoped the brethren and sisters were prepared to remain in Conference a few more days.
The choir and congregation sang: “Praise God, from whom all blessings flow.”
Adjourned till 10 a.m. to-morrow.
Prayer by President Daniel H. Wells.
said he hoped the brethren and sisters were prepared to remain in Conference a few more days.
The choir and congregation sang: “Praise God, from whom all blessings flow.”
Adjourned till 10 a.m. to-morrow.
Prayer by President Daniel H. Wells.
FOURTH DAY
Tuesday, April 9th, 10 a.m.
The choir sang: “The morning breaks, the shadows flee.”
The opening prayer was offered by Elder Lorenzo D. Young.
“One more, my soul, the rising day, Salutes thy waking eyes,” was sung by the choir.
Tuesday, April 9th, 10 a.m.
The choir sang: “The morning breaks, the shadows flee.”
The opening prayer was offered by Elder Lorenzo D. Young.
“One more, my soul, the rising day, Salutes thy waking eyes,” was sung by the choir.
Bishop E. F. Sheets
said he had had the privilege of meeting with the Saints in every General Conference that had been held in this city. Whenever God had a people upon the earth he always required them to do a certain work, and his revelations differed at various times according to the nature of the work to be accomplished. The work committed to us is that of building up Zion, to prepare for the second coming of Christ. When we gathered together we had to open up farms, make rounds, build towns, cities and temples, &c. We had accomplished considerable in this direction and we had been directed in what we had done by the servants of God. These things constituted the foundation for the building up of Zion in its glory and beauty. We could all do something towards building Temples, for although we could not all quarry rock or prepare and lay it, yet we could pay our tithes and our offerings to help on this good work.
The speaker commented at some length on the inseparability of temporal and spiritual things, and urged the Saints to be faithful in the performance of their duties. He bore testimony that he knew the work he was engaged in to be the work of God.
said he had had the privilege of meeting with the Saints in every General Conference that had been held in this city. Whenever God had a people upon the earth he always required them to do a certain work, and his revelations differed at various times according to the nature of the work to be accomplished. The work committed to us is that of building up Zion, to prepare for the second coming of Christ. When we gathered together we had to open up farms, make rounds, build towns, cities and temples, &c. We had accomplished considerable in this direction and we had been directed in what we had done by the servants of God. These things constituted the foundation for the building up of Zion in its glory and beauty. We could all do something towards building Temples, for although we could not all quarry rock or prepare and lay it, yet we could pay our tithes and our offerings to help on this good work.
The speaker commented at some length on the inseparability of temporal and spiritual things, and urged the Saints to be faithful in the performance of their duties. He bore testimony that he knew the work he was engaged in to be the work of God.
Elder F. A. Mitchell
said that it afforded him inexpressible satisfaction to have a testimony to bear to the truthfulness of the work of God with which he was identified. It was by the blessings and power of God that we had been enabled to gather together and work unitedly in his cause. We knew that God would justify his cause and that of his people. He had been called on a mission to the Western Islands and with the help of God he purposed going forth to fulfil it, for he knew that Joseph Smith was a prophet of the living God, and that Brigham Young was his legal successor. He desired nothing more than to be able to do whatever God through his servants required of him.
said that it afforded him inexpressible satisfaction to have a testimony to bear to the truthfulness of the work of God with which he was identified. It was by the blessings and power of God that we had been enabled to gather together and work unitedly in his cause. We knew that God would justify his cause and that of his people. He had been called on a mission to the Western Islands and with the help of God he purposed going forth to fulfil it, for he knew that Joseph Smith was a prophet of the living God, and that Brigham Young was his legal successor. He desired nothing more than to be able to do whatever God through his servants required of him.
Elder Wm. C. Staines
addressed the Conference. Twenty five years ago the general Conference of the Saints assembled on the warmest side of a haystack, which covered an area not larger than that of our large organ. What an evidence was this that the progress of this work was onward and upward. The first time he heard the sound of the gospel he believed it. He was informed by the person whom he first heard preach, that if he obeyed the first principles of that gospel he would know the truth for himself. He responded to the invitation of the servant of God and he received the promised testimony and had retained that knowledge till the present moment. He regretted that President Young was not permitted to be present with us. We all knew the reason of his absence. He knew, however, that God would ultimately bear him off victorious. During the past ten years he had assisted in gathering thousands of the poor, and he always rejoiced in doing any public service connected with the work of God. He predicted that President Young would be again among us before long, that the Saints would not only see the Temple built in this city, but temples would be reared in other places and ultimately all over the land.
addressed the Conference. Twenty five years ago the general Conference of the Saints assembled on the warmest side of a haystack, which covered an area not larger than that of our large organ. What an evidence was this that the progress of this work was onward and upward. The first time he heard the sound of the gospel he believed it. He was informed by the person whom he first heard preach, that if he obeyed the first principles of that gospel he would know the truth for himself. He responded to the invitation of the servant of God and he received the promised testimony and had retained that knowledge till the present moment. He regretted that President Young was not permitted to be present with us. We all knew the reason of his absence. He knew, however, that God would ultimately bear him off victorious. During the past ten years he had assisted in gathering thousands of the poor, and he always rejoiced in doing any public service connected with the work of God. He predicted that President Young would be again among us before long, that the Saints would not only see the Temple built in this city, but temples would be reared in other places and ultimately all over the land.
Bishop Samuel A. Woolley
said he had been a member of the church thirty-one years, six months, and two days. He had in his time circumnavigated the globe, preaching the gospel in distant lands without purse or scrip, and he had done so because he knew that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God, and that it was indeed the gospel of Christ which he had to deliver to mankind. He knew Brigham Young was the legal successor of Joseph Smith. He was in Nauvoo when President Young returned from Boston, after Joseph and Hyrum were murdered, and attended a meeting in a grove. When President Young walked upon the stand and commenced to speak, his appearance and his voice were like unto Joseph’s. He knew by these things and by the power of God which then rested upon President Young, that he was the legal successor of Joseph.
The speaker adverted to the work which had been accomplished by the Saints in these valleys, and thought we should remain here, at least as long as the Lord wished us to.
said he had been a member of the church thirty-one years, six months, and two days. He had in his time circumnavigated the globe, preaching the gospel in distant lands without purse or scrip, and he had done so because he knew that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God, and that it was indeed the gospel of Christ which he had to deliver to mankind. He knew Brigham Young was the legal successor of Joseph Smith. He was in Nauvoo when President Young returned from Boston, after Joseph and Hyrum were murdered, and attended a meeting in a grove. When President Young walked upon the stand and commenced to speak, his appearance and his voice were like unto Joseph’s. He knew by these things and by the power of God which then rested upon President Young, that he was the legal successor of Joseph.
The speaker adverted to the work which had been accomplished by the Saints in these valleys, and thought we should remain here, at least as long as the Lord wished us to.
Elder Robert L. Campbell
was the next speaker. He testified that the gospel introduced by Joseph Smith and which was being taught by President Brigham Young and the present authorities of the church was true. No power would ever succeed in destroying this work, for it was of God. He exhorted the Saints to live for the salvation of the living and the dead, and to be charitable to the children of men. To be charitable was Godlike. Many would be brought under the auspices saving power and benign influences of the gospel of salvation.
was the next speaker. He testified that the gospel introduced by Joseph Smith and which was being taught by President Brigham Young and the present authorities of the church was true. No power would ever succeed in destroying this work, for it was of God. He exhorted the Saints to live for the salvation of the living and the dead, and to be charitable to the children of men. To be charitable was Godlike. Many would be brought under the auspices saving power and benign influences of the gospel of salvation.
Elder Jesse N. Smith
bore testimony that he knew this to be the work of God. There was no point in our earthly career when we should not need to exercise faith in God. Faith in the Almighty was something much lacked by the people of the world. It was difficult for people to give up ideas in which they had been traditioned from their childhood. It required divine assistance to enable them to do so. It had required the blessing and power of God to enable him, the speaker, to do some things in which he had engaged connected with the work of God.
bore testimony that he knew this to be the work of God. There was no point in our earthly career when we should not need to exercise faith in God. Faith in the Almighty was something much lacked by the people of the world. It was difficult for people to give up ideas in which they had been traditioned from their childhood. It required divine assistance to enable them to do so. It had required the blessing and power of God to enable him, the speaker, to do some things in which he had engaged connected with the work of God.
Bishop W. W. Cluff
referred to the inestimable blessings and privileges enjoyed by the Latter-day Saints, and especially to the improvement of the circumstances of the people who had come from the countries and gathered here. He, the speaker, in fulfilment of the mission to which he was called, last conference to preach to the Scandinavians in the Territory, had visited many of those people in their new homes and he knew their temporal condition was greatly improved, and did we accomplish no more than this we should do a good work among the poor. Notwithstanding the apparent cloud that had been hanging over the Saints lately, he had seen more unity among them within the last few months.
The speaker referred to the statement of Bishop S. A. Woolley that when President Young was upon the stand at Nauvoo after the death of Joseph, he resembled the latter, and Elder Cluff testified that he too was the same way impressed. He was a boy at the time and he could well remember that it actually seemed to be Joseph whom he saw and heard speak.
The choir sang: “Arise, shine, for thy light is come.”
Adjourned till 2 p.m.
Prayer by President Daniel H. Wells.
referred to the inestimable blessings and privileges enjoyed by the Latter-day Saints, and especially to the improvement of the circumstances of the people who had come from the countries and gathered here. He, the speaker, in fulfilment of the mission to which he was called, last conference to preach to the Scandinavians in the Territory, had visited many of those people in their new homes and he knew their temporal condition was greatly improved, and did we accomplish no more than this we should do a good work among the poor. Notwithstanding the apparent cloud that had been hanging over the Saints lately, he had seen more unity among them within the last few months.
The speaker referred to the statement of Bishop S. A. Woolley that when President Young was upon the stand at Nauvoo after the death of Joseph, he resembled the latter, and Elder Cluff testified that he too was the same way impressed. He was a boy at the time and he could well remember that it actually seemed to be Joseph whom he saw and heard speak.
The choir sang: “Arise, shine, for thy light is come.”
Adjourned till 2 p.m.
Prayer by President Daniel H. Wells.
Tuesday, April 9th, 2 p.m.
The choir sang: “Though nations rise and men conspire, Their efforts will be vain.”
Prayer by Elder A. M. Musser.
“Hark! the song of jubilee, Loud as mighty thunders roar,” was sung by the choir.
The choir sang: “Though nations rise and men conspire, Their efforts will be vain.”
Prayer by Elder A. M. Musser.
“Hark! the song of jubilee, Loud as mighty thunders roar,” was sung by the choir.
Bishop Henry Moon said:
I was one of the missionaries who were called to go to the United States last fall. In my travels I met with Mr. David Whitmer, one of the witnesses of the Book of Mormon. What made me visit him was, I was reading the testimony of the witnesses to some people on Shoal Creek, in Caldwell County. One of them, Mr. John Lefler, was very anxious to see one of these witnesses, and to hear his testimony. I went down to Richmond with him. We got to Mr. David Whitmer’s a little after dark. I told Mr. Whitmer that I was from Utah. “From Utah?” said he. “Yes, Sir.” “Well, you have a good deal of trouble, I suppose, in Utah?” Oh, not very much, I told him. He got up from his supper and went out of the house, and I followed him. I told him I wanted to have a few moments’ talk with him. He said he had not time, he wanted to see after some horses, and his son was sick. But I hung to him, and followed him in the street, and told him that this gentleman, Mr. Lefler, who was with me, had come from Caldwell County, to see if that which was written in the Book of Mormon—the testimony of the witnesses—was true. Mr. Whitmer turned round to the gentleman and said: “God Almighty requires at my hands to bear record of the truth of the Book of Mormon. That book is a true record; it is the pure gospel of Jesus Christ, translated by the gift and power of God through Joseph Smith.” He then talked to Mr. Lefler, who also asked him a few questions. Then Mr. Whitmer talked a little to me about Utah. I asked the gentleman if he wanted any more conversation with Mr. Whitmer? He said, “No,” he was quite satisfied, and we got on to the cars and went back to Caldwell county the same evening.
I am glad that I, with my brethren, can also bear witness with regard to the truth of the Book of Mormon and the establishment of the kingdom of God upon the earth, and that this is the kingdom established through Joseph Smith and Brigham Young. I am as satisfied of it, and I know it as well as I know that I am talking to this large congregation. Amen.
I was one of the missionaries who were called to go to the United States last fall. In my travels I met with Mr. David Whitmer, one of the witnesses of the Book of Mormon. What made me visit him was, I was reading the testimony of the witnesses to some people on Shoal Creek, in Caldwell County. One of them, Mr. John Lefler, was very anxious to see one of these witnesses, and to hear his testimony. I went down to Richmond with him. We got to Mr. David Whitmer’s a little after dark. I told Mr. Whitmer that I was from Utah. “From Utah?” said he. “Yes, Sir.” “Well, you have a good deal of trouble, I suppose, in Utah?” Oh, not very much, I told him. He got up from his supper and went out of the house, and I followed him. I told him I wanted to have a few moments’ talk with him. He said he had not time, he wanted to see after some horses, and his son was sick. But I hung to him, and followed him in the street, and told him that this gentleman, Mr. Lefler, who was with me, had come from Caldwell County, to see if that which was written in the Book of Mormon—the testimony of the witnesses—was true. Mr. Whitmer turned round to the gentleman and said: “God Almighty requires at my hands to bear record of the truth of the Book of Mormon. That book is a true record; it is the pure gospel of Jesus Christ, translated by the gift and power of God through Joseph Smith.” He then talked to Mr. Lefler, who also asked him a few questions. Then Mr. Whitmer talked a little to me about Utah. I asked the gentleman if he wanted any more conversation with Mr. Whitmer? He said, “No,” he was quite satisfied, and we got on to the cars and went back to Caldwell county the same evening.
I am glad that I, with my brethren, can also bear witness with regard to the truth of the Book of Mormon and the establishment of the kingdom of God upon the earth, and that this is the kingdom established through Joseph Smith and Brigham Young. I am as satisfied of it, and I know it as well as I know that I am talking to this large congregation. Amen.
Elder Isaac Groo
addressed the conference. He bore testimony to the divine authenticity of the work he was connected with. No people living had so much cause for thankfulness as the Latter-day Saints, for they were identified with a kingdom that would stand forever. The church of Christ, since the date of its organization forty-two years ago, had met with the most virulent opposition, but instead of staying this had accelerated its progress. This gospel was still being preached and would continue to spread until all living people would have an opportunity of embracing it. So he who had embraced the gospel had turned away therefrom, after having borne testimony of its truthfulness.
The speaker had obeyed the gospel while President Young was leader of the Saints, and had received a sure testimony under that administration. It was the individual knowledge enjoyed by the Elders of Israel that caused them to go forth into the world and preach the gospel. It was falsely reported that we were held in bondage by one man. What we did, we conformed to because we knew it to be the will of God. Those who fought against us, fought against God, for it was his work they opposed.
addressed the conference. He bore testimony to the divine authenticity of the work he was connected with. No people living had so much cause for thankfulness as the Latter-day Saints, for they were identified with a kingdom that would stand forever. The church of Christ, since the date of its organization forty-two years ago, had met with the most virulent opposition, but instead of staying this had accelerated its progress. This gospel was still being preached and would continue to spread until all living people would have an opportunity of embracing it. So he who had embraced the gospel had turned away therefrom, after having borne testimony of its truthfulness.
The speaker had obeyed the gospel while President Young was leader of the Saints, and had received a sure testimony under that administration. It was the individual knowledge enjoyed by the Elders of Israel that caused them to go forth into the world and preach the gospel. It was falsely reported that we were held in bondage by one man. What we did, we conformed to because we knew it to be the will of God. Those who fought against us, fought against God, for it was his work they opposed.
Elder Wilford Woodruff
delivered a very interesting and instructive discourse, being a very practical character. He urged upon the Saints the necessity of attending to the development of the agricultural and manufacturing resources of the Territory, showing that our prosperity and comfort greatly depended upon the counsel we took in that direction. His remarks included wool-growing, cattle raising, farming, cotton and woolen manufacturing and kindred matters. He showed that our attention to those matters would enable us to be measurably self-sustaining and consequently independent.
delivered a very interesting and instructive discourse, being a very practical character. He urged upon the Saints the necessity of attending to the development of the agricultural and manufacturing resources of the Territory, showing that our prosperity and comfort greatly depended upon the counsel we took in that direction. His remarks included wool-growing, cattle raising, farming, cotton and woolen manufacturing and kindred matters. He showed that our attention to those matters would enable us to be measurably self-sustaining and consequently independent.
Comprehensiveness of the Latter-day Work
Remarks by Elder Wilford Woodruff, delivered in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, April 8, 1872.
Reported by David W. Evans.
We have had a very good Conference; we have heard a great deal of testimony from the servants of the Lord, and that testimony has been true. The building up of the Zion of God in these latter days includes, I may say of a truth, every branch of business, both temporal and spiritual, in which we are engaged. We cannot touch upon any subject which is lawful in the sight of God and man, that is not embraced in our religion. The Gospel of Jesus Christ which we have embraced, and which we preach, includes all truth, and every lawful calling and occupation of man. One subject that we are deeply interested in I wish to say a few words upon. In the first place I wish to give notice in this stage of my remarks to the members of the Deseret Agricultural and Manufacturing Society, that they are requested to meet, at the close of this meeting, at the Historian's Office, to appoint their president and board of directors for the coming season, for the times demand that we should hold a State fair in this city this fall.
Strangers may think this a very strange subject to present in a religious meeting, but we are building up the literal kingdom of God on the earth, and we have temporal duties to perform. We inhabit temporal bodies, we eat temporal food, we build temporal houses, we raise temporal cattle and temporal wheat; we contend with temporal weeds, and with temporal enemies in our soil, and these things naturally give rise to the necessity of attending to and performing many duties of a temporal and arduous nature, and they, of course, are embraced in our religion. In building up the Zion and kingdom of God in these latter days, our agricultural and manufacturing interests are of the most vital importance; in fact, manufacturing and agricultural pursuits are of vital importance to any nation under heaven. Show me a nation whose people cultivate the earth, and manufacture what they need, and I will show you a rich and independent nation. Show me a nation that lives entirely by mining and I will show you a poor nation—one that is ready to run out and become obsolete. You see this manifest in the history of all nations under heaven. What gives England her wealth today? Her coal, iron, and the products of her soil, in connection with her prodigious manufactures; and it is so with all the nations of the earth. What makes the United States what she is today? Her products and the cultivation of her soil, and the constant efforts she has made to supply the wants of her people. Not but what mining is all right, there is no fault with the development of the resources of the earth under favorable circumstances. When we came here, our position demanded that the very first thing we did was to plant our potatoes and sow our wheat, or we had starvation before us; and I will here say that the Saints and the Elders of Israel have gone before the Lord day after day and week after week, and prayed the Almighty to hide up the treasures of these mountains, lest even the Latter-day Saints, with all the faith they had, should be tempted to turn away from the cultivation of the earth and the manufacture of what they needed; and the Lord heard our prayers, and we dwelt here many years and filled these valleys for six hundred miles with cities, towns, villages, gardens, orchards, fields, vineyards, hundreds of schoolhouses, and places of worship, until we made the desert blossom as the rose, and had a supply of wheat, bread and clothing upon our hands. Then, I do not know but the Elders ceased praying for the Lord to hide up the treasures of the earth—I guess they did, for very soon after mines began to be opened, and now silver mines are being worked in many parts of the Territory. A few years ago, General Connor and others, who dwelt here, with soldiers under them, spent very many days in prospecting these mountains from one end to the other for gold and silver, but they could find none; today you may go over the same places, and if you dig into the earth you may find plenty of silver, and you may find it almost anywhere in these mountains. I suppose this is all right, I have no fault to find with it; but I still say that the interest of the Latter-day Saints in these mountains is to cultivate the soil and to manufacture what they use.
Through the influence of President Young we have many manufactories for wool and cotton already established in this Territory. He has done more than any man living in these last days, according to the means he has had at his command, to establish these branches of business in the midst of these mountains. We have now many large factories in this Territory that have to stand still for want of wool. I want to say a few words on this subject to the wool growers of Deseret. Instead of sending our wool out of the Territory, to eastern States to be manufactured into cloth, and purchasing it and paying eastern manufacturers a large percentage for it when brought here by railroad, I feel that it is our duty, and it would be far wiser for us, to sell our wool to those who own factories in this Territory, and to sustain ourselves by sustaining home manufactures.
One of the first commands given to Adam, after being placed in Eden, was to dress the garden; and he was permitted to eat of the fruit of every tree except one. After a while, Adam and his wife, Eve, partook of the fruit of this tree, and the history of the Fall is before us and the world. After Adam was cast out of the garden, the Lord told him that there should be a curse on the earth, and instead of bringing forth beautiful flowers, fruit and grain spontaneously, as before the Fall, it should bring forth thorns, briers, thistles and noxious weeds, and that man should earn his bread by the sweat of his brow; and from that time to the present, mankind has had this curse to contend with in the cultivation of the earth. In consequence of this, the inhabitants of Utah, in their agricultural operations have to fight against the cockle burr, the black seed and sunflower, as well as thorns and thistles and many other noxious weeds, which, if not eradicated, speedily take advantage of us, and to a great extent, mar the result of our labors. It will pay us to pay attention to these things; it will pay us to dress the earth, to till it, to take care of and spend time and means in manuring and feeding it; it will pay us to gather out these noxious weeds, for the earth will then have a chance to bring forth in its strength. This, with the blessing of God upon our labors, has made the soil of Utah as productive as it is today. I wish to see this interest increase in our midst; and I hope, in addition to this, that those who are raising sheep—our wool growers—will pay attention to and carry on that branch of business systematically, and that we will sell our wool to those who manufacture it at home, instead of sending it out of the Territory to be manufactured. I feel that this is our duty, and the course which will promote our best interests, and it is a principle which is true, independent of religion, in any community or nation; it is a self-sustaining principle.
God has blessed us, he has blessed the earth, and our labors in the tilling of the soil have been greatly prospered. As has been said by some of our brethren in their remarks, when the pioneers came here, no mark of civilization or of the white man, was found. If those who are now so anxious to obtain the homes we have made, had seen Utah as we saw it, they would never have desired a habitation here, but they would have got out of it as soon as they could. It was barren, desolate, abounding with grasshoppers, crickets and coyote wolves, and these things seemed to be the only natural productions of the soil. We went to work by faith, not much by sight, to cultivate the earth. We broke almost all the plows we had the first day. We had to let streams of water out to moisten the earth, and by experience we had to learn to raise anything. The stranger comes into Salt Lake City and sees our orchards, and the trees in our streets, and he thinks, what a fruitful and delightful place it is. He does not think that, for twenty or twenty-four years, almost every tree he beholds, according to its age, has had to be watered twice a week through the whole summer season, or they would all have been dead long since. We have had to unite upon these things, the Lord has blessed our labors, and his mercies have been over this people.
If we had not cultivated the earth, but had turned our attention to mining, we should not only have starved to death ourselves, but thousands of strangers, who have passed through, would have shared the same fate. Utah Territory has been the great highway to California, Nevada, and all the western States and Territories, and they have all looked, in a measure, to Utah for their bread. Nobody but Latter-day Saints would have lived here, and endured the trials and afflictions that we endured in the beginning; none others would have stayed and fought the crickets one year, as we had to do year after year. Any people but the Latter-day Saints would have left this country long ago. Not only so, on account of the things I have already named, but I will here say that no other people could have lived here—no, they would have knocked each others brains out on account of the little water they would have had in their irrigating operations. When men saw their crops and trees withering and perishing for the want of water, the selfishness so general in the world would have worked up to such an extent, that they would have killed one another, and hence I say that none but Latter-day Saints would have stood it; but they, by the training and experience they had before received, were prepared for the hardships and trials they had to encounter in this country.
Brethren and sisters, let us continue our efforts in cultivating the earth, and in manufacturing what we want. And I still urge upon our Female Relief Societies, in this city and throughout the Territory, to carry out the counsel President Young gave us years and years ago, and try, as far as possible, within ourselves, to make our own bonnets, hats and clothing, and to let the beauty of what we wear be the workmanship of our own hands. It is true that our religion is not in our coat or bonnet, or it should not be. If a man's religion is there it is not generally very deep anywhere else. But God has blessed us with the products of earth and the blessings of heaven, and his Spirit has been with us; we have been preserved, and the Lord has turned away the edge of the sword, and he has protected us during many years past and gone, and we all have to acknowledge his hand in these things.
I do not wish to detain this Conference. I felt as though I wanted to make a few remarks on these subjects. I hope, brethren, that we will not slacken our hands with regard to the cultivation of the earth. In the prosecution of our labors in that respect we have everything to contend with that man has been cursed with for five thousand years. We should clean our fields, as far as we can, of the noxious weeds, and our streets of sunflowers. These things encumber the earth. We have one difficulty to contend with, unknown save in those portions of the earth where irrigation is practiced. It is true that a man may clean his fields of sunflowers, cockle burrs, blackseed and every other noxious weed that grows, and the very first time he waters his land here will come a peck or a bushel of foul seed from the mountains, and fill every field through which the stream flows. These difficulties we have to fight against, but we must do the best we can. As farmers, we should clean our seed, and not sow the foul along with the good. One man, in a few hours, with a good wire sieve, can sift enough seed for ten acres of land, and perhaps for twenty; while, to pull that bad seed out when grown will cost from one to five hundred dollars, for it will take a score of men days to do it. We should use our time, judgment and the wisdom God has given us to the best advantage in all these things.
I want the brethren to come together this afternoon and elect their officers, for we desire to hold a fair this fall, in which the agricultural and manufacturing interests of the Territory may be represented and interested. Let us not be weary in well doing; let us not slacken our hands, either in cultivating the earth or in the manufacturing of what we need. Cooperate in agricultural and mercantile matters, also in our tanneries, and in the making of butter and cheese. One man may engage in these branches of business with advantage if he have skill and experience to guide him; but in cooperation, the wisdom of all is combined for the general good. This plan has been adopted with advantage in other communities, cities, States, Territories and countries, and it can be in this more extensively than it has been hitherto.
I pray that God will bless us, and bless this whole people; and I pray that the testimony which we have received here during this Conference, which is true, may not be forgotten by us. I can bear the same testimony. I know this work is of God. I know Joseph Smith was a Prophet of God. I have heard two or three of the brethren testify about Brother Young in Nauvoo. Every man and every woman in that assembly, which perhaps might number thousands, could bear the same testimony. I was there, the Twelve were there, and a good many others, and all can bear the same testimony. The question might be asked, why was the appearance of Joseph Smith given to Brigham Young? Because here was Sidney Rigdon and other men rising up and claiming to be the leaders of the Church, and men stood, as it were, on a pivot, not knowing which way to turn. But just as quick as Brigham Young rose in that assembly, his face was that of Joseph Smith—the mantle of Joseph had fallen upon him, the power of God that was upon Joseph Smith was upon him, he had the voice of Joseph, and it was the voice of the shepherd. There was not a person in that assembly, Rigdon, himself, not excepted, but was satisfied in his own mind that Brigham was the proper leader of the people, for he would not have his name presented, by his own consent, after that sermon was delivered. There was a reason for this in the mind of God; it convinced the people. They saw and heard for themselves, and it was by the power of God.
May God bless you. May he give us wisdom to direct us in all things, and promote all the interests of Zion for Jesus' sake. Amen.
Remarks by Elder Wilford Woodruff, delivered in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, April 8, 1872.
Reported by David W. Evans.
We have had a very good Conference; we have heard a great deal of testimony from the servants of the Lord, and that testimony has been true. The building up of the Zion of God in these latter days includes, I may say of a truth, every branch of business, both temporal and spiritual, in which we are engaged. We cannot touch upon any subject which is lawful in the sight of God and man, that is not embraced in our religion. The Gospel of Jesus Christ which we have embraced, and which we preach, includes all truth, and every lawful calling and occupation of man. One subject that we are deeply interested in I wish to say a few words upon. In the first place I wish to give notice in this stage of my remarks to the members of the Deseret Agricultural and Manufacturing Society, that they are requested to meet, at the close of this meeting, at the Historian's Office, to appoint their president and board of directors for the coming season, for the times demand that we should hold a State fair in this city this fall.
Strangers may think this a very strange subject to present in a religious meeting, but we are building up the literal kingdom of God on the earth, and we have temporal duties to perform. We inhabit temporal bodies, we eat temporal food, we build temporal houses, we raise temporal cattle and temporal wheat; we contend with temporal weeds, and with temporal enemies in our soil, and these things naturally give rise to the necessity of attending to and performing many duties of a temporal and arduous nature, and they, of course, are embraced in our religion. In building up the Zion and kingdom of God in these latter days, our agricultural and manufacturing interests are of the most vital importance; in fact, manufacturing and agricultural pursuits are of vital importance to any nation under heaven. Show me a nation whose people cultivate the earth, and manufacture what they need, and I will show you a rich and independent nation. Show me a nation that lives entirely by mining and I will show you a poor nation—one that is ready to run out and become obsolete. You see this manifest in the history of all nations under heaven. What gives England her wealth today? Her coal, iron, and the products of her soil, in connection with her prodigious manufactures; and it is so with all the nations of the earth. What makes the United States what she is today? Her products and the cultivation of her soil, and the constant efforts she has made to supply the wants of her people. Not but what mining is all right, there is no fault with the development of the resources of the earth under favorable circumstances. When we came here, our position demanded that the very first thing we did was to plant our potatoes and sow our wheat, or we had starvation before us; and I will here say that the Saints and the Elders of Israel have gone before the Lord day after day and week after week, and prayed the Almighty to hide up the treasures of these mountains, lest even the Latter-day Saints, with all the faith they had, should be tempted to turn away from the cultivation of the earth and the manufacture of what they needed; and the Lord heard our prayers, and we dwelt here many years and filled these valleys for six hundred miles with cities, towns, villages, gardens, orchards, fields, vineyards, hundreds of schoolhouses, and places of worship, until we made the desert blossom as the rose, and had a supply of wheat, bread and clothing upon our hands. Then, I do not know but the Elders ceased praying for the Lord to hide up the treasures of the earth—I guess they did, for very soon after mines began to be opened, and now silver mines are being worked in many parts of the Territory. A few years ago, General Connor and others, who dwelt here, with soldiers under them, spent very many days in prospecting these mountains from one end to the other for gold and silver, but they could find none; today you may go over the same places, and if you dig into the earth you may find plenty of silver, and you may find it almost anywhere in these mountains. I suppose this is all right, I have no fault to find with it; but I still say that the interest of the Latter-day Saints in these mountains is to cultivate the soil and to manufacture what they use.
Through the influence of President Young we have many manufactories for wool and cotton already established in this Territory. He has done more than any man living in these last days, according to the means he has had at his command, to establish these branches of business in the midst of these mountains. We have now many large factories in this Territory that have to stand still for want of wool. I want to say a few words on this subject to the wool growers of Deseret. Instead of sending our wool out of the Territory, to eastern States to be manufactured into cloth, and purchasing it and paying eastern manufacturers a large percentage for it when brought here by railroad, I feel that it is our duty, and it would be far wiser for us, to sell our wool to those who own factories in this Territory, and to sustain ourselves by sustaining home manufactures.
One of the first commands given to Adam, after being placed in Eden, was to dress the garden; and he was permitted to eat of the fruit of every tree except one. After a while, Adam and his wife, Eve, partook of the fruit of this tree, and the history of the Fall is before us and the world. After Adam was cast out of the garden, the Lord told him that there should be a curse on the earth, and instead of bringing forth beautiful flowers, fruit and grain spontaneously, as before the Fall, it should bring forth thorns, briers, thistles and noxious weeds, and that man should earn his bread by the sweat of his brow; and from that time to the present, mankind has had this curse to contend with in the cultivation of the earth. In consequence of this, the inhabitants of Utah, in their agricultural operations have to fight against the cockle burr, the black seed and sunflower, as well as thorns and thistles and many other noxious weeds, which, if not eradicated, speedily take advantage of us, and to a great extent, mar the result of our labors. It will pay us to pay attention to these things; it will pay us to dress the earth, to till it, to take care of and spend time and means in manuring and feeding it; it will pay us to gather out these noxious weeds, for the earth will then have a chance to bring forth in its strength. This, with the blessing of God upon our labors, has made the soil of Utah as productive as it is today. I wish to see this interest increase in our midst; and I hope, in addition to this, that those who are raising sheep—our wool growers—will pay attention to and carry on that branch of business systematically, and that we will sell our wool to those who manufacture it at home, instead of sending it out of the Territory to be manufactured. I feel that this is our duty, and the course which will promote our best interests, and it is a principle which is true, independent of religion, in any community or nation; it is a self-sustaining principle.
God has blessed us, he has blessed the earth, and our labors in the tilling of the soil have been greatly prospered. As has been said by some of our brethren in their remarks, when the pioneers came here, no mark of civilization or of the white man, was found. If those who are now so anxious to obtain the homes we have made, had seen Utah as we saw it, they would never have desired a habitation here, but they would have got out of it as soon as they could. It was barren, desolate, abounding with grasshoppers, crickets and coyote wolves, and these things seemed to be the only natural productions of the soil. We went to work by faith, not much by sight, to cultivate the earth. We broke almost all the plows we had the first day. We had to let streams of water out to moisten the earth, and by experience we had to learn to raise anything. The stranger comes into Salt Lake City and sees our orchards, and the trees in our streets, and he thinks, what a fruitful and delightful place it is. He does not think that, for twenty or twenty-four years, almost every tree he beholds, according to its age, has had to be watered twice a week through the whole summer season, or they would all have been dead long since. We have had to unite upon these things, the Lord has blessed our labors, and his mercies have been over this people.
If we had not cultivated the earth, but had turned our attention to mining, we should not only have starved to death ourselves, but thousands of strangers, who have passed through, would have shared the same fate. Utah Territory has been the great highway to California, Nevada, and all the western States and Territories, and they have all looked, in a measure, to Utah for their bread. Nobody but Latter-day Saints would have lived here, and endured the trials and afflictions that we endured in the beginning; none others would have stayed and fought the crickets one year, as we had to do year after year. Any people but the Latter-day Saints would have left this country long ago. Not only so, on account of the things I have already named, but I will here say that no other people could have lived here—no, they would have knocked each others brains out on account of the little water they would have had in their irrigating operations. When men saw their crops and trees withering and perishing for the want of water, the selfishness so general in the world would have worked up to such an extent, that they would have killed one another, and hence I say that none but Latter-day Saints would have stood it; but they, by the training and experience they had before received, were prepared for the hardships and trials they had to encounter in this country.
Brethren and sisters, let us continue our efforts in cultivating the earth, and in manufacturing what we want. And I still urge upon our Female Relief Societies, in this city and throughout the Territory, to carry out the counsel President Young gave us years and years ago, and try, as far as possible, within ourselves, to make our own bonnets, hats and clothing, and to let the beauty of what we wear be the workmanship of our own hands. It is true that our religion is not in our coat or bonnet, or it should not be. If a man's religion is there it is not generally very deep anywhere else. But God has blessed us with the products of earth and the blessings of heaven, and his Spirit has been with us; we have been preserved, and the Lord has turned away the edge of the sword, and he has protected us during many years past and gone, and we all have to acknowledge his hand in these things.
I do not wish to detain this Conference. I felt as though I wanted to make a few remarks on these subjects. I hope, brethren, that we will not slacken our hands with regard to the cultivation of the earth. In the prosecution of our labors in that respect we have everything to contend with that man has been cursed with for five thousand years. We should clean our fields, as far as we can, of the noxious weeds, and our streets of sunflowers. These things encumber the earth. We have one difficulty to contend with, unknown save in those portions of the earth where irrigation is practiced. It is true that a man may clean his fields of sunflowers, cockle burrs, blackseed and every other noxious weed that grows, and the very first time he waters his land here will come a peck or a bushel of foul seed from the mountains, and fill every field through which the stream flows. These difficulties we have to fight against, but we must do the best we can. As farmers, we should clean our seed, and not sow the foul along with the good. One man, in a few hours, with a good wire sieve, can sift enough seed for ten acres of land, and perhaps for twenty; while, to pull that bad seed out when grown will cost from one to five hundred dollars, for it will take a score of men days to do it. We should use our time, judgment and the wisdom God has given us to the best advantage in all these things.
I want the brethren to come together this afternoon and elect their officers, for we desire to hold a fair this fall, in which the agricultural and manufacturing interests of the Territory may be represented and interested. Let us not be weary in well doing; let us not slacken our hands, either in cultivating the earth or in the manufacturing of what we need. Cooperate in agricultural and mercantile matters, also in our tanneries, and in the making of butter and cheese. One man may engage in these branches of business with advantage if he have skill and experience to guide him; but in cooperation, the wisdom of all is combined for the general good. This plan has been adopted with advantage in other communities, cities, States, Territories and countries, and it can be in this more extensively than it has been hitherto.
I pray that God will bless us, and bless this whole people; and I pray that the testimony which we have received here during this Conference, which is true, may not be forgotten by us. I can bear the same testimony. I know this work is of God. I know Joseph Smith was a Prophet of God. I have heard two or three of the brethren testify about Brother Young in Nauvoo. Every man and every woman in that assembly, which perhaps might number thousands, could bear the same testimony. I was there, the Twelve were there, and a good many others, and all can bear the same testimony. The question might be asked, why was the appearance of Joseph Smith given to Brigham Young? Because here was Sidney Rigdon and other men rising up and claiming to be the leaders of the Church, and men stood, as it were, on a pivot, not knowing which way to turn. But just as quick as Brigham Young rose in that assembly, his face was that of Joseph Smith—the mantle of Joseph had fallen upon him, the power of God that was upon Joseph Smith was upon him, he had the voice of Joseph, and it was the voice of the shepherd. There was not a person in that assembly, Rigdon, himself, not excepted, but was satisfied in his own mind that Brigham was the proper leader of the people, for he would not have his name presented, by his own consent, after that sermon was delivered. There was a reason for this in the mind of God; it convinced the people. They saw and heard for themselves, and it was by the power of God.
May God bless you. May he give us wisdom to direct us in all things, and promote all the interests of Zion for Jesus' sake. Amen.
President George A. Smith
said the Lord had blessed us in a most remarkable manner, considering the efforts of the father of lies to hinder our progress. He did not believe it possible to find on the earth a more law-abiding, temperate and orderly people than the people of Utah. They had especially vindicated their character in those respects during the last few months. We did not propose to relinquish and of the principles of morality and virtue which we so dearly prized. The wicked have introduced a few places of immorality, but we should keep ourselves uncontaminated. We should keep the Work of Wisdom. To its observance were attached great promises. We should observe it strictly, not only for our own sakes, but also for the sake of our children. He urged those who were engaged in working mines to be careful not to fall into the vicious practices so often prevalent in mining camps. We could not be placed in any position where we could not serve God.
The speaker again drew the attention of the Elders and Saints to the importance of supporting the Perpetual Emigrating Fund and urged those indebted to it to make payments. He spoke of the necessity of home missionary labor being vigorously prosecuted, and gave some excellent advice to all who had difficulties to settle to avoid law suits, and to settle disagreements by arbitration. He said that fears were entertained by some people that some great trouble was coming upon the Saints, but there need be no fears, for this work was the work of God. He was our protector and ruler and we need not fear man nor his power.
said the Lord had blessed us in a most remarkable manner, considering the efforts of the father of lies to hinder our progress. He did not believe it possible to find on the earth a more law-abiding, temperate and orderly people than the people of Utah. They had especially vindicated their character in those respects during the last few months. We did not propose to relinquish and of the principles of morality and virtue which we so dearly prized. The wicked have introduced a few places of immorality, but we should keep ourselves uncontaminated. We should keep the Work of Wisdom. To its observance were attached great promises. We should observe it strictly, not only for our own sakes, but also for the sake of our children. He urged those who were engaged in working mines to be careful not to fall into the vicious practices so often prevalent in mining camps. We could not be placed in any position where we could not serve God.
The speaker again drew the attention of the Elders and Saints to the importance of supporting the Perpetual Emigrating Fund and urged those indebted to it to make payments. He spoke of the necessity of home missionary labor being vigorously prosecuted, and gave some excellent advice to all who had difficulties to settle to avoid law suits, and to settle disagreements by arbitration. He said that fears were entertained by some people that some great trouble was coming upon the Saints, but there need be no fears, for this work was the work of God. He was our protector and ruler and we need not fear man nor his power.
Elder Albert Carrington presented the names of the following missionaries, which were sustained by the Conference--
TO EUROPE.
Walter Thomson, Ogden City.
Newel Clayton, S. L. City.
TO THE EASTERN STATES.
W. C. Staines, to take charge of the emigration business at New York.
HOME MISSIONARIES.
To the Scandinavians in the northern counties—C. D. Fjeldsted.
Beaver County—John R. Murdock, Wm. Fotheringham, Wm. Ashworth, M. L. Shepherd.
Box Elder County—Lorenzo Snow, Jonathan C. Wright, Samuel Smith, H. P. Jensen, John Reese, G. W. Ward of Willard City.
Cache County—W. B. Preston, Moses Thatcher, Wm. Hyde, O. N. Liljenquist, Lorenzo H. Hatch, Wm. Maughan, Samuel Roskelly, Jeremiah Hatch, M. W. Merrill.
Davis County—Job Welling, Nathan T. Porter, Anson Call, Joel Parrish, Joseph Argyle, Roswell Hyde, John W. Hess, Thomas S. Smith.
Iron County—Edward Dalton, Jesse N. Smith, Silas S. Smith, Samuel H. Rogers, W. H. Dame, Henry Lunt, Samuel Leigh.
Juab County—Jacob G. Bigler, Joel Grover, Andrew Love, John Andrews, Elmer Taylor.
Kane County—Charles N. Smith, Jehiel McConnell.
Millard County—Thomas Callister, Marion Lyman, Platt D. Lyman, Nephi Pratt, Collins R. Hakes.
Morgan County—Lot Smith, William Eddington, Jesse Haven, Bishop Petersen, Bishop W. G. Sith.
Rich County—Charles C. Rich, Wilford Woodruff, David P. Kimball, Wm. Budge, James H. Hart, Jos. C. Rich, John Hart, Randolph Stewart, Bishop Lee, Ira Nebeker.
Salt Lake County—David Candland, Milo Andrus, N. H. Felt, Samuel A. Woolley, Thomas Taylor, George G. Bywater, John Van Cott, Reuben Miller, Isaac Groo, Absalom Smith.
Sanpete County—Noah T. Guyman, R. L. Johnson, Abner Lowry, Christian Christiansen, George Peacock, W. F. Simon, W. S. Seeley.
Wasatch County—Abraham Hatch, David Van Waggener, John W. Witt.
Washington County—Joseph W. Young, Miles P. Romney, Charles Smith, John E. Pace.
Weber County—F. D. Richards, Lorin Farr, Richard Ballantyne, David M. Stuart, Robert McQuarrie, C. W. Penrose, Edmund Ellsworth, L. J. Herrick, F. A. Hammond.
Summit county—W. W. Cluff, Geo. G. Snyder, William Black, Abraham Merchant.
Tooele County—Orson Pratt, Lorenzo D. Young, Joseph Young, Senior, George Bryan.
Utah County—Abraham O. Smoot, David Evans, L. E. Harrington, A. K. Thurber, William Bringhurst, David Holladay, George Halliday, Zebedee Coltrin, Warren N. Dusenberry, L. John Nuttall, Joseph Cluff, Charles D. Evans, Orawell Simons.
TO EUROPE.
Walter Thomson, Ogden City.
Newel Clayton, S. L. City.
TO THE EASTERN STATES.
W. C. Staines, to take charge of the emigration business at New York.
HOME MISSIONARIES.
To the Scandinavians in the northern counties—C. D. Fjeldsted.
Beaver County—John R. Murdock, Wm. Fotheringham, Wm. Ashworth, M. L. Shepherd.
Box Elder County—Lorenzo Snow, Jonathan C. Wright, Samuel Smith, H. P. Jensen, John Reese, G. W. Ward of Willard City.
Cache County—W. B. Preston, Moses Thatcher, Wm. Hyde, O. N. Liljenquist, Lorenzo H. Hatch, Wm. Maughan, Samuel Roskelly, Jeremiah Hatch, M. W. Merrill.
Davis County—Job Welling, Nathan T. Porter, Anson Call, Joel Parrish, Joseph Argyle, Roswell Hyde, John W. Hess, Thomas S. Smith.
Iron County—Edward Dalton, Jesse N. Smith, Silas S. Smith, Samuel H. Rogers, W. H. Dame, Henry Lunt, Samuel Leigh.
Juab County—Jacob G. Bigler, Joel Grover, Andrew Love, John Andrews, Elmer Taylor.
Kane County—Charles N. Smith, Jehiel McConnell.
Millard County—Thomas Callister, Marion Lyman, Platt D. Lyman, Nephi Pratt, Collins R. Hakes.
Morgan County—Lot Smith, William Eddington, Jesse Haven, Bishop Petersen, Bishop W. G. Sith.
Rich County—Charles C. Rich, Wilford Woodruff, David P. Kimball, Wm. Budge, James H. Hart, Jos. C. Rich, John Hart, Randolph Stewart, Bishop Lee, Ira Nebeker.
Salt Lake County—David Candland, Milo Andrus, N. H. Felt, Samuel A. Woolley, Thomas Taylor, George G. Bywater, John Van Cott, Reuben Miller, Isaac Groo, Absalom Smith.
Sanpete County—Noah T. Guyman, R. L. Johnson, Abner Lowry, Christian Christiansen, George Peacock, W. F. Simon, W. S. Seeley.
Wasatch County—Abraham Hatch, David Van Waggener, John W. Witt.
Washington County—Joseph W. Young, Miles P. Romney, Charles Smith, John E. Pace.
Weber County—F. D. Richards, Lorin Farr, Richard Ballantyne, David M. Stuart, Robert McQuarrie, C. W. Penrose, Edmund Ellsworth, L. J. Herrick, F. A. Hammond.
Summit county—W. W. Cluff, Geo. G. Snyder, William Black, Abraham Merchant.
Tooele County—Orson Pratt, Lorenzo D. Young, Joseph Young, Senior, George Bryan.
Utah County—Abraham O. Smoot, David Evans, L. E. Harrington, A. K. Thurber, William Bringhurst, David Holladay, George Halliday, Zebedee Coltrin, Warren N. Dusenberry, L. John Nuttall, Joseph Cluff, Charles D. Evans, Orawell Simons.
President George A. Smith
alluded to the nature of the duties of the home missionaries. He said Elder Albert Carrington was appointed at the last April Conference to preside over the European mission, and he went and still presided over that mission, though he had been called home on public business. He (President Smith) made a motion that Elder Carrington return to Europe in that capacity, which was unanimously sustained.
President Smith also stated that we had been together in conference four days, and that all necessary business had not yet been attended to, and made a motion, which he put to the assemblage, that the conference adjourn to meet again next Sunday, April 14th, in the New Tabernacle, which was unanimously sustained.
The choir sang: “Daughter of Zion.”
alluded to the nature of the duties of the home missionaries. He said Elder Albert Carrington was appointed at the last April Conference to preside over the European mission, and he went and still presided over that mission, though he had been called home on public business. He (President Smith) made a motion that Elder Carrington return to Europe in that capacity, which was unanimously sustained.
President Smith also stated that we had been together in conference four days, and that all necessary business had not yet been attended to, and made a motion, which he put to the assemblage, that the conference adjourn to meet again next Sunday, April 14th, in the New Tabernacle, which was unanimously sustained.
The choir sang: “Daughter of Zion.”
President George A. Smith
said that the thanks of the people were due to Brother George Careless, the Tabernacle choir, and all the brethren and sisters of the choirs from places outside of the city who had assisted him in singing during conference, also to Brother Joseph Daynes, the organist, and all who had contributed to make our assembling together pleasant with sweet music. He felt to thank them and say God bless them.
At his request, the congregation arose to their feet and they all joined in singing that sublime hymn: “The spirit of God, like a fire is burning, The latter-day glory begins to come forth.”
It was a scene calculated to incite deep and peculiar emotions, to see the thousands of people, assembled from almost every known nationality, that they might learn to worship God in his own appointed way, arise, and unitedly mingle their voices in pouring forth soul-inspiring strains of worship to the Great Jehovah, while the magnificent organ sent forth its powerful tones which sounded at times like subdued thunder.
Conference adjourned till Sunday, April 14, at 10 a.m.
Benediction by President Geo. A. Smith.
John Nicholson,
Clerk of Conference.
said that the thanks of the people were due to Brother George Careless, the Tabernacle choir, and all the brethren and sisters of the choirs from places outside of the city who had assisted him in singing during conference, also to Brother Joseph Daynes, the organist, and all who had contributed to make our assembling together pleasant with sweet music. He felt to thank them and say God bless them.
At his request, the congregation arose to their feet and they all joined in singing that sublime hymn: “The spirit of God, like a fire is burning, The latter-day glory begins to come forth.”
It was a scene calculated to incite deep and peculiar emotions, to see the thousands of people, assembled from almost every known nationality, that they might learn to worship God in his own appointed way, arise, and unitedly mingle their voices in pouring forth soul-inspiring strains of worship to the Great Jehovah, while the magnificent organ sent forth its powerful tones which sounded at times like subdued thunder.
Conference adjourned till Sunday, April 14, at 10 a.m.
Benediction by President Geo. A. Smith.
John Nicholson,
Clerk of Conference.
FIFTH DAY.
Sunday, April 14th, 10 a.m.
According to adjournment of Tuesday, April 9th, the Forty-Second Annual General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints reassembled this (Sunday) morning, April 14th, at ten o’clock, in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City.
Conference was called to order by President Geo. A. Smith.
The choir sang: “The towers of Zion soon shall rise Above the clouds and reach the skies.”
The opening prayer was offered by Elder L. W. Hardy.
“Come, listen to a prophet’s voice, And hear the word of God,” was sung by the choir.
Sunday, April 14th, 10 a.m.
According to adjournment of Tuesday, April 9th, the Forty-Second Annual General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints reassembled this (Sunday) morning, April 14th, at ten o’clock, in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City.
Conference was called to order by President Geo. A. Smith.
The choir sang: “The towers of Zion soon shall rise Above the clouds and reach the skies.”
The opening prayer was offered by Elder L. W. Hardy.
“Come, listen to a prophet’s voice, And hear the word of God,” was sung by the choir.
Elder John Van Cott
addressed the Conference. He was aware that the Latter-day Saints were a discriminating people, being in possession of a spirit which enabled them to judge correctly as to that which was true and that which was erroneous. This spirit enabled them to perceive that God still manifested his power and wisdom at the head of his kingdom, and that he constantly inspired his servants, the leaders of the Saints, with the revelations of his will. The speaker had known for many years that he was identified with a work which was of divine origin. It was that knowledge which brought him to Utah. In his experience in the Church, he had seen many manifestations of divine providence in behalf of God’s people. He doubted if there was another man on earth who would have done as President Young had, in voluntarily delivering himself up and allowing vexatious writs to be served upon him. It was not only an evidence of the absolute innocence of President Young, but, to him, it was an evidence that God directed his movements.
Whatever the future political status of the Saints might be—whether Utah became a State or not, he was satisfied the result, so far as the work of the Lord was concerned, would be the same. Zion would be built up and those who engaged in that work would be blessed. All should seek earnestly for the Spirit of the Lord, that they might be able to understand the dealings of the Almighty with the people, and with all the people of the world. The strength of the Latter-day Saints was not in numbers, neither in the arm of man but in the arm of the great Jehovah.
addressed the Conference. He was aware that the Latter-day Saints were a discriminating people, being in possession of a spirit which enabled them to judge correctly as to that which was true and that which was erroneous. This spirit enabled them to perceive that God still manifested his power and wisdom at the head of his kingdom, and that he constantly inspired his servants, the leaders of the Saints, with the revelations of his will. The speaker had known for many years that he was identified with a work which was of divine origin. It was that knowledge which brought him to Utah. In his experience in the Church, he had seen many manifestations of divine providence in behalf of God’s people. He doubted if there was another man on earth who would have done as President Young had, in voluntarily delivering himself up and allowing vexatious writs to be served upon him. It was not only an evidence of the absolute innocence of President Young, but, to him, it was an evidence that God directed his movements.
Whatever the future political status of the Saints might be—whether Utah became a State or not, he was satisfied the result, so far as the work of the Lord was concerned, would be the same. Zion would be built up and those who engaged in that work would be blessed. All should seek earnestly for the Spirit of the Lord, that they might be able to understand the dealings of the Almighty with the people, and with all the people of the world. The strength of the Latter-day Saints was not in numbers, neither in the arm of man but in the arm of the great Jehovah.
Elder Thomas Taylor
was the next speaker. When he first heard the message of the everlasting gospel, he saw no reason why that message should not be true, and that God should establish his kingdom. He felt certain that if the Lord did so, it would be such a system of government as would far excel in every virtue every other government. He was of opinion, if those who were so much opposed to us would lay aside prejudice and reason with us, that they would not feel so much embittered against us as they did. The constitution of this republican government was a most liberal and excellent instrument. The principles of the Kingdom of God were liberal also. Men did not apostatize from this work because the principles of the gospel did not allow them the exercise of the utmost freedom. Those who forsook and turned against the work of God generally did so because in the Church of Jesus Christ they were not permitted to take advantage of their neighbors and otherwise act unrighteously. The opponents of the Saints were not the good among men, but the reverse. They had been opposed generally by men who were actuated by ulterior motives. Some opposed us because perchance their craft was at stake, and who thought that if let alone the Saints would, by their faith in God and their unity, become a great and a powerful people. Those who had thought their interests were at stake had invariably been among the first to vilify and maltreat the Latter-day Saints. If people thought we were deluded, their best course would be to lay the principles they had to offer side by side with those we possessed and see how they compared. It indicated a lack of confidence in their own systems when they refused to do this, and they did refuse almost invariably.
The speaker next commented upon the nature of the circumstances through which many of the Saints had been called to pass, and how they had had to trust in God as their only source of deliverance, and who had never failed them. Hundreds of sick, by the exercise of faith and the administration of the ordinances of the gospel, had been healed by the power of God. He had been cognizant of many instances of this kind in his personal labors, and administration. We were engaged in laying a foundation for eternal bliss and glory in the future, for we believed in the eternal nature of the family unions and ties formed in righteousness in this life. The kingdom of God was an indestructible system and would stand for ever, notwithstanding the powers that might be arrayed against it.
The choir sang: “O praise the Lord.”
Adjourned till 2 o’clock.
Prayer by President D. H. Wells.
was the next speaker. When he first heard the message of the everlasting gospel, he saw no reason why that message should not be true, and that God should establish his kingdom. He felt certain that if the Lord did so, it would be such a system of government as would far excel in every virtue every other government. He was of opinion, if those who were so much opposed to us would lay aside prejudice and reason with us, that they would not feel so much embittered against us as they did. The constitution of this republican government was a most liberal and excellent instrument. The principles of the Kingdom of God were liberal also. Men did not apostatize from this work because the principles of the gospel did not allow them the exercise of the utmost freedom. Those who forsook and turned against the work of God generally did so because in the Church of Jesus Christ they were not permitted to take advantage of their neighbors and otherwise act unrighteously. The opponents of the Saints were not the good among men, but the reverse. They had been opposed generally by men who were actuated by ulterior motives. Some opposed us because perchance their craft was at stake, and who thought that if let alone the Saints would, by their faith in God and their unity, become a great and a powerful people. Those who had thought their interests were at stake had invariably been among the first to vilify and maltreat the Latter-day Saints. If people thought we were deluded, their best course would be to lay the principles they had to offer side by side with those we possessed and see how they compared. It indicated a lack of confidence in their own systems when they refused to do this, and they did refuse almost invariably.
The speaker next commented upon the nature of the circumstances through which many of the Saints had been called to pass, and how they had had to trust in God as their only source of deliverance, and who had never failed them. Hundreds of sick, by the exercise of faith and the administration of the ordinances of the gospel, had been healed by the power of God. He had been cognizant of many instances of this kind in his personal labors, and administration. We were engaged in laying a foundation for eternal bliss and glory in the future, for we believed in the eternal nature of the family unions and ties formed in righteousness in this life. The kingdom of God was an indestructible system and would stand for ever, notwithstanding the powers that might be arrayed against it.
The choir sang: “O praise the Lord.”
Adjourned till 2 o’clock.
Prayer by President D. H. Wells.
Sunday, 2 p.m.
“Great God, indulge my humble claim; Thou art my hope, my joy, my rest,” was sung by the choir.
Prayer by Bishop John W. Hess.
The choir sang: “Spirit of faith come down, Reveal the things of God.”
The sacrament of the Lord’s Supper was administered.
“Great God, indulge my humble claim; Thou art my hope, my joy, my rest,” was sung by the choir.
Prayer by Bishop John W. Hess.
The choir sang: “Spirit of faith come down, Reveal the things of God.”
The sacrament of the Lord’s Supper was administered.
Elder David Candland
addressed the assemblage. It doubtless sounded peculiar to strangers to hear the Elders of Israel talk so much about the kingdom of God being established on the earth; yet those very people who sometimes expressed astonishment from this cause had been tutored, from childhood, to repeat the form of prayer taught by Jesus to his disciples in his day, in which the desire was expressed that the kingdom of God might come, that His will might be done here as it was in heaven. When we talk of the kingdom of God being inaugurated, we did not mean that the constitutional or other liberties and privileges of any of the human family would be abridged or taken away. The instituting of a divine system of government was for the benefit of the human family, and not to bring them into bondage.
The speaker was surprised that people should be blinded with the belief that the canon of Scripture closed with the Bible, when it was distinctly declared in that sacred record that this was not the case. It was stated there that the work of bringing the ancient Israelites out of the land of Egypt and through the Red Sea would be comparatively insignificant when compared with the great work God would accomplish in the latter days. If he had called upon no man for the accomplishment of this great work, and to prepare for the coming of the Savior, we were in a pitiable condition. We knew, however, that such a man had been raised up and inspired by the Almighty. The time must and would come when all would be under the influence and dominion of the Kingdom of God.
The speaker commented for some time on the necessity for revelation from God, the course necessary to pursue to become a citizen of the kingdom of God, and kindred subjects, and showed the nature of the work being performed by the Latter-day Saints. The works of the latter were before the world and spoke for themselves. He exhorted the people to avoid the evil practices that had been lately brought here by the so called “civilization” of the age. He concluded by stating that he knew the work with which he was identified to be of divine origin.
addressed the assemblage. It doubtless sounded peculiar to strangers to hear the Elders of Israel talk so much about the kingdom of God being established on the earth; yet those very people who sometimes expressed astonishment from this cause had been tutored, from childhood, to repeat the form of prayer taught by Jesus to his disciples in his day, in which the desire was expressed that the kingdom of God might come, that His will might be done here as it was in heaven. When we talk of the kingdom of God being inaugurated, we did not mean that the constitutional or other liberties and privileges of any of the human family would be abridged or taken away. The instituting of a divine system of government was for the benefit of the human family, and not to bring them into bondage.
The speaker was surprised that people should be blinded with the belief that the canon of Scripture closed with the Bible, when it was distinctly declared in that sacred record that this was not the case. It was stated there that the work of bringing the ancient Israelites out of the land of Egypt and through the Red Sea would be comparatively insignificant when compared with the great work God would accomplish in the latter days. If he had called upon no man for the accomplishment of this great work, and to prepare for the coming of the Savior, we were in a pitiable condition. We knew, however, that such a man had been raised up and inspired by the Almighty. The time must and would come when all would be under the influence and dominion of the Kingdom of God.
The speaker commented for some time on the necessity for revelation from God, the course necessary to pursue to become a citizen of the kingdom of God, and kindred subjects, and showed the nature of the work being performed by the Latter-day Saints. The works of the latter were before the world and spoke for themselves. He exhorted the people to avoid the evil practices that had been lately brought here by the so called “civilization” of the age. He concluded by stating that he knew the work with which he was identified to be of divine origin.
Elder Albert Carrington
presented the names of the following brethren, who were called on missions and unanimously sustained--
TO EUROPE.
Robert McQuarrie, Ogden City.
TO THE STATES.
Lucien Noble, Salt Lake City.
John Evarts, Davis Co.
HOME MISSIONARIES—William Jeffries, Grantsville; William G. Young, Cottonwood; William Lee, Grantsville; Cyrus H. Wheelock, Mount Pleasant; Evan M. Greene, Smithfield; James A. Little, Kanab; John R. Young, Glendale; James L. Bunting, Kanab; John L. Smith, Beaver; Jonathan Crosby, Beaver; Joseph B. Nobles, Bountiful; William Martindale, Duncan.
Elder Carrington stated that it had been thought best to release Brother Walter Thomson, of Ogden City, from the mission assigned him, and to substitute in his stead, Robert McQuarrie, of Ogden City. This was in consequence of Brother Thomson’s important public duties. The motion for Brother Thomson’s release was unanimous.
presented the names of the following brethren, who were called on missions and unanimously sustained--
TO EUROPE.
Robert McQuarrie, Ogden City.
TO THE STATES.
Lucien Noble, Salt Lake City.
John Evarts, Davis Co.
HOME MISSIONARIES—William Jeffries, Grantsville; William G. Young, Cottonwood; William Lee, Grantsville; Cyrus H. Wheelock, Mount Pleasant; Evan M. Greene, Smithfield; James A. Little, Kanab; John R. Young, Glendale; James L. Bunting, Kanab; John L. Smith, Beaver; Jonathan Crosby, Beaver; Joseph B. Nobles, Bountiful; William Martindale, Duncan.
Elder Carrington stated that it had been thought best to release Brother Walter Thomson, of Ogden City, from the mission assigned him, and to substitute in his stead, Robert McQuarrie, of Ogden City. This was in consequence of Brother Thomson’s important public duties. The motion for Brother Thomson’s release was unanimous.
Elder Carrington
then proceeded to address the Conference. His remarks were interesting and instructive, being principally upon the necessity of all people endeavoring to honor God, showing that those who did so would be honored by him in turn. He showed that our Father and God was the source of all the intelligence and truth possessed by mankind. He also spoke of the utter shallowness and worthlessness of all things outside the gifts, graces and blessings comprehended in the gospel of Christ. He described the nature and organization of the Church of Christ, and also the kingdom of God, and the consequences that would accompany and follow the growth and development of the same. He showed the distinction between the church and the kingdom of God. Elder Carrington’s remarks were reported in full.
then proceeded to address the Conference. His remarks were interesting and instructive, being principally upon the necessity of all people endeavoring to honor God, showing that those who did so would be honored by him in turn. He showed that our Father and God was the source of all the intelligence and truth possessed by mankind. He also spoke of the utter shallowness and worthlessness of all things outside the gifts, graces and blessings comprehended in the gospel of Christ. He described the nature and organization of the Church of Christ, and also the kingdom of God, and the consequences that would accompany and follow the growth and development of the same. He showed the distinction between the church and the kingdom of God. Elder Carrington’s remarks were reported in full.
President Geo. A. Smith then addressed the Conference as follows--
The snow storm has prevented the large gathering that was anticipated. A great many people that would have attended Conference this morning could not consistently come on account of the weather, and the house is not as comfortable as it otherwise would have been; yet we are gratified at the liberal number which has assembled in this rather unexpected storm at this season. We have learned, I believe, to make no particular or certain calculations on the weather in these mountains in the spring season. It very frequently happens we have our spring in the winter, and our winter in the spring.
I have been edified in listening to the remarks of the elders who have spoken; but as the Conference has not been very large, and we shall not, at the present time, be able to entirely close our business, we think proper to adjourn from week to week until our business is completed. I wish, however, to offer a few suggestions for the benefit of the elders who have been called to take part in the labor of preaching the gospel more directly than they have hitherto done in the various settlements. It will be necessary that they organize themselves into convenient companies for the holding of two-days’ meetings. Where it is practicable perhaps the Twelve would superintend this organization; but where it is not, some of the more experienced missionaries can step forward and make the necessary arrangements. For instance, in this county, Elders Lorenzo D. Young and Milo Andrus, and perhaps some one or two others, might confer together, and appoint meetings in the different settlements—say at Mill Creek, Draper, at the Cottonwoods, West Jordan, and others; and on the occasions appointed for meetings enough of these elders, as they arrange among themselves, could meet there and devote a couple of days to preaching, giving instructions, talking upon the things of the kingdom and bearing testimony to the plan of salvation, stirring up the hearts of the brethren to faithfulness and diligence.
You know it is said by the apostle, “It pleased God, by the foolishness of preaching, to save them that believed.” I have felt satisfied that the preaching of the elders was very important, not only in instructing the young and rising generation, but in keeping alive and awake all those in the church who, peradventure, through the cares of the world, the deceitfulness of riches and a hundred other causes, may suffer themselves to become slothful, thoughtless and lukewarm. We see this very clearly illustrated in the revelation concerning Zion. The Lord through the Prophet Joseph Smith, speaking concerning Zion, in Book D. C., page 279, pars. 6 and 7 says:
A certain nobleman had a spot of land, very choice; and he said unto his servants, Go ye unto my vineyard, even upon this very choice piece of land, and plant twelve olive trees, and set watchmen round about them, and build a tower, that one may overlook the land around about, to be a watchman upon the tower, that mine olive trees may not be broken down, when the enemy shall come to spoil, and take unto themselves the fruit of my vineyard. Now, the servants of the nobleman went and did as their lord commanded them; and planted the olive trees, and built a hedge round about, and set watchmen, and began to build a tower. And while they were yet laying the foundation thereof, they began to say among themselves, And what need hath my lord of this tower? and consulted for a long time, saying among themselves, What need hath my lord of this tower, seeing this is a time of peace? Might not this money be given to the exchangers? for there is no need of these things! And while they were at variance one with another they became very slothful, and they hearkened not unto the commandments of their lord, and the enemy came by night, and broke down the hedge, and the servants of the nobleman arose and were affrighted, and fled; and the enemy destroyed their works, and broke down the olive trees.
Now behold, the nobleman, the lord of the vineyard, called upon his servants, and said unto them, Why! what is the cause of this great evil? ought ye not to have done even as I commanded you? and after ye had planted the vineyard, and built the hedge round about, and set watchmen upon the walls thereof, built the tower also, and set a watchman upon the tower, and watched for my vineyard, and not have fallen asleep, lest the enemy should come upon you? and behold, the watchman upon the tower would have seen the enemy while he was yet afar off, and then ye could have made ready and kept the enemy from breaking down the hedge thereof, and saved my vineyard from the hands of the destroyer.
Now if they had done as they had been instructed and kept awake, perhaps by faithful preaching and diligence on the part of some of them in getting up meetings, or in some other way had taken upon themselves to build the tower and set watchmen upon it, they would have seen the enemy when afar off and would have been prepared to defend the tower and the vineyard, and to preserve the property of their lord. I have quoted the parable, to show the importance, as I think, not only of our bishops and the presidents of stakes and branches being diligent with the aid of their teachers, but that the elders should wake up and have meetings more frequently than for some time past. In the county of Davis, a number of elders have been selected to take part in these home missions. We do not wish to confine any of them to the two days’ meetings; nor to labor within the limits of that county. They should be alive, on any and every occasion that they may have opportunity, in ward meetings, or circulating round through the settlements, in preaching the gospel of peace, bearing testimony and stirring the Saints up to diligence. It will be well for Elders Anson Call, W. B. Nobles, or some of the other elders who have been appointed, to notify the rest, and make arrangements for their meetings in the different wards—Bountiful, Kaysville, Farmington, and all those places where there are large houses; and perhaps when the season advances, get up one or two county meetings. And if the houses are too small, hold your meetings under the shade of a grove or bowery, and have a general good time. And the same course may be taken by the elders in other counties.
The Twelve will give advice or instruction at any time it is required, in relation to the duties of these missionaries. It is very likely that before the close of the Conference there may be more selected; but those we have already selected, we hope will be alive and diligent in the performance of their duties, and aid the bishops and all the presiding authorities of the several wards in giving instructions, preaching the gospel of peace, and causing comfort, satisfaction and happiness to dwell freely and abundantly in the hearts of all. We are very well aware that one of the great enjoyments of a Latter-day Saint, when he is living in the exercise of his holy religion, is in going to meeting, and in hearing the instructions of the servants of the Lord.
These missionaries should also visit and encourage the Sunday schools in all the neighborhoods where they travel. I do not expect them to be stationary where they live, but to pass into neighboring counties, and, if necessary, and their circumstances will permit, to travel from one end of the Territory to the other. Those who have been appointed heretofore as home missionaries need not consider that they are released from that appointment in consequence of their not being included in this one. They should continue their labors and instructions among the Scandinavian brethren in their native tongue, as well as among the German, French, Welsh, or other branches wherever it may be necessary to have meetings in the languages of emigrants from their nations who have not had time, opportunities or facilities to learn the English language well enough to understand the general preaching and instruction.
The day is cold, and the room somewhat unpleasant; it is therefore probably best not to continue our services. May the blessings of God be and abide upon you. Amen.
President Smith moved that the Conference adjourn to meet again on Sunday, April 21st, at 10 a.m. in the New Tabernacle, which was carried unanimously.
The choir sang: “O make a joyful noise unto the Lord.”
Benedictory prayer by Patriarch John Smith.
John Nicholson,
Clerk of Conference.
The snow storm has prevented the large gathering that was anticipated. A great many people that would have attended Conference this morning could not consistently come on account of the weather, and the house is not as comfortable as it otherwise would have been; yet we are gratified at the liberal number which has assembled in this rather unexpected storm at this season. We have learned, I believe, to make no particular or certain calculations on the weather in these mountains in the spring season. It very frequently happens we have our spring in the winter, and our winter in the spring.
I have been edified in listening to the remarks of the elders who have spoken; but as the Conference has not been very large, and we shall not, at the present time, be able to entirely close our business, we think proper to adjourn from week to week until our business is completed. I wish, however, to offer a few suggestions for the benefit of the elders who have been called to take part in the labor of preaching the gospel more directly than they have hitherto done in the various settlements. It will be necessary that they organize themselves into convenient companies for the holding of two-days’ meetings. Where it is practicable perhaps the Twelve would superintend this organization; but where it is not, some of the more experienced missionaries can step forward and make the necessary arrangements. For instance, in this county, Elders Lorenzo D. Young and Milo Andrus, and perhaps some one or two others, might confer together, and appoint meetings in the different settlements—say at Mill Creek, Draper, at the Cottonwoods, West Jordan, and others; and on the occasions appointed for meetings enough of these elders, as they arrange among themselves, could meet there and devote a couple of days to preaching, giving instructions, talking upon the things of the kingdom and bearing testimony to the plan of salvation, stirring up the hearts of the brethren to faithfulness and diligence.
You know it is said by the apostle, “It pleased God, by the foolishness of preaching, to save them that believed.” I have felt satisfied that the preaching of the elders was very important, not only in instructing the young and rising generation, but in keeping alive and awake all those in the church who, peradventure, through the cares of the world, the deceitfulness of riches and a hundred other causes, may suffer themselves to become slothful, thoughtless and lukewarm. We see this very clearly illustrated in the revelation concerning Zion. The Lord through the Prophet Joseph Smith, speaking concerning Zion, in Book D. C., page 279, pars. 6 and 7 says:
A certain nobleman had a spot of land, very choice; and he said unto his servants, Go ye unto my vineyard, even upon this very choice piece of land, and plant twelve olive trees, and set watchmen round about them, and build a tower, that one may overlook the land around about, to be a watchman upon the tower, that mine olive trees may not be broken down, when the enemy shall come to spoil, and take unto themselves the fruit of my vineyard. Now, the servants of the nobleman went and did as their lord commanded them; and planted the olive trees, and built a hedge round about, and set watchmen, and began to build a tower. And while they were yet laying the foundation thereof, they began to say among themselves, And what need hath my lord of this tower? and consulted for a long time, saying among themselves, What need hath my lord of this tower, seeing this is a time of peace? Might not this money be given to the exchangers? for there is no need of these things! And while they were at variance one with another they became very slothful, and they hearkened not unto the commandments of their lord, and the enemy came by night, and broke down the hedge, and the servants of the nobleman arose and were affrighted, and fled; and the enemy destroyed their works, and broke down the olive trees.
Now behold, the nobleman, the lord of the vineyard, called upon his servants, and said unto them, Why! what is the cause of this great evil? ought ye not to have done even as I commanded you? and after ye had planted the vineyard, and built the hedge round about, and set watchmen upon the walls thereof, built the tower also, and set a watchman upon the tower, and watched for my vineyard, and not have fallen asleep, lest the enemy should come upon you? and behold, the watchman upon the tower would have seen the enemy while he was yet afar off, and then ye could have made ready and kept the enemy from breaking down the hedge thereof, and saved my vineyard from the hands of the destroyer.
Now if they had done as they had been instructed and kept awake, perhaps by faithful preaching and diligence on the part of some of them in getting up meetings, or in some other way had taken upon themselves to build the tower and set watchmen upon it, they would have seen the enemy when afar off and would have been prepared to defend the tower and the vineyard, and to preserve the property of their lord. I have quoted the parable, to show the importance, as I think, not only of our bishops and the presidents of stakes and branches being diligent with the aid of their teachers, but that the elders should wake up and have meetings more frequently than for some time past. In the county of Davis, a number of elders have been selected to take part in these home missions. We do not wish to confine any of them to the two days’ meetings; nor to labor within the limits of that county. They should be alive, on any and every occasion that they may have opportunity, in ward meetings, or circulating round through the settlements, in preaching the gospel of peace, bearing testimony and stirring the Saints up to diligence. It will be well for Elders Anson Call, W. B. Nobles, or some of the other elders who have been appointed, to notify the rest, and make arrangements for their meetings in the different wards—Bountiful, Kaysville, Farmington, and all those places where there are large houses; and perhaps when the season advances, get up one or two county meetings. And if the houses are too small, hold your meetings under the shade of a grove or bowery, and have a general good time. And the same course may be taken by the elders in other counties.
The Twelve will give advice or instruction at any time it is required, in relation to the duties of these missionaries. It is very likely that before the close of the Conference there may be more selected; but those we have already selected, we hope will be alive and diligent in the performance of their duties, and aid the bishops and all the presiding authorities of the several wards in giving instructions, preaching the gospel of peace, and causing comfort, satisfaction and happiness to dwell freely and abundantly in the hearts of all. We are very well aware that one of the great enjoyments of a Latter-day Saint, when he is living in the exercise of his holy religion, is in going to meeting, and in hearing the instructions of the servants of the Lord.
These missionaries should also visit and encourage the Sunday schools in all the neighborhoods where they travel. I do not expect them to be stationary where they live, but to pass into neighboring counties, and, if necessary, and their circumstances will permit, to travel from one end of the Territory to the other. Those who have been appointed heretofore as home missionaries need not consider that they are released from that appointment in consequence of their not being included in this one. They should continue their labors and instructions among the Scandinavian brethren in their native tongue, as well as among the German, French, Welsh, or other branches wherever it may be necessary to have meetings in the languages of emigrants from their nations who have not had time, opportunities or facilities to learn the English language well enough to understand the general preaching and instruction.
The day is cold, and the room somewhat unpleasant; it is therefore probably best not to continue our services. May the blessings of God be and abide upon you. Amen.
President Smith moved that the Conference adjourn to meet again on Sunday, April 21st, at 10 a.m. in the New Tabernacle, which was carried unanimously.
The choir sang: “O make a joyful noise unto the Lord.”
Benedictory prayer by Patriarch John Smith.
John Nicholson,
Clerk of Conference.
SIXTH DAY.
Sunday Morning, April 21.
According to adjournment of Sunday, April 14, the Forty-Second Annual General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints reassembled at 10 o’clock, in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City.
Conference was called to order by President Geo. A. Smith.
The choir sang: “May we who know the joyful sound, Still practice what we know.”
The opening prayer was offered by Elder Lorenzo D. Young.
“The great and glorious gospel light Has ushered forth into my sight,” was sung by the choir.
Sunday Morning, April 21.
According to adjournment of Sunday, April 14, the Forty-Second Annual General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints reassembled at 10 o’clock, in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City.
Conference was called to order by President Geo. A. Smith.
The choir sang: “May we who know the joyful sound, Still practice what we know.”
The opening prayer was offered by Elder Lorenzo D. Young.
“The great and glorious gospel light Has ushered forth into my sight,” was sung by the choir.
Elder Robert F. Neslen
addressed the Conference. He rejoiced that the kingdom of God was organized for the permanent benefit of humanity at large. The principles of the gospel were efficacious in bringing happiness to mankind, but through the perverseness of the latter, those principles had not been so very extensively beneficial. The speaker quoted some passages of Scripture, indicating the organizing of the kingdom of God in the latter times. The knowledge received by the Latter-day Saints through obedience to the gospel of Christ had enabled them to overcome almost insurmountable difficulties, and the result of these things was that we beheld to-day, in the valleys of Utah, a God-fearing, industrious and happy people, and we also saw bursting into bloom the realization of the hopes, aspirations and prophecies of the ancient prophets and apostles.
The speaker continued for some time, showing that the gospel net gathered of all kinds, brought together the opposite elements of humanity and made a homogeneous and united people. He stated that the principles embraced by the Latter-day Saints would eventually obtain all over the world, and through their agency would be brought about the reign of universal peace which was so frequently alluded to in holy writ.
addressed the Conference. He rejoiced that the kingdom of God was organized for the permanent benefit of humanity at large. The principles of the gospel were efficacious in bringing happiness to mankind, but through the perverseness of the latter, those principles had not been so very extensively beneficial. The speaker quoted some passages of Scripture, indicating the organizing of the kingdom of God in the latter times. The knowledge received by the Latter-day Saints through obedience to the gospel of Christ had enabled them to overcome almost insurmountable difficulties, and the result of these things was that we beheld to-day, in the valleys of Utah, a God-fearing, industrious and happy people, and we also saw bursting into bloom the realization of the hopes, aspirations and prophecies of the ancient prophets and apostles.
The speaker continued for some time, showing that the gospel net gathered of all kinds, brought together the opposite elements of humanity and made a homogeneous and united people. He stated that the principles embraced by the Latter-day Saints would eventually obtain all over the world, and through their agency would be brought about the reign of universal peace which was so frequently alluded to in holy writ.
Elder M. B. Shipp
was the next speaker. He saw a congregation before him, among whom were representatives from nearly every nationality, who had been gathered together by the command of God. He spoke for some time on the gathering of the Saints, showed the progressive nature of the principles of the gospel, and commented upon the magnitude of the work we were engaged in. He predicted the ultimate victory of the principles of truth because of their superior power and efficacy. They would gain ground in proportion as they were put into daily practice by their exponents. He exhorted all to beware of the subtle insinuation of vice now appearing here, which had been introduced by the people of the world, and were calculated to lead astray the young and unwary.
Elder Shipp spoke of the promise made to all who desired to become members of the Church of Christ, that they would receive for themselves a knowledge that what they had obeyed was of divine origin. This was a promise that could not be given by another class of men professing to be the servants of God.
was the next speaker. He saw a congregation before him, among whom were representatives from nearly every nationality, who had been gathered together by the command of God. He spoke for some time on the gathering of the Saints, showed the progressive nature of the principles of the gospel, and commented upon the magnitude of the work we were engaged in. He predicted the ultimate victory of the principles of truth because of their superior power and efficacy. They would gain ground in proportion as they were put into daily practice by their exponents. He exhorted all to beware of the subtle insinuation of vice now appearing here, which had been introduced by the people of the world, and were calculated to lead astray the young and unwary.
Elder Shipp spoke of the promise made to all who desired to become members of the Church of Christ, that they would receive for themselves a knowledge that what they had obeyed was of divine origin. This was a promise that could not be given by another class of men professing to be the servants of God.
Elder Edward Stevenson
addressed the assemblage. He spoke of the agency given to man by his Creator, to choose good or evil, and showed that those opposite powers were constantly striving with man to lead him the one way or the other. The Latter-day Saints were on the side of the powers of good, and by adhering to so noble a cause they would be the means, in the hands of God, of turning the tide of wickedness which now flooded the earth. The people of God must of necessity be a people of sacrifice and self-denial, for they only will be the ultimate victors who learn to govern themselves. The speaker commented on the benefits which invariably accrued from an observance of the Word of Wisdom, and exhorted the Saints not to neglect to take a course by which they could secure to themselves those benefits.
He alluded to a prediction uttered by the Prophet Joseph Smith shortly before his martyrdom, that the Saints would yet be established in the Rocky Mountains, and there become a great nation, and also of his own and others’ martyrdom. He concluded by bearing testimony of the truth of the latter-day work.
addressed the assemblage. He spoke of the agency given to man by his Creator, to choose good or evil, and showed that those opposite powers were constantly striving with man to lead him the one way or the other. The Latter-day Saints were on the side of the powers of good, and by adhering to so noble a cause they would be the means, in the hands of God, of turning the tide of wickedness which now flooded the earth. The people of God must of necessity be a people of sacrifice and self-denial, for they only will be the ultimate victors who learn to govern themselves. The speaker commented on the benefits which invariably accrued from an observance of the Word of Wisdom, and exhorted the Saints not to neglect to take a course by which they could secure to themselves those benefits.
He alluded to a prediction uttered by the Prophet Joseph Smith shortly before his martyrdom, that the Saints would yet be established in the Rocky Mountains, and there become a great nation, and also of his own and others’ martyrdom. He concluded by bearing testimony of the truth of the latter-day work.
President Geo. A. Smith
gave out a notice that the funeral services of the deceased Elder Daniel Garn would be held at the latter’s late residence, Sugar House ward, Monday, April 22nd, and stated that his making this announcement brought to his mind a long line of history, among the incidents of which was the saving of the life of the Prophet Joseph Smith by Brother Garn.
The choir sang: “I will praise him.”
Adjourned till 2 p.m.
Prayer by President D. H. Wells.
gave out a notice that the funeral services of the deceased Elder Daniel Garn would be held at the latter’s late residence, Sugar House ward, Monday, April 22nd, and stated that his making this announcement brought to his mind a long line of history, among the incidents of which was the saving of the life of the Prophet Joseph Smith by Brother Garn.
The choir sang: “I will praise him.”
Adjourned till 2 p.m.
Prayer by President D. H. Wells.
2 p. m.
“Though deep’ning trials throng your way, Press on, press on, ye Saints of God,” was sung by the choir.
Prayer by Elder C. W. Penrose.
The choir sang: “Arise, my soul, arise, Shake off thy guilty fears.”
The Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper was administered.
“Though deep’ning trials throng your way, Press on, press on, ye Saints of God,” was sung by the choir.
Prayer by Elder C. W. Penrose.
The choir sang: “Arise, my soul, arise, Shake off thy guilty fears.”
The Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper was administered.
Elder Reuben Miller
addressed the Conference. He had had the privilege of meeting with the Saints at every General Conference during the last twenty-two years. He first heard the gospel thirty years ago, and obeyed it then, and had never regretted doing so. He never felt to murmur because we were persecuted, for opposition always followed obedience to the mandates of heaven. The speaker bore testimony that when he obeyed the first principles of the gospel he received a knowledge of the truth by revelation from the Almighty, and which enabled him to know that Joseph Smith was divinely inspired to usher in the great last dispensation, and he enjoyed the same spirit of revelation then, which enabled him to know that the inspiration of the Almighty was also with those who now led the church.
Elder Miller showed that the means by which men could regain the presence of God the father had been restored to earth and were inculcated in the principles enunciated by the Latter-day Saints, and concluded by exhorting the people to live righteously.
addressed the Conference. He had had the privilege of meeting with the Saints at every General Conference during the last twenty-two years. He first heard the gospel thirty years ago, and obeyed it then, and had never regretted doing so. He never felt to murmur because we were persecuted, for opposition always followed obedience to the mandates of heaven. The speaker bore testimony that when he obeyed the first principles of the gospel he received a knowledge of the truth by revelation from the Almighty, and which enabled him to know that Joseph Smith was divinely inspired to usher in the great last dispensation, and he enjoyed the same spirit of revelation then, which enabled him to know that the inspiration of the Almighty was also with those who now led the church.
Elder Miller showed that the means by which men could regain the presence of God the father had been restored to earth and were inculcated in the principles enunciated by the Latter-day Saints, and concluded by exhorting the people to live righteously.
Elder George Teasdale
commented on the predictions of the ancient prophets, who saw, through the vista of ages, the restoration of the gospel plan in our day. We had received the message and the testimony of its truth, and it remained to be seen whether we would continue faithful and be redeemed; for only those who endured to the end would be saved. A great work had been performed, and it was often said it had been all done by the great mental abilities of President Brigham Young. What President Young had done, he had been inspired to do by the Almighty. The great secret of the success that attended the efforts of the Latter-day Saints was that each individual identified with the work had a testimony of its divinity for him or herself and the people were blessed of the Lord in their labors.
Elder Teasdale spoke of the bitterness manifested by those who were once of us and had turned against us. The cause was that when a man embraced the gospel, it appeared he must either adhere to, preach and sustain the truth, or fight against it. President Young had been slandered and maligned by such because he was a servant of God and had striven to keep the church free from false doctrine.
commented on the predictions of the ancient prophets, who saw, through the vista of ages, the restoration of the gospel plan in our day. We had received the message and the testimony of its truth, and it remained to be seen whether we would continue faithful and be redeemed; for only those who endured to the end would be saved. A great work had been performed, and it was often said it had been all done by the great mental abilities of President Brigham Young. What President Young had done, he had been inspired to do by the Almighty. The great secret of the success that attended the efforts of the Latter-day Saints was that each individual identified with the work had a testimony of its divinity for him or herself and the people were blessed of the Lord in their labors.
Elder Teasdale spoke of the bitterness manifested by those who were once of us and had turned against us. The cause was that when a man embraced the gospel, it appeared he must either adhere to, preach and sustain the truth, or fight against it. President Young had been slandered and maligned by such because he was a servant of God and had striven to keep the church free from false doctrine.
Elder Milo Andrus
addressed the assemblage. He spoke of the peace enjoyed by the Latter-day Saints, and contrasted their condition in this respect now with circumstances through which they had passed in times gone by, and adverted to incidents which were calculated to cause them to appreciate peace when they had it. The reason the elders of Israel were enabled to declare the truth with boldness, was because it was the power of God unto salvation. When we looked at the handiwork of God as displayed in the planetary system, etc., we beheld a portion of the gospel of Christ, because such things showed forth the power of God.
It was easy for people to know whether we were impostors or not, for we promised that all who complied with the requisitions of the gospel would receive a knowledge for themselves of the truth. If people subscribed to the conditions and the result did not follow, they might reasonably conclude that the Latter-day Saints did not tell the truth. The speaker had been identified with the work of God since 1832 and he had never had any reason to repent of his obedience to the truth.
Elder Andrus stated that he once, when in a congregation of the Saints, was meditating on the power of the Holy Ghost, and felt a desire to understand its manifestations, and the visions of his mind were opened by the power of God and he saw, over the heads of the people in the congregation, cloven tongues of fire, and many of the people arose and spoke in various tongues and prophesied. He continued to speak of the nature of the work of God, its indestructibility and organization, and predicted the ultimate and glorious triumph of the same. He concluded by bearing testimony that Joseph Smith was a prophet of the living God, and that Brigham Young was his legal successor.
addressed the assemblage. He spoke of the peace enjoyed by the Latter-day Saints, and contrasted their condition in this respect now with circumstances through which they had passed in times gone by, and adverted to incidents which were calculated to cause them to appreciate peace when they had it. The reason the elders of Israel were enabled to declare the truth with boldness, was because it was the power of God unto salvation. When we looked at the handiwork of God as displayed in the planetary system, etc., we beheld a portion of the gospel of Christ, because such things showed forth the power of God.
It was easy for people to know whether we were impostors or not, for we promised that all who complied with the requisitions of the gospel would receive a knowledge for themselves of the truth. If people subscribed to the conditions and the result did not follow, they might reasonably conclude that the Latter-day Saints did not tell the truth. The speaker had been identified with the work of God since 1832 and he had never had any reason to repent of his obedience to the truth.
Elder Andrus stated that he once, when in a congregation of the Saints, was meditating on the power of the Holy Ghost, and felt a desire to understand its manifestations, and the visions of his mind were opened by the power of God and he saw, over the heads of the people in the congregation, cloven tongues of fire, and many of the people arose and spoke in various tongues and prophesied. He continued to speak of the nature of the work of God, its indestructibility and organization, and predicted the ultimate and glorious triumph of the same. He concluded by bearing testimony that Joseph Smith was a prophet of the living God, and that Brigham Young was his legal successor.
Elder Orson Pratt said:
I do not rise before this large assembly to enter into any particular investigation of any doctrinal point or subject, but as I have a few moments granted, I desire, with all my heart, to bear my humble testimony in regard to the divinity of the work which you Latter-day Saints have received. In the first place, I would say that from my youth I have been a member of this church, having embraced the gospel when 19 years of age, in the State of New York. Forty-two years, lacking only a few months, have expired since that time, and I have grown up in, or with, the history of this church. I know that this is the church and kingdom of God, I mean, the latter-day church and kingdom predicted by the ancient prophets in the Bible. I know that the Almighty has set up this kingdom, that this church was organized by his express direction and command, that the day was appointed by revelation on which it should be organized, that the officers that should be placed within this church were named by revelation, that by revelation the duties of those officers, so far as it was necessary, were made manifest on the day of the organization. I do also know, and bear testimony, that this book, called the Bible, is a divine revelation. I know this from God, it having been revealed to me; and no person can know this book to be true unless it is revealed to him. I also know that the Book of Mormon is a sacred record, a sacred history of ancient America, from the days soon after the Flood for some twenty-six hundred years. I know that combined with this sacred history and included within it are many great and important prophecies revealed from God to prophets who once dwelt on this continent. I know that Jesus, our Lord and Savior, whom we worship and serve, and whom we receive as our Redeemer, was also the redeemer of the ancient inhabitants of this country inasmuch as they gave heed to his sayings. I know that the Book of Mormon is the Bible of the western hemisphere as the Old and New Testament is the Bible of the eastern hemisphere; that one is equally as sacred as the other, and that God is the author of both, having revealed both unto a succession of prophets and inspired men. I know, also, that God has raised up, in our day, not only a church and kingdom, but men, filled with the Holy Ghost, inspired from Heaven as the ancient prophets, seers and revelators were inspired; and that these men, being directed by the Holy Ghost, have given revelations directly to this kingdom; so that we have the Jewish record, or eastern Bible, the record of the ancient inhabitants of America—the Book of Mormon, and inspired writings given to living oracles in our day, all for our light, guidance and instruction in reference to our duties and to show us the path in which we should walk, and unfold to us those divine and heavenly principles that are needful for the government of our every-day conduct. It is a great thing to have knowledge of this kind, and to have the authority to bear testimony of that which we assuredly do know.
In regard to Joseph Smith, I knew him when he was a young man—soon after the translation of the Book of Mormon I became acquainted with him in the rise of this church. I boarded with him in his family; I was with him for weeks and months together, and know, not only by what I saw and heard, and what from my natural ability I was able to comprehend, but also by the revelations of Jesus Christ, that he is and was a prophet of the true and living God. I will go still further. I know that these men who sit upon these seats—the Twelve Apostles, who have been ordained under the hand of those who had the authority by revelation from heaven to confer this office, to be men of God, inspired to build up this latter-day kingdom and church upon the earth. I know that one part of their duty is to send forth this gospel unto all people, nations and tongues, first to the Gentiles, to fulfil their times, that they may be left without excuse; and then the commandment of the Most High will be given to them to carry this gospel to all the dispersed remnants of the house of Jacob. Then the work of warning the nations will be completed, and the purposes of God, so far as this is concerned, will be accomplished; then the fulness of the Gentiles will have come, the house of Israel will be gathered from the four quarters of the earth, Zion will rise upon the great western hemisphere in all her glory, power, and greatness, while Jerusalem will rise on the eastern hemisphere, clothed with the glory of her God and with the power of his might. Then the heavens will no longer stay themselves, but the curtain will be rolled back, and their whole grand concourse will be revealed, and they will come down and meet the Saints of God here upon this globe, and a day of everlasting rest will be ushered in. These, in short, are the few items to which I wish to bear my testimony this afternoon.
May God bless all the Latter-day Saints assembled in this Conference, and all dwelling in the regions round about, who have not this privilege. May his blessings rest upon all of his people throughout the whole world; and may Zion enlarge herself, and the glory of God be made manifest in behalf of his people, is my prayer in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
I do not rise before this large assembly to enter into any particular investigation of any doctrinal point or subject, but as I have a few moments granted, I desire, with all my heart, to bear my humble testimony in regard to the divinity of the work which you Latter-day Saints have received. In the first place, I would say that from my youth I have been a member of this church, having embraced the gospel when 19 years of age, in the State of New York. Forty-two years, lacking only a few months, have expired since that time, and I have grown up in, or with, the history of this church. I know that this is the church and kingdom of God, I mean, the latter-day church and kingdom predicted by the ancient prophets in the Bible. I know that the Almighty has set up this kingdom, that this church was organized by his express direction and command, that the day was appointed by revelation on which it should be organized, that the officers that should be placed within this church were named by revelation, that by revelation the duties of those officers, so far as it was necessary, were made manifest on the day of the organization. I do also know, and bear testimony, that this book, called the Bible, is a divine revelation. I know this from God, it having been revealed to me; and no person can know this book to be true unless it is revealed to him. I also know that the Book of Mormon is a sacred record, a sacred history of ancient America, from the days soon after the Flood for some twenty-six hundred years. I know that combined with this sacred history and included within it are many great and important prophecies revealed from God to prophets who once dwelt on this continent. I know that Jesus, our Lord and Savior, whom we worship and serve, and whom we receive as our Redeemer, was also the redeemer of the ancient inhabitants of this country inasmuch as they gave heed to his sayings. I know that the Book of Mormon is the Bible of the western hemisphere as the Old and New Testament is the Bible of the eastern hemisphere; that one is equally as sacred as the other, and that God is the author of both, having revealed both unto a succession of prophets and inspired men. I know, also, that God has raised up, in our day, not only a church and kingdom, but men, filled with the Holy Ghost, inspired from Heaven as the ancient prophets, seers and revelators were inspired; and that these men, being directed by the Holy Ghost, have given revelations directly to this kingdom; so that we have the Jewish record, or eastern Bible, the record of the ancient inhabitants of America—the Book of Mormon, and inspired writings given to living oracles in our day, all for our light, guidance and instruction in reference to our duties and to show us the path in which we should walk, and unfold to us those divine and heavenly principles that are needful for the government of our every-day conduct. It is a great thing to have knowledge of this kind, and to have the authority to bear testimony of that which we assuredly do know.
In regard to Joseph Smith, I knew him when he was a young man—soon after the translation of the Book of Mormon I became acquainted with him in the rise of this church. I boarded with him in his family; I was with him for weeks and months together, and know, not only by what I saw and heard, and what from my natural ability I was able to comprehend, but also by the revelations of Jesus Christ, that he is and was a prophet of the true and living God. I will go still further. I know that these men who sit upon these seats—the Twelve Apostles, who have been ordained under the hand of those who had the authority by revelation from heaven to confer this office, to be men of God, inspired to build up this latter-day kingdom and church upon the earth. I know that one part of their duty is to send forth this gospel unto all people, nations and tongues, first to the Gentiles, to fulfil their times, that they may be left without excuse; and then the commandment of the Most High will be given to them to carry this gospel to all the dispersed remnants of the house of Jacob. Then the work of warning the nations will be completed, and the purposes of God, so far as this is concerned, will be accomplished; then the fulness of the Gentiles will have come, the house of Israel will be gathered from the four quarters of the earth, Zion will rise upon the great western hemisphere in all her glory, power, and greatness, while Jerusalem will rise on the eastern hemisphere, clothed with the glory of her God and with the power of his might. Then the heavens will no longer stay themselves, but the curtain will be rolled back, and their whole grand concourse will be revealed, and they will come down and meet the Saints of God here upon this globe, and a day of everlasting rest will be ushered in. These, in short, are the few items to which I wish to bear my testimony this afternoon.
May God bless all the Latter-day Saints assembled in this Conference, and all dwelling in the regions round about, who have not this privilege. May his blessings rest upon all of his people throughout the whole world; and may Zion enlarge herself, and the glory of God be made manifest in behalf of his people, is my prayer in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
President George A. Smith presented the names of the following brethren, who were unanimously sustained as home missionaries:
Samuel Pitchforth, Nephi,
M. B. Shipp, Salt Lake City,
James P. Freeze, Salt Lake City.
Samuel Pitchforth, Nephi,
M. B. Shipp, Salt Lake City,
James P. Freeze, Salt Lake City.
President George A. Smith spoke as follows:
We have great reason to be thankful for the peace we enjoy. Nobody feels free to smash in our windows and to break up our meetings, or to drag us about or to abuse us, as they have done in times past, in some other parts of the world. Our pilgrimage to, and our labor of twenty-five years in, the heart of the great American continent, have made us a home where even the intolerant spirit of Christian hate and persecution stirred up by ignorance and falsehood, has not been permitted, materially, to disturb us. Without fear of molestation we can have a meeting, a prayer circle, a conference; the elders can bear testimony—and I rejoice in their testimony and know it is true—that this is the work of the Almighty, and that God has commenced, in these last days, a work for the redemption of the human race, from the thraldom and misery and degradation into which they have fallen. I thank the Lord for the privilege of participating in this work, and for being one of the number who are laboring, under his direction, to lay a foundation, in these valleys, for the enjoyment, by the whole human race, of peace and of civil and religious liberty, so that men, under their own vine and fig tree, may worship God and none dare to make them afraid. We thank God for these blessings, and we expect a good many more.
We thank God, too, that our country has in it sufficient of the elements of honesty and integrity, that even principles of law may be determined by high tribunals unbiased by religious intolerance. We praise God for all these things, and we know that he will bring off his people victorious.
The choir sang: “God be merciful.”
Conference adjourned, by unanimous vote, till Sunday, April 28th, at 10 a.m.
Benedictory prayer by Elder William G. Young.
John Nicholson,
Clerk of Conference.
We have great reason to be thankful for the peace we enjoy. Nobody feels free to smash in our windows and to break up our meetings, or to drag us about or to abuse us, as they have done in times past, in some other parts of the world. Our pilgrimage to, and our labor of twenty-five years in, the heart of the great American continent, have made us a home where even the intolerant spirit of Christian hate and persecution stirred up by ignorance and falsehood, has not been permitted, materially, to disturb us. Without fear of molestation we can have a meeting, a prayer circle, a conference; the elders can bear testimony—and I rejoice in their testimony and know it is true—that this is the work of the Almighty, and that God has commenced, in these last days, a work for the redemption of the human race, from the thraldom and misery and degradation into which they have fallen. I thank the Lord for the privilege of participating in this work, and for being one of the number who are laboring, under his direction, to lay a foundation, in these valleys, for the enjoyment, by the whole human race, of peace and of civil and religious liberty, so that men, under their own vine and fig tree, may worship God and none dare to make them afraid. We thank God for these blessings, and we expect a good many more.
We thank God, too, that our country has in it sufficient of the elements of honesty and integrity, that even principles of law may be determined by high tribunals unbiased by religious intolerance. We praise God for all these things, and we know that he will bring off his people victorious.
The choir sang: “God be merciful.”
Conference adjourned, by unanimous vote, till Sunday, April 28th, at 10 a.m.
Benedictory prayer by Elder William G. Young.
John Nicholson,
Clerk of Conference.
SEVENTH DAY.
According to adjournment of Sunday, April 21st, the Forty-Second Annual General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints assembled in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, yesterday.
President Brigham Young, having been released from the custody of the U. S. Marshal, by whom he had been illegally held, was present on the stand, to the great joy of the Saints, many of whom had come from various distant parts of the Territory that they might have the pleasure of seeing him and hearing his voice.
According to adjournment of Sunday, April 21st, the Forty-Second Annual General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints assembled in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, yesterday.
President Brigham Young, having been released from the custody of the U. S. Marshal, by whom he had been illegally held, was present on the stand, to the great joy of the Saints, many of whom had come from various distant parts of the Territory that they might have the pleasure of seeing him and hearing his voice.
Sunday, April 28th, 10 a.m.
Conference was called to order by President George A. Smith.
The choir sang: “An angel from on high, The long, long silence broke.”
The opening prayer was offered by Elder Brigham Young, Jun.
“When earth in bondage long had lain, And darkness o’er the nations reigned,” was sung by the choir.
Conference was called to order by President George A. Smith.
The choir sang: “An angel from on high, The long, long silence broke.”
The opening prayer was offered by Elder Brigham Young, Jun.
“When earth in bondage long had lain, And darkness o’er the nations reigned,” was sung by the choir.
President Brigham Young said:
His Imprisonment—Emigrating the Poor—The Use of Riches—Tithing
Remarks by President Brigham Young, delivered in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Sunday Morning, April 28, 1872.
Reported by David W. Evans.
A word to the Latter-day Saints. Good morning. (Congregation responded, “Good morning.“) How do you do? (Congregation replied, “Very well.“) How is your faith this morning? (”Strong in the Lord,” was the response.) How do you think I look after my long confinement? (Congregation replied, “First rate.“) I do not rise expecting to preach a discourse or sermon, or to lengthen out remarks. I spoke a few minutes yesterday in the school, but I found that it exhausted me very soon. I will say a few words to you. The Gospel of the Son of God is most precious. My faith is not weakened in the Gospel in the least. I will answer a few of the questions that probably many would like to ask of me. Many would like to know how I have felt the past winter, and so much of the spring as is now past. I have enjoyed myself exceedingly well. I have been blessed with an opportunity to rest; and you who are acquainted with me and my public speaking can discern at once, if you listen closely to my voice, it is weak to what it used to be, and I required rest. I feel well in body and better in mind. I have no complaint to make, no fault to find, no reflections to cast, for all that has been done has been directed and overruled by the wisdom of Him who knows all things.
As to my treatment through the winter, it has been very agreeable, very kind. My associate, my companion in tribulation, I will say, has acted the gentleman as much as any man could. I have not one word, one lisp or beat of the heart to complain of him. He has been full of kindness, thoughtful, never intruding, always ready to hearken and, I think, in the future, will be perfectly willing to take the counsel of his prisoner.
So much for Captain Isaac Evans. I will say this to you, ladies and gentlemen, you who profess to understand true etiquette, I have not seen a gentleman in my acquaintance that possesses more of the real spirit of gentility, caution and of true etiquette than Captain Evans. He has passed the window where I have lodged through the winter every morning to his breakfast and every afternoon; he has walked in the street in front of my office and on the opposite side, and he has never yet been seen gazing and looking at my buildings, or to see who was at the window, or even look at my window. He has never looked into the second room in my office unless invited there—never. Can you say that for other gentlemen? They are very scarce; there are very few of them.
I have no reflections to cast upon these courts. How much power, ability or opportunity would I have to possess, do you think, if all were combined, to disgrace them as they have disgraced themselves? I have neither the power nor the ability, consequently I have nothing to say with regard to their conduct. It is before the world; it is before the Heavens continually. The Lord has known the thoughts of the hearts of the children of men, and he has overruled all for his glory, and for the benefit of those who believe and obey the truth in Christ. I will say this: when they started out with a writ for your humble servant, and I had news of it before it was served, I told my brethren that all their efforts would avail them nothing, and that they would end in a grand fizzle. Do you think we have come to it? I think we have.
Have you nothing to say, Brother Brigham concerning the Supreme Court of the United States? A few words. I am happy to learn that there are yet men in our government who are too high-minded, too pure in their thoughts and feelings to bow down to a sectarian prejudice, and to hearken to the whinings and complaints of prejudiced priests, or those who are wrapped up in the nutshell of sectarianism; men of honor, nobility, judgment and discretion; men who look at things as they are and judge according to the nature thereof without any discrimination as to parties or people. I am thankful that this fact does exist. Have they decided in favor of the Latter-day Saints? Yes. Why? Because the Latter-day Saints are on the track of truth; they are for law, for right, for justice, for mercy, for judgment and equity, consequently they are for God. Would I admire the conduct of a jurist on the bench who would decide for a Latter-day Saint if he were guilty? If he would justify a Latter-day Saint and condemn a Methodist? No, I would despise him in my heart. I might look upon him with pity, it is very true, and without malice, anger or bitterness, and pity him in his ignorance; but if he was a man of knowledge and understanding, I would condemn him as quickly for justifying a Latter-day Saint, or one called a Latter-day Saint, in evil, as I would a Methodist. And a man who sits as President of the United States; as a Governor of a State or Territory, or as a judge upon the bench, or a member of a legislative assembly, who would reduce himself to the feelings, and narrow contracted views of partyism, is not fit for the place. As I said before a gentleman here, I think it was last summer, who was stump-speeching through the country and proclaiming his right to the Presidency, “He that most desires an office is the least fit for it.” Perhaps I made a mistake in that declaration, for though on general principles it is true, it may not be true in every case. Some may desire an office for the sake of the good work that they perform, seeing that others have abused it. This is as much as I wish to say upon these subjects.
As I shall probably desire to speak a little in the afternoon, I shall soon bring my remarks to a close. I will say a few words with regard to the Perpetual Emigration Fund. Perhaps you have had a good deal said to you in the course of this Conference concerning gathering the poor, but if you have I have not learned it. I have not heard of any man coming forward and putting down his name for a thousand or two thousand dollars. At the commencement of the Conference I donated two thousand dollars for the gathering of the poor, but I have not heard of anybody adding another figure to mine or placing one under it. How is it? It is very true we gather the Saints; and when they get here and gather around them the comforts of life, and become the possessors of a little wealth, the spirit of the world enters into a few of them to that degree that it crowds out the Spirit of the Gospel. They forget their God and their covenants, and turn to the beggarly elements of the world, seek for its riches and finally leave the faith. But we had better gather nine that are unworthy than to neglect the tenth if he is worthy. If they come here, apostatize and turn our enemies, they are in the hands of God, and what they do will be to them everlasting life or everlasting condemnation. For the good, for the wise, or for the froward and the ungodly, it is our duty to do all we can. It is our duty to preach the Gospel to the nations of the earth, to gather up the pure in heart, and to lend a helping hand to the poor and needy; to instruct, guide and direct them, and when they are gathered together to teach them how to live, how to serve their God, how to gather around them the comforts of life, and glorify their Father in heaven in the enjoyment of the same.
When I cast my eyes upon the inhabitants of the earth and see the weakness, inability, the shortsightedness, and I may say, the height of folly in the hearts of the kings, rulers, and the great, and those who should be wise and good and noble; when I see them groveling in the dust; longing, craving, desiring, contending for the things of this life, I think, O foolish men, to set your hearts on the things of this life! Today they are seeking after the honors and glories of the world, and by the time the sun is hidden by the western mountains the breath is gone out of their nostrils, they sink to their mother earth. Where are their riches then? Gone forever. As Job says, “Naked I came into the world.” Destitute and forlorn, they have to travel a path that is untried and unknown to them, and wend their way into the spirit world. They know not where they are going nor for what. The designs of the Creator are hidden from their eyes; darkness, ignorance, mourning and groaning take hold of them and they pass into eternity. And this is the end of them concerning this life as far as they know. A man or a woman who places the wealth of this world and the things of time in the scales against the things of God and the wisdom of eternity, has no eyes to see, no ears to hear, no heart to understand. What are riches for? For blessings, to do good. Then let us dispense that which the Lord gives us to the best possible use for the building up of his kingdom, for the promotion of the truth on the earth, that we may see and enjoy the blessings of the Zion of God here upon this earth. I look around among the world of mankind and see them grabbing, scrambling, contending, and everyone seeking to aggrandize himself, and to accomplish his own individual purposes, passing the community by, walking upon the heads of his neighbors—all are seeking, planning, contriving in their wakeful hours, and when asleep dreaming, "How can I get the advantage of my neighbor? How can I spoil him, that I may ascend the ladder of fame?” That is entirely a mistaken idea. You see that nobleman seeking the benefit of all around him, trying to bring, we will say, his servants, if you please, his tenants, to his knowledge, to like blessings that he enjoys, to dispense his wisdom and talents among them and to make them equal with himself. As they ascend and increase, so does he, and he is in the advance. All eyes are upon that king or that nobleman, and the feelings of those around him are: “God bless him! How I love him! How I delight in him! He seeks to bless and to fill me with joy, to crown my labors with success, to give me comfort, that I may enjoy the world as well as himself.” But the man who seeks honor and glory at the expense of his fellow men is not worthy of the society of the intelligent.
Now, a few words to my friends here—my colleagues the lawyers, and others. I gave a little counsel here, I think it is a year ago this last sixth of April, for the people of this Territory and through these mountains not to go to law, but to arbitrate their cases. I will ask if they do not think they would have saved a good deal of money in their pockets if they had taken this counsel? And to see our streets lined with lawyers as they are! Why they are as thick as grogshops used to be in California. What is the business of a lawyer? It is the case with too many to keep what they have got, and to gather around them wealth, to heap it up, but to do as little as possible for it; to give a little counsel here, and a little counsel there. What for? To keep their victims in bondage. Say they: “Let us stick to him as long as he has a dollar in his pocket.”
I will tell you a story. A man was going to market, a pretty wicked swearing man, with his cart full of apples. He was going up hill, and the hindbeard as the Yankees call it—the Westerners call it the hindgate, slipped out of his cart, and his apples rolled down the hill. He stopped his team and looked at the apples as they rolled down the hill, and said he, “I would swear if I could do justice to the case, but as I cannot I will not swear a word.” I will not say a word more than to class dishonorable lawyers with other dishonest men.
Now what are the facts? Why this world is before us. The gold, silver and precious stones are in the mountains, in the rivers, in the plains, in the sands and in the waters, they all belong to this world, and you and I belong to this world. Is there enough to make each of us a finger ring? Certainly there is. Is there enough to make us a breast pin? Certainly there is. Is there enough to make jewelry for the ladies to set their diamonds and precious stones in? Certainly there is. Is there enough to make the silver plate, the spoons, platters, plates and knives and forks? There is. Is there enough to make the goblets to drink out of? There is. There is plenty if we want to make the wine casks of gold, there is plenty of it in the earth for all these purposes. Then what on earth are you and I quarrelling about it for? Go to work systematically and take it from the mountains, and put it to the use that we want it, without contending against each other, and filching the pockets of each other. The world is full of it. If it goes from my pocket it is still in the world, it still belongs to this little ball, this little speck in God's creation, so small that from the sun I expect you would have to have a telescope that would magnify millions of times almost to see it; and from any of the fixed stars I do not expect that it has ever been seen only by the celestials—mortals could not see this earth at that distance. And here people are contending, quarrelling, seeking how to get the advantage of each other, and how to get all the wealth there is in the world; wanting to rule nations, wanting to be president, king or ruler. What would they do if they were? Most of them would make everybody around them miserable, that is what they would do. There are very few men on the earth who try to make people happy. Occasionally there have been emperors and monarchs who have made their people happy but they have been very rare. But suppose we go to work to gather up all that there is in the bosom and upon the surface of our mother earth and bring it into use, is there any lack? There is not, there is enough for all. Then do look at these things as they are, Latter-day Saints, and you who are not Latter-day Saints, look at things as they are. And I do hope and pray for your sakes, outsiders, and for the sakes of those who profess to be Latter-day Saints, that we shall have good peace for a time here, so that we can build our furnaces, open our mines, make our railroads, till the soil, follow our mercantile business uninterrupted; that we may attend to the business of beautifying the earth. I see around me a few of my neighbors who are beautifying their gardens. How beautiful! There is one here in the Seventh Ward—Mr. Hussey's. I never drive out but I want to drive by it. How much better that looks than it would be for him to quarrel with his neighbors! Beautify your gardens, your houses, your farms; beautify the city. This will make us happy, and produce plenty. The earth is a good earth, the elements are good if we will use them for our own benefit, in truth and righteousness. Then let us be content, and go to with our mights to make ourselves healthy, wealthy, and beautiful, and preserve ourselves in the best possible manner, and live just as long as we can, and do all the good we can.
Now, brethren and sisters and friends, I have said a few words about lawyers; but I could pick up other classes of men just as bad, and we can find fault with all. Let us be honest, let us be upright, full of charity one toward another; and live as agreeably as we possibly can here on this earth that the Lord has given to man to cultivate and improve for his own benefit, and to prepare it for an everlasting inheritance. There is a great deal before us, and it is for us to live so that we will be able to perform our part well in this great work. And I say to the Latter-day Saints, it is for you to put forth your hands this season in emigrating the poor. We will receive any amount. If it is not more than a hundred dollars or so, we will be willing to receive it. Talk about this people being poor, why we will get so rich by and by that we will refuse to pay our taxes; we have got so rich now that we cannot pay our tithing. The rich do not pretend to pay any tithing, or but very few of them. I think I have mentioned one fact with regard to our merchants. A few years ago in the other tabernacle, I said that our merchants who lived on the business part of East Temple street and professed to be Latter-day Saints, if they were not very careful, would deny the faith and be damned, and it would be by the skin of their teeth if they ever got into heaven. How is it with the rest of us? About the same. No matter about this. But here is one of our merchants—William Jennings—about whom a great many have remarks to make. Well, it is no matter about his trade. I want to say to the rest of the merchants that he has paid a good many thousand dollars tithing, more than all the rest of them put together. That is for William Jennings. We are paying our tithing in the Cooperative. I would not consent to go into the business on any other terms only that the tithing should be paid on all we made. But the other merchants, if they pay tithing on what they make it has to come hereafter, for they have never done it yet; and I think the more they make the less tithing they pay. But you are welcome to give something to the poor; if you will help us a little with regard to the emigration we will be very much obliged to you, but you will have to trust in God for the future blessings.
God bless you, Amen.
His Imprisonment—Emigrating the Poor—The Use of Riches—Tithing
Remarks by President Brigham Young, delivered in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Sunday Morning, April 28, 1872.
Reported by David W. Evans.
A word to the Latter-day Saints. Good morning. (Congregation responded, “Good morning.“) How do you do? (Congregation replied, “Very well.“) How is your faith this morning? (”Strong in the Lord,” was the response.) How do you think I look after my long confinement? (Congregation replied, “First rate.“) I do not rise expecting to preach a discourse or sermon, or to lengthen out remarks. I spoke a few minutes yesterday in the school, but I found that it exhausted me very soon. I will say a few words to you. The Gospel of the Son of God is most precious. My faith is not weakened in the Gospel in the least. I will answer a few of the questions that probably many would like to ask of me. Many would like to know how I have felt the past winter, and so much of the spring as is now past. I have enjoyed myself exceedingly well. I have been blessed with an opportunity to rest; and you who are acquainted with me and my public speaking can discern at once, if you listen closely to my voice, it is weak to what it used to be, and I required rest. I feel well in body and better in mind. I have no complaint to make, no fault to find, no reflections to cast, for all that has been done has been directed and overruled by the wisdom of Him who knows all things.
As to my treatment through the winter, it has been very agreeable, very kind. My associate, my companion in tribulation, I will say, has acted the gentleman as much as any man could. I have not one word, one lisp or beat of the heart to complain of him. He has been full of kindness, thoughtful, never intruding, always ready to hearken and, I think, in the future, will be perfectly willing to take the counsel of his prisoner.
So much for Captain Isaac Evans. I will say this to you, ladies and gentlemen, you who profess to understand true etiquette, I have not seen a gentleman in my acquaintance that possesses more of the real spirit of gentility, caution and of true etiquette than Captain Evans. He has passed the window where I have lodged through the winter every morning to his breakfast and every afternoon; he has walked in the street in front of my office and on the opposite side, and he has never yet been seen gazing and looking at my buildings, or to see who was at the window, or even look at my window. He has never looked into the second room in my office unless invited there—never. Can you say that for other gentlemen? They are very scarce; there are very few of them.
I have no reflections to cast upon these courts. How much power, ability or opportunity would I have to possess, do you think, if all were combined, to disgrace them as they have disgraced themselves? I have neither the power nor the ability, consequently I have nothing to say with regard to their conduct. It is before the world; it is before the Heavens continually. The Lord has known the thoughts of the hearts of the children of men, and he has overruled all for his glory, and for the benefit of those who believe and obey the truth in Christ. I will say this: when they started out with a writ for your humble servant, and I had news of it before it was served, I told my brethren that all their efforts would avail them nothing, and that they would end in a grand fizzle. Do you think we have come to it? I think we have.
Have you nothing to say, Brother Brigham concerning the Supreme Court of the United States? A few words. I am happy to learn that there are yet men in our government who are too high-minded, too pure in their thoughts and feelings to bow down to a sectarian prejudice, and to hearken to the whinings and complaints of prejudiced priests, or those who are wrapped up in the nutshell of sectarianism; men of honor, nobility, judgment and discretion; men who look at things as they are and judge according to the nature thereof without any discrimination as to parties or people. I am thankful that this fact does exist. Have they decided in favor of the Latter-day Saints? Yes. Why? Because the Latter-day Saints are on the track of truth; they are for law, for right, for justice, for mercy, for judgment and equity, consequently they are for God. Would I admire the conduct of a jurist on the bench who would decide for a Latter-day Saint if he were guilty? If he would justify a Latter-day Saint and condemn a Methodist? No, I would despise him in my heart. I might look upon him with pity, it is very true, and without malice, anger or bitterness, and pity him in his ignorance; but if he was a man of knowledge and understanding, I would condemn him as quickly for justifying a Latter-day Saint, or one called a Latter-day Saint, in evil, as I would a Methodist. And a man who sits as President of the United States; as a Governor of a State or Territory, or as a judge upon the bench, or a member of a legislative assembly, who would reduce himself to the feelings, and narrow contracted views of partyism, is not fit for the place. As I said before a gentleman here, I think it was last summer, who was stump-speeching through the country and proclaiming his right to the Presidency, “He that most desires an office is the least fit for it.” Perhaps I made a mistake in that declaration, for though on general principles it is true, it may not be true in every case. Some may desire an office for the sake of the good work that they perform, seeing that others have abused it. This is as much as I wish to say upon these subjects.
As I shall probably desire to speak a little in the afternoon, I shall soon bring my remarks to a close. I will say a few words with regard to the Perpetual Emigration Fund. Perhaps you have had a good deal said to you in the course of this Conference concerning gathering the poor, but if you have I have not learned it. I have not heard of any man coming forward and putting down his name for a thousand or two thousand dollars. At the commencement of the Conference I donated two thousand dollars for the gathering of the poor, but I have not heard of anybody adding another figure to mine or placing one under it. How is it? It is very true we gather the Saints; and when they get here and gather around them the comforts of life, and become the possessors of a little wealth, the spirit of the world enters into a few of them to that degree that it crowds out the Spirit of the Gospel. They forget their God and their covenants, and turn to the beggarly elements of the world, seek for its riches and finally leave the faith. But we had better gather nine that are unworthy than to neglect the tenth if he is worthy. If they come here, apostatize and turn our enemies, they are in the hands of God, and what they do will be to them everlasting life or everlasting condemnation. For the good, for the wise, or for the froward and the ungodly, it is our duty to do all we can. It is our duty to preach the Gospel to the nations of the earth, to gather up the pure in heart, and to lend a helping hand to the poor and needy; to instruct, guide and direct them, and when they are gathered together to teach them how to live, how to serve their God, how to gather around them the comforts of life, and glorify their Father in heaven in the enjoyment of the same.
When I cast my eyes upon the inhabitants of the earth and see the weakness, inability, the shortsightedness, and I may say, the height of folly in the hearts of the kings, rulers, and the great, and those who should be wise and good and noble; when I see them groveling in the dust; longing, craving, desiring, contending for the things of this life, I think, O foolish men, to set your hearts on the things of this life! Today they are seeking after the honors and glories of the world, and by the time the sun is hidden by the western mountains the breath is gone out of their nostrils, they sink to their mother earth. Where are their riches then? Gone forever. As Job says, “Naked I came into the world.” Destitute and forlorn, they have to travel a path that is untried and unknown to them, and wend their way into the spirit world. They know not where they are going nor for what. The designs of the Creator are hidden from their eyes; darkness, ignorance, mourning and groaning take hold of them and they pass into eternity. And this is the end of them concerning this life as far as they know. A man or a woman who places the wealth of this world and the things of time in the scales against the things of God and the wisdom of eternity, has no eyes to see, no ears to hear, no heart to understand. What are riches for? For blessings, to do good. Then let us dispense that which the Lord gives us to the best possible use for the building up of his kingdom, for the promotion of the truth on the earth, that we may see and enjoy the blessings of the Zion of God here upon this earth. I look around among the world of mankind and see them grabbing, scrambling, contending, and everyone seeking to aggrandize himself, and to accomplish his own individual purposes, passing the community by, walking upon the heads of his neighbors—all are seeking, planning, contriving in their wakeful hours, and when asleep dreaming, "How can I get the advantage of my neighbor? How can I spoil him, that I may ascend the ladder of fame?” That is entirely a mistaken idea. You see that nobleman seeking the benefit of all around him, trying to bring, we will say, his servants, if you please, his tenants, to his knowledge, to like blessings that he enjoys, to dispense his wisdom and talents among them and to make them equal with himself. As they ascend and increase, so does he, and he is in the advance. All eyes are upon that king or that nobleman, and the feelings of those around him are: “God bless him! How I love him! How I delight in him! He seeks to bless and to fill me with joy, to crown my labors with success, to give me comfort, that I may enjoy the world as well as himself.” But the man who seeks honor and glory at the expense of his fellow men is not worthy of the society of the intelligent.
Now, a few words to my friends here—my colleagues the lawyers, and others. I gave a little counsel here, I think it is a year ago this last sixth of April, for the people of this Territory and through these mountains not to go to law, but to arbitrate their cases. I will ask if they do not think they would have saved a good deal of money in their pockets if they had taken this counsel? And to see our streets lined with lawyers as they are! Why they are as thick as grogshops used to be in California. What is the business of a lawyer? It is the case with too many to keep what they have got, and to gather around them wealth, to heap it up, but to do as little as possible for it; to give a little counsel here, and a little counsel there. What for? To keep their victims in bondage. Say they: “Let us stick to him as long as he has a dollar in his pocket.”
I will tell you a story. A man was going to market, a pretty wicked swearing man, with his cart full of apples. He was going up hill, and the hindbeard as the Yankees call it—the Westerners call it the hindgate, slipped out of his cart, and his apples rolled down the hill. He stopped his team and looked at the apples as they rolled down the hill, and said he, “I would swear if I could do justice to the case, but as I cannot I will not swear a word.” I will not say a word more than to class dishonorable lawyers with other dishonest men.
Now what are the facts? Why this world is before us. The gold, silver and precious stones are in the mountains, in the rivers, in the plains, in the sands and in the waters, they all belong to this world, and you and I belong to this world. Is there enough to make each of us a finger ring? Certainly there is. Is there enough to make us a breast pin? Certainly there is. Is there enough to make jewelry for the ladies to set their diamonds and precious stones in? Certainly there is. Is there enough to make the silver plate, the spoons, platters, plates and knives and forks? There is. Is there enough to make the goblets to drink out of? There is. There is plenty if we want to make the wine casks of gold, there is plenty of it in the earth for all these purposes. Then what on earth are you and I quarrelling about it for? Go to work systematically and take it from the mountains, and put it to the use that we want it, without contending against each other, and filching the pockets of each other. The world is full of it. If it goes from my pocket it is still in the world, it still belongs to this little ball, this little speck in God's creation, so small that from the sun I expect you would have to have a telescope that would magnify millions of times almost to see it; and from any of the fixed stars I do not expect that it has ever been seen only by the celestials—mortals could not see this earth at that distance. And here people are contending, quarrelling, seeking how to get the advantage of each other, and how to get all the wealth there is in the world; wanting to rule nations, wanting to be president, king or ruler. What would they do if they were? Most of them would make everybody around them miserable, that is what they would do. There are very few men on the earth who try to make people happy. Occasionally there have been emperors and monarchs who have made their people happy but they have been very rare. But suppose we go to work to gather up all that there is in the bosom and upon the surface of our mother earth and bring it into use, is there any lack? There is not, there is enough for all. Then do look at these things as they are, Latter-day Saints, and you who are not Latter-day Saints, look at things as they are. And I do hope and pray for your sakes, outsiders, and for the sakes of those who profess to be Latter-day Saints, that we shall have good peace for a time here, so that we can build our furnaces, open our mines, make our railroads, till the soil, follow our mercantile business uninterrupted; that we may attend to the business of beautifying the earth. I see around me a few of my neighbors who are beautifying their gardens. How beautiful! There is one here in the Seventh Ward—Mr. Hussey's. I never drive out but I want to drive by it. How much better that looks than it would be for him to quarrel with his neighbors! Beautify your gardens, your houses, your farms; beautify the city. This will make us happy, and produce plenty. The earth is a good earth, the elements are good if we will use them for our own benefit, in truth and righteousness. Then let us be content, and go to with our mights to make ourselves healthy, wealthy, and beautiful, and preserve ourselves in the best possible manner, and live just as long as we can, and do all the good we can.
Now, brethren and sisters and friends, I have said a few words about lawyers; but I could pick up other classes of men just as bad, and we can find fault with all. Let us be honest, let us be upright, full of charity one toward another; and live as agreeably as we possibly can here on this earth that the Lord has given to man to cultivate and improve for his own benefit, and to prepare it for an everlasting inheritance. There is a great deal before us, and it is for us to live so that we will be able to perform our part well in this great work. And I say to the Latter-day Saints, it is for you to put forth your hands this season in emigrating the poor. We will receive any amount. If it is not more than a hundred dollars or so, we will be willing to receive it. Talk about this people being poor, why we will get so rich by and by that we will refuse to pay our taxes; we have got so rich now that we cannot pay our tithing. The rich do not pretend to pay any tithing, or but very few of them. I think I have mentioned one fact with regard to our merchants. A few years ago in the other tabernacle, I said that our merchants who lived on the business part of East Temple street and professed to be Latter-day Saints, if they were not very careful, would deny the faith and be damned, and it would be by the skin of their teeth if they ever got into heaven. How is it with the rest of us? About the same. No matter about this. But here is one of our merchants—William Jennings—about whom a great many have remarks to make. Well, it is no matter about his trade. I want to say to the rest of the merchants that he has paid a good many thousand dollars tithing, more than all the rest of them put together. That is for William Jennings. We are paying our tithing in the Cooperative. I would not consent to go into the business on any other terms only that the tithing should be paid on all we made. But the other merchants, if they pay tithing on what they make it has to come hereafter, for they have never done it yet; and I think the more they make the less tithing they pay. But you are welcome to give something to the poor; if you will help us a little with regard to the emigration we will be very much obliged to you, but you will have to trust in God for the future blessings.
God bless you, Amen.
Elder Orson Pratt
addressed the conference. He expressed his pleasure at once more seeing the face and hearing the voice of President Young in General Conference, and spoke of the manner in which the world had been flooded with every kind of falsehood and misrepresentation concerning the Latter-day Saints. The cause of this was that God had commenced to build up his kingdom, which was never to be destroyed, and all hell was boiling over in consequence. He commented on the positive knowledge possessed by the Latter-day Saints that the kingdom of God would be ultimately triumphant, and that no opposition from any source could possibly destroy it. The people of God enjoyed peace under all circumstances, for peace was in their hearts. They did not harbor feelings of malice toward those who persecuted them, but desired that all should repent and be saved.
addressed the conference. He expressed his pleasure at once more seeing the face and hearing the voice of President Young in General Conference, and spoke of the manner in which the world had been flooded with every kind of falsehood and misrepresentation concerning the Latter-day Saints. The cause of this was that God had commenced to build up his kingdom, which was never to be destroyed, and all hell was boiling over in consequence. He commented on the positive knowledge possessed by the Latter-day Saints that the kingdom of God would be ultimately triumphant, and that no opposition from any source could possibly destroy it. The people of God enjoyed peace under all circumstances, for peace was in their hearts. They did not harbor feelings of malice toward those who persecuted them, but desired that all should repent and be saved.
Elder Albert Carrington
addressed the assemblage on the emigration of the poor. He was exceedingly anxious that the Lord’s poor should be gathered as speedily as possible. Those who had had opportunities in the past of gathering and had neglected to take advantage of them should by no means be among the first to receive assistance. He expressed the same opinion concerning those who felt lukewarm and indifferent about the work of God; but with the faithful poor among the nations, it was different. Those who had been assisted to emigrate and been prospered should let no consideration deter them from settling their obligations to the P. E. Fund, and they should not stop at that, but should extend a helping hand to their poor brethren abroad. Elder Carrington spoke of people living in Utah who had borrowed money from Saints in the old countries, with a promise to refund with interest, but who had neglected to fulfil their agreements. All thus indebted should pay such debts as once. He thought it would be a good thing for all means that might be applied to emigrating the poor to be used in helping those who were entirely destitute. People sending means to assist their friends or relatives should not fail to remit before the 1st of September.
addressed the assemblage on the emigration of the poor. He was exceedingly anxious that the Lord’s poor should be gathered as speedily as possible. Those who had had opportunities in the past of gathering and had neglected to take advantage of them should by no means be among the first to receive assistance. He expressed the same opinion concerning those who felt lukewarm and indifferent about the work of God; but with the faithful poor among the nations, it was different. Those who had been assisted to emigrate and been prospered should let no consideration deter them from settling their obligations to the P. E. Fund, and they should not stop at that, but should extend a helping hand to their poor brethren abroad. Elder Carrington spoke of people living in Utah who had borrowed money from Saints in the old countries, with a promise to refund with interest, but who had neglected to fulfil their agreements. All thus indebted should pay such debts as once. He thought it would be a good thing for all means that might be applied to emigrating the poor to be used in helping those who were entirely destitute. People sending means to assist their friends or relatives should not fail to remit before the 1st of September.
Elder A. Carrington
presented the names of the following brethren who were called to go on missions, by unanimous vote:
To Europe—Thomas W. Jennings.
To the States—George Pierce, Lynne, Edward Stevenson, S. L. City, Nathan T. Porter, Centreville.
Home Missionary—Joseph A. Young, Salt Lake City.
The choir sang: “When the Lord shall build up Zion.”
Adjourned till 2 p.m.
Prayer by Elder John Taylor.
presented the names of the following brethren who were called to go on missions, by unanimous vote:
To Europe—Thomas W. Jennings.
To the States—George Pierce, Lynne, Edward Stevenson, S. L. City, Nathan T. Porter, Centreville.
Home Missionary—Joseph A. Young, Salt Lake City.
The choir sang: “When the Lord shall build up Zion.”
Adjourned till 2 p.m.
Prayer by Elder John Taylor.
2 p. m.
“Hark! the song of jubilee, Loud as mighty thunders roar,” was sung by the choir.
Prayer by Elder Wilford Woodruff.
The choir sang: “Prayer is the soul’s sincere desire, Uttered or unexpressed.”
The Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper was administered.
“Hark! the song of jubilee, Loud as mighty thunders roar,” was sung by the choir.
Prayer by Elder Wilford Woodruff.
The choir sang: “Prayer is the soul’s sincere desire, Uttered or unexpressed.”
The Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper was administered.
President Brigham Young
addressed the Conference on the necessity for the Saints to prepare themselves before they would be ready to receive the glorious blessings the Almighty had in store for them. He spoke also of circumstances connected with the past history of the church, showing their usefulness in enabling the people to gain necessary lessons of experience. He treated upon co-operation, emigration, and a variety of other subjects.
The Lord's Supper—Progression—Cooperation—Independence
Remarks by President Brigham Young, delivered in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Sunday Afternoon, April 28th, 1872.
Reported by David W. Evans.
I am very happy for the privilege of meeting with the Latter-day Saints, and I have reason to be thankful that I am able to speak a little to them. It brings many things to our reflections and causes many thoughts to arise. When we look over the human family what a variety we see and especially upon the subject of religion. We take Christianity, for instance, and as nations, as people, we believe in and on the Lord Jesus Christ. Most of Christian professors believe in the ordinances, or some portions of the ordinances of the house of God. Most of Christians believe in the breaking of bread, in blessing it and partaking of it in remembrance of the broken body of our Savior; also in taking the cup, consecrating it and then partaking of it, in remembrance of his blood that was shed for the sins of the world. And then take up the hundreds of different denominations and what a motley mass we present in our faith, feelings, sympathies, judgment, passions and conduct; man against man, priest against priest, people against people. Now let the Christian denominations come here: “Yes, the Latter-day Saints believe in taking the Sacrament, it is true, but what a pity,” say they. “They profess to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Oh dear! I wish they did! Yes, they seem to manifest great confidence in the atonement, in the ordinances and commandments. I wish they were a better people! What a pity it is that they are such an outlawed, sinful race of beings as they are! What a pity!!” “How we Christians do pity the Latter-day Saints.” Then again, how we Latter-day Saints do pity the Christians! What a spectacle! And see us, as Christians, warring with each other! What for? For our pure faith, for our holy desires, for our great charity to each other, for the love of Christ, for the salvation of the souls of the children of men.
Now is not this a spectacle to present to angels? Why if the Lord Almighty was not beyond the conception of humanity in charity and love, in mercy and long-suffering, in patience and kindness to his creatures, where would we have been ere this? We would have been weltering in his wrath, we would have been drinking his hot displeasure. But he is more merciful than we are. I have thought a great many times I was very thankful I was not the Lord Almighty. I should be consuming my enemies. How I should contend against those who hate me. I am glad I am not the Lord. And to see the Latter-day Saints here following the example of the Savior when he took his disciples into an upper room, and bade some of them go and prepare to partake supper with him the last time before his crucifixion. He took the bread and blessed and brake. “Take and eat ye all of this, for this is my body in the New Testament.” He took the cup and blessed it; “Drink ye all of this, for this is my blood in the New Testament.” Here we are doing the same today. What more? Do this until I come, for I will neither eat nor drink any more with you in this capacity until I drink anew with you in my father's kingdom on this earth. Will he do it? Certainly he will. “Do this in remembrance of me until I come.” We are doing this today. Do not other Christians do the same? They do. How do we Latter-day Saints feel towards them? Were we to yield to the carnal passions of the natural man and we had the power of the Almighty we would spew our enemies out of our mouths, yes, we would hiss them from the face of human society for their evils, their malice, for the revenge and wrath they have towards us. But we are not the Almighty. I am glad of it. I am happy in the reflection that I have not the power, and I hope and pray I may never possess it until I can use it like a God, until I can wield it as our Father in heaven wields it, with all that eternity of majesty, glory, charity, with his judgment, discretion, and with every faculty of compassion. I am happy in the reflection that I do not possess the power. I am glad you elders do not, I am really glad you do not. Will he ever grant power to his Saints on the earth? Yes, they will take the kingdom, and possess it forever and ever; but in the capacity they are now, in the condition that they now present themselves before God, before the world and before each other? Never, never! Until we are sanctified, until we are filled with the wisdom of God, with the knowledge of God, will he bequeath the power that he has in reserve for his Saints; never will the Saints possess it until they are prepared to wield it with all that judgment, discretion, wisdom and forbearance that the Lord Almighty wields in his own capacity, and uses at his pleasure. How do you feel about it, brethren? Do not you wish sometimes you had power to pinch their ears? Do not you wish you had power to stop them in their mad career? Let the Lord Almighty do this. You think his eye is upon the work of his hands? It is. His ears are open to the prayers of his children, he will hear their prayers, he will answer their desires; and when we as a people possess the abundance of that patience, that long-suffering and forbearance that we need, to possess the privileges and the power that the Lord has in reserve for his people, we will receive to our utmost satisfaction. We shall not have it now. The Lord says, “I cannot give it to you now.” This church has now been traveling over forty-two years—forty-two years the sixth day of this month since it was organized with six members. What have we learned? We assembled in Missouri, at the place of gathering on the borders of the Lamanites, and there we bought our farms and built our houses; but could we stay there? Were we prepared then to enter into Zion, to build up the Zion of God and possess it? We were not, we must suffer. “You Latter-day Saints, you, my children,” says the Lord, “are not prepared to receive Zion.” Why, we have heard detailed by Elder Carrington the conduct of Elders at the present time, dishonest in the matter of a few shillings or dollars. Dishonest, covetous, selfish, grasping for that which is not our own; borrowing and not paying; taking that which does not belong to us; dishonest in our deal; oppressing each other. Are we fit for Zion? I say nothing to the Christian world with regard to this. Let them bite and devour as much as they please, it does not belong to the Latter-day Saints at least. Could we stay in Independence? No, we could not. What was the reason? Here are some hearing me talk who were there—some who are aged, some here who were then children and infants, some who were born there. But we stayed a very few years—two or three—and we must get up and march. Why did we leave? Why the enemy is upon us, our enemies are gathered around us, our foes are besetting us on every hand. There goes a house burned up; there is a man that is whipped; there is a family turned out of doors! What is the matter with all you Latter-day Saints? Can the world see? No. Can the Saints see? No, or few of them can; and we can say that the light of the Spirit upon the hearts and understandings of some Latter-day Saints is like the peeping of the stars through the broken shingles of the roof over our heads, when we are watching through the silent watches of the night and behold the glimmer of a twinkling star. “Oh yes, I see, I see, that we are not prepared to receive the kingdom.” Another one says, “Yes, I can see, we were too selfish.” Another one says, “I see, the wicked must be prepared for their doom as well as the Saints for their exaltation, and that the wicked are a rod in the hands of God to chasten the Saints.” Here are the two classes—the righteous and the unrighteous, and the righteous must be prepared by suffering and by rendering strict obedience to the commandments of heaven. It seems to be absolutely necessary in the providence of Him who created us, and who organized and fashioned all things according to his wisdom, that man must descend below all things. It is written of the Savior in the Bible that he descended below all things that he might ascend above all. Is it not so with every man? Certainly it is. It is fit then that we should descend below all things and come up gradually, and learn a little now, and again, receive “line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little.” But hark, do the people hear it? Do the people understand it? Scarcely! Scarcely! Do the Latter-day Saints understand these principles, and are we prepared to receive Zion? Are we prepared to receive the Kingdom and are we prepared for the blessings that God has in reserve for his children? Stop, think, consider, look around us! How is it? Are not the sordid things of this life before our eyes, and have they not thrown a mist before them so that we cannot see? Are we not of the earth, and still earthy? Certainly we are of the earth and still earthy. What do we know of heavenly things? It is very true we have the Bible; but when we come to our elders, men of limited education and moderate reading, they are able to teach the whole Christian world theology. Take them from the anvil, from the plow, from the carpenter's bench, or from any occupation, if they possess good common ability and the spirit of our holy religion that God has revealed in these latter days, they understand more of the Bible and the building up of the Kingdom of God than all the world besides that are destitute of the priesthood of the Son of God. And yet what do we know? Comparatively we have hardly learned the first lesson.
Could our brethren stay in Jackson County, Missouri? No, no. Why? They had not learned “a” concerning Zion; and we have been traveling now forty-two years, and have we learned our a, b, c? “Oh,” say a good many, “I think we have.” Have we learned our a b ab? Have we got as far as b a k e r, baker? Have we got through our first speller? Have we learned multiplication? Do we understand anything with regard to the building up of the kingdom? I will say, scarcely. Have we seen it as a people? How long shall we travel, how long shall we live, how long shall God wait; for us to sanctify ourselves and become one in the Lord, in our actions and in our ways for the building up of the kingdom of God that he can bless us? He defends us, it is very true, and fights our battles. When we were driven from Missouri and had to leave the State I recollect very well, Gov. Boggs said, “You must leave;” Gen. Clark said, “You must leave;” the mob said, “You must leave,” and we had to leave. And after we had signed away our property, I'd see a widow send up her little boy to brother Such-a-one, “Will you let me go to your timber land and get a load of wood for my mother?” “Tell your mother that I have got no more timber than I shall want, I do not think I can spare her a load of wood.” I recollect very well of telling the Latter-day Saints, there and then, “I hope to God that we never will have the privilege of stopping and making ourselves rich while we grind the face of the poor; but let us be driven from State to State until we can take what we have got and dispose of it according to the dictation of the spirit of revelation from the Lord. Said I, “You will not stay here;” but long faces would come down, you know, with a gentle, mild scrowl, “I can't spare you a load of wood.” Excuse me. When are the Latter-day Saints going to be prepared to receive the kingdom? Are we now? Not at all! We are prepared for some things, and we receive just as fast as we prepare ourselves. Well, what can we do, what more can we do? We can do just what we please to do. It is in our power to do just what we please to do with regard to sanctifying ourselves before the Lord, and preparing ourselves to build up his kingdom. Have we not the liberty to build this Temple here? We have, although earth and hell are opposed to it, and arrayed against it. Have we not the privilege of preaching the Gospel to the nations? We have. Have we not the privilege of uniting our faith and our efforts for the benefit of the whole community? Yes, we have.
Now come down, for example, to our present circumstances and condition. Year after year, I labored with our merchants to unite their efforts together to supply the wants of the people without taking from them everything they had got; and when I assembled these merchants some years before we entered into our present cooperative institution in this mercantile trade, said I, “Will you unite your efforts and your means, and start a business here that we can put goods into the hands of the people that we will not take their last sixpence? Have a calico dress at forty cents a yard when it should be only eighteen, twenty or twenty-two, and so on and so forth?” After a long conference one of the gentlemen present got up, walked the room back and forward, and finally said, “President Young, if you will furnish the money we will do as you say,” as much as to say, “it is none of your business what we do with the means that we have.” I dropped the conversation and said to myself. “Well then, gull the people, take what they have got.”
You recollect a man here in the time of the Buchanan war by the name of A. B. Miller. He was a merchant here for Russell and Majors. Our people were not merchandising much then. Well, the merchants met together and wanted to put up their goods to a certain notch, a dollar a pound for sugar, for instance. This A. B. Miller—a gambler, though there were a great many good things about him, he just turned in and damned them. Says he, “Gentlemen, to turn in and cut the throats of these ‘Mormons,’ and take what they have got, we might do, but for being so damned mean as to ask a dollar a pound for sugar, I will not do it.”
Now then, is this cooperative institution one step towards bringing the people to a union? Yes, but it is a very small one, and there is danger of it growing into a condition that will cease to be one step in the right direction. Let men say, “Here is what God has given me, do what you please with it,” and we shall be in the path of progress. But how is it now? “Brother, have you paid any tithing? You have made fifty thousand, ten thousand, a hundred thousand, one thousand or five hundred dollars as the case may be, have you paid any tithing?” “Well, no I have not yet, but I think perhaps, I will by and by;” and this is said with stammering tongue, faltering voice, and covetous heart. Who gave you your money and possessions? Who owns this earth? Does the Devil? No, he does not, he pretended to own it when the Savior was here, and promised it all to him if he would fall down and worship him; but he did not own a foot of land, he only had possession of it. He was an intruder, and is still: this earth belongs to him that framed and organized it, and it is expressly for his glory and the possession of those who love and serve him and keep his commandments; but the enemy has possession of it.
Now then, a few other items, brethren and sisters. Can you do anything for the poor? “Well I do not know, but I can give you fifty cents to gather the poor.” “Brother, can you pay that debt? You recollect you borrowed some money of a widow woman in England. Do you recollect you borrowed a little money of such a brother? Can you pay that?” “Well yes, I am going to.” You heard what Brother Carrington said about it, what fellowship does the Lord Almighty have for such men? I think not the least. What fellowship do angels have for such men? I should think not much. What fellowship do I have for them? Not one particle. What ought to be done with them? I will answer the question—they ought to be disfellowshipped by the Saints: they are not fellowshipped in the heavens, and they ought not to be here.
“Well, now then, Brother Brigham, what are you at, what do you want?” I want you to do just that which will displease the enemies of the kingdom of God, and that which will please the Lord Almighty and the heavenly host to perfection. What is that? Do as you are counseled to do by the spirit of revelation from the Lord. What is the cry against us? “Brigham Young has too much influence! All the people hearken to Brigham Young! All these poor deluded Latter-day Saints take his counsel!” I wish it was so. If this were the fact you would see Zion prosper upon the hills and upon the plains, in the valleys and in the canyons, and upon the mountains. Go to with your might, seek unto the Lord your God until you have the revelations of the Lord Jesus Christ upon you, until your minds are open, and the visions of heaven are plain to you. Then follow the dictations of the spirit, and watch Brother Brigham, and see if he counsels you wrong. I hope to see the time when I can say to the Latter-day Saints, if I preside over them, go and do this or that, and not ask a sixpence of this man or a dollar from that, or a hundred dollars from another. “Here is what I have, it is the Lord's. He has given me all that I possess, it is only committed to my charge to see what I will do with it. The heavens are his, the earth is his; the gold and silver are his, the wheat and fine flour are his, the wine and the oil are his; the cattle upon a thousand hills are his. I am his, I am his servant, let the Lord say what the wants. Here I am, with all thou hast given me.” How displeasing this is to the devil is it not? I cannot help it, this is the true track and path for the Latter-day Saints to walk in. Walk up, O ye Latter-day Saints, and wake up! Come to the Lord, forsake your covetousness, your backslidings, forsake the spirit of the world, and return to the Lord with full purpose of heart until you get the spirit of Christ within you, that you, like others, can cry,” Abba, Father, the Lord he is God and I am his servant.”
Do you think it would be difficult then for us to accomplish anything we undertook? No. Very true the enemy, this potent foe that we have to contend with, we know but little about him, very little; but he is watching every avenue of the heart, rapping at every door and every window, and if there is a crevice between the clapboards, through the roof, or the brick or adobie wall, he throws a dart into the feelings of each and every individual. “Take care, think for yourselves, judge for yourselves; do not be led astray, do not you wander off after these deluded people, and their delusion. Be careful, there is danger in believing in the Lord, there is danger in being a Saint; there is great danger in you yielding your judgment in another man.” Oh, what a pity! Where do you get your judgment? Where did it come from? What is your judgment? I tell you that the judgment of the world now is pretty much for all to do just as they please if they possibly can, to the injury of their neighbors, for their own aggrandizement.
Can I not use my judgment in doing well just as much as in doing evil? Am I not just as independent in performing a deed of charity as a deed of cruelty? I contend that I am, what do you say? Have I not got my liberty just as much, and exercise it just as freely, in feeding the poor and clothing the naked as I have in turning them out of doors, or in lifting myself up against God and his anointed? Has a man got to apostatize from this kingdom, from the faith of Christ, to be independent? Am I not as independent in believing in the Lord Jesus Christ as I am in denying him? Am I not as independent in believing the Gospel as I am in believing in the whisperings and mutterings of these spirits that are floating through the air, rapping at everybody's door, sometimes tearing the clothes off their beds, rapping, thundering and telling this, that and the other? You hearken to that still small voice that whispers eternal truth, that opens the visions of eternity to you that you can discern, understand and follow, and the foul spirits that throng the air, and that fill our houses if we let them in, will not have power over you.
Be just as independent as a God to do good. Love mercy, eschew evil, be a savior to yourselves and to your families, and to your fellow beings just as much as you possibly can, and go on with your independence and do not yield yourselves servants to obey an evil principle or an evil being.
God bless you. Amen.
addressed the Conference on the necessity for the Saints to prepare themselves before they would be ready to receive the glorious blessings the Almighty had in store for them. He spoke also of circumstances connected with the past history of the church, showing their usefulness in enabling the people to gain necessary lessons of experience. He treated upon co-operation, emigration, and a variety of other subjects.
The Lord's Supper—Progression—Cooperation—Independence
Remarks by President Brigham Young, delivered in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Sunday Afternoon, April 28th, 1872.
Reported by David W. Evans.
I am very happy for the privilege of meeting with the Latter-day Saints, and I have reason to be thankful that I am able to speak a little to them. It brings many things to our reflections and causes many thoughts to arise. When we look over the human family what a variety we see and especially upon the subject of religion. We take Christianity, for instance, and as nations, as people, we believe in and on the Lord Jesus Christ. Most of Christian professors believe in the ordinances, or some portions of the ordinances of the house of God. Most of Christians believe in the breaking of bread, in blessing it and partaking of it in remembrance of the broken body of our Savior; also in taking the cup, consecrating it and then partaking of it, in remembrance of his blood that was shed for the sins of the world. And then take up the hundreds of different denominations and what a motley mass we present in our faith, feelings, sympathies, judgment, passions and conduct; man against man, priest against priest, people against people. Now let the Christian denominations come here: “Yes, the Latter-day Saints believe in taking the Sacrament, it is true, but what a pity,” say they. “They profess to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Oh dear! I wish they did! Yes, they seem to manifest great confidence in the atonement, in the ordinances and commandments. I wish they were a better people! What a pity it is that they are such an outlawed, sinful race of beings as they are! What a pity!!” “How we Christians do pity the Latter-day Saints.” Then again, how we Latter-day Saints do pity the Christians! What a spectacle! And see us, as Christians, warring with each other! What for? For our pure faith, for our holy desires, for our great charity to each other, for the love of Christ, for the salvation of the souls of the children of men.
Now is not this a spectacle to present to angels? Why if the Lord Almighty was not beyond the conception of humanity in charity and love, in mercy and long-suffering, in patience and kindness to his creatures, where would we have been ere this? We would have been weltering in his wrath, we would have been drinking his hot displeasure. But he is more merciful than we are. I have thought a great many times I was very thankful I was not the Lord Almighty. I should be consuming my enemies. How I should contend against those who hate me. I am glad I am not the Lord. And to see the Latter-day Saints here following the example of the Savior when he took his disciples into an upper room, and bade some of them go and prepare to partake supper with him the last time before his crucifixion. He took the bread and blessed and brake. “Take and eat ye all of this, for this is my body in the New Testament.” He took the cup and blessed it; “Drink ye all of this, for this is my blood in the New Testament.” Here we are doing the same today. What more? Do this until I come, for I will neither eat nor drink any more with you in this capacity until I drink anew with you in my father's kingdom on this earth. Will he do it? Certainly he will. “Do this in remembrance of me until I come.” We are doing this today. Do not other Christians do the same? They do. How do we Latter-day Saints feel towards them? Were we to yield to the carnal passions of the natural man and we had the power of the Almighty we would spew our enemies out of our mouths, yes, we would hiss them from the face of human society for their evils, their malice, for the revenge and wrath they have towards us. But we are not the Almighty. I am glad of it. I am happy in the reflection that I have not the power, and I hope and pray I may never possess it until I can use it like a God, until I can wield it as our Father in heaven wields it, with all that eternity of majesty, glory, charity, with his judgment, discretion, and with every faculty of compassion. I am happy in the reflection that I do not possess the power. I am glad you elders do not, I am really glad you do not. Will he ever grant power to his Saints on the earth? Yes, they will take the kingdom, and possess it forever and ever; but in the capacity they are now, in the condition that they now present themselves before God, before the world and before each other? Never, never! Until we are sanctified, until we are filled with the wisdom of God, with the knowledge of God, will he bequeath the power that he has in reserve for his Saints; never will the Saints possess it until they are prepared to wield it with all that judgment, discretion, wisdom and forbearance that the Lord Almighty wields in his own capacity, and uses at his pleasure. How do you feel about it, brethren? Do not you wish sometimes you had power to pinch their ears? Do not you wish you had power to stop them in their mad career? Let the Lord Almighty do this. You think his eye is upon the work of his hands? It is. His ears are open to the prayers of his children, he will hear their prayers, he will answer their desires; and when we as a people possess the abundance of that patience, that long-suffering and forbearance that we need, to possess the privileges and the power that the Lord has in reserve for his people, we will receive to our utmost satisfaction. We shall not have it now. The Lord says, “I cannot give it to you now.” This church has now been traveling over forty-two years—forty-two years the sixth day of this month since it was organized with six members. What have we learned? We assembled in Missouri, at the place of gathering on the borders of the Lamanites, and there we bought our farms and built our houses; but could we stay there? Were we prepared then to enter into Zion, to build up the Zion of God and possess it? We were not, we must suffer. “You Latter-day Saints, you, my children,” says the Lord, “are not prepared to receive Zion.” Why, we have heard detailed by Elder Carrington the conduct of Elders at the present time, dishonest in the matter of a few shillings or dollars. Dishonest, covetous, selfish, grasping for that which is not our own; borrowing and not paying; taking that which does not belong to us; dishonest in our deal; oppressing each other. Are we fit for Zion? I say nothing to the Christian world with regard to this. Let them bite and devour as much as they please, it does not belong to the Latter-day Saints at least. Could we stay in Independence? No, we could not. What was the reason? Here are some hearing me talk who were there—some who are aged, some here who were then children and infants, some who were born there. But we stayed a very few years—two or three—and we must get up and march. Why did we leave? Why the enemy is upon us, our enemies are gathered around us, our foes are besetting us on every hand. There goes a house burned up; there is a man that is whipped; there is a family turned out of doors! What is the matter with all you Latter-day Saints? Can the world see? No. Can the Saints see? No, or few of them can; and we can say that the light of the Spirit upon the hearts and understandings of some Latter-day Saints is like the peeping of the stars through the broken shingles of the roof over our heads, when we are watching through the silent watches of the night and behold the glimmer of a twinkling star. “Oh yes, I see, I see, that we are not prepared to receive the kingdom.” Another one says, “Yes, I can see, we were too selfish.” Another one says, “I see, the wicked must be prepared for their doom as well as the Saints for their exaltation, and that the wicked are a rod in the hands of God to chasten the Saints.” Here are the two classes—the righteous and the unrighteous, and the righteous must be prepared by suffering and by rendering strict obedience to the commandments of heaven. It seems to be absolutely necessary in the providence of Him who created us, and who organized and fashioned all things according to his wisdom, that man must descend below all things. It is written of the Savior in the Bible that he descended below all things that he might ascend above all. Is it not so with every man? Certainly it is. It is fit then that we should descend below all things and come up gradually, and learn a little now, and again, receive “line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little.” But hark, do the people hear it? Do the people understand it? Scarcely! Scarcely! Do the Latter-day Saints understand these principles, and are we prepared to receive Zion? Are we prepared to receive the Kingdom and are we prepared for the blessings that God has in reserve for his children? Stop, think, consider, look around us! How is it? Are not the sordid things of this life before our eyes, and have they not thrown a mist before them so that we cannot see? Are we not of the earth, and still earthy? Certainly we are of the earth and still earthy. What do we know of heavenly things? It is very true we have the Bible; but when we come to our elders, men of limited education and moderate reading, they are able to teach the whole Christian world theology. Take them from the anvil, from the plow, from the carpenter's bench, or from any occupation, if they possess good common ability and the spirit of our holy religion that God has revealed in these latter days, they understand more of the Bible and the building up of the Kingdom of God than all the world besides that are destitute of the priesthood of the Son of God. And yet what do we know? Comparatively we have hardly learned the first lesson.
Could our brethren stay in Jackson County, Missouri? No, no. Why? They had not learned “a” concerning Zion; and we have been traveling now forty-two years, and have we learned our a, b, c? “Oh,” say a good many, “I think we have.” Have we learned our a b ab? Have we got as far as b a k e r, baker? Have we got through our first speller? Have we learned multiplication? Do we understand anything with regard to the building up of the kingdom? I will say, scarcely. Have we seen it as a people? How long shall we travel, how long shall we live, how long shall God wait; for us to sanctify ourselves and become one in the Lord, in our actions and in our ways for the building up of the kingdom of God that he can bless us? He defends us, it is very true, and fights our battles. When we were driven from Missouri and had to leave the State I recollect very well, Gov. Boggs said, “You must leave;” Gen. Clark said, “You must leave;” the mob said, “You must leave,” and we had to leave. And after we had signed away our property, I'd see a widow send up her little boy to brother Such-a-one, “Will you let me go to your timber land and get a load of wood for my mother?” “Tell your mother that I have got no more timber than I shall want, I do not think I can spare her a load of wood.” I recollect very well of telling the Latter-day Saints, there and then, “I hope to God that we never will have the privilege of stopping and making ourselves rich while we grind the face of the poor; but let us be driven from State to State until we can take what we have got and dispose of it according to the dictation of the spirit of revelation from the Lord. Said I, “You will not stay here;” but long faces would come down, you know, with a gentle, mild scrowl, “I can't spare you a load of wood.” Excuse me. When are the Latter-day Saints going to be prepared to receive the kingdom? Are we now? Not at all! We are prepared for some things, and we receive just as fast as we prepare ourselves. Well, what can we do, what more can we do? We can do just what we please to do. It is in our power to do just what we please to do with regard to sanctifying ourselves before the Lord, and preparing ourselves to build up his kingdom. Have we not the liberty to build this Temple here? We have, although earth and hell are opposed to it, and arrayed against it. Have we not the privilege of preaching the Gospel to the nations? We have. Have we not the privilege of uniting our faith and our efforts for the benefit of the whole community? Yes, we have.
Now come down, for example, to our present circumstances and condition. Year after year, I labored with our merchants to unite their efforts together to supply the wants of the people without taking from them everything they had got; and when I assembled these merchants some years before we entered into our present cooperative institution in this mercantile trade, said I, “Will you unite your efforts and your means, and start a business here that we can put goods into the hands of the people that we will not take their last sixpence? Have a calico dress at forty cents a yard when it should be only eighteen, twenty or twenty-two, and so on and so forth?” After a long conference one of the gentlemen present got up, walked the room back and forward, and finally said, “President Young, if you will furnish the money we will do as you say,” as much as to say, “it is none of your business what we do with the means that we have.” I dropped the conversation and said to myself. “Well then, gull the people, take what they have got.”
You recollect a man here in the time of the Buchanan war by the name of A. B. Miller. He was a merchant here for Russell and Majors. Our people were not merchandising much then. Well, the merchants met together and wanted to put up their goods to a certain notch, a dollar a pound for sugar, for instance. This A. B. Miller—a gambler, though there were a great many good things about him, he just turned in and damned them. Says he, “Gentlemen, to turn in and cut the throats of these ‘Mormons,’ and take what they have got, we might do, but for being so damned mean as to ask a dollar a pound for sugar, I will not do it.”
Now then, is this cooperative institution one step towards bringing the people to a union? Yes, but it is a very small one, and there is danger of it growing into a condition that will cease to be one step in the right direction. Let men say, “Here is what God has given me, do what you please with it,” and we shall be in the path of progress. But how is it now? “Brother, have you paid any tithing? You have made fifty thousand, ten thousand, a hundred thousand, one thousand or five hundred dollars as the case may be, have you paid any tithing?” “Well, no I have not yet, but I think perhaps, I will by and by;” and this is said with stammering tongue, faltering voice, and covetous heart. Who gave you your money and possessions? Who owns this earth? Does the Devil? No, he does not, he pretended to own it when the Savior was here, and promised it all to him if he would fall down and worship him; but he did not own a foot of land, he only had possession of it. He was an intruder, and is still: this earth belongs to him that framed and organized it, and it is expressly for his glory and the possession of those who love and serve him and keep his commandments; but the enemy has possession of it.
Now then, a few other items, brethren and sisters. Can you do anything for the poor? “Well I do not know, but I can give you fifty cents to gather the poor.” “Brother, can you pay that debt? You recollect you borrowed some money of a widow woman in England. Do you recollect you borrowed a little money of such a brother? Can you pay that?” “Well yes, I am going to.” You heard what Brother Carrington said about it, what fellowship does the Lord Almighty have for such men? I think not the least. What fellowship do angels have for such men? I should think not much. What fellowship do I have for them? Not one particle. What ought to be done with them? I will answer the question—they ought to be disfellowshipped by the Saints: they are not fellowshipped in the heavens, and they ought not to be here.
“Well, now then, Brother Brigham, what are you at, what do you want?” I want you to do just that which will displease the enemies of the kingdom of God, and that which will please the Lord Almighty and the heavenly host to perfection. What is that? Do as you are counseled to do by the spirit of revelation from the Lord. What is the cry against us? “Brigham Young has too much influence! All the people hearken to Brigham Young! All these poor deluded Latter-day Saints take his counsel!” I wish it was so. If this were the fact you would see Zion prosper upon the hills and upon the plains, in the valleys and in the canyons, and upon the mountains. Go to with your might, seek unto the Lord your God until you have the revelations of the Lord Jesus Christ upon you, until your minds are open, and the visions of heaven are plain to you. Then follow the dictations of the spirit, and watch Brother Brigham, and see if he counsels you wrong. I hope to see the time when I can say to the Latter-day Saints, if I preside over them, go and do this or that, and not ask a sixpence of this man or a dollar from that, or a hundred dollars from another. “Here is what I have, it is the Lord's. He has given me all that I possess, it is only committed to my charge to see what I will do with it. The heavens are his, the earth is his; the gold and silver are his, the wheat and fine flour are his, the wine and the oil are his; the cattle upon a thousand hills are his. I am his, I am his servant, let the Lord say what the wants. Here I am, with all thou hast given me.” How displeasing this is to the devil is it not? I cannot help it, this is the true track and path for the Latter-day Saints to walk in. Walk up, O ye Latter-day Saints, and wake up! Come to the Lord, forsake your covetousness, your backslidings, forsake the spirit of the world, and return to the Lord with full purpose of heart until you get the spirit of Christ within you, that you, like others, can cry,” Abba, Father, the Lord he is God and I am his servant.”
Do you think it would be difficult then for us to accomplish anything we undertook? No. Very true the enemy, this potent foe that we have to contend with, we know but little about him, very little; but he is watching every avenue of the heart, rapping at every door and every window, and if there is a crevice between the clapboards, through the roof, or the brick or adobie wall, he throws a dart into the feelings of each and every individual. “Take care, think for yourselves, judge for yourselves; do not be led astray, do not you wander off after these deluded people, and their delusion. Be careful, there is danger in believing in the Lord, there is danger in being a Saint; there is great danger in you yielding your judgment in another man.” Oh, what a pity! Where do you get your judgment? Where did it come from? What is your judgment? I tell you that the judgment of the world now is pretty much for all to do just as they please if they possibly can, to the injury of their neighbors, for their own aggrandizement.
Can I not use my judgment in doing well just as much as in doing evil? Am I not just as independent in performing a deed of charity as a deed of cruelty? I contend that I am, what do you say? Have I not got my liberty just as much, and exercise it just as freely, in feeding the poor and clothing the naked as I have in turning them out of doors, or in lifting myself up against God and his anointed? Has a man got to apostatize from this kingdom, from the faith of Christ, to be independent? Am I not as independent in believing in the Lord Jesus Christ as I am in denying him? Am I not as independent in believing the Gospel as I am in believing in the whisperings and mutterings of these spirits that are floating through the air, rapping at everybody's door, sometimes tearing the clothes off their beds, rapping, thundering and telling this, that and the other? You hearken to that still small voice that whispers eternal truth, that opens the visions of eternity to you that you can discern, understand and follow, and the foul spirits that throng the air, and that fill our houses if we let them in, will not have power over you.
Be just as independent as a God to do good. Love mercy, eschew evil, be a savior to yourselves and to your families, and to your fellow beings just as much as you possibly can, and go on with your independence and do not yield yourselves servants to obey an evil principle or an evil being.
God bless you. Amen.
President Geo. A. Smith
gave some excellent advice to those brethren who had been called to be home missionaries. He advised them to be generally brief in their remarks and when they commenced to speak to enter directly upon their subject and not waste time in making preliminary excuses, &c. The speaker alluded to some advice which the Prophet Joseph once gave him as he was about to start on a mission—to preach short sermons, make short prayers and deliver his discourses with a prayerful heart. He had benefitted greatly by following this advice.
President Smith expressed his intense gratification that in the providences of God, President Young was enabled to attend the General Conference. He (President Smith) had fully determined to adjourn Conference from one Sunday to another until President Young could attend, if it had to be prolonged until next October. President Smith closed his discourse by bearing testimony that the Latter-day Saints were engaged in the work of God and that the day would come when righteousness and peace would spread over all the world.
President Smith stated that when the names of the authorities were presented to the Conference to be sustained, the name of Jacob Gates was omitted until a matter of business with which he was connected should be inquired into and settled. Since then Brother Gates had been communicated with and there now remained no doubt that the matter in question would be amicably adjusted. The name of Brother Gates was then presented to the Conference as one of the first Seven Presidents of the Seventies. The vote to sustain him was unanimous.
gave some excellent advice to those brethren who had been called to be home missionaries. He advised them to be generally brief in their remarks and when they commenced to speak to enter directly upon their subject and not waste time in making preliminary excuses, &c. The speaker alluded to some advice which the Prophet Joseph once gave him as he was about to start on a mission—to preach short sermons, make short prayers and deliver his discourses with a prayerful heart. He had benefitted greatly by following this advice.
President Smith expressed his intense gratification that in the providences of God, President Young was enabled to attend the General Conference. He (President Smith) had fully determined to adjourn Conference from one Sunday to another until President Young could attend, if it had to be prolonged until next October. President Smith closed his discourse by bearing testimony that the Latter-day Saints were engaged in the work of God and that the day would come when righteousness and peace would spread over all the world.
President Smith stated that when the names of the authorities were presented to the Conference to be sustained, the name of Jacob Gates was omitted until a matter of business with which he was connected should be inquired into and settled. Since then Brother Gates had been communicated with and there now remained no doubt that the matter in question would be amicably adjusted. The name of Brother Gates was then presented to the Conference as one of the first Seven Presidents of the Seventies. The vote to sustain him was unanimous.
President Brigham Young said:
To answer the feelings and wishes of brethren and sisters I will say a few words with regard to our temporal business, or the conduct of those who have been with us as officials, and our condition. There is a good many want to ask the question: “Brother Brigham, what is going to be done with you now?” I hope to see the time that I can have the privilege of proving before a court of justice my situation and condition, and if there is anything that can be proved against me, I want to have it proved. Perhaps some of you recollect, just previous to this eruption taking place, that I made a statement in this stand, that I was at the defiance of the whole world to bring anything against my moral character. I am to-day, at the defiance of the world to prove anything in truth against my moral character. I happened to make this remark, I think, the Sunday before I heard there was a writ for me for murder. Folly in the extreme! I have talked with the prosecuting attorney of the Territory of Utah. If he wishes to know my feelings on the subject I will tell them here: Prosecute every one of these cases that have been presented before this illegal court, present them to a legal court, and try every man by the law of the land, and see where it will land us—every one, myself not excused. Now hear it. O ye inhabitants of the earth. Permit me to say one thing more. I make this request of the Prosecuting Attorney for the United States, and also the Territorial Attorney, that they preserve intact the records of the District Courts that have been held for a year and a half past, for future history. I sincerely hope they will not be destroyed. What do you say to this, Congregation, is it true and right, everybody? (Congregation answered, “Yes.”) Well then, manifest it by lifting your right hand. (All hands up). If any of you think it is wrong you have the same privilege. (Vote unanimous.) Keep the records, preserve the history of the people, the doings of kings, emperors, potentates, presidents and judges and see how they will read. Keep the history of this people, of the Christian nations, and of all that live, and see how it looks. There is another place where there is a record kept, it is very true, but suppose we assist in keeping this record that we may have corresponding proof and testimony to show that we are a people of record as well here as above.
To answer the feelings and wishes of brethren and sisters I will say a few words with regard to our temporal business, or the conduct of those who have been with us as officials, and our condition. There is a good many want to ask the question: “Brother Brigham, what is going to be done with you now?” I hope to see the time that I can have the privilege of proving before a court of justice my situation and condition, and if there is anything that can be proved against me, I want to have it proved. Perhaps some of you recollect, just previous to this eruption taking place, that I made a statement in this stand, that I was at the defiance of the whole world to bring anything against my moral character. I am to-day, at the defiance of the world to prove anything in truth against my moral character. I happened to make this remark, I think, the Sunday before I heard there was a writ for me for murder. Folly in the extreme! I have talked with the prosecuting attorney of the Territory of Utah. If he wishes to know my feelings on the subject I will tell them here: Prosecute every one of these cases that have been presented before this illegal court, present them to a legal court, and try every man by the law of the land, and see where it will land us—every one, myself not excused. Now hear it. O ye inhabitants of the earth. Permit me to say one thing more. I make this request of the Prosecuting Attorney for the United States, and also the Territorial Attorney, that they preserve intact the records of the District Courts that have been held for a year and a half past, for future history. I sincerely hope they will not be destroyed. What do you say to this, Congregation, is it true and right, everybody? (Congregation answered, “Yes.”) Well then, manifest it by lifting your right hand. (All hands up). If any of you think it is wrong you have the same privilege. (Vote unanimous.) Keep the records, preserve the history of the people, the doings of kings, emperors, potentates, presidents and judges and see how they will read. Keep the history of this people, of the Christian nations, and of all that live, and see how it looks. There is another place where there is a record kept, it is very true, but suppose we assist in keeping this record that we may have corresponding proof and testimony to show that we are a people of record as well here as above.
Elder Wilford Woodruff
was the next speaker. The Spirit of God had borne record to the First Presidency, the Twelve and the elders generally that we should be delivered from the hands of our enemies, and the Spirit of the Lord never lied; hence we were enabled to listen to the voice of our President to-day. The leaders of this people had been constantly inspired by revelation from God.
The speaker prophesied, in the name of Israel’s God, that the church would never be without a law giver from that time henceforth and forever.
On motion of President B. Young, Conference adjourned till the 6th day of next October, at 10 a.m., to meet in the New Tabernacle.
The choir sang: “Great is the Lord.”
was the next speaker. The Spirit of God had borne record to the First Presidency, the Twelve and the elders generally that we should be delivered from the hands of our enemies, and the Spirit of the Lord never lied; hence we were enabled to listen to the voice of our President to-day. The leaders of this people had been constantly inspired by revelation from God.
The speaker prophesied, in the name of Israel’s God, that the church would never be without a law giver from that time henceforth and forever.
On motion of President B. Young, Conference adjourned till the 6th day of next October, at 10 a.m., to meet in the New Tabernacle.
The choir sang: “Great is the Lord.”
President Brigham Young pronounced the following
BENEDICTION
I bless you in the name of Jesus Christ, as Apostles, with all that pertains to you; as High Priests, as Seventies, as Elders, as Bishops, as Priests, Teachers and Deacons. I bless you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. I bless you, my brethren and sisters, you that are parents, also the children. I bless you as musicians, as a choir to make music for us, and those who play on instruments. And I bless you strangers, and say unto you, peace be to you as well as to the Saints, in good words, in good actions, in a good life to serve the Lord our God. I crave blessings upon the good everywhere, among all nations, kindreds, tongues, peoples, sects and parties, wherever the honest and the pure in heart are found, God bless them; and I say peace to you from henceforth and forever, Amen.
John Nicholson,
Clerk of Conference.
BENEDICTION
I bless you in the name of Jesus Christ, as Apostles, with all that pertains to you; as High Priests, as Seventies, as Elders, as Bishops, as Priests, Teachers and Deacons. I bless you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. I bless you, my brethren and sisters, you that are parents, also the children. I bless you as musicians, as a choir to make music for us, and those who play on instruments. And I bless you strangers, and say unto you, peace be to you as well as to the Saints, in good words, in good actions, in a good life to serve the Lord our God. I crave blessings upon the good everywhere, among all nations, kindreds, tongues, peoples, sects and parties, wherever the honest and the pure in heart are found, God bless them; and I say peace to you from henceforth and forever, Amen.
John Nicholson,
Clerk of Conference.